Ages 6-12

9:00-10:05am- Textiles: Marvelous Muñecas w/ Julie Boada

Long before store-bought action figures and dolls, kids had to make their own toys. One of the most common crafts of colonial Cuba was the yarn figure. Work with Artist Julie Boada to create your own exciting action figure or doll from yarn, fabric, and reuse doo-dads. 

10:10-11:10am-Puppetry: Island Frolics w/ Gustavo Boada

Cuba has a long history of puppetry inspired by animal and trickster folktales from the Spaniards, Africans, and Indigenous people who inhabit the “Big Island.” Join Artist Gustavo Boada and create your own one-of-a-kind rod puppet character sparked by Cuban tales. Then amuse your family and friends with your own made-up silly stories!

11:10-12:15pm- Painting and drawing: Beautiful Birds and Beasts w/ Karen Anderson

Cuba has some amazing wildlife, and features some unique creatures that are rare in other parts of the world. For instance, the bee hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, lives in Cuba. The island is also home to the tiny Mount Iberia frog, which is just one centimeter long! Join Karen Anderson to learn about some of these creatures and paint one of the unique creatures that call Cuba home. 

Ages 6-12

9:00-10:05am- Metal Work: Dreams in Silver w/ Gustavo Boada

Brought to Latin America by the Spanish, repujado or repoussé is a metalworking technique. Get inspired by Haitian metal relief art, and then work with Artist Gustavo Boada to learn the techniques of metal tooling to create a beautiful silver foiled picture. 

10:10-11:10am- Construction Arts: Terrific Tap-Tap Art w/ Laurie Witzkowski

Buses and trucks are the main form of public transportation in Haiti. Called tap-taps, because people tap on the side of the vehicle to signal when they need a ride, they have colorful designs and all over them. Work with Artist Laurie Witzkowski to decorate your very own art bus, using all sorts of reuse materials. 

11:10-12:15pm- Mixed Media: Spectacular Sequin Bottles w/ Julie Boada

Haiti is famous for its sparkling and vivid folk art, often made with recycled and “found” materials such as old bottles and cans. Join Artist Julie Boada as you create your own fantastic vessel decorated with sequins, buttons, and other reuse materials.

Spring Arts Camp

Unleash your inner artist and explore Rome at our magical art camp during spring break! Dive into the wonders of Rome through three creative workshops brimming with fun and learning:

Architecture: Create an Elegant Roman Bath House: 9-10:00am

Ancient Rome was famous in its time for vast and elaborate public bath houses. Built using millions of terracotta bricks, these buildings featured fine mosaic floors, decorative statues, and marble walls. Join artist Laurie Witzkowski to make a model of your own Roman bath house, and create a calming bath infusion from herbs. 

Puppetry: Toy Theater & Tall Tales: 10:05-11:05am

Gods and goddesses, Monsters and minotaurs! Learn some of the most famous stories of Roman mythology from Julie Boada. Then create a toy theater stage and puppets to retell your favorite Roman tall tale, and perform it for your friends and family! 

Masks: Carnival Follies: 11:10-12:15pm

Since the middle ages, the celebration of Carnival in February has been a chance to don a disguise and dance in the streets. Roman masks are famous for their fanciful designs and sparkle. Artist Gustavo Boada will share some of the traditions and designs of this most colorful holiday of  the Roman calendar. Then create your own gorgeous mask for future celebrations. 

Ages 6 - 12 years
Tuesday – Friday, April 1 – 4, 2025
9 am – 12:30 pm daily

A Magical Monsters Art & Creative Writing Camp

Let your imagination frolic, romp, and soar in this super fun art and creative writing camp! Create a mystical menagerie of creatures with words, moving pictures, sculptures and pop-up books. Guided by ArtStart’s fearless artists and writers, you will explore distant planets and swim on the golden shores of your creativity, where hippogriffs, dragons, and mermaids abound.

8:30-10am

Storytelling: Worlds of Wonder

You have the power to produce magic! Pick up a pen,unleash your imagination, and create worlds full ofwonder. Young writers, get ready to embark on an extraordinary adventure! Explore mysterious lands, discover hidden realms, and bring fantastical creatures to life. Join us to craft stories full of surprises, where the next sentence could lead anywhere! Taught by Karlyn Coleman.

Karlyn Coleman is an award-winning writer, teacher, and creativecollaborator based in Minneapolis. She is a certified teacher and has taught at the Loft Literary Center for over ten years and has been apart of the Young Author’s Conference for the past four years. She loves visiting schools, libraries, and youth organizations to share writing activities of all kinds. www.karlyncoleman.com

10:15-11:45am 

Book Arts & Poetry: A Magical Pop-up Book

Create a fun and magical pop-up book. Along with construction paper, we’ll use tissue paper, googly eyes and fake fur to make our books come alive. Once the pop-ups are done, we’ll write a poem inspired by our unique creatures. Animal masks are used to get the poetry ideas rolling in this lighthearted playful class where everyone gets to imagine what they would do if they were a wild and magical creature.

Marie Olofsdotter is a Swedish-born artist who has been drawing pictures as far back as she can remember. She creates books for young readers, paints, and writes poems. Her accolades include a Minnesota Book Award, a Loft Mentor Series Award in Poetry, grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Jerome Foundation. She credits her work as a teaching artist to her two years in clown school in Stockholm and California, because it motivated her to bring her visual and literary arts to large audiences, and she swears by the Steve Linsner quote that says “A clown in a poet who is also an orangutang.”

Ages 6-8

Early Bird Pricing: 5% off until Feb. 3

Half day = $237.50/week (code HALFDAY25)

Full day = $427.50/week (code EARLYBIRD25) 

A Magical Monsters Art & Creative Writing Camp

Let your imagination frolic, romp, and soar in this super fun art and creative writing camp! Create a mystical menagerie of creatures with words, moving pictures, sculptures and pop-up books. Guided by ArtStart’s fearless artists and writers, you will explore distant planets and swim on the golden shores of your creativity, where hippogriffs, dragons, and mermaids abound.

12:30-2:00pm

Visual Storytelling: Comical Crankies

Long before television, people in India used the crankie as a way to tell a story with pictures. All you need is a box, some dowels, a long scroll of paper, and a really tall tale! In this class taught by puppeteer Kallie Melvin,you will invent stories of enchantment, decorate your box, then create a long cartoon that moves as you crank it. Taught by Kallie Melvin.

Kallie Melvin is a puppeteer and teaching and performing artist. Several of the places she has worked with include Monkeybear Harmolodics Workshop, In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre, Z Puppets, ArtStart, Puppet Lab at Open Eye, and Weisman Art Museum. She is also the Acting Regional Director of Puppeteers of America Great Plains. She uses her original puppetry work as a means to tell stories and explore her experiences as an intercontinental transracial adoptee growing up in the Twin Cities.

2:15-3:45pm 

Construction Arts & Creative Writing: Junk-tastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Create magical new beasts from reuse materials like egg cartons, mylar, and feathers! Then name your critter and write stories about them! Does your beastie fly, or swim, or apparate into different dimensions? What magical powers does it have? Is it loving, crabby, fond of chocolate-covered pickles?

Taught by aegor ray.

aegor ray is a writer and community organizer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a Loft Mentor Series Fellow in poetry, a participant in Tin House Summer Workshops and a Lambda Literary Scholar. He is a Sagittarius.

Ages 6-8

Early Bird Pricing: 5% off until Feb. 3

Half day = $237.50/week (code HALFDAY25)

Full day = $427.50/week (code EARLYBIRD25)