A group of Logan County teens and pre-teens had the opportunity last week to immerse themselves in visual art, music and theater during the second annual Stress Less! Summer Arts Camp hosted by LoCo Art, where the enthusiastic campers also had the chance to learn from visiting artists who shared their varied areas of expertise.
One of the goals of the Stress Less! program offered throughout the school year and culminating with the summertime camp is to help young people build healthy coping strategies through creative expression, explained LoCo Art Co-Directors Jennifer Davis and Myles Bowers.
This year’s camp for grades 5-9 took a slightly different approach than the inaugural camp in 2024. Each day of the week, Monday through Friday, featured just one art form, instead of trying to do all three types of art — visual arts, music and theater — each and every day of the camp, the co-directors said.
“I think this year, the students have been able to focus on the enjoyment of what they’re doing and really immersing themselves in it, instead of having to rush to the next part of the programming for that day,” Bowers said.
“They’ve been able to whisk their worries away by being more focused on that topic of the day,” Davis agreed. “Devoting a whole day to one form of art has been really great.”
Bowers said the camp also grew in its second year to include campers from the majority of the county school districts and several homeschooled students, too.
“I’m very excited that we were able to reach so many different students all over Logan County.”
Wednesday morning, June 25, campers worked alongside visiting artist Richard “Duarte” Brown of Columbus at the Logan County Art Center adjacent to the Holland Theatre to create “button people” and develop storylines for their little characters, recognizing the value of family.
“My grandmother made ‘button people’ when I was young, and I’ve made them ever since,” said Brown, who has been a part of a wide variety of LoCo Art projects over the years, including the recent mural installation honoring The Mills Brothers in downtown Bellefontaine.
“They represent family and we take good care of them.”
Earlier in the week, the campers gleaned new skills on the harmonica through a session led by local musician Bob Lucas, who shared with the participants about the basic functions of the harmonica and taught them some basic blues licks. Each camper also received a harmonica to take home with them.
Fellow Columbus-based artist Vicki Murphy joined the Stress Less! Summer Arts Camp last week as well to share with the students about mosaic art. The youngsters enjoyed the messiness of grouting and then piecing together their own vibrant mosaic art to take home with them.
Murphy previously has partnered with Davis and her students at Benjamin Logan Schools to create permanent mosaic artworks in the school district.
Finally for the theater portion of the camp, Kris Swisher, Suzanne Dennis and Addy Passaro partnered during the program to teach students about a variety of valuable skills relating to theater and body movement, including the stress-relieving benefits of yoga.
Joining in for each of the camp sessions throughout the week was Alayna Levingston, a music therapist and also a case manager with Community Health & Wellness Partners of Logan County. She was able to provide mental health support and practical tools for the students.
Wednesday, Levingston led students through a flip book-making project, where they explored anger management and discussed emotions and ways to bring them back to ground level.
“She has a real gift of coming alongside the kids and providing them with age-appropriate coping skills,” Davis said.
In addition, Davis’ former BLHS art students Isaiah Stanford and Hailey Kennedy also assisted with the Stress Less! Camp. Stanford is currently studying art education at Bowling Green State University.
Community Health & Wellness Partners of Logan County and the Holland Theatre are partners for the Stress Less! Program, along with funding provided by the Mary Rutan Foundation and the Mental Health Drug & Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties.
“It’s a whole team of people who make this camp possible,” Davis said of the visiting artists and partner agencies who collaborate with LoCo Art.
For details regarding upcoming Stress Less! and other LoCo Art future programming, visit www.locoart.org/stressless or find LoCo Art on Facebook.
