When you can’t get enough of a good thing, you make more of it!
This is exactly what Kristin Mitchell, owner of Art Box art studio in Waxhaw, decided to do as her new little studio became exceedingly popular.
Mitchell opened Art Box inside of Eight Legs Framing Shop over a year ago. It didn’t take long until her clientele began to grow. The 2018 holiday season was a real turning point for Mitchell and her little studio, as her paint-your-own vintage style Christmas trees became the must-do activity of the area.
In response, Mitchell has expanded her studio space to double its previous size, and expanded her offerings along with it. Excited about the growing business, Kristen chirps, “That means we can offer more appointments for painting, classes, birthdays, and private events.” The expanded menu continues into her previously wildly successful summer program.
This summer Art Box will have a 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. camp, just as the past summer; however it will add a new afternoon camp from 2-5 p.m. Camp runs Monday-Friday and is open to ages seven through twelve. Both the morning and afternoon camps will feature the same projects.
Last year was limited to 6 weeks of camp, but this year’s extension brings a longer 8 weeks program. The scheduled dates are June 10-14, 17-21 and 24-28, July 8-12, 15-19 and 22-26, Aug 5-9 and 12-16.
Summer sessions at Art Box this year have an intensive focus on the fired arts- projects that have to be fired in a kiln- and are filled with a variety of projects to keep the campers hands busy and their minds creating.
Some areas explored in the studio will be clay hand building and wheel throwing, fused glass and ceramics painting techniques. The camp will feature new projects for 2019 and bring back some of our favorite techniques from last year with a new twist. 2019 also features new techniques for ceramic painting, including how to use silk screens on pottery, and how to paint beautiful ceramic pieces using the banding wheel and fan brushes, and new clay techniques using clay tools to add decorative patterns to clay pieces. Campers will get hands-on experience while learning the joy of fired arts.
In addition, campers will get to paint with acrylics on canvas, create mosaics, and work with mixed media.
Each camp session features an art show on Friday’s so the campers can show off their new skills and the resulting masterpiece to friends and family.
With this in mind, Mitchell makes sure to keep her class sizes small. This strictly capped number means that campers gets lots of individualized attention in her care, but also means that camp sessions fill up quickly.
“It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and creativity that comes from each camper as they try new techniques, share ideas with other campers and build their confidence as artists!”, quotes Kristen when reflecting on her clients. Sharing the joy of new artistic experiences is something that inspires Kristen daily.
Parents can read more about our camps and register their campers online at ArtBoxCeramics.com, or email artboxceramics@gmail.com.
