Summer Art Program on Long Island
An Outdoor Summer Arts Camp Experience
Usdan campers love the Art Department because of its diverse course offerings, incredible teachers, and the opportunity it provides to make friends who share their passion for creating.
With offerings from Comic Art to Metalsmithing, the department allows students to spend their days engaging in a combination of direct instruction by experienced art educators and professional artists, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. Students from beginner to advanced are welcome!
Dotted with open-air studios with large skylights that let in natural light and courtyards with outdoor workspaces, the Art Department’s section of campus provides constant inspiration through the nature that surrounds us.
Summer Camp Busing for Long Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens Kids
For over fifty years, Usdan has offered an enriching summer camp experience to children all over the region, from Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn in New York City, to Port Washington and Huntington, and all over Nassau and Suffolk counties. Usdan offers busing to and from camp from convenient central pickup locations. For more information on busing, please visit our Transportation page.
Classes
Art Adventure
4-Week A
Major: Grades 2–4
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 2–4
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
An exploratory experience for young artists led by knowledgeable art educators and professional artists. Investigate the full spectrum of Usdan’s offerings in visual art—including drawing, painting, and sculpture—for a comprehensive and immersive summer arts program. Both traditional and contemporary media and practices are covered in a fun and playful manner that is perfect for our Partners in the Arts and Junior students.
Art Adventure students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome.
“You do a lot of fun things, and you have amazing teachers, friends, and things to do!”
—Penina
“You get to experience all kinds of art in just one class.”
—Sara
Ceramics
4-Week A
Major: Grades 6–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 6–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Explore and create traditional and experimental pottery, stoneware, and earthenware under the guidance of an experienced arts educator and professional ceramicist. While focusing on hand-building and throwing on the potter's wheel, students study ceramic design, sculpture, and glaze technology.
Ceramics students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome.
While we offer this Major for the 4-week sessions, we recommend taking it for the 8-week session to get the full exposure to this unique art-making process.
“Doing a combination of things in one subject is exciting. I loved hand-building and glazing.”
—Eleanor
“What I liked most was that there was lots of experimentation and access to supplies.”
—Nicole
Comic Art
4-Week A
Major: Grades 3–12
Minor: Grades 3–12
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 3–12
Minor: Grades 3–12
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Graphic novels and comics—and the mythology behind them—are heavily ingrained in pop culture. Learn cartooning and graphic-novel story development while sharing resources that inspire you. Develop and design your own creative comics from conception to finished product, while practicing graphic design techniques and using color theory.
Comic Art students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction by experienced art educators and professional comic artists, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
“We learned techniques and were also free to work on our own stuff.”
—Anya
“We are able to freely design all genres of comic art.”
—Ashton
Metalsmithing
4-Week A
Major: Grades 4–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 4–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Learn to design and create art from metal with basic metalsmithing skills and techniques under the guidance of an experienced arts educator and metalsmith. Create your own unique sculptures, jewelry, mobiles, and more through hammering, raising, chasing, soldering, acid-etching, bezel-stone-setting, and bead-stringing.
Metalsmithing students spend their days engaging in a combination of direct instruction, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
“Metalsmithing is a class where you can experiment, and it's really fun. I liked the whole atmosphere of the class and that you have a lot of freedom to try new things.”
—Madison
“There are few limitations, lots of freedom, lots of variety of projects ... and blowtorches.”
—Margot
“You can’t do this at home!”
—Samuel
Painting & Drawing
4-Week A
Major: Grades 2–12
Minor: Grades 2–12
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 2–12
Minor: Grades 2–12
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Painting & Drawing includes the fundamental ingredients of any visual artist’s education, taught by experienced art educators and professional artists. Explore your individual interests and develop your own creative style as you learn traditional and contemporary techniques and concepts in two-dimensional art through media such as acrylic, watercolor, ink, graphite, and more. Create your own life drawings, landscapes, portraits, and abstract works, all while gaining exposure to a variety of artists and practices.
Painting & Drawing students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
“I was able to express myself freely.”
—Abigail
“My favorite thing was the guidance I received from the teacher and my peers.”
—Eleanor
Photography
4-Week A
Major: Grades 4–12
Minor: Grades 4–9
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 4–12
Minor: Grades 4–9
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Dive deep into the fundamental principles of composition and lighting with Usdan’s woodland campus as your backdrop. Mac computers and Photoshop are used in this Major for imaging, photo enhancement, printing, and digital presentation.
Photography students spend their days in the studio and around campus engaging in a combination of direct instruction by experienced arts educators and professional photographers, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
Students supply their own digital camera. A limited number of cameras are available to lend out if necessary.
“I loved all the fun projects we did, the fun photo walks, and how much I learned. Teachers were amazing too.”
—Sophie
“My favorite part of Photography was the collaborations between students and with other classes.”
—Danielle
Portfolio Development (NEW)
4-Week A
Major: Grades 8–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 8–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Creating an artist portfolio is an integral part of being an established visual artist. This Major will allow budding young artists to begin their personal portfolio or perfect an existing portfolio that showcases their passion for the fine arts.
Portfolio Development students spend their days in the studio creating new pieces in a variety of media and sharing and reflecting on their body of work as a whole. As students create new artworks to add to their portfolios, they focus on demonstrating a breadth of artmaking styles and an understanding of materiality. Under the guidance of an experienced arts educator and professional artist, and with additional support from fellow focused young artists, students receive personalized feedback and direction toward building a body of work that displays their knowledge and abilities and can be used for future applications.
At their end of the session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. This is a course for experienced young artists who are serious about the development of their portfolios. Students are asked to submit a short statement of purpose shortly after enrollment.
Sculpture
4-Week A
Major: Grades 2–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 2–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Sculptors learn the techniques of creating three-dimensional art with wood, air-dry clay, plaster, wire, metal, and more. Inspiration is all around as students experiment with new materials and imagery—both representational and abstract—and work together with classmates to produce large-scale installations and sculptures.
Sculpture students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction by experienced art educators and professional sculptors, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. At the end of their session, students have the opportunity to celebrate their work by participating in the Art Parade, Open Studios day, or a celebration with their class in-studio. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
“In this class you can use different materials to create cool sculptures. I LOVED working with mixed media.”
—Emile
Sewing & Fashion Design
4-Week A
Major: Grades 4–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
4-Week B
Major: Grades 4–12
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
1-Week Rec
MAJOR - N/A
MINOR - N/A
REC - N/A
Create your own personal style and wearable art from concept to construction under the guidance of experienced arts educators and professional fashion designers. Students learn sewing techniques including hand sewing and machine sewing. They have the opportunity to celebrate their creations at the end of the session in our annual Usdan Fashion Show.
Sewing & Fashion Design students spend their days in open-air studios engaging in a combination of direct instruction, studio work time, collaboration with other young artists, and sharing and reflecting on their work. All levels welcome. Classes are grouped according to age division and grade.
“We were so expressive in our pieces and were able to accomplish so much.”
—Aaliyah
“I enjoyed learning to sew quickly and confidently so I can sew things on my own in the future.”
—Gari