Art Camp Ideas

Are you planning a summer camp or after-school art camp and looking for some fun art camp ideas? I have you covered! Art camp is also a great time to be a little less educational and have more fun, explore non-conventional art techniques and use messy art supplies. I have taught many art camps for kids and here are some of my favorite ideas all of which are perfect for elementary kids.

Bubble Painting

art camp ideas example — Click to enlarge.

This is perfect for younger artists. It can be done with a mixture of watercolors and liquid dish soap in a cup or bowl. Students use a straw to make the mixture bubble. Once the bubbles have exceeded the rim of the container, place a piece of paper on the bubbles. Create many round bubble prints using a variety of colors or even try overlapping colors. I like to create a collage with the bubble prints, such as an ice cream cone with many scoops.

Watercolor Techniques

Blow painting with a straw is a fun activity for younger students. Simply add drops of watercolor paint to the paper and use a straw to blow the paint into many directions. The blobs that are created make fun monsters and creatures. Add googly eyes, arms, legs and maybe speech bubbles for some super entertaining artwork.

Another favorite watercolor technique is tape resists. Young artists love using painters tape to resist the watercolor and see the satisfying results of peeling away the painters tape to reveal the blank spaces and lines. I like to use the blank lines and create an optical illusion of overlapping or woven strips with the help of a marker or pen.

Art camp ideas for kids, pictures of watercolor projects — Examples of different watercolor art camp ideas including blow painting monsters, tape resist paintings, salty fireworks and wet on wet watercolor dandelions.

Salty fireworks are another summer time favorite. Use liquid glue to draw lines that look like exploding fireworks and sprinkle the wet glue with salt. Once the glue and salt has dried completely, add drips of watercolor to the salt and watch the salt soak up the paint. Watching the colors mix is a lot of fun too.

Lastly, wet on wet is always a fun watercolor technique. My favorite summer subject matter is dandelions. I like to draw the dandelion seeds and stems and then draw circles at the top for the white areas. Next, fill the paper with water, leaving the white circles dry, and add paint to the wet paper. Allow the paint to flow in the negative space revealing the soft white part of the dandelion seeds.

Stamping and Printmaking

elementary art camp ideas using stamping — Examples of projects featuring stamping including a texture hedgehog, a bubble wrap stamped pineapple and birch trees at night with a starry sky.

Any type of gadget printing or stamping is fun for kids of all ages. Students can use forks to create the texture of a hedgehog or use bubble wrap to make the texture of a pineapple.

I also like to cut bubble wrap into circular shapes that can be painted to create tree tops. After printing 3-5 round tree tops, paint white lines for trunks and splatter white paint to create a starry night in a forest of birch trees.

Folding Surprise Drawings

idea for folding art project — Click to enlarge.

Kids of all ages love folding surprise drawings. First, I demonstrate how to use an accordion fold to keep part of the paper hidden when drawing the object or subject matter. Next, draw the shape, I use a whole watermelon. Lastly, open the paper and lay it flat to add the surprise to the hidden area in the middle of the paper. I make an hourglass shape and add ants and a ladder to create the illusion ants are inside eating away the watermelon. There are so many options with this type of drawing and the kids love revealing the surprise inside.

Mixed Media

Using a variety of art materials to create a work of art can also be exciting. For example, have students cut and paint cardboard shapes. Next, wrap the shapes with yarn to create a fluffy texture. I like to create simple fish shapes and glue them on paper to create a school of fish.

Folding, twisting, crumpling, or creating a fringe with paper can also be fun. I like to use Kraft paper and crumple it many times to make it soft. Next, we tear the paper into a few pieces. Use glue to put the piece back together like a puzzle, leaving a gap to create the illusion of ant tunnels underground. Finally, use a marker to draw a colony of ants in the tunnels. This is another opportunity for storytelling.

art project ideas for an art camp for kids — Mixed media ideas I use include fluffy fish, torn paper ant tunnels and curled paper 3D trees.

Another fun paper technique is twisting paper. We glue long strips of paper in a radial fashion, similar to a sun. Once the glue is dry, twist and loop long strips of paper to create the illusion of a 3D tree. Any type of paper folding techniques and paper sculptures are fun and engaging for artists of all ages.

The above ideas are all included in my 12, one-sheet printable art camp lessons that step-by-step directions with pictures, a list materials needed and pictures of finished projects.

Check out my 12 Art Camp Activities here.

Thanks for reading! -Trista

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I’ve been teaching art for over 20 years and I love it!

I have taught every grade from kindergarten to high school. This site features art education articles with art resources and ideas as well as art lesson ideas for all ages. My goal is to allow students to explore a variety of art materials, discover different genres and styles, and most importantly, have FUN!