Joan's Summer Art Camp in the West Village Offers Unique Summer Program for Children Ages 8 to 11

Joan Roberts Garcia, a Manhattan-based artist and educator, is starting a new summer art camp for children ages 8 to 11 for Summer 2018. Joan's Summer Art Camp is located in the West Village and starts July 2. As part of the curriculum, children will visit NYC museums and art galleries, go on nature hikes and go swimming in the local West Village pool. They will then respond to these New York City activities by making art using paint, mixed media, and clay.

“Children need down time, relaxing time, in order to be creative,” says Roberts Garcia. “That's why we're going to be doing things like swimming and hiking and reacting to all of these things in the studio.”

Children will also create mobiles that they can take home at the end of camp. The mobiles will be made of clay and materials the children find along their nature hikes, such as leaves and rocks.

Each camp program is small and intimate with only 8 campers to two teaching artists/ educators, ensuring that each camper gets the individualized attention he needs. Camp runs in one-week sessions, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, through August 17. Parents can register for multiple weeks, although the sessions repeat after two weeks with some variation.

Roberts Garcia teaches art to children year-round in her West Village studio. She has a Master's degree in painting, degrees in art education, and over 30 years experience as an exhibiting artist. She and her assistant, also an artist and educator, have been working on creating the camp program and researching field trips that would be ideal for this age group.

“I love working with children and their artwork,” says Roberts Garcia. “I'm spending part of my time in New Mexico in order to access the nature I need to create, so I hope to teach children to create art taking inspiration from nature as well."

Parents can find out more information about the camp by visiting Joan Roberts Garcia's studio school website, or register their children by calling 347-978-1045. Parents can view Robert Garcia's art blog to learn more about her background and explore some of her artistic pieces. 

Image: Campers will respond to outdoor activities by creating art using a variety of materials.
Courtesy Joan Roberts Garcia