Space to Make Something New
Made by Hand, Fueled by Imagination
Adventure may define the landscape of camp, but creativity gives it color. While some boys are hiking ridgelines or learning to belay, others are forming clay creatures with crooked smiles or interpreting abstract concepts through sculpture. This week’s spotlight is on Pottery and Arts & Crafts, two of camp’s most imaginative spaces where boys stretch their minds and hands in new directions.
Shaping Clay, Building Skills
Inside the Pottery Studio, boys are elbow-deep in clay, following the steps laid out by Pottery Lead Evie Jane of Winter Park, FL.
Every project has foundational steps to future pottery projects. You have to learn the basics before you can move on.
Evie Jane, Winter Park, FL
Campers begin by learning how to work with the clay—keeping it moist, scoring and slipping pieces together, and storing it properly to dry.
I have to follow the more important direction given: putting my piece in the right place—On the bottom shelf in the drying box. If I don’t do that, I won’t find my work!
William L., Dallas, TX
Evie’s step-by-step demonstrations help boys feel confident, even if they’ve never worked with clay before.
Mastery of those early steps gives them creative freedom.
Evie Jane, Winter Park, FL
After asking how to make the monster’s eyes stick, William followed her instructions and finished his piece on his own. From mushroom people to handmade mugs for siblings, the projects in pottery are filled with creativity and personality.
Finding Voice Next Door
Just outside on the porch adjacent to Pottery, Arts & Crafts offers its own blend of focus and creative energy. Campers sit with sketchbooks and tools in hand, exploring artistic ideas and building them into three-dimensional forms.
This week’s project challenged campers to transform five basic elements of art—texture, value, space, line, and form—from flat concepts into physical works. Boys interpreted value using dark-to-light gradients and represented texture with sharp or rough surfaces.
We give them the building blocks—medium, technique, and style. From there, they find their own voice.
Lilly Janish, Milwaukee, WI
Even while working individually, boys often collaborate—offering each other ideas, trading tips, or just checking out what their friends are creating. The space fills with conversation, quiet focus, and the kind of easy, natural connection that creativity invites.
We help them brainstorm by asking about their favorite songs, comic books, or sports teams. Something clicks, and suddenly they’re off and running. These boys just get going, and you can’t hold them back.
Lilly Janish, Milwaukee, WI
Freedom Through Foundation
Whether they’re learning to coil clay or bring artistic concepts to life in 3D, boys start with structure and quickly find space to make it their own. These side-by-side creative areas give campers room to be expressive, curious, and playful. And best of all, they’re having a blast while doing it.