Greetings, crafty campers!
Inspired by several creators here on YouTube and elsewhere, and the childhood sense of long lazy artsy summers I was lucky enough to have, I’ve decided to take a playful approach to this season’s Personal Curriculum and Bucket List with a Summer Camp-style menu of creative treats.
Not to say I will participate in every single one of my desired activities or complete all crafts on the list that I share, but I will be using my Bullet Journal spread to select artistic experiences all during the warmer seasom.
No camping necessary, though if you’ve got outdoorsy times ahead, they could provide a refreshing complement to beloved crafts.
If you’ve got an hour to dig out a favorite hobby, a weekend afternoon, little bursts of time over the summer or a whole staycation, maybe you’d like to join in the fun!
Adult Arts & Crafts Camp
If you’ve been around, you will know I revel in a seasonal mood board, bullet journal spread, or bucket-list type reminder of what I’m up to, goals to do, be, and feel.
It helps me to get in the mood for action on my projects and highest priorities, romanticizes my life, and provides fun variety to my days!
My reading, creative activities, and other goals and topics ebb and flow throughout the year and over the years, so here is what I am up to right now:
Meet Your Fellow Campers
This concept pleases my Artist Child à la Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and lots of fun folks are designing their own Adult “Arts & Crafts Camps” on YouTube:
- Journals4breakfast’s I made my own summer camp at 55 (and its changing everything)
- Summer Camp at 45 from Victoria Currell Art, who is also providing delightful weekly updates on their artistic undertakings
- Art Camp for Adults from Michelle Hickey Design
- Can you finish your novel in July? Rough Draft Challenge with Sarra Cannon/Heart Breathings, and you can do the challenge at any time
- Creativity & Coffee on YouTube inspired me to expand my collection of alphanumeric stencils and they are hosting Junk Journal July this month as well
Designing an Arts & Crafts Camp
Of course, my first steps were to brainstorm and set up a Bullet Journal spread for my camp in my seasonal book.
I included a birthday card envelop camping image, 3D stickers of woodland creatures, and free stickers from a nearby bookstore, stamps of flora, books, magnifying glass, pencil, as well as media I’ll be using during my camp, such as fountain pens and inks, gel pens, and stencils.
On the left page is my Analog TBR (below), and on the right is my camp activities menu.
My Activities Menu
There is considerable overlap between topics and media, multimedia and experimental as it should be, no rules!
Outdoorsy Nature
I never was an overnight summer camper, but was lucky to get to partake in various sports and arts day camps, then to be a counselor at a wonderful outdoor arts camp called Willowbrook Center for the Development of Human Potential/Willowbrook Arts Camp that took place in tents at a park in Tualatin, Oregon. Such an ideal setting for the exploration of diverse creative disciplines and our environment.
Maybe for you this season nature be viewed from a window, balcony, or deck or perhaps you’re going on a full-on adventure in the wilds of mountains or ocean.
This summer I’ll be home-based in Cologne, Germany, but exploring the rose garden, botanical garden, park, riverfront, and so forth on excursions:
- Read everywhere
- Bike, Scooter
- Walk, Hike
- Birdwatching, ID
- Flowers, Trees, Animals ID
- Plein Air Sketching (birds, botanicals, scenery)
- Stars & Moon
- Swim, Sail
Dance
My personal favorite activity of all, but it didn’t get too much mention in the video since it is a given in my artistic and pedagogical life! Got some really fun summer-appropriate challenges for you if you’d also like to participate this year, below. In the dance studio and my movement study this summer, I’ll be focused on:
- Ballet Technique (particularly RAD Grades 2 & 4 for student exams, but also planning Fall programs and choreography)
- Pointe Work 🩰
- Shoe Fitting – yes, just this week I did a virtual fitting for my first new pair in decades! Ordered and will provide updates…
- Preparation – exercises and training for myself and soon-to-go-on-pointe ballet students
- Partnering, Pas de Deux
- “Swan Lake” classical ballet
- Bird & Botanical, nature & art themes in dance
- Movement Research & Choreography
Music
Listening to music and playing it for dance classes is an everyday part of my life, but in summer I’m making a concerted effort to log new listening, pull out analog (and older digital) albums in my collection, to hear live music, and to become more familiar with my instrument:
- Listening: Records, CDs, live
- Playlists
- Instruments
- Harmonica, Blues
- Kalimba B9
Art
In the realm of visual art I have a few media I’d like to play with:
- Photography: take & print Photos
- Sketching with pencils, pens, markers, watercolor
- Video: filmmaking, editing, effects
Crafts
A real pleasure for my own inner Artist Child, multi-media crafting:
- Bullet Journaling, Scrapbooking, Junk Journaling
- Stamping, Stencils, Stickers
- Miniature Collage in my tiny book is a new obsession
- Mending & Repairs
Writing
A staple of my daily creative practice in addition to essays, articles, syllabi:
- Journaling
- Letter Writing
- Poetry
- Calligraphy – Dip Pens 🖊️
Exploring Media
To support the Arts & Crafts Camp theme, I’ve selected inspiring media to consume as well, primarily in physical form, such as books and records, but also with some digital texts and music playlists:
Analog TBR
Ever since the days of three months off of school, lazy days, and a Summer Reading List, immersing myself in other worlds through a book has been an integral part of savoring the season. Whether sprawled on the sand for a beach read or fantasizing about travel to exotic locales on staycation, the written word always delights me.
Fiction
- The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher is the second book I’ve read by the author, the first being Winter Solstice, which I loved earlier this year after seeing a recommendation on YouTube. Having borrowed it from my library as an eBook and audiobook more than once, I have now purchased my own paperback copy and continue to enjoy it
- The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert is a similar situation from a few years back, it is not short and I was enjoying it so much but too slowly, so purchased an inexpensive paperback copy to savor
- Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome I own in hard copy because my Dad read the whole series to me as a child and adolescent, so now I’m re-reading it with Ela and would like to watch the miniseries after
Nonfiction
- Was Fliegt Denn Da? by (Deutsch/German bird identification for kids)
- Singvoegel die Mann Kennen Soll (Deutsch/German bird sketching book)
- Schmetterlinge by Hermann Hesse (Deutsch/German poems, essays, excerpts about butterflies)
- The Notebook: a History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen
- The Thinking Body: A Study of the Balancing Forces of Dynamic Man by Mabel Ellsworth Todd was originally recommended to me during my MFA study by professor Betsy Fisher, but is on my current physical TBR.
- The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training, Technique by Janice Barringer & Sarah Schlesinger
- Pas De Deux: The Art of Partnering by Anton Dolin
- Balanchine’s Complete Stories of the Great Ballets by George Balanchine & Francis Mason
- Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen by Katrina MacPherson
Digital eBook TBR
Keeping reading and media mostly-analog for that sense of unfettered focus and timelessness, but I do have some relevant digital texts for reference as well:
- Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life by Ben Crystal, David Crystal, my poetic and dramatic nonfiction daily reading this year
- The Daily Book of Art: 365 readings that teach, inspire & entertain (Daily Book series) by Colin Gilbert, Dylan Gilbert (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib
- Letters to a Young Poet (Penguin Classics) by Rainer Maria Maria Rilke, Charlie Louth (English Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Briefe an einen jungen Dichter. Illustriert (German Edition) by Rainer Maria Rilke (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion (Kindle from the library)
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Creative Quest by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- The Nikolais/Louis Dance Technique: A Philosophy and Method of Modern Dance by Murray Louis, Alwin Nikolais (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Yoga Where You Are: Customize Your Practice for Your Body and Your Life by Dianne Bondy, Kat Heagberg Rebar (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body. by Jessamyn Stanley (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- Mudras: Yoga In Your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi (Kindle Edition, which I own)
- The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life by Allison Fallon (Kindle Edition, borrowed from library)
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (Kindle Edition, borrowed from library)
Campy Listening
Tunes for chilling, daydreaming, crafting, adventuring…
Playlists
- Balletlicious Summertime Dance Playlist is my current seasonal compilation
- A Pirate’s Life for Me – Music to be Free is a swashbuckling collection
- Wave After Wave – Water, Sea, & Oceanic Sounds for splashy sensations
- Heatwave! is new this year, inspired by the sweltering temperatures
Questions for Reflection
- What nostalgic summer flavors, sounds, and sensations do you savor?
- What helps you bring whimsy to adult time constraints and responsibilities?
- How will you romanticize your life this season?
- What’s on your bucket list or mood board?
- How may I support your arts camp adventure?
Resources for Further Exploration
If you enjoy this topic, check out my prior creative, dance, and yoga challenges, seasonal bucket list ideas: , Adaptive Adult Ballet Intensive, and other multi-passionate videos and articles:
- Summer Fun in or out of the Sun: a Bucket List of Hot-Weather Hits Warmer weather lends itself to many activities I enjoy, such as time outdoors, bicycling, picnicking, and eating fresh produce. I try to seize the sunny fleeting days wherever I can and not miss out on my favorite bits before they’re gone again. Less decoration and dressing up, more dressing down, decluttering, deep-cleaning, taking in the natural beauty. Here is a collection of resources and activities that might provide a jumping-off point for your own longer-day adventures.
- Good Day, Sunshine – Warm Greetings to Bask in Solar Energy at the Solstice & Through Mindful Movement & Meditation Tap into the radiant energy of long bright days, short nights (as well as tipping into times of shorter days), basking, glowing, radiance, enjoyment, savoring, bounty, nourishment, possibly also thriving, relaxation, rest, vacation, getting outside, energy and adventure. A ripe time for dance and sport intensives, camps, writing and creativity, and rich possibility for growth and breakthroughs!
- Seaside, Oceanic & Watery Inspirations – Dance, Yoga, Music, Poetry & Creativity Though watery ocean, lake, river, and rain concepts can ignite the imagination yearlong, I find them particularly fun in the warmer months, for children’s and all-ages dance, yoga, meditation and visualization, poetic and artistic inspiration. This is a (growing, dynamic, never comprehensive) collection of resources I personally treasure and love to share as a teaching artist but may also be useful to families with children, other creatives, or to delight your own inner artist child.
- Ignite the Spark of Creativity – 6 Ways to Be Inspired Daily artistic explorations can help build a habit of joyful creative expression, and each activity can help grow your ability to feel inspired and produce abundant work. You may use these six prompts and responses to ignite your creative spark and be amazed by the cumulative and far-reaching impacts such regular practices can have in your life.
- Get Down Daily Challenge – build a habit of creative dance Want to make mindful movement and creativity a daily ritual? These bite-sized movement explorations can help build a habit of joyful exploratory movement and creative expression. Develop a joyful daily creative dance practice that is accessible to a variety of abilities and experience levels and achievable in minutes a day.
- Balletlicious Building Blocks of Dance 7-Day Free Virtual Challenge Dance theorists identify 7 basic movements of ballet or classical dance technique, and we can see these essential building blocks at play in every ballet pas, step, or movement. This is a free summer dance challenge to begin or continue your ballet journey.
- Yogalicious 5-Day ReTREAT: Escape Virtually, Anytime Everyone deserves a break to rest and restore, and you can take one anytime, anywhere and establish a self-care habit with this virtual ReTREAT! At-home or on-the-go, anywhere with an internet connection and anytime it is convenient for you, this 5-Day Yoga Virtual Mini-ReTREAT provides a restful and rejuvenating practice oasis daily. We are playing with some of the basic shapes of yoga, in active and/or restorative iterations, to find the most delectable flavors for your personal practice.
- 5 Steps to Soar into the Splits this Summer – Season of Stretching It is a great season for strength and mobility gains, and to build a consistent stretching habit to support your athletic and artistic goals and feel good.
- Let’s Write! Camp NaNoWriMo & Creative Structure Back in the year 2019, having freshly moved from Honolulu, Hawai’i to Cologne, Germany, I learned of National Novel Writing Month and took on the challenge to write a novel in a month. Although I didn’t “win” the challenge that November according to the standard 50,000-word goal, I came closer than ever before with a 18,600-word partial novella and the experience spurred me on to participate in and host further creative challenges, ultimately nurturing lasting habits, inspiration, and a growing body of work.
Special events and resources for Back-to-School, Fall and more coming up soon! In the meantime, the best way to keep abreast I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as my favorite work from other creators is to subscribe to my email newsletter. Would love to be connected to you there, on social media, online or in-person.
Thanks for reading and moving together in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself, pay attention, and hope to see you again.
Happy camping & crafting!
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties,
taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education