A week of creating art from nature
July 6–13, 2026 (ages 9–12)
Learning English effortlessly, without textbooks or classroom lectures, immersed in a creative and playful atmosphere: this is what children will experience at the Art Gone Wild summer camp.
Guided by Zoe Bray, a native English-speaking artist, who also speaks Italian, they will live in close contact with the natural environment—exploring, observing, and creating using elements offered by the Tuscan landscape, while respecting the principles of sustainability.
Why Art Gone Wild
Learning by doing
We believe there is no more effective learning than that which comes from direct experience: internalizing concepts by putting them into practice, observing their effects, transforming them into action. Hence the idea of blending active English language learning with ecological education through creativity.
Art with natural materials
We will create artworks using exclusively natural materials collected during walks or by transforming discarded objects. We will learn to make paints, glues, and binders from pigments, resins, and flours. Nothing synthetic, nothing purchased: only what can be found, transformed, and reinvented.
Living sustainability
If artistic creation is the destination, the steps to reach it will be observing the world, rediscovering our senses, nurturing creativity, and developing a deep ecological awareness—fundamental themes for future generations to build the awareness and tools needed to care for our ecosystem.
English as a living language
English will be the vehicle of this journey—essential today for crossing linguistic and cultural boundaries. Not a subject to study, but the language in which the experience is lived: creating, playing, storytelling.
Science and hands-on skills
Some notions of science and technique, applied through hands-on work, will accompany the creative process, giving children the satisfaction of understanding how to transform the world around them through simple, mindful gestures.
What we’ll do: from foraging to exhibition
Throughout the week, we will create various artworks, weaving together the ideas brought by the children with discoveries made in nature. Compositions, collages, masks, and sculptures will take shape as we work toward creating a real traveling art exhibition.
Concept and installation
Participants will be involved in the entire process: concept development, installation, and storytelling. We will reflect on how to display the works, how they dialogue with each other and with the environment, and how to guide the visitor’s gaze.
The exhibition in the landscape
The exhibition will wind along the villa’s pathways, transforming the landscape itself into an open-air exhibition space where nature and artworks come into relationship.
The trail will be inaugurated on the last day of the summer camp and can be visited by parents during the closing celebration: children will become young cultural mediators, presenting their work, their creative process, and the experience they lived.
Led by
Zoe Bray is an internationally renowned artist specializing in eco-art and educator, born in Europe and based in Nevada, USA. Her practice centers on traditional fine arts—drawing, painting, and sculpture from nature—using hands-on, practice-based methods and natural materials. She encourages creative independence, collaboration, and critical thinking, teaching outdoors to deepen students’ connection with the natural environment.
Trained in classical atelier traditions at the Charles Cecil Studios, the Florence Academy of Art (Italy), and the Fundación Arauco (Madrid), Bray has taught in public and private schools, including Montessori and Waldorf settings, as well as in higher education and community organizations. Her work has been exhibited internationally, with residencies and shows at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History (NYC), the Basque Museum (Bayonne), and the Beita Center (Jerusalem).
Her work blends fine art, handiwork, intimate knowledge of materials and ethnographic inquiry to explore contemporary human–nature relationships and to build connections between communities and their natural environments.
→ Listen to her 2023 interview about teaching the natural basics of art
Where: a historic villa in Tuscany
The summer camp takes place in Tuscany, at Fattoria Majnoni Baldovinetti, a historic villa nestled in the green hills between Pisa and Florence.
Participants will enjoy a week of fun and play in a natural, welcoming environment. The natural stone saltwater pool will provide relief from the summer heat. Days will end joyfully gathered around the fire or enjoying pizza baked in the wood-fired oven.
Activities will follow a fluid rhythm, in a protected space always under the watchful eye of the staff, composed of professionals in education, sports, and movement.
Electronic devices
The use of devices such as tablets and smartphones will be agreed upon with the staff to encourage socialization and presence. For daily communication with family, an evening time slot will be established for calling parents. Of course, coordinators will always be reachable for urgent matters.
Food
Our menus are tasty and balanced, prepared with fresh, organic ingredients—when possible, produced on the farm or locally sourced. Our menus are loved by children because they combine attention to a balanced diet with dishes they enjoy.
Special menus for allergies and intolerances are guaranteed—please let us know when registering using the appropriate form.
Accommodation
Participants will sleep in shared rooms with multiple beds in the large rooms of the villa, each with their own sleeping bag or blanket.
What to bring
- Comfortable, lightweight clothing
- Mosquito repellent
- Sunscreen
- Towels for bathing and for the pool
- Swimsuit
- At least one warm layer for the evening
For sleeping: sleeping bag or sheet + light blanket. Our bed setup includes basic linens (bottom sheet + pillowcases).
Prices
July 6–13, 2026 (8 days and 7 nights): €695
The fee includes: full board, accommodation, activities
The fee does not include: €50 registration fee (including insurance and membership card)
Sibling discount: 10% off total
If you need to arrive the day before the camp starts, you can do so by emailing us to book an extra dinner and overnight stay. The cost is €45, payable in cash upon arrival. Arrival possible from 7:00 PM. Due to space constraints, we cannot accommodate parents at the facility.
A shuttle service is available upon request to and from the train stations of S. Romano – Montopoli (closest), Pontedera, and Pisa, as well as the airports of Pisa and Florence. Email us for more information.