Buck’s Rock Creative Arts

In Batik, campers use cotton fabric to make wall hangings, pillows, quilts, and material for clothing or soft sculptures. Wax is applied to the fabric to create designs by producing a "resist" where dye won't penetrate. Those more experimental campers can also try using the wax as a resist on leather and wood, then stain the material to show stronger definition within their chosen designs.

Campers are introduced to the many varied styles of batik, like shiborai, an ancient form of Japanese tie-dye. Shiborai uses pressure instead of wax as a resist by folding fabric between pieces of wood or wrapping string around fabric before applying dye. The patterns this process makes are often more geometrical or extremely random.

The Batik Shop in a nutshell: bright colors, a lot of wax, and tons of games to help pass the minutes while dyeing! It's all about fun!

Batik

What can you do with just a piece of white cotton fabric? Anything you can imagine!

Book Arts

Once you spend a summer learning book arts and papermaking, you’ll never look at a book the same way again.

At Book Arts, campers explore the possibilities of papermaking and the art of handmade books. There are thousands of ways to make a book, from traditional stitched bindings to glued versions to fascinating folding techniques! when making books, campers can aspire to push the boundaries of what can be a book and what belongs within its pages (if it even has pages!)

Paper arts shows campers how to create jewelry, pop-up cards, sculptures, napkin rings, papier mache, masks, lamp shades, origami, boxes, and anything else you can think of using paper! In addition, campers can make their own beautiful paper every week, to build their knowledge of books from the group up! Come turn your ideas into paper realities.

In our Ceramics Studio, campers explore their artistic abilities while advancing their knowledge of ceramic techniques. They use clay (mixed on the premises) to create everything from practical pottery to figurative sculptures and abstract forms. By teaching hand-building techniques, wheel-throwing, basic mold-making, and glazing methods, campers develop the tools to create anything they can imagine!

This creative arts shop is well equipped with nine potter's wheels (five electric and four kick/manual), an outdoor updraft gas kiln, two electric kilns, a slab roller, extruder, clay mixer, and facilities for formulating glazes. Rounding out the program are special projects such as raku firing, tile-making workshops, large group sculptures, demonstrations by visiting artists, and trips to nearby museums and galleries.

Ceramics

Learn everything about creative ceramics from throwing clay to firing up the kiln.

Computers

Want to perfect your computer skills? We have a shop for that.

In this day and age, the world is built on computers, but computer skills are not limited to the realm of business and spreadsheets. The ability to code and design is becoming evermore necessary, as websites, apps, games, and more require these artistic and creative skills!

In the Computer Shop, campers have the opportunity to explore the use of technology as an art form. Campers are able to work on a variety of projects such as website design and coding, 3D graphics, game creation, 2D animation, and drawing and coloring scanned sketches using a tablet. The Computer Shop is equipped with a dozen PCs and an extensive list of computer programs and languages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Bryce 5, and Maxon Cinema 4D that campers can explore. Their creative explorations will lead to some incredibly beautiful coding designs and innovations!

Campers from teenagers on down to juniors who are fascinated by the art of cooking will find lots to love about Buck's Rock’s fully-equipped Culinary Arts Studio and Kitchen – the newest addition to our creative arts program! With our experienced instructors and visiting chefs, campers will explore the secrets of cooking and receive valuable insights into the culinary arts. Some of the activities include: orientation to equipment use, baking techniques, principles of sauces, and best practices for preparation and presentation. And campers won’t want to miss our most popular culinary event of the summer — the burger contest!

Campers will be able to take their recipes and digital pictures of their dishes to our Pub Shop to make their own cookbook. Then they can tempt their family and friends at home with their delicious new skills!

Culinary

Art you can sink your teeth into!

Digital Photography

From wildlife to still life, our digital photography program will show you how to capture the world around you.

In our state-of-the-art Photo Shop, campers will learn how to use the latest technology to develop and sharpen their creative photography skills. Photos are everywhere in our world, but campers learn how to elevate their images by honing their eye, and making the unseen visible through the art of photography.

Topics covered include: using digital cameras, manipulating images with Photoshop, and working with professional lighting equipment. The Digital Photo shop has a lighting studio that teaches campers how to use professional equipment to enhance and shoot portraits of all kinds, including fashion shoots. In addition, campers can integrate into the fabric of camp life by taking photos in any other shop and documenting all that goes on in a summer!

Campers interested in creating a professional portfolio can work with our staff to take high-quality photos of their work from all shops. Campers and staff put these photos together into a beautiful digital portfolio, to be used for any college application or other program.

For years, one of the most exciting and fascinating shops to watch at Buck’s Rock has been the Glass Shop. Newly remodeled and upgraded in 2021, our state-of-the-art studio allows you to experience the awesome, age-old tradition of glassblowing. The Glass Shop is equipped with four glassblowing stations, four annealing ovens, a garage, color oven, and a grinding wheel. The shop is also equipped with a 500-pound freestanding pot furnace specially designed for young glassblowers.

In the Glass Shop, campers develop their skills by making small solid objects such as marbles, flowers, and paperweights. They then progress to blowing hollow objects such as cups, bowls, and vases. Since glassblowing is a very team-oriented art form, campers are paired with a counselor for all their projects. There are weekly demonstrations to expose campers to new ideas and techniques, helping to stimulate creativity and also to give campers a chance to challenge themselves with advanced skill-building exercises.

Glass

The best glassblowing program for teens you’ll find at any summer camp!

The Painting Studio is a welcoming place, where beginners and more experienced campers have the opportunity to work in a variety of media on both canvas and paper. Exploration in different media - including oils, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, and colored pencils - is highly encouraged, in addition to learning air-brushing and collage techniques. The tables are often filled with doodles and sketches, as a sense of community and constructive critique is encouraged by all Painting staff.

Our qualified teachers encourage spontaneous and personal expression, and strive to cultivate an awareness of craftsmanship, artistic quality, and creativity. During the summer there are many seminars and discussions on art, as well as weekly drawing classes. These classes cover a variety of topics, from life drawing, to figure drawing, to Japanese sumi ink painting. Visiting artists lecture and demonstrate their methods, and there are regular field trips to museums and galleries.

Painting/Drawing

With so much around to inspire you at camp all summer, you’ll go home with a full portfolio of painting and drawing.

Recycled Materials Lab

Celebrate sustainable art with our recycled materials!

The Recycled Materials Lab offers the opportunity to explore, develop and design or add to projects of all types. The Lab houses leather scraps, bottle caps, can tabs, and much much more!

Campers are encouraged to create their own individual designs or add anything they need to projects in other shops. Projects could include jewelry, purses, wall hanging, moccasins, and so much more! Explore the Lab and let your imagination take control!

PASS (Printmaking and Silkscreening Studio) is where campers can produce a wide range of graphics that can be printed in many different ways. Silkscreens, linoleum cuts, etchings, and woodcuts: each type of print carries its own unique visual characteristics. In this studio, campers are not limited to printing on standard paper; they can also turn ideas into cards, posters, fabric designs and (of course) the ever-popular t-shirt!

Once each summer camp session, PASS organizes a Print Exchange for campers and staff to share copies of their own designs. Each participant receives one copy of everybody else's work, which can be bound into a memorable and beautiful artist's book.

Printmaking is a timeless creative arts technique that has survived centuries and remains fun and exciting today. At PASS, campers of all abilities are encouraged to push the boundaries of this ancient art form!

Printmaking and Silkscreening

From fabrics to t-shirts to woodblocks, learn printmaking and silkscreening techniques in our camp studio.

Publications

Writing, poster design, poetry, and more - you can explore all of this at one of our oldest and most beloved shops!

The Pub Shop is responsible for all publications produced at Buck’s Rock over the summer, including programs, mailings, and the orientation handbook. The hallmark and glory of Pub is our annual yearbook, produced by a hardworking team of campers, staff, and CITs that showcases the entire breadth and depth of what goes at Buck’s Rock over the course of the summer.

Our layout staff is trained to assist with any and every project campers bring to the shop, from finding a research image for a project in any other shop, to designing their own business cards and zines.

Publications also holds daily writing workshops, on a range of topics including fiction, poetry, playwriting, comics, musical theatre, creative nonfiction, writing nuts and bolts, and writing games. The shop publishes at least four literary magazines over the course of the summer, and there is always a writing instructor on call to give one-on-one advice and help with revision. Field trips to libraries and bookshops also provide inspiration for all young writers!

The Sculpture Shop at Buck's Rock is an open-air creative studio where campers make open-ended projects. Sculpture is not defined by a single material or set of processes nor is it confined to two dimensions. They may weld and forge steel, rivet aluminum, carve stone, mold body parts, and cast in bronze. Some campers arrive with detailed plans, some with a more exploratory idea, and some with no idea at all of what can be done. These campers will be directed to the metal junkyard at the back of the studio, where they may find inspiration from years of accumulated treasures.

The biggest perk at the Sculpture Shop is the twice-per-summer bronze and aluminum pours. In the weeks leading up to the pours, some campers make carvings out of wax, and some make casts of pre-existing objects or body parts. These are then invested in plaster and poured in metal. There is no end to what can be made in sculpture!

Sculpture

If Rodin ever went to summer camp for sculpture, Buck’s Rock would be it.

Sewing

Make your own clothes one stitch at a time at the sewing studio.

It's hard to fully describe the sewing shop at Buck’s Rock because there's so much to do. So here it is spelled out for you:

'S' stands for a knowledgeable and friendly staff, who help campers throughout the entire process, from developing new and creative ideas right through the last stitch of each project.

'E' is for the embroidery machine, a computerized sewing machine designed to create specific designs on fabric. We also have sergers and over 10 sewing machines for campers to use and share.

‘W’ is for a new wardrobe, which campers can create for themselves, including shirts, pants, skirts, and jackets.

'I' is for all the other interesting ideas, including stuffed animals, bags, pillows, blankets, and costumes.

'N' means new possibilities every day, including different ways to use fabrics, patterns, and never-been-done-before creations.

'G' stands for all the great times we have with our campers in the Sewing Shop.

Lights, camera, campers! The Video Shop gives campers the chance to write, edit, and shoot their own short films, documentaries, music videos, animations, and video art. Along with the more traditional methods of filmmaking, campers can experiment with animation techniques such as Flash and stop motion animation – turning your drawings and sculpture into moving images.

The Video Shop helps you through all stages of the filmmaking process, from pre-production to shooting and editing. At the end of each session, all completed camper work is screened at a video showcase film festival.

In addition to assisting campers with their filmmaking, the video staff compiles all camper performances to create the Buck's Rock video yearbook, Memories, which captures all of the events, performances, and characters from the summer camp.

Video/Filmmaking

From behind the camera to behind the console, you’ll learn all aspects of creating video.

Weaving

Turn yarn into all forms of fabric in our fiber arts studio, tucked away in the cozy forest.

More accurately described as fiber arts, the Weaving Studio opens up new possibilities in creating fine art projects. Our twenty four-harness looms enable campers to produce blankets, scarves, placemats, wall hangings, and fabric that can be sewn into garments or bags. More advanced weavers can also make elaborate tapestries, using their drawing and patterning skills to create wonderful works of art. Campers may choose from different textures of yarns, such as chenille, cotton, mohair, hemp, raffia, and sweet grass, fibers which give campers endless possibilities for creating rich and varied textiles.

Campers can also explore the world of fiber arts beyond weaving on a loom! Fiber sculpture, knitting, crocheting, basketry, netting, felting, and belt making are among the many off-loom projects in which campers can engage. Come get tangled up in our world of yarn!

The Wood Shop at Buck's Rock is as fully equipped as any master craftsman's workshop, with power and hand tools, lathes, joiners, and a rich assortment of hard and soft woods. Furniture and household articles like cabinets, desks, tables, bowls, chess boards, musical instruments, baseball bats, boxes, rocking chairs, and stools are among some of the projects designed and executed by campers. Previous years have seen many awesome projects including boat building and wood bending, and even a grandfather clock.

Campers provide the inspiration for their projects at any level, and are then expertly guided throughout the production process. The progression of skills throughout the summer, from simple stools to rocking chairs, is just one area of personal development the Wood Shop can facilitate.

Wood

Nail down your woodworking skills in just one summer surrounded by woods.