CSA Summer Arts Camp at APSU: Where painting sparks imagination
By: Spencer Castleberry August 24, 2023
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn – The Community School of the Arts (CSA) at Austin Peay State University (APSU) taught the art of painting at this year’s Summer Arts Camp, an immersive experience for children ages 8-14.
The Summer Arts Camp features four disciplines of art: theater, dance, ceramics and painting. The camp lasted for three weeks with three different groups of children. Each group spent their painting class developing their art, then showcased it for their families on Fridays.
Painting has been a part of the camp for years and has proven popular among children. The kids learn about various painting elements and practice their skills.
Sarah Spillers was the instructor of painting at the camp. Spillers is an APSU graduate and is now an art teacher at West Creek Middle School. She has won several awards in the Nashville area, and her work has been showcased in many galleries around Clarksville. She is passionate about painting and hopes the kids can delve into the medium.
"I've always loved working with kids that are interested in the arts, and I've always loved painting," Spillers said. "I found my love for painting in the art department here at Austin Peay. After getting my first job at West Creek Middle, I figured out that's where I was meant to be.”
The students rotate through each discipline during the week and get a rounded experience with each aspect of the camp. During the painting portion, the students experiment with all kinds of materials. The kids take lessons from Spillers and then apply those lessons to their paintings.
"I want the kids to focus on experimentation," Spillers said. "I want them to experiment with different mediums and techniques. That's my personal goal. I also want the kids to do a lot of collaboration and team building. A lot of them don't know each other. So, it's great to watch them build relationships with one another and build off one another's ideas when they're painting. They get a lot of inspiration from their peers."
The students can choose what to paint and be as creative as they desire. One exercise that Spillers challenged the kids with was to paint a galaxy.
"My favorite has been painting," Avery Leach, an 11-year-old camp goer, said. "We painted the solar system, which was a lot of fun. I like [painting] because we get to keep the paintings too."
Spillers said she was glad to hear how much her students enjoyed painting and that each one was able to learn a variety of things about the art form.
"I'm happy to hear that," Spillers said. "It reassures me that they're having fun. I'm happy that they enjoy it. I try and do a lot of things, like teaching them definitions and skills, and I'm happy that they're not getting bored or that they're not being overloaded. So that's great. I love that."
With the lessons they learned from this year’s CSA Summer Arts Day Camp, children from across the community will enter the upcoming school year with a new sense of creativity.
In addition to the Summer Arts Camp, CSA offers a variety of art classes for children and adults, from beginning to advanced levels, in the areas of dance, theatre, music, creative writing and visual art. Registration for Fall 1 classes is open now until Sept. 5, 2023. To learn more about the CSA’s classes and camps, visit www.apsu.edu/csa or email csa@apsu.edu.