Jamie (Horn) Johnston is an alumnus of Eagle Grove High School. For as long as she can remember, she has enjoyed arts and crafts, and now, as an adult, has even turned it into a paying side-gig. At the suggestion of another community member, she’s decided to share that passion for creativity with the youth of the Eagle Grove Area School District by offering a summer art camp at the Thor Park this coming Friday. In case of rain, they will meet in the basement of the Thor Hall.
“I finally decided I just needed to leap and give it a try,” said Johnston about the camp she is calling Random Crafts of Kindness. “I have always enjoyed being crafty and artistic and after working in a preschool classroom this spring, I felt a bit more confident in the idea of doing something like this. Plus, a new season of one of my favorite shows, "Making It" (a crafting competition) started recently and I feel so inspired when I watch it-I think that helped to give me that big push to finally just go for this and share my love of kindness and art with local youth.”
Johnston has already had a great response to the camp. For simplicity, she has divided the session into two groups. The first group (ages four through eight) will meet from 9 a.m. -Noon. The class is limited to a maximum of 12 participants. The second group (ages nine – 13) will meet from 1 – 4 p.m. with a maximum of 15. There is a nominal fee, but it is to cover the cost of craft supplies, snacks, and a T-shirt. Proceeds will also help with the “kindness” portion of the art program – establishing a Thor lending library. A lending library is a place where gently used books, magazines, etc. can be placed for others to take and enjoy for free. When they are finished, they are encouraged to put it back in the lending library for someone else to read.
“We are going to do some fun, simple crafts that will allow the kids to still use their own creativity, but I also want to put an emphasis on crafts that the campers can either keep for themselves or share with others to brighten their day,” said Johnston, also tying in with the "Random Crafts of Kindness" theme.
Johnston said that if the interest is there, she would be willing to consider holding another camp, possibly even before school starts.
“I think it could be really fun to always tie a camp like this into doing crafts as well as working on a project that will benefit the community (like the lending library we are doing in Thor),” she said.
Of course, she stresses that although this camp is being held in Thor (that’s where she and her family live), it is open to all area kids who are interested.
Johnston, who grew up in Thor, said she has many fond memories of her childhood and all the fun activities and events that she and her family were able to participate in over the years.
“Being part of the generation here now with kids growing up, I feel compelled to try and come up with fun ideas to keep our local youth involved and enjoying our little town,” she said. “I am excited to try and bring kids (to Thor) to enjoy our awesome park. I have always thought it would be fun to add a lending library to our park but then after watching an episode of Making It one night, everything just kind of clicked for me and I thought it would be a great idea to try and mix an art camp in with getting this lending library up and going.”
Not long after deciding to host the Friday, July 23 camp, an anonymous sponsor reached out to her to donate sponsorship for three participants who may not otherwise be able to afford the camp. Local designer Mollie McGrath (also a graduate of Eagle Grove High School) also reached out to her and offered to design a logo for the event.
“That just made my heart burst because my goal with this is to share my love of art but also sharing the importance and great feeling of sharing kindness with others,” said Johnston.
If you are interested in sending your child, message Johnston to check on availability!
