A summer spent intensely artistic: Part two

Bryn Pennetti
Editor -in-Chief

To read the first part of this article, click here.

Like many high school students, I returned to a summer job at a camp. More specifically, Bucks Rock Creative and Performing Arts Camp. It was my 5th summer attending the camp and my 2nd year as a counselor in training (C.I.T), and of course, I have tons of stuff to report back on why this is one of my favorite places.

While also working at my primary job at the Painting and Drawing Studio, I took this summer to venture off into the interests of my fellow C.I.T’s: flameworking, sculpture, and music.

A teenager bends small glass piping into shapes — A C.I.T teaches campers how to bend small glass piping into shapes

Flameworking, or lampworking, is like small glass blowing. It is done by hand with your body about a foot away from a flame a couple thousand degrees hot. You can generally make beads, but with practice, you can create more complex objects such as small figures, vases, or any animal you can imagine. It takes speed and a great attention to detail, but flameworking quickly became one of my favorite activities. At the end of the summer I eventually had gathered a small collection of misshapen animals all no larger than my thumb (working with glass has never been my strong suit), but all in all it was a great activity to try.

A teenager grinds the edges of a sheet of metal.

Seeing as i’d be taking 3-D art in my senior year, I felt I had to expand my sculpture knowledge. So, as I try and do every year, I created a bronze figure. First, an object or shape is molded from wax which is then attached to a larger wax tree, covered in plaster, and heated in a kiln. Molten aluminum or bronze is poured into the mold, and when it cools, you have a sculpture! I worked more heavily this year with power tools at Sculpture, which, if you take the intense route towards art, is something important to know. You wouldn’t think angle grinders and welding equipment would be needed for such small-scale art, but finishing my piece actually took hours of sandblasting, flame cutting, and grinding. The result, though, was more than satisfying.

Teenagers preform an original song as a band. — Campers, CITs and councilors preform an original song as a band.

The performing arts should also be mentioned as it makes up at least 60% of camp life. My friends are more centered on music and theater than I am, but I was able to attend many of their performances and shows. Live acts were performed at least every week by kids aged high school and younger. Several of the nine-year-old kids I counseled actually killed at drums which made me feel like less of a prodigy. People performed songs like Time of the Season by The Zombies and Magic Dance by David Bowie (yes, it is sort of a hippie camp). One of my friends even recorded a whole album at the studio this year (it will be available on iTunes in September). Plays are also put on periodically throughout the summer. One of my favorites was Leading Ladies in which I got to see a couple of my guy friends in drag. The final musical was The Producers, and though i was not able to attend it, was shown to be a spectacular performance and end to a great year at Bucks Rock.

The amount of talent that comes out of each summer never ceases to amaze me, and if you are interested in any kind of art I highly recommend coming here. No matter what, I always find my way back every summer.

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