Summer Camps

Clay Camps in the Warehouse District

This will be the 13th year holding summer camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio!

Located in a beautiful 100+ year old warehouse in Peoria's Warehouse District. 

Instructors Jacob Grant and Kyla Cadwell co-teach this Camp. 

The clay/pottery instructor for the camps will be Master Potter, Jacob Grant.  Jacob is the owner of Wheel Art and has over 25 years of experience in clay and over 20 years of experience teaching art to people of all ages and walks of life. Jacob attended Bradley University for his M.F.A., worked and taught for several Peoria institutions, such as the former Lakeview Museum (now Peoria Riverfront Museum), and the Peoria Art Guild.  Grant has displayed and sold his work around the world since 2000 at farmer's markets, art fairs and festivals, through private commissions, large indoor expositions, galleries, and museums. Inspiration for Jacob's artwork comes from his love of history (both local and world), nature, and human interactions and activities, as well as teaching.  

Kyla Cadwell will teach students to work in other mediums separate from, and also complimentary to our projects in the clay. Each week will have its own theme, which you can read more about in the camp descriptions below.  Kyla is a passionate creator with over 15  years of experience in art education. She studied art at both Illinois Central College and Bradley University, which included learning ceramics from  Jacob in 2010. She has taught art to people of all ages, in many settings, including Montessori School of Peoria, Peoria Lakeview Museum, the 21st Century Program, Cornerstone Academy of Performing arts and most recently here at Wheel Art Pottery Studios and through her art class business, Art with Kyla.  Kyla's peaceful approach to teaching takes inspiration from her own experiences in creativity, the work of Maria Montessori and her extensive studies on principles of art therapy. In her personal work, Kyla is a multidisciplinary artist who is inspired by nature and is constantly finding her way back to wild and primitive ways of creating beauty. 

Jacob and Kyla share a teaching philosophy that creativity is best learned through independent experimentation and trial and error, alongside the guiding belief that humans learn best when they have agency over their unique creative path. 

In a fun and entertaining way, campers will learn some science about what clay is, where it comes from, how it becomes a finish ceramic object and what it means for a pot to be truly "functional." 

Campers will learn the correct basics, and work on developing the correct skills of making pottery using both hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques.  Yet focus is never on the finished piece.  Grant's distinct style of teaching encourages students to learn through "play." With his years of experience teaching, Jacob has come to understand people learn much quicker and enjoy the process more if they embrace making mistakes and learning from them.  Jacob gives students time to try the techniques he demonstrates, encouraging them to try and fail, and to "make a big mess." After time, he will give students assistance, when and if needed, to create objects the children are happy with and will enjoy for years.

Each camp has a different focus of forms created.  We also play games and have time set aside for hanging out/playing/fellowshipping with other campers. 

Campers will take hikes through the Peoria Warehouse District. They will learn about the relevance of these buildings to Peoria's rich history and the significance of Peoria, itself.

Students will create 1-2 keepable clay pieces each camp day, that stay at the studio, have finish work, glazing and firings done to them, and are picked up at a later date.  Functional forms created will be food-safe, dishwasher-safe, microwave safe. 

Campers will also experience other media through projects provided by Art with Kyla. See descriptions on the form below for the different camp options.

Campers need to bring a lunch every day except for the last day (we do a pizza party). 

To Register fill out the form at the bottom of the page.  After review of your application and space available in the camp, you will receive an email confirming your registration, and an invoice which you can pay online with card.