Body of work

By Mary Alice Garrett

This story originally appeared July 14, 2005 in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

HOCKESSIN - Art Camp was total immersion without the faith.

Thirty-six campers bathed themselves in paint at the one-week camp, held June 27-July 1, at First Alliance Church. The youngsters went from painting designs on their bodies, to throwing paint at canvases to rolling their bodies across a large wet canvas. Those who had forgotten to wear old clothes were out of luck. In the end, they had multicolored paint in their hair and on their skin, clothes and shoes.

Hannah Crismon, 9, and Annabelle Beattie, 8, volunteered to roll across a canvas to even out the green background paint.

"It felt very green so I will be grounded for a week," said Crismon, worried about her new striped shirt covered in latex paint.

Co-director Sam Mylin told the young artists that while the paint would wash off their hair and bodies, it wouldn't wash out of their clothes. That didn't deter them, however. Using their hands as paintbrushes, the children had already bathed their arms in several different colors of paint for the landscape they were creating on the church lawn.

"We are going to paint a landscape in less than one hour," said Mylin. "I want to see land, trees and a man-made structure." He followed by pouring bright blue paint on the top one-third of the green canvas.

"Your job is to make the sky," he said.

Immediately, the campers distributed the blue paint with their fingers. Mylin poured beige paint in the middle of the canvas for the land and structure parts of the painting. Amira Hannon, 8 suggested they dip their feet in white latex to make clouds in the blue sky. She was joined by Rebecca Firstbrook, 9.

"It feels soggy. It feels really good," said Hannon, as they squished their feet around on the wet canvas.

Chartreuse paint was used to simulate tall grass at the bottom of the painting.

Next Mylin told the youngsters to walk away from the canvas and look around to see what they needed to add to the lanscape. They agreed to add flowers. After dabbing on small dots of purple and pink paint, they walked away from the landscape a second time. This time they were satisfied the painting was complete, and they let out a loud cheer.

Mylin propped the painting against an outside church wall to dry overnight. He said even rain wouldn't hurt it.

The children learned to stretch the canvas on which they eventually painted the landscape. Mylin told them to pull it tight like a tablecloth as he stapled the sides to a large wooden frame.

Before tackling the landscape, the campers made a splatter painting by dipping a paintbrush in paint and flinging the paint - not the brush - at a canvas on an easel. It was a fun activity.

"I did it three times," said an excited Jamie Green, 8. "Somebody put their hands in my hair." added Green, whose blond hair was streaked with red and green paint.

Eight-year-old Sam Cho said the activity was fun and that he was enjoying his first summer at Art Camp.

The day had begun with junior counselors painting the faces, arms and legs of the campers. Beattie had her face painted first as a pig and then as a clown.

In an activity on primary and secondary colors, the campers traced their hands and feet on art paper and added red and yellow dots of tempura paint to signify their ages.

Kate Mylin, Sam's wife and codirector, explored primary and secondary colors with ages 4 to 7. After mixing their own colors, they used yarn and foam trays to apply paint to art paper. Near the end of camp, they threw paint-filled sponge balls at large pieces of paper. Mylin added that she was more concerned than her husband about the campers getting paint on their clothing.

It was the fourth year of camp for brothers Matt and Steven Pickering, 10 and 12, respectively. Both said their favorite activity was making clay sculptures.

"I like art. It's more fun than math or science," said Steven.

Matt also will attend a sports camp this summer. An all-around athlete, he plays baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Courtney Eastman, 10, said she heard about the camp from friends. Besides painting, Courtney added, campers learn "good values" at the camp.

The Mylins stressed good behavior by awarding "Sam Bucks" play money. The currency was used to purchase artworks the last day of camp. Those who chose not to sell their art added it to their portfolios.

McKean High School classmates Heather Emig and Alicia Pierce viewed the camp as training for careers in art education.

"Sam and Kate are wonderful in sharing their talent. I look up to them for that," noted Pierce.

"They're really good with kids," added Emig. Both 15 year-olds worked as junior counselors.

Troy Downs, 18, and Shawn Jarrard, 21, also were junior counselors. Admittedly not an artist, Jarrard said of the camp, "I like it. This has been a really interesting experience."

Jarrard, a senior at Toccoa Falls (Ga.) College, worked during a summer internship at the church.

This was the seventh year the Mylins have offered Art Camp at the Hockessin church. The Willowstreet, Pa., residents run after-school art clubs from January through May in Lancaster County, Pa. This fall, they will teach a children's art course, "Artwise," at the Delaware Art Museum.

The Mylins travel in a converted school bus that holds all their equipment.

"We have art - will travel. We take art to the streets," said Sam Mylin.