Art camp alert!

Artwork by students of the Scottsdale Artist's Studio Youth Academy, which has a summer fine arts program for ages 6-18

Fond as I once was of stringing macaroni necklaces at the kitchen table with my three young children, there were times I longed to actually serve food on the darn thing.

My children are grown now, but for those of you who still find the surfaces of your home layered in crayons, origami paper, beads and sculpting clay, I offer a sampling of art camps in the Valley and beyond.

The “Art For Fun! Studio and Gallery” in Phoenix offers drawing, painting, mosaic, ceramics, mono-printing and collage classes for grades 1-12.

“Art Intersection” in Gilbert offers crafts, photography, silk-screening and more for ages 6-11.

“The Art Institute of Phoenix” in offers a variety of visual arts workshops, plus career exploration, for grades 10-12.

“As You Wish Pottery” in Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe offers pottery painting classes for ages 5 & up.

“Carrie Curran Art Studio” in Scottsdale offers painting, drawing, design and other options in a studio atmosphere for ages 6-12 — plus teen drawing and painting workshops.

“City of Glendale Public Art Program” offers screen printing, print making, art around the world and more for ages 6-13.

“Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Taliesin West” in Scottsdale offers architecture, design, stained glass, ceramics, sculpture and more for grades 2-12.

“Mesa Arts Center” offers a variety of thematic classes in art for grades 1-12.

“Phoenix Center for the Arts” offers a visual arts program with end-of-session gallery exhibitions for ages 6-14.

“Scottsdale Artist’s School” offers classes in a variety of media using professional art equipment and lighting for ages 6-18.

“Shemer Art Center and Museum” in Phoenix offers a variety of visual arts sessions for ages 7-12.

“Summer Art Academy” in Gilbert offers drawing, painting, cartooning, clay, scupture and jewelry for grades 1-9.

“Tucson Museum of Art” offers cartoon art, origami, print making, mask making, painting, book making, drawing, photography and more for ages 5-12.

“Vision Gallery” in Chandler offers painting, ceramics, art history and more for ages 8-14.

Looking for more art classes for children or teens? Check with your local art galleries, art schools, public libraries, schools and museums for ideas — plus local art venues and city park/recreation or public art departments.

For a comprehensive list of summer camps in the Valley, click here.

— Lynn

Note: Museum meets mall as “Splendid” opens next month at Scottsdale Fashion Square — and celebrates with a June 25 crafting event for kids and parents, plus a three-day exhibition at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Coming up: Combat meets canvas

The Merry Widow?

Trixy Trimble is ruling her own roost these days (Photo: Christopher Trimble)

We have a precious little lovebird named Trixy who has been singing, and swinging, a bit more than usual these days.

I jokingly referred to her as “the merry widow” Thursday morning as Lizabeth was enjoying a bit of Trixy time before heading off to school — but Lizabeth was not amused.

Because Trixy is flying solo after the loss of her lifelong companion, Taffy, who now shares a lovely bit of earth in our garden with a tiny rodent named Gidget who met a similar fate about a year ago. Both were high energy animals, and we like to think they just ran themselves right out of steam — living life to the fullest before meeting their fate.

While Lizabeth was at school Thursday morning, Christopher and I headed to Ingleside Animal Hospital to have Trixy’s wings clipped. She’s a whole lot safer not being able to escape her cage for the wide open spaces of the house we also share with a cat named Pinky. Next we headed to the pet store for a small cage Lizabeth can keep in her room for Trixy together time.

It was a bit of a bird theme day as we also went in search of jewelry with a bird motif. We wanted to find a little something to honor one of Christopher’s colleagues who is retiring from her position with the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife at Scottsdale Community College.

My first thoughts were of Laurel Burch earrings, because they often feature creatures like cats and birds — and because I remember my mother wearing them when I was a child. Nowadays they’re harder to find, unless — like my daughter Jennifer — you’ve mastered the fine art of Etsy.

We ended up at the Phoenix Art Museum because it’s right next to Phoenix Theatre, where Lizabeth has afternoon classes with fellow theater students at Arizona School of the Arts. They helped us locate all kinds of bird fare — from origami paper crane earrings to a graphite carving in the image of a bird.

We also found brightly colored kitchen gadgets inspired by birds, a coloring book and note cards featuring bird art by wildlife artist Charley Harper, some hip bags (big and small) with a playful bird motif, and a couple of contemporary pins with whimsical bird designs.

I spent part of Thursday evening enjoying the Scottsdale ArtWalk, where I found more works inspired by dogs, pigs and rabbits than birds — but Trixy will never know unless she learns to read before my gallery photos get folded into a future “art adventures” post.

It’s always easy to get a bird fix at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, a fun place for kids and grown-ups to enjoy indoor exhibits and outdoor adventures. They’ve got a fun little retail area where my favorite finds are plush birds that make authentic sounds.

I jumped on their website recently and found all sorts of goodies — ways to help wildlife displaced by natural disasters, news of wildlife advocacy efforts in D.C., tips for “e-birding” and Arizona results of the “Great Backyard Bird Count.”

Their summer camps, all sporting intriguing names, are noted on the website too. Think Teen Naturalist. Bird Blitz. Pollinator Power. CSI Audubon. Click here to learn more about summer options for children and teens — or to explore their many programs.

Trixy’s agent might object to my speaking on her behalf, but I have a feeling she’s a firm supporter of all things Audubon — and grateful we didn’t stumble on a tiny tutu with her name written all over it.

— Lynn

Coming up: Music meets summer at the MIM, Stage Mom picks for the 2011/12 season, Art adventures: Scottsdale ArtWalk, Moms in musical theater

Camps get creative!

Saturday I enjoyed my first visit to the relatively new Shea campus for 5th through 12th graders at the Tesseract School, a private school founded in 1988 — which also has a Doubletree campus for preschool through 4th grade students.

I was there checking out the many camps with fun exhibits, cool contests and nifty giveaways — and in an act of extraordinary self control, I somehow managed to walk right past the booths serving ice cream and Mojo yogurt.

I chatted with folks from all sorts of camps, but focused my attention on camps specializing in the arts — dance, music, theater and/or visual arts. You can click here for a companion post featuring photos designed to give you a feel for the day.

I was pleased to discover that several general camps who exhibited at the 2011 RAK Camp Fair include visual and performing arts fare in their many offerings.

In the All Saints’ “Summer 2011” brochure, for example, I found classes like “Vans Gogh,” “Write On!,” “Young Musicians,” and “Fractured Fairy Tales.”

While many camps were represented by their director or program staff, some brought along parent volunteers or kids who’ve attended their camps in the past.

Longtime Greasepaint Youtheatre volunteer Lorraine Kirkorsky was there with one of four sons who’ve enjoyed theater at Greasepaint (including the oldest, now in medical school).

Lots of camps used unique means to attract attention — from Wild West get-ups to reptiles. Also spinning contest wheels, furry little animals, videos of performing campers and more. I’ll share photos of some of those on Sunday as well.

At nearly every booth I explored, I found a story with an arts twist — reinforcing my theory that art touches (and transforms) every aspect of life.

The woman working the Pointe Hilton Resorts booth described how various family members have come, in different ways, to making art of one sort or another — promising to alert me next time her grown daughter with a flair for chalk art exhibits during First Fridays in Phoenix.

When I got home from the 2011 RAK Camp Fair, my 17-year-old daughter Lizabeth eagerly showed me a letter that had come while I was away. It was from an East Coast college offering her a generous financial aid package. (She’ll start college this fall but has yet to choose a school.)

I haven’t any doubt that it’s her many years of education in the arts and humanities — including her study of music and theater at Arizona School for the Arts and many summers filled with music, dance and theater camps — that has readied her to not simply stumble from the nest, but to soar.

— Lynn

Note: If your summer camp exhibited at this year’s Raising Arizona Kids Camp Fair, feel free to send photos of your booth for possible use in future posts.

Coming up: A director’s tale, Get a Q!, More drama in Wisconsin, Josh Kornbluth meets Andy Warhol, Favorite Oscar moments