CHECK OUT OUR COLLABORATIVE ‘Wherever I Go, I’m Aglow’ SNAIL MAIL MURAL … The spirit of creativity is truly alive and well in the Grace Art Camp Community! This final Bright Spot of Summer 2020 and all of our preceding videos could not replace Camp this year, but we hope it helped encourage and inspire your own artmaking!

Please enjoy this celebratory video of the mural’s creation! Many thanks to the more than 80 past and present campers, CITs, Counselors, Artists and Staff who enhanced a mural piece with their own take on being aglow – from home.  About half the pieces depict sources of light or “bright spots” and the other half, familiar Camp art-making tools. As the artworks were received, opening the envelopes became a gift in return!  If you artistically enhanced a mural piece, see if you can find it in the video…. 

Ashley Klump, who drew all the illustrations for the mural, is a painter and multimedia artist who finds inspiration in the natural world and scientific drawings. Passionate about providing access and knowledge with a variety of new art materials, curating a fun and creative space for people of all ages and experience levels, she earned her BFA and MA in Art Education. Ashley has worked to create inspirational art experiences for over 15 years.  She has been a studio artist at Grace Art Camp since 2018, and a teaching artist with the Right Brain Initiative since the fall of 2013. During the school year she does large-scale mural residencies where she helps students put together collaborative murals for their school walls, or smaller scale projects like multimedia book arts residencies where students create an art book to share illustrations and creative writing. Follow her art on  Instagram: @ashley.klump

Kristin Koop, who handled organization and mailings, has been involved with Grace Art Camp for 23 years, beginning as a camper and joining the staff as an Artist in 2015. She has studied at San Francisco Art Institute, Portland State University, and Oregon College of Art and Craft. Kristin is the Church School Coordinator at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church and often teaches art projects to enrich her lessons. She taught as an Assistant Teacher at St. Gabriel Episcopal School, a small preschool based on the Reggio Emilia approach, which influenced both her teaching style and art practice to focus more on the art process and experience. Currently Kristin continues to work on her art when she is not nannying or being a “cat-couch”.  A lover of mark-making and painting, she currently focuses on the figurative and abstract in her work using varied painting and mixed-media techniques. Follow her art on Instagram @kristin.koop.studio

Paula Benjaminson, our artist from Episode 6, assisted in this truly collaborative effort. 

We have missed our camp family, but we have truly enjoyed creating these weekly gifts for you!  We call them “Bright Spots” – short videos led by Grace Art Camp artists to inspire creative fun for you and your families. Look for a new Bright Spot in September!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel – it helps us get ‘extras’ such as hot-linked buttons.  And please tag and share your creations with us @graceartcamps 

Thanks to all those who have contributed to help us produce this fun online content series!  If you have not had a chance yet, please consider donating to the Grace Art Camp Summer 2020 Creativity Fund. Visit our Contribute page to donate.  We are so grateful for your support!