1. Make the space (literally) Marion has made a point of establishing an atmosphere in which kids feel free to try new things. "You know when the teacher is in overalls, it's not an uptight place," she says with a grin. Looking around the former barn she uses for the camp's main studio, you see paint splattered on the floor and messages, murals, and artwork on the walls. It's an inspiring place. Something about being surrounded by so many colors and patterns makes you want to pick up a brush and paint something yourself.

"You can get messy here!" chimes in one of the kids. "Messier than at school."

While not everyone has the benefit of a barn in their backyard, Marion encourages her campers' parents to carve out a creative space in their own homes, one where kids don't have to worry about keeping everything just so. "And really," she smiles, "all you need is a card table and a garage."

 
2. Provide the proper materials (they're not what you think) Having the "right" materials on hand can also contribute to that spirit of creative freedom, and one of the biggest surprises in Marion's studio is her supply closet. She pulls back a curtain to reveal not expensive paints and fancy collage papers but piles of magazines and discontinued wallpaper books stacked next to bins of wood scraps, yarn, cardboard boxes, and more.

While she believes a few materials, such as good scissors and paintbrushes, are worth splurging on, recyclables are an artist's bonanza. More important, using such inexpensive items can foster risk taking in children by taking away the pressure to make something perfect: "The kids are looser because they're free to experiment and have something come out badly and do another one," says Marion. "The adults are looser because they didn't buy an expensive material they have to worry about getting their money out of." Marion holds up a box of (unused) disposable specula -- medical ear-probe covers -- donated by one of her camper's parents. "I don't see trash," she says. "I see treasure."

The kids seem to agree. That flotsam of daily life comes in handy for today's box sculpture project. Eleven-year-old Sierra McDonald scoops up wooden beads to build a tower and plant stand for her box-sculpture museum. Amy Hubbard, 10, sees hospital windows in a pile of toothpicks. And those specula? It turns out they make great ice-cream cones at the ice-cream shop 10-year-old Meghan Hamill is building.