Youth in our area often lack the skills and resources needed to express themselves in a meaningful and impactful way. We have observed that this challenge coincides with a lack of art programming available to local youth. As a result, we’ve seen a decline in art projects within our county in recent years. To address these issues, I organized a three-day art camp for local youth.

The camp was open to ages 9-18 and focused on various techniques across multiple mediums. Each day, participants had the opportunity to complete multiple pieces of artwork. Day one emphasized painting techniques, where participants created an acrylic painting, a watercolor painting, and a mixed media piece. Day two focused on drawing techniques, with participants completing a two-point perspective drawing, a drawing in the round, and a colored pencil piece. Day three concentrated on crafts, where participants worked with air-dried clay to complete different projects. All materials and equipment were provided.

A total of eleven youth participated in the camp, and seven of their projects were selected to represent Johnson County at the 2024 State Fair. Of these, one received a Class Champion award, four received blue ribbons, two received red ribbons, and one received a white ribbon.

Post-session surveys revealed that 100% of survey participants strongly agreed they felt more confident in their artistic abilities and could recreate the artwork practiced during the sessions. Additionally, all survey participants agreed they felt confident creating art in various styles and mediums. Every survey respondent stated they were extremely likely to participate in more of our programming.

The feedback was very positive, with participants particularly enjoying the drawing and painting projects. Due to the success of this program, we’ve now launched a monthly Arts and Crafts Club at our office, with many of the camp participants continuing to attend.