Summer Arts ’23
For its 14th year, Buxton’s Summer Arts is excited to offer programming for children, ages 6 and up. The programs will run from 10:00AM – 3:00PM each day, with an hour for lunch, when campers will picnic outside and engage in supervised interactive games and activities on Buxton’s pastoral campus. A small, afternoon snack and all other materials are provided. With any questions, please contact Peter Smith, Summer Programs Director: peter.smith@buxtonschool.org
Arts & Ceramics – July 17- 21 & August 7-11
Come join Joseph Messer and Olivia Brooks for an adventurous week of making unique art and getting messy while exploring ways to artistically express oneself! All classes will be structured with ample opportunity to find one’s creative voice while working with fabulous tactile materials. Ceramics will include learning to throw on the wheel, making functional and abstract sculptures with coils, slabs, colored slips, and glazes. Studio Arts will include fiber arts, painting, crafting with recycled materials, drawing comics, bookmaking, printmaking, & more. A casual culminating art show will take place Friday at the end of the day. Ages 6-13, class size limited to 16
Joseph Messer is a artist and writer from Waveland, Mississippi. He is the 2022 recipient of Walton County Artist of the Year and has exhibited his photographs in galleries across the Northeast. He is a recent graduate of Williams College and is currently on the faculty at Buxton School. His main focus is photography, but he has also worked in painting, drawing, performance and sculpture. He is interested in the use of alternative methods for making photographs and how art and writing can intersect.
Olivia Brooks is a potter and educator from Berkeley, California. She first discovered ceramics as a high school student at Buxton School, and has worked with clay ever since. She received a BA from Bennington college with an emphasis in ceramics in 2016 and a teaching credential from Mills college in 2020. Her last few years in California were spent developing her studio practice, teaching clay classes to adults and children, and furthering her knowledge of kiln operation and glaze chemistry. Olivia’s focus is on ceramics for daily use in domestic spaces. Her work consists mainly of functional forms for the table.
REGISTRATION IS FULL FOR AUGUST 7-11
IT’S THYME TO COOK – July 24-28 and August 14-18
It’s Thyme to Cook! Get your Mise en Place: Join Buxton School Chef, Heather Mumford, for a week dedicated to the most fun (and tasty) art of all: CULINARY ARTS! From Brunoise to Béchamel, we’ll learn the basics of cooking and kitchen skills, while taking an in-depth look into the art of culinary. We will also incorporate Farm-to-Table by sourcing ingredients from Buxton’s very own garden! For beginners or the already established young home chef, there is something for everyone at culinary camp! Ages 8-12, each class is limited to 6.
For the week of July 24-28, we will be offering a beginners’ class for those children completely new to the culinary world and who are looking for a way to get started in the kitchen. This class will teach food and equipment safety, basic skills and simple, healthy recipes to get them acclimated to the kitchen atmosphere. Limited to six.
For the week of August 14-18, the class will be for more advanced students. This will be a week of honing their culinary skills and learning more intricate dishes and practices. If your child has already taken Heather’s class, is already fond of whipping up dishes at home, or is obsessed with Chopped or MasterChef Junior, then this is the class for them. Limited to six.
Heather Mumford has been a food service professional for over twenty years, the last six of which have been spent working with children of various ages. She has worked in a broad spectrum of kitchens, from mom-and-pop, to corporate, to schools. While vegetarian cooking is Heather’s strong point, she thrives on learning new techniques and embraces culinary challenges in all aspects of cuisine.
Both Sessions for summer ’23 are fully enrolled
GUITAR! AUGUST 7-11
Join us on the bucolic Buxton School campus this summer for a week of guitar!
This weeklong day camp takes a fun look at all things guitar! Students will participate in group lessons that are geared toward the beginning to intermediate guitarist. They will learn single notes, basic music notation reading and tablature, basic open chords and multi-part songs. Students will also learn how to teach themselves their favorite songs using internet resources and will be immersed into the history and culture of both the acoustic and electric guitar. Music from all genres will be explored and listened to.
At the teacher’s discretion, there will be a short performance on the last day of the camp.
Open to ages 7-12, it is recommended that all students bring their own guitar. Electric and acoustic guitars are acceptable and all electric guitarists should bring a small amplifier. Class size limited to 8.
Jamie Choquette has been teaching the arts in public schools and higher education for 23 years. He is currently an arts and technology teacher at Taconic High School in Pittsfield and an adjunct instructor at MCLA. Also an active musician, Jamie has made numerous albums as a producer, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist and has most recently worked with the Greylock Opera Collective. Jamie is also active in the technical performing arts as an audio engineer, lighting designer and technical director. Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in fine & performing arts and a master’s degree in education from MCLA. In his spare time, he loves cooking, traveling, collecting art, reading and most importantly spending time with his family and his two pups, Orvin and Luna.
