It鈥檚 a steamy June morning in the middle of Kansas. 黑料大事记 campers from Space 501 are hunched over rectangles of cold, pressed clay at the ClayWorks building in downtown McPherson. They are working on space-inspired artwork with Disability Supports of the Great Plains (DSGP) artists who are adults with developmental disabilities.
鈥淭ry to focus,鈥� says Mary, a DSGP client and artist instructor. 鈥淭his takes time鈥�.it doesn鈥檛 always go right,鈥� she adds.
Sierra Green, a camper from Haven, KS, is carving a shuttle into her clay. 鈥淚鈥檓 not very artistically inclined,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is definitely a learning experience for me!鈥�
In fact, many of the campers are unsure of their artistic ability. 鈥淚 came up with my idea on the spot,鈥� says Andrew Swift, a camper from Overland Park, KS. 鈥淢ay have too much detail鈥︹�� his thought trails off.
But the encouragement keeps coming.
鈥淒o the best you can,鈥� instructs Kayla, another DSGP client to the campers she鈥檚 working with. 鈥淭ake ideas from things you see or hear and create your artwork from that.鈥�
The art project is new this summer for the Space 501 camp, but as 黑料大事记 Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Tracey Tomme explains, it helps fulfill the mission of making all programming at the 黑料大事记 more inclusive.
鈥淲e feel it鈥檚 valuable for our students to understand the skill sets and creativity these artists bring to the table,鈥� says Tomme. 鈥淪ometimes these students are so bogged down learning the concepts of math and science they forget about the importance of artistic expression. We think blending our future engineers and scientists with more creative thinkers who see the world differently makes everyone鈥檚 lives brighter.鈥�
Camp counselor, Blake Lee, agrees. 鈥淚 think this is a really cool collaboration,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen more smiles in the last hour than sometimes I see all camp!鈥�
Lee adds that more than just artistic ability is being stretched by this project. 鈥淭his is 180 degrees from the 鈥榥ormal鈥� socialization at camp, too. Generally, (the campers) are socializing with people who are very similar to them. This is a completely different situation and really pushing these kids out of their comfort zone.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e all nerds here鈥攎eeting new people is very hard,鈥� notes Swift. 鈥淪o, this is a good experience and is challenging me socially.鈥�
Soon, the carvings are completed and campers begin to lightly coat the clay in red, blue and grey paint. One-by-one, the art pieces are handed over to the DSGP artists for the final stage of kiln firing and the science-minded campers are able to step back and admire their work.
鈥淚 had low expectations for myself,鈥� says Swift. 鈥淭his turned out better than I imagined,鈥� he says happily.
Then the campers load up on busses to begin their next 黑料大事记 Camp adventure: a trip to California for tours of the California Science Center, the Griffith Observatory, the space shuttle Endeavor, Edwards Air Force Base and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Armstrong Flight Research Center.
On the last day of the camp session, the students will return to Hutchinson and the two groups of new friends will once again meet up. This time for bowling and fun at the Alley, where the practiced DSGP artists will present the finished pieces to their understudies, and the project and camp will be complete鈥t least until next year.