Kids create magic during winter break

1/2/2018
BY JAVONTE ANDERSON
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • CTY-wizardcamp02p

    Anne Oliver, 9, of Perrysburg, with one of the wands she is creating. At right is Ava Boes, 7, of Sylvania. The University of Toledo hosts Wizard Camp 2.0 in Toledo, Ohio on January 2, 2017.

    The Blade/Jetta Fraser
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    • In a classroom typically reserved for University of Toledo art students, roughly a dozen school-aged children gathered for arts and crafts and to get an escape from reality.

    The University of Toledo Department of Art is hosting two four-day workshops for students at home during winter break. The workshops are held in the UT Center for the Visual Arts.

    Each day this week, the students, ages 7-13, will participate in two workshops. “Superhero Camp” in the morning and “Wizard Camp 2.0” in the afternoon.

    “This isn’t like school for the kids,” said Alissa Cox, the workshop teacher. “We’re here to have fun,” she said. 

    During the Superhero Camp Tuesday, students created their own superhero character, outfit and comic design. The Wizard camp featured sewing magic puppets, creating a spell book, and a magical traveling case.

    But the highlight of Tuesday’s workshop were students handcrafting and decorating magic wands.

    “I only know two spells,” said 7.5-year-old Maddy Roope, as she waved her newly made wand.

    She added the magic word “Accio” allows her to bring any item to her, and she knows another spell that allows her to “shock people to get them away” from her.

    After creating their wands some kids fantasized about creating a dragon, an elf or a mermaid.

    “I think the art department is interested in engaging with the community and this allows them to create an awareness for the department,” Mrs. Cox said.

    The workshops are $60 for one or $105 for both.

    For more information and to sign up, parents should visit the UT Art Department workshops web page at: http://www.utoledo.edu/al/svpa/art/galleries/artworkshops.html. Or call the UT Department of Art at 419-530-8300.

    Contact Javonte Anderson at janderson@theblade.com, 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @JavonteA.