The Fine Art Camps and Visual Art Camps offered at Centauri provide an opportunity to develop technique and explore creativity. In Fine Art, programs explore painting (acrylics, watercolour, oils), charcoal, pencil and pastels, as well as clay, plaster, wire and soap carving.
Check out our photography camps here.
At Centauri, campers choose one specialty arts program per session.
To
see a chart listing all the programs and their sessions
click here.
Painting the Big Picture
Session 1, ages 13-18. Instructor: Aaron Alviano
In this program, our artists get to paint, paint, paint! Working in
oil, acrylics and watercolour, you will begin by learning the
demands, techniques and potential of different mediums. Still life,
landscape and portraiture will all be explored as you improve your
brush technique, enhance your appreciation of colour and discover
the possibilities of light, space, perspective and form. From
traditional techniques you will then move on to a more contemporary
approach! Explore non-traditional materials, and incorporate them
into your art: paint on surfaces such as plexiglass or wood, combine
paintings with photographs or poetry, even make use of found objects
in your art. Finally, we'll experiment with ways to display our work
as we mount an exhibition for the final day.
Campers who hope to
continue with art at
a post-secondary level will be able to create
work for their portfolio during this program.
Art & Design: Creating Spaces, Building Places!
Session 2, ages 9-14. Instructor: Aaron Alviano
In this wildly creative Art and Design program, we'll start by
designing small spaces on paper – your ideal treehouse, for example
– then work our way up to building, in model form, an entire town!
Learn drafting techniques and discover how to draw floor plans to
scale. Experiment with colour, texture, shape and negative space as
you explore the potential of interior and exterior design. In the
second half of the program, we'll move onto more fantastical and
ambitious design projects. Plan a fantasy zoo habitat and pitch it
to the group. Envisage and design a futuristic skyscraper. Build,
from scratch, your ideal amusement park. All this leads us to our
final, collaborative project as together we create a fictional
neighbourhood, bringing it to life in a three dimensional model.
We'll keep our
spectacular creation secret, unveiling it in front of
an audience on the final day.
Asian Art Techniques
Session 2, ages 13-18. Instructor: Soyeon Kim
Journey with us to the Far East, discovering some of the greatest
artists and techniques to be found there, and using them to inspire
original pieces of our own. Landing first in Japan, we'll explore
Hiroshige prints and try our hand at screen printing on beautiful
Japanese paper. In Korea, we'll discover the traditional form of
danchung and the harmony of the five colours, creating eye-catching
designs to decorate our own three dimensional structures. Finally,
we'll move on to China, painting scrolls based on Asian symbols and
working on fantastical sculptures, using materials such as bamboo
and rice paper as we pull inspiration from Chinese mythological
creatures – the dragon, the phoenix and the Qilin. Beginner and
experienced artists are invited to join us as we journey
through the
Far East, experimenting with a wealth of fresh techniques, and
uncovering new inspiration for our art!
Art & Design: Make It, Wear It, Use It!
Session
3, ages 8-14. Instructor: Soyeon Kim
Art is all around us, in the clothes we wear and the objects we use.
This is the kind of art we'll be creating together, as we try our
hand at tons of different projects! Explore a wealth of painting and
design techniques, then get to work on your colourful creations.
We'll make journals, water bottle holders, picture frames, jointed
puppets, belts, masks, treasure boxes, vases, wallets, children's
toys, fantasy costumes... the sky is the limit! We'll construct
gorgeous mosaics; try wood burning; experiment with silk screen
printing; make beautiful paper; paint on glass; construct original
clothing... anything is possible! Join us this session and learn all
about art – not the type you hang on walls, but the kind you wear or
use. Take your creations
home with you at the end of the session, to
give as gifts or to enjoy, long after camp is done.
Sculpture: Everything but the Clay!
Session 3, ages 14-18. Instructor: Aaron Alviano
Discover a broad range of approaches to object making as you hone
your technical skills, using both traditional and non-traditional
materials. Sculpt with wire and learn how to solder. Explore the art
of soft sculpture, using fabrics. Discover the magic of kinetic
sculpture, building objects for the wind to animate. Use found
objects and materials such as foam, plaster, wax... even ice and
food! A wide variety of projects will introduce campers to the
elements of composition in three dimensions as well as the ways that
sculptures communicate to us through material, line, texture, mass
and weight. We'll look at abstract sculpture, exploring the use of
negative space, then move on to study the human form. Finally, we'll
look at
creative ways to display our work, in the gallery and
outside, all around the camp.
Bringing Photography to Life
Session 4, ages 13-18. Instructor - Aaron Alviano
In this program, we'll learn how to take better photographs, then
manipulate them in the computer lab to produce varied and original
works of art. Begin by mastering all the functions on your camera,
and explore the aesthetics of photography by looking at the work of
well know photographers. Discover the art of landscape, portrait and
object photography, and learn how to use lighting to create mood and
atmosphere. Back in the computer lab, we'll brush up our photo
editing skills, manipulate photos to create exciting works of art
and use our images as raw material for digital collages. Next, we'll
move on to creating animated gifs, literally bringing our
photographs to life. In a final exciting project, we will take
elements of performance – both film and live theatre – and use them
as inspiration for a stop motion animation project. Push
boundaries and challenge concepts as you take
your knowledge of
photography to the next level. Please bring along a digital camera
and a USB flash drive on which to record your work.
The Art of Fantasy
Session 4, ages 8-14. Instructor - Calypso Taylor
The world of fantasy, myth and legend has inspired artists for
generations, and this session, it will inspire you, too! Learning
from comic artists, fantasy illustrators and animators from your
favourite fantasy movies, we'll discover new art techniques and work
on exciting two and three dimensional projects, fired by our
imaginations! We will explore skills such as figure drawing and
perspective, and experiment with art materials – different papers,
paints and brushes. You'll create your own fantasy character, on
paper and as wearable art, build a giant monster in a thrilling,
collaborative project, illustrate fantasy stories and create
fantasy-inspired paintings, sculptures, mobiles,
puppets and masks
as you journey into the realm of imagination, bringing back whatever
treasure you can find.
Check out the Photography Camps here.