NORWAY — Emily Cummings says as a kid growing up in Norway, she participated in just about very youth program available to her.

Emily Cummings, left, helps Lights Out Youth camper Olive Wall stretch her self-portrait in the sun to dry during day one of the two-week art camp. Cummings established the program with Lights Out Gallery as a way to give Oxford Hills kids creative options during the summer. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

Now a student at Boston University and home for the summer, Cummings is on a mission to provide the same for kids in Oxford Hills, expanding the day camp concept to include creative and artistic opportunities.

“There are plenty of fantastic athletic programs, but less for the kids who are more interested in art,” she said of her inspiration. “I wanted to create an opportunity for youth to get exposure to art beyond the art classes they get in school, to offer a summer program for the kids who are looking for these types of activities.”

For Cummings, opportunity met reality when she became acquainted with Lights Out Gallery, the Tannery Street organization building a community arts hub for in Norway.

With the support of Daniel Sipe, Lights Out founder and executive director, Cummings developed her arts activities program to run for two weeks last month.

With class studio space at Light’s Out not quite ready to host a new program, Alan Day Community Garden offered outdoor space for Cummings to hold the two-week art camp. For its inaugural run, Cumming organized the program into two cohorts, a morning session for kids between seven and 10, and another in the afternoon for older kids aged 11-14 .

“Using Lights Out’s artist network, we found four Maine artists to come teach two-day workshops to our kids,” she said. During week one Lights Out Youth campers worked on painting and print-making projects. Mosaics art and bookmaking classes were held during the second week.

The Advertiser Democrat stopped by Alan Day on the first day of art camp to see what the younger cohort was creating, and on its final session to meet the older kids.

Eight-year-old Bentley Abbott of Norway works on a project at Lights Out Youth Camp in July, with assistance from volunteer Elise Wilson. With Wilson having volunteered in Abbott’s first-grade class at Guy E. Rowe Elementary School, the two have been friends for a while. The two-week arts program was held at Alan Day Community Garden. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

On July 8 artists Eva Goetz of South Portland and Abbeth Russell of Portland worked with the age seven to 10 kids to create self-portraits. Their outlines were traced on wide rolls of paper and then each added their own details and styles to their image.

Next steps would be to trace outlines from behind to cut out and stuff for three-dimensional figures or design a landscape in the background as a collage. The kids were encouraged to explore the process with their own sense of color and perspective.

“I hadn’t done anything within the community for a while, so I wanted to come out for this one,” Goetz said, explaining how she had answered Cummings’ and Lights Out’s call for workshop presenters.

She and Russell have each worked with Lights Out to exhibit their work in the past.

Norway resident Kelli Shedd taught two days of printmaking later in the week, and the following Monday guest artist Georgia Ryan, also of Norway, led a workshop on mosaic art.

The final two days of Lights Out Youth Camp were spent with bookmaker and artist Sarah Shepley, an artist from South Paris.

“Yesterday we were sewing” Shepley said. “But today we’re making books that don’t need glue or sewing. It’s about folding. Once the books are put together, we’ll take a little time to embellish them – to do some collaging and drawing.

“We’re also making slip covers to put them into.”

Twelve-year-old Clyde van Loan of Norway said working on the mosaics was the best part of his experience.

“Being able to do the whole process, planning it out,” he explained. “And then I put in the grout and covered it with the Mod Podge (sealer). I really like how the Mod Podge works.”

Sarah Shepley, foreground, a bookmaker and artist, spent two days last month working with kids at Alan Day Community during Lights Out Youth Camp inaugural two-week art camp program. Also pictured from left, are young artists Tanner Collins of West Paris and Amber Toothaker of Waterford. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

“For me, the best part has been talking to the people who work here about their art and their own experiences with it,” added 12-year-old Haven Salo of Paris.” Just learning new projects and new art. There are more things you can do and more materials you can use than a pencil and paper.

“I’ve been doing art since pre-school. My favorite part is just creating stuff. There’s no real limit.”

Registrations for Lights Out Youth Camp & Classes exceeded Cummings’ expectations, with 40 signing up for 26 available slots.

“Thank you to our sponsors – Oxford Credit Union, New Balance and Western Maine Health,” she said. “We were able to offer this program completely free to our students. Both the affordability and lack of any programs like it in our area resulted in sign-ups at a higher rate than we ever expected.

“This was so exciting to see as it showed us we were meeting a serious need in our area. Our goal was to foster positive youth development through art and creativity, something the youth in our area previously have had little access to.”