Camp Life is Handmade
There was a little bit of Potter Mania at Rockbrook today. Marking the release in theaters of the final Harry Potter film, we decided to decorate RBC in all things HP. We of course had plenty of campers and counselors dressing up as characters from the series— lots of maroon and gold, green and black stripes, Harry Potter shaped eye glasses, and lightning bolt shaped scars (drawn with dark eye liner or paint) on dozens of foreheads. Some of the campers clearly planned for this day because their costumes included more elaborate hats, capes, wigs and make up. Girls were decorating magic wands, and carrying them around, would shout out spells now and then with a sly giggle and in their best English accent. Several of the counselors and the Hi-Ups really pulled out the stops by decorating the dining hall like the Great Hall of the Hogwarts Castle: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, all represented. The equestrian staff even put together a game of Quiddich for the girls, keeping the theme going. This involved riding around a series of cones and, from atop their horse, trying to toss a small ball through a hula hoop at one end of the ring. The whole day was very imaginative and fun.
You may have noticed this from checking the online photo gallery, but one of the neat things about life at Rockbrook is how much time the campers here spend doing things with their hands. Everywhere the girls are making things, building things, and decorating things. All of the arts and crafts activities are examples of this (weaving, painting, sewing, ceramics, etc.), but so are the adventure activities (climbing and paddling, e.g.), the sports (archery and riflery, e.g.) and even the horseback riding. These girls are working with all kinds of physical materials, manipulating, shaping and arranging real, not virtual, things. They are, in this way, connecting to the physical world, often to nature, and to their own sensations and feelings.
What’s important about this “hands on” experience central to camp life is how much the girls really love it. This may be because the rest of the year lacks the same opportunity for kids to do much with their hands, and it’s simply novel and fun, but it could also be because camp is feeding a hunger. Perhaps kids need chances to work with their hands, to make things, to forge real connections with the physical world, and modern life, with its pre-processing of almost everything, is making “hand work” (working “by hand”) less common. The manual character of camp is satisfying an important need kids don’t even know they have. Instead, they simply know it’s really fun, really satisfying, to make stuff, whether it be a clay pot, a tie dye t-shirt, or even a magic wand. Maybe, we as human beings need this kind of manual experience, and we’ve forgotten it. Thankfully, there is camp to remind our children! As they grow older, we can hope they’ll remember the satisfaction they gained from working with their hands at camp. If so, I suspect they’ll be happier.
Square Dance!
A lot of climbing happens at Rockbrook. Everyday, in fact, there will be a group of girls climbing something, somewhere in camp. The most popular of these climbing activities is our Alpine Tower. It’s a unique high ropes course tower that is 50ft tall and is located in the woods behind our gym (here’s a map of camp to show you. The Tower is to the left on the map). There are dozens of ways to climb the Tower, from easy ladder-like routes to more gymnastic events that require more strength and daring. This makes it excellent for girls of all ages and something that’s always new exciting because there are plenty of new routes to tackle. When climbing, the girls are safely on belay, so they are also learning about the climbing equipment, safety rules, and belay commands. In case of rain, we can also move to the gym and hop on our climbing wall. It has several shorter routes up two faces and a corner. When the girls are ready for climbing a real rock, they can head up the trail above camp and climb our very own Castle Rock. There are six different fantastic climbs to choose from, right here in camp!
Another interesting phenomenon at camp these days is all the decoration going on. There’s evidence of creativity and imagination all over the place. For example, just about every wrist has several friendship bracelets adorning it (not to mention the “bend-a-back” bracelets girls receive as gifts for doing an unexpected good deed and the green waterslide/swimming bracelet). There are some really complicated patterns being made! In the dining hall, there are colorful painted posters from different special events and birthdays, and in the cabins, wonderful ceramics projects, baskets, drawings, and weavings are stacked up to bring home. I’m sure many will be treasured gifts for you.
Also today we had a special program available for the campers to learn about moss. A local moss expert, Annie Martin, came for the day to lead 4 “moss expeditions” where the girls hiked a bit to gather different varieties throughout the Rockbrook property. Then each camper made a miniature moss garden to demonstrate what they found. The different colors and textures of our local mosses make these gardens really cool.
After dinner, we another camp dance with a local boys camp, this time with High Rocks. Instead of modern music though, this dance was a square dance. We split the age groups again so our seniors could travel to High Rocks and their younger boys could come to Rockbrook. It took a little while for everyone to relax (seeing boys can jingle the nerves, apparently!), but once they heard the music and saw that it’s no big deal to be goofy holding hands and stomping your feet, and that it’s fine to “mess up” your do-si-do, the girls really had a good time. We took a break for cookies and lemonade, only to dance some more afterwords. And again for those girls who didn’t want to participate in the dance, we had an alternative; several counselors hung out with these campers and made friendship bracelets while listening to music. It was an exciting evening with lots of smiles and good feelings all around.
Make a Pillow!
Here’s a great camp crafts idea that you can do at home over the holidays. Make a pillow! Gather up scraps of cloth and decorative fabrics. Find some buttons, ribbon or yarn. And with a needle and thread, you are ready to sew. This is a simple hand sewing project that begins with laying out the shape of the pillow. Just a front and similarly sized back. But that’s just the start of it. The front and back can be an unusual shape (hearts! Circles! Diamonds!) Now comes the decoration, the different shapes sewn on top, the yarn letters that spell something, or the ribbon wrapping around the edge. These camp crafts ideas are virtually endless. When you have all the decoration done on each side of the pillow, you sew the front and back together leaving one side open. That’s where you then stuff the pillow with a polyester fiber to make it puffy and soft. Sew up that last opening and you’ve got a cool decorative pillow, designed and sewn by you!
Jump, Flip and Weave
We’re seeing great horseback riding down at the barn this session. Cara, our Equestrian Director, has been keeping everyone busy with three and sometimes four simultaneous riding classes going on each activity period of the day. The beginners have been riding our smaller ponies (e.g., Annie and Cool Beans) and learning to walk, start and stop them on command. Intermediate riders are working on their posting and canter technique. It seems everyone wants to learn how to jump too, so when the riding staff thinks they’re ready (being able to canter securely, for example), campers can begin learning jump techniques as well. There are several new skills involved in jumping, and the girls really work at it a long time before they actually jump an obstacle. What a thrill when a girl clears her first jump!
Everyday down at the Alpine Tower, groups of girls are tying into a belay rope and balancing their way to the top. Starting behind the gym, the walk leading to the tower is a magical, winding path through the woods with ferns, mosses and wonderful big trees. The tower is hidden in the woods and is such a surprise when you first see it along the trail— an impressive 50-foot structure of thick telephone poles bolted together in a complex triangular pattern of two inverted pyramids. There are ropes, cables and climbing holds arranged on each pole creating different routes to the top. Altogether, there are almost 100 different ways to climb up! The view from the top platform provides a nice birds-eye view of the treetops and of the “tiny people” on the ground. Coming down is also part of the fun. The belayers slowly lower the climbers on their belay ropes (which are rated to hold 7620 pounds, by the way!), stopping part way to let the girls do a “spiderman” flip if they want.
Over in the fiber arts cabin, “Curosty,” the girls are hard at work weaving. Our arts guru Kimberly has set up the looms to make belts at the moment, yarns and string woven into different colorful patterns. These table-top looms have 4 levers to press that change the warp and allow the shuttle to alternate through the “shed” (the space between the warp layers). It’s a little challenging to maintain an even amount of tension on the weft, but with practice that becomes easier. It’s fun to make a narrow project like a belt because it doesn’t take long to see progress as the woven pattern emerges. Seeing them at work, it’s easy to predict that weaving will become a lifelong hobby for some of the girls. That’s so great.
Dinner tonight was a special themed restaurant night called “A Night at the Oscars.” We sent out word for everyone to arrive at dinner dressed in their best red carpet attire, so we saw all manner of glamor, camp style. Outrageous wigs, audacious make up, sparkly dresses, and very fancy shoes emerged to transform the girls into parodies of Hollywood stars. The counselors, of course, were also dressed up, and as they served their cabin (a Restaurant Night camp tradition), they would impersonate certain famous actresses or movie characters. The food was also special: eggrolls, bacon-wrapped scallops, and Danish Havarti, bread, and Spanikopita. Liz had lemon bars for dessert too. Yum! The whole meal was a sea of energetic creativity, and very big fun.
Adventure and Ceramics
Early this morning, Clyde, Mallory and Lexie took a rock climbing trip over to the south side of Looking Glass Rock. This is probably the most famous rock climbing area in the southeast, a beautiful dome of gray and white granite popping out of the forest. There are several hundred climbing routes to choose from, including face climbs, crack climbs and even overhangs of varying difficulty. Some of the routes were first climbed back in the early 1970s, and now are considered “classic” by most climbers. Having all this variety is fortunate given the popularity of this area. Still, if there is a particular climb you have in mind, it pays to get out to the rock early. Our group pulled out of camp around 7:30am and since Clyde has more than 20 years experience climbing on Looking Glass, he was able to set up six different climbs. Some were a little more difficult than others, but all the girls were able to try all six. What a day of climbing!
Ah, lunch was another great surprise. This time it was shrimp Po-Boy sandwiches, homemade coleslaw, kettle chips and cut melon. With the regular salad bar stocked, we could add a little green to the plates as well. Rick’s homemade meals make it so easy to eat well at camp.
Over in the ceramics studios, we’re starting to see lots of colorful creations coming out of the kilns. This is exciting for the girls because there are so many steps leading up to their projects being completed… building the piece (hand or wheel-thrown), drying, bisque firing, glazing and then the high-temperature final kiln firing. Plus, it’s only at this last step that the glaze colors shine through. As you can see from this photo, the girls have been working on sculpting things— flowers, trees, bugs and so forth. I’ve also seen plenty of soap dishes, vases and bowls coming out of the kiln. Really cool stuff, for sure.
Make a Lanyard!
It just wouldn’t be camp without making a lanyard. That flat colorful cord, twisted and tied, seems to be a part of every girl’s summer arts and crafts. Even camp alumni speak fondly of learning to make decorative lanyards.
There are lots of patterns to tie also. Have you seen these four? That first pattern to the left is called the “Diamond Braid” or “Round Braid.” Like most of these braids, getting started is the hardest part. This one is unique too because it’s more braiding that tying knots, and will require a knot at the end to keep it from unraveling.
The second one is usually called the “Cobra Braid” because it makes a flat lanyard reminiscent of a cobra’s head. Some people also call it the “Ladder Knot.” If you know how to tie a square knot, or even how to tie your shoes, you’ll be able to make this lanyard.
The third pattern is probably the best known camp lanyard pattern. Known as the “Box Braid” or the “Square Braid,” it makes a regular 4-sided strand. The important things for this arts and crafts project is keeping your strands straight and your knots tight.
The last pattern shown here is a variation on the box braid, and is usually called the “Round Braid.” To make it, use the same 4-strand weaving knot, but each new knot makes a slight turn crossing over (rather than parallel to) the previous knot. Like all these patterns, you repeat the knot and braiding over and over until your lanyard is long enough or you run out of cord.
Don’t forget that these are just starting points. You can combine them, switch from one the other, add a twist to a strand, or maybe even add a bead to create your own summer arts and crafts project. Go ahead and experiment, and you’ll have something really cool.
Camp Music Video: Crafts!
A musical short featuring a few of the crafts at Rockbrook.
Fun Arts and Crafts
Here is one of the arts and crafts activities the girls enjoyed this summer at camp. Can you tell what it is? Pine cones tied to a branch with string— it’s a mobile. What’s fun is using different sized pine cones and then arranging them with different lengths of string. When the stick has more than one branching part, even better! This kind of craft activities is really like making a sculpture. It’s putting three-dimensional objects together to end up with some cool art. One girl turned her mobile into a bird feeder by adding some peanut butter and birdseed to the pine cones. Functional art too! Arts and crafts are always fun at camp.
