About
Camp Brushstrokes offers hands-on art activities including pottery, wet clay, mosaics, glass, watercolor, acrylic, drawing, book making, pottery painting, pinch pots, slab building, coil-built forms, graphic novels, poster design, pen and ink illustration, painting, and ceramics. The program includes themed weeks such as MY LIFE AS AN ARTIST, BOTANICAL BRUSHSTROKES: ART FORMS IN NATURE, ARTY EINSTEIN, Birds, Bugs, and Beasts, ART OF THE WORLD, MOVEMENTS IN MODERN ART, CREATIONS IN CLAY, ILLUSTRATION, FUN FONTS, and COMICS, and FINE ART: DRAWING & PAINTING.
• Ages: 7–14 years old
• Schedule: Mid-Year Camps for ages 10–14 run as one-day and weeklong school break sessions; Summer Camp Brushstrokes for ages 7–9 meets in weekly camps daily from 9 am–3 pm; After School Classes for ages 10–14 run from 4–5:30 pm; Summer Workshops for ages 10–14 meet daily from 9 am–3 pm for set date ranges.
• Price: $20/hour for After Care from 3–6 pm; $60 for an entire day of After Care on ActivityHero; $18 per person studio fee for unlimited studio time and all paints, glazes, and firing; pottery pieces range from $11–$110, with an average price of $25 for items such as mugs, plates, bowls, boxes, banks, or figurines.
After Care from 3–6 pm includes free time activities, and kids may paint additional pottery if parents designate a budget, with budgets noted at drop off and balances paid at pick-up. Brushstrokes was founded in 1995 by ceramic artists Nancy Selvin and Kevin Nierman (of Kids ‘n’ Clay), and the studio is owned by artist Jessica Abbott Williams (Jessie), a graduate of the Ceramics Department of the California College of the Arts in Oakland. The staff consists of working artists who are described as being there to inspire and facilitate the creative experience, and the studio also runs a high school work training program and a career path for working artists.
Brushstrokes states that its mission is to create an atmosphere that is beautiful, inspiring, relaxing, and hospitable where visitors can express their creativity through hands-on art activities, and to serve as a drop-in studio space where the community, friends, and families can connect through making art. The organization reports involvement in the wider East Bay community, including a partnership with the Alameda County Community Food Bank in which children at local schools paint over 500 bowls per year for the annual Empty Bowls ACCFB fundraiser, with Brushstrokes donating time and materials for this project, and membership in Buy Local Berkeley.
One parent testimonial describes Brushstrokes Art Camp as an “incredible experience” for 9- and 11-year-old children, highlighting themed weeks on topics such as Nature, Animals, and Art Techniques and a wide range of materials, and noting that sessions for older children offer “the perfect mix of focus and freedom.” Another testimonial from a participant named Tam states that the art at Brushstrokes “encompassed so much more” than anticipated and included exposure to new media and feedback from artists of all levels, while a testimonial from Dina states that attending and later working at Brushstrokes had a “huge impact” on her life as an artist and influenced her decision to become a Studio Arts major in college.
Last updated June 16, 2026.
• Ages: 7–14 years old
• Schedule: Mid-Year Camps for ages 10–14 run as one-day and weeklong school break sessions; Summer Camp Brushstrokes for ages 7–9 meets in weekly camps daily from 9 am–3 pm; After School Classes for ages 10–14 run from 4–5:30 pm; Summer Workshops for ages 10–14 meet daily from 9 am–3 pm for set date ranges.
• Price: $20/hour for After Care from 3–6 pm; $60 for an entire day of After Care on ActivityHero; $18 per person studio fee for unlimited studio time and all paints, glazes, and firing; pottery pieces range from $11–$110, with an average price of $25 for items such as mugs, plates, bowls, boxes, banks, or figurines.
After Care from 3–6 pm includes free time activities, and kids may paint additional pottery if parents designate a budget, with budgets noted at drop off and balances paid at pick-up. Brushstrokes was founded in 1995 by ceramic artists Nancy Selvin and Kevin Nierman (of Kids ‘n’ Clay), and the studio is owned by artist Jessica Abbott Williams (Jessie), a graduate of the Ceramics Department of the California College of the Arts in Oakland. The staff consists of working artists who are described as being there to inspire and facilitate the creative experience, and the studio also runs a high school work training program and a career path for working artists.
Brushstrokes states that its mission is to create an atmosphere that is beautiful, inspiring, relaxing, and hospitable where visitors can express their creativity through hands-on art activities, and to serve as a drop-in studio space where the community, friends, and families can connect through making art. The organization reports involvement in the wider East Bay community, including a partnership with the Alameda County Community Food Bank in which children at local schools paint over 500 bowls per year for the annual Empty Bowls ACCFB fundraiser, with Brushstrokes donating time and materials for this project, and membership in Buy Local Berkeley.
One parent testimonial describes Brushstrokes Art Camp as an “incredible experience” for 9- and 11-year-old children, highlighting themed weeks on topics such as Nature, Animals, and Art Techniques and a wide range of materials, and noting that sessions for older children offer “the perfect mix of focus and freedom.” Another testimonial from a participant named Tam states that the art at Brushstrokes “encompassed so much more” than anticipated and included exposure to new media and feedback from artists of all levels, while a testimonial from Dina states that attending and later working at Brushstrokes had a “huge impact” on her life as an artist and influenced her decision to become a Studio Arts major in college.
Last updated June 16, 2026.
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