Thinking Outside, Inside and in Every Corner of the Box

When Claudia Engelbrecht's youngest daughter turned three, Engelbrecht, her husband and older daughter designed a maze of boxes for the kids to crawl through and explore.

"It was like a sea of cardboard when you walked into our house," Engelbrecht, who lives in Hastings, said.  "And the kids created their own world inside."

Inspired by the possibilities afforded to children and teens when given nothing more than: a cardboard box, paint and some items that anyone with a less discerning eye might call trash, Engelbrecht and two friends have started a new summer program in Hastings called Creation Integration.  Divided into one-week sessions, the camp asks participants to plan, sketch and design cardboard boxes, filling them with all kinds of art work that depict a particular theme. Then, on Friday, the boxes are all connected so that campers can crawl through, meditating on the unique feelings they experience in each one. 

"The idea behind Creation Integration was to combine our three backgrounds in architecture, writing and the fine arts to give kids the opportunity to create spaces that represent their imaginations," Engelbrecht said.

An art teacher by profession, Engelbrecht contributes a wealth of knowledge in painting and design, and her colleagues Janet Roseff, from Dobbs Ferry, and Deborah Jurkowitz, also from Hastings, introduce campers to architecture and storytelling. 

"I teach the kids how to plan their spaces and make parts of the projects move," Roseff, their architect,  said. 

And Jurkowitz, an editor and literacy consultant, helps the campers draft written pieces, which they hide somewhere inside the boxes.

"Writing is another way to get our kids to express their feelings and imaginations," Jurkowitz said. "Some need to commit their ideas to words before the visuals can materialize."

In just the pilot season of the program, Creation Integration has already had two successful sessions, each with five campers ranging in age from seven to 14. The final session this summer will begin Sunday.

"Just by looking at the boxes, I don't think you'd ever be able to tell which were made by the younger kids," Roseff said. "They're all incredible."

Current camper Nell Tercek, 12, created a box based on a recurring nightmare she has had since she was very little—something, she said, she has never before described to anyone.

"I dream I'm stuck in a big world of elephant legs, and I try to scream but they drag me away," Tercek said, as she meticulously painted a cardboard cutout. "It's not scary to recreate it; it's kind of nice to get it out."

Engelbrecht, Roseff and Jurkowitz said they are constantly blown away by their campers' openness and creativity.

Another participant Samara Scharf, 10, designed her box based on an impressive list of places she's visited.

"I'm including parts of Costa Rica, Greece, Israel, Martha's Vineyard and Bermuda," she said, describing ambitious plans to make replicas of the Parthenon, the Western Wall, tropical fish, and cliffs.

Clay Tercek, Nell's twin brother, also participated in the most recent session of Creation Integration, filling his box with a neon snake that spiraled up the walls breathing fire.

"I think this is a great program for kids who like art in general," Tercek said. "But also kids who like to read, write and tell stories. 

On Friday afternoon, the campers and instructors worke until the last minute, putting the finishing touches on their individual projects before connecting them. Parents slowly trickled in, astounded to see what had materialized from only one week's work.

"They were so excited about it," Binny Tercek, Nell and Clay's mom, said. "They were even willing to do homework to be prepared for the next day, which is very unusual."

Doron Scharf, Samara's dad, was equally effusive in his praise for the program, stretching a little before contorting his long, adult legs to fit into the maze.

"Of course I have to go through," he said.

To finish, the five campers and three instructors came together on the couches in the back of their "studio" munching pretzels and discussing their whimsical journeys through transformed cardboard boxes.

Engelbrecht, Roseff and Jurkowitz hope to run Creation Integration next year, possibly expanding the program. For more information, call Claudia Engelbrecht (at 478-7665), Janet Roseff (at 674-4847) or Deborah Jurkowitz (at 693-5171).