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³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp

³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp is a fully-supervised day in the art studio that nurtures seeing, exploration, and creativity in young people.

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About

³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp is a fully supervised day in the art studio that nurtures creativity, community, and an appreciation for the creative process. No experience or expertise is necessary, just enthusiasm for the process of making art and a willingness to experiment with new ways of expressing creativity. Each session is designed to work as a separate unit, but a child may enroll in more than one session as long as they are the appropriate age at the time the camp starts. Most camp sessions will take place in the Edwards Center for Art and Dance on the ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ College campus. As weather permits, some sessions will take place outdoors on the campus.

Each year we typically organize the sessions into three age groups, 6-7, 8-10, and 11-13. (You may register for the corresponding age group if your child is already the required age OR will be the minimum required age for that group on or before October 15, 2025.)

The camp day is from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Each day during your student's week-long session there is a different morning and afternoon session for each age group, with a lunch break in between. The goal is to provide a robust art experience with deep engagement and a sense of joy and belonging.

2025 sessions will take place during the last four weeks of July.
  • July 7 - 11
  • July 14 - 18
  • July 21 - 25
  • July 28 - August 1

Registration

Registration for this summer's Art Camp will open April 2 at 11:00 am. The link to the registration page will be posted here at that time. 


Tuition and Materials Fee

Tuition for each 5 day/all day session for 2025 is $400.
All art supply and reception costs are included in the tuition fee charged for any given week. Fees may vary for each session to accommodate the length of session, guest artists, and materials needed. Campers would need to bring their own snacks and/or a bagged lunch.

To stay in touch with the latest Art Camp happenings, please e-mail us at artcamp@bowdoin.edu to be added to our mailing list!

Our tax ID number is 01-021-5213.

Session Descriptions 


Announcing the 2025 Summer Art Camp descriptions!


About Our 2025 Instructors and Assistants

Josie Colt (she/they)

I am a Portland Based artist, educator and community organizer with a love for visual storytelling. My mediums range from puppetry to comics to painting portraits on the fly. I enjoy sharing my love of art with kids and young adults in schools and summer camps and feel passionate about making art accessible to everyone. I am so excited to be returning to ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Art Camp for my fourth year and can’t wait to use our imaginations to create something awesome together!

Ted de Mille (he/him) and Susan Pelis (she/her)

Hi, I am Ted DeMille, a teacher, writer, musician, artist, a veteran of Art Camp for over twenty years . For forty years I have woven music, collage, painting, and drama into the curriculum of my elementary school classes in Massachusetts, Cape Elizabeth, The Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine, and most recently at 317 Maine Community Music. In 2007, I published the critically praised book Making Believe on Paper for Heinemann Press about how to teach young children to write quality fiction literature. As a musician I have performed all over New England as a member of various roots music bands, and as a solo artist. I have also recorded several compact discs and written over one hundred songs for kids and grown-ups. Currently at 317 I teach Family Classes, ukulele, and guitar to musicians aged one to eighty-one. I will be joined by my trusted partner Susan Pelis. Susan is an experienced teacher and collagist who has collaborated with me at Art Camp for over twenty years. Susan currently teaches second grade in Western Massachusetts and is a skilled practitioner of the Responsive Classroom approach. We can’t wait to meet you and your emerging artists!

Leonid Eichfeld (he/him)

Hello wonderful reader! My name is Leonid Eichfeld (he/him/his) and I am excited to be a teaching artist at ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp this year. I am a lifelong artist who was brought up in Southern and Midcoast Maine's vibrant arts community. As a seasoned interdisciplinary educator, I know play, collaboration, and creativity are integral to joyous learning. I am also a member of Inventing Trees puppetry troupe, blending together found object puppet making, community building, and performance arts. In my free time, when I’m not making art, I love exploring outside with friends.

Yasamin Holland (she/her)

Teaching art is a joy. I have taught pre-school through high school visual art and arts integration in public, private, and charter school settings. I worked in the education and development departments at the Denver Art Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I’ve worked as a freelance fashion stylist, designed children’s clothing, homeware, and co-produced a short film featured in Barcelona Arte Contemporaneo’s exhibition La Piel. When not teaching art or parenting my two children, I enjoy making sustainable embroidery, collage, and personal styling. I am interested in creating optimal conditions for learning, which includes an abundance of choice, positive support, community building, and an emphasis on the creative process. I have a longstanding passion for broadening young people’s perceptions of what art is and can be, what creativity is and can be. I have an MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado, Denver and seventeen years of teaching experience. During the school year I am the art teacher at Friends School of Portland. It is a pleasure to return as the director of the ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp for the fifth summer, along with an incredible team of artists and educators. I look forward to connecting with you this summer!

Sophia Kovacs (she/her)

I am a rising junior at Middlebury College in Vermont, but I’ve grown up in Bath, Maine. I am interested in studying climate science and am passionate about environmental justice and sustainability. I love art, especially collage, printmaking, and photography. My current endeavors include (but are not limited to) learning how to throw on a pottery wheel and shooting/developing my own film! When I’m not creating art, in my free time I enjoy being outside, cooking, and playing guitar. I’m returning to work at art camp for my fourth summer and can’t wait to meet you all!

Emma Paterson-Dennis (they/them)

Hia! My name is Emma, and I’m a printmaker, illustrator, bookmaker, and most of all a storyteller. I graduated from ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ in 2024 with a Visual Arts degree, and last summer I got to assist a couple weeks of this camp! I’m thrilled to be back as a teacher to share the joy and comfort making art brings me. When I’m not creating fantastical worlds and characters, or exploring this one’s wonders, I spend my time cooking and playing video games with my partner and their cat!

Rachel Alexandrou (she/her)

Hello, I’m Rachel Alexandrou. I am an interdisciplinary artist who uses my education in plant science to create experiential work about innovating human relationships to the natural landscape. I have been making wreaths and garlands for a decade. My botanical work has been featured at the Venice Biennale, Space Gallery (Portland, ME).  I teach foraging and craft workshops around Maine including Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and The Bernard Langlais Preserve and The Seguinland Institute.

Meagan Brand

Hello, I’m Meagan Brand, a visual artist and art educator based in Portland, and I’m so excited to be joining the arts education team at ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Summer Art Camp! As an educator, my philosophy stems from the importance of play and experimentation in learning, where children are guided by their own joy and curiosity. Throughout my life art has been a space for me to follow my interests and make meaning of the world around me, and it’s such an honor to be able to provide a space for young artists to express themselves as well. Outside of the studio I am an avid reader, hiker, and baker!

Alice Webber (she/her)

Hi all, my name is Alice and I am so grateful to be part of the ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Art Camp community! Most of my life I have leaned on art as the way to ground and center myself. As a kid, I'd steal away from the chaos of our bustling house to hide under my bed and make storybooks, design Barbie clothes, or just draw. After studying Fine Art at SUNY Purchase, I began working in the conservation field and have been able to combine my love of drawing and the outdoors through illustration endeavors and building trails, an art form in and of itself. Now, as a working mom with a busy family schedule, I cherish the evenings spent on projects, losing all track of time (and staying up way too late). My daughter and I have most recently been exploring watercolors, sewing, and lots of face-painting! I hope all our young artists can spend some time this summer drawing because we love to feel the pen move across paper, painting with every color because we love to see the whole page covered, and creating the time and space for crafting art because the joy of art is for everyone.