Sing Around the Camp Fire

The Camp Fire USA Centennial: the latest effort in our continuing series of artworks supporting worthy charitable organizations, this drawing celebrates 100 years of building healthy citizens through the Camp Fire organization's practical application of Work, Health and Love.

When complete, the image will accompany works by other area artists, taking part in a year-long calendar of events highlighting the organization’s rich heritage of providing quality children’s programs over an entire century. The idea is to depict 10 decades of childhood, illustrating the nature of the growing-up years, and the timeless relevance and importance of healthy youth development.

This is a first-round sketch I’ve been playing with, just to see how one might incorporate Camp Fire imagery into a campfire-shaped design. So far we have an historic progression of Camp Fire logos and rank insignia, and a few items representative of the Camp Fire watchword: WoHeLo (Work, Health, and Love). Scattered among these are a few non-specific items relating to art, music, writing, creative construction, and a telescope looking toward the future. (The smoke was a challenge at first, until I tried adding few Sparks, Stars, and strings of beads. Another strip of photo or movie film and a twisting music staff might also be incorporated here.)

At this stage, nothing is set in stone. This sketch is really just a glorified thumbnail study, to give us an idea of how a full-scale design might work. Keep watching. More sketches on the way.