June 6, 2001
Art program prevails after being painted into corner
Teacher finds sites to hold camp for children
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
When magic happens, you want the world to know about it.
Art teacher Merrily Bauer with the Grand Traverse Art Center has found out - again - that miracles do happen when you least expect them. As she began planning for her ninth year of summer art camp, she suddenly discovered that her camp did not have a home at the Art Center this year. Scrambling to find a place for her three-week camp, which last year was filled and had a waiting list, she began calling everyone she knew and many she didn't know, asking for help.
After 20 'Nos,' she finally got one 'Yes,' a week could be held at the Twin Lakes Campground in Long Lake Township. Thrilled with the setting, including a log cabin and 180 acres to roam with her students, Bauer said everything began happening at once.
The Traverse Area District Library agreed to host two weeks and Lakeland Elementary School and Town Hall, both in Elk Rapids, each signed on for a week.
From a three-week art camp with no home she suddenly found herself creating a five-week camp, spread over the summer, with unlimited potential for art discovery indoors and out.
"All these people have been cooperating mightily to make this very special event happen," said Bauer, who pulled the camp together in just two weeks. "All the locations boast an outdoors area so weather permitting we will be outdoors painting and sketching. But rain or shine we have a space."
Then grants began coming in, from the Michigan Council for Art and Cultural Affairs and the Traverse Area Arts Council, cutting the price of a week in half for students. This is the first major collaboration between the Grand Traverse Art Center and the Traverse Area Arts Council and Bauer is thrilled that the local arts community is uniting for the children.
"I personally love collaboration, I think it is the wave of the future and I think it is more fun for everyone," said Bauer, who has been teaching art for 22 years.
Bauer has also lined up an assistant and 10 youth volunteers, all of whom have been studying with her for at least three years.
Aspiring artist Gretchen Hein, 12, will be one of Bauer's 'angel's, what she calls her dozen teen helpers during Art Camp. They will assist younger students while completing projects themselves plus help with clean up duties, a perfect arrangement for all involved.
"I really like art, she teaches us different techniques every week," said Hein, who has been taking Creative Child Art classes with Bauer for three years.
Each week will have a different theme and focus on different media, ranging from clay, watercolor and collage to inks, sculpture and beach art. Themes include time travel and the rainforest. Bauer has planned extra projects for each session to keep students at all levels interested and doing something. She also hopes to create at least one quilt top during the camp, with all the students participating.
The ocean will be a unifying theme for the summer, reflecting Bauer's own love of the ocean, which she discovered on a trip to a coral reef four years ago. She also plans to correspond with artist Wyland, famous for his art and murals about the ocean, hoping that he will respond to enthusiastic students from his native state of Michigan.
"My first trip to the coral reef, in the Loughkey National Marine Sanctuary in Florida, was four years ago and it changed my life," Bauer said. "The colors of God's creation were just fabulous, it is so beautiful and I dream about it all the time."
The Summer Art Camp runs Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on five different weeks, with the first week running June 18-22. Each week costs $55 and will be held at a different location. For more information, registration flyers are available at the Traverse Area District Library and the Grand Traverse Art Center. For more information, call the Grand Traverse Art Center at 941-9488.