Quiet.  The hallways are empty, the lights are low, the sounds of running feet are absent, and the chaos is paused for a brief moment.  Our week off from camp was a blissful reminder of the beauty of a quiet classroom and a relaxed environment.  We could walk around without being mobbed with questions, could sit down and eat lunch in peace instead of shoving it down while prepping a classroom for the afternoon, and even take a bathroom break!  Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE kids and camp…but getting that moment of respite reminds you of all those little challenges that children create.  That being said, I’m definitely ready for the campers to come back!  They’re all such great kids, and there are a couple of campers coming back for another week, so I’m eager to see them.

Keith Haring was a popular artist in the 80s who used his art as a social message about love, peace, and friendship.

This week, besides the planning and preparation for the last two weeks of camp, I got to help set-up my very first public art installation.  Although that sounds really complicated – and sometimes it can be, depending on the art to be installed – in this case it meant taking Keith Haring-inspired peace flags that the campers made to the Grandview Library and helping my boss to hang and display them.  These peace flags, along with ones from all over the country, will be displayed at the museum with the fall exhibit Enough Violence: Artists Speak Out. The museum is still collecting peace flags (until Aug. 8), so if you are interested in making one, check out the information and instructions here!

Campers and some of the fabulous peace flags they made.

This week I also got to help out with an adult craft class with a ceramic artist featured in the current exhibit.  The class was offered on Tuesday and Wednesday and there was a full house both times!  I got to get my hands messy and make a clay head/face wall decoration along with the rest of the class.  I forgot to take a picture when I was done, but I’ll share when I get the piece back from firing!