I tend to think the popular imagination of summer camp doesn’t always jibe at Camp Nebagamon. We don’t wear uniforms, the pranks are relatively chaste and have to be run by administrators, and we don’t have a “rival” camp. Still, every so often I walk around the place and chuckle when a scene at camp looks like it came straight out of a summer camp movie. Yesterday, our Craftshop hosted tie-dye day, and it was exactly as you’d imagine. Energetic art staff stood on the porch of the shop demonstrating the tying techniques to the crowd of campers choosing their style – would it be a spiral or a heart, or a bullseye or a flying V, or something completely new? Piles of white t-shirts on the tables and rubber bands snapping as the campers began to fold and crumple the shirts as tightly as possible. Campers bring socks and underwear, white pillow cases, or Nebagamon hoodies that are due for a refresh. Out come the rubber gloves and the squirt bottles full of dye, and campers get to work. Red for the hearts, a dot of yellow to go with the blue for the camper trying to make the camp logo, and many rainbow spirals; campers get to really let their imaginations run wild with the design. Some get a little carried away and end up going the Pollock route, trading meticulous planning for whatever squirt bottle fits their fancy next. Of course, the gloves do a great job, but there will still be campers walking around for a few days with mottled, rainbow hands as a reminder of their artistic hard work (even if they wash them before every meal!).
And as I imagine it in the movies, next you snip the rubber bands and unfold the clothes, and ta-dah! A brand new tie dye t-shirt ready to sport through camp! Well… turns out, in reality that’s not quite how it works. The campers bag their shirts up and leave them to set for 24 hours. Then comes the process of washing the dye out, then fixing the remaining dye with a special detergent. Only after all of that are they ready to dry and wear. Washing shirts… laundry… that’s not on the project board. This part isn’t glamorous; I don’t think I’ve seen it in any camp movie, and I’ve seen a lot of camp movies. So of course, if you ask a camper at Nebagamon, they’ll tell you that the most fun part of our tie dye program is day two: the wash.
Washing t-shirts was the activity at Arts and Crafts this morning, following tying and dying yesterday, and our art staff go above and beyond to make it fun. We line all the campers up on benches seated in front of a five-gallon bucket, and pass each shirt down the line to rinse and wash. It’s a grand old time, singing songs and splashing in the buckets, making a bit of a mess, getting a little wet, and rinsing out the shirts. Campers are of course excited to see their own shirts, but no one goes so far as to sort through the mound of unwashed tie dye to find their own. They simply grab one off the top of the pile, regardless of whose it is, and get to washing. They’re seated side-by-side, Lumberjacks and Swampers, artsy frequent fliers and once-a-summer artists, working through the job together.
One by one, each shirt is finished washing and the campers unwrap and unravel and reveal the finished designs. The camper holding the unveiled shirt looks in the collar to find the sharpied name and cabin, calls it out to the whole group, and stands up on his bench displaying the shirt for all to see. They display their friends’ shirts one at a time so each shirt gets its own due. A chorus of oohs and aahs rises from the crowd and each design is peppered with compliments. “The color combination worked so well!” “Look at that tight spiral!” “That is beautiful!” The shared anticipation spills over as each camper gets to relish in their accomplishment in front of the crowd.
Our art staff make sure your camper will go home with more than just a tie-dye T-shirt at the end of the summer. The instruction is focused on making beautiful and thoughtful designs, so our campers learn real-life art skills and work on planning and designing a project. On day two, the laborious chores required to process the shirts are framed as shared responsibilities that help campers practice contributing to a group’s effort. Plus, the responsibilities are fun! Many hands don’t just make light work – they make fun work at the craftshop. And friendships are forged over the tie dye buckets on washing day as campers celebrate each other’s artistic skills.
Tie dye is a summer camp classic, it’s in all the movies, and it’s one of our campers’ favorites for good reason. And the very next day, we follow it up with what I would consider a Neabagmon classic: viewing all that we do here as an opportunity for meaningful lessons and rousing fun for our campers, day in and day out.
All is well in the Northwoods!