Thousands of Pieces of Joy

When the building that housed arts & crafts, woodshop and the cooking zone was destroyed in a fire in February 2021, our hearts were broken into thousands of pieces. The iconic structure held more than 30 years of memories and special moments and was central to so many camper experiences. 

Now, after an outpouring of love and support from our community that included significant gifts from Travelers, the Travelers Championship and Newman’s Own Foundation, Camp celebrated the rebuilding of this space with the opening of the new Creative Complex! 

It is exciting to see what has arisen from the ashes – a space where memories will be made and friendships forged while creativity shines. The Creative Complex includes not only beautifully appointed rooms for arts & crafts, woodshop and the cooking zone, but also some brand new spaces – the Serenity Room where parents and caregivers can gather around the fireplace and The Quiet Corner sensory space with cozy chairs and bookcases flanking the walls. And with sustainability always in mind, the building will also use geothermal for heating and cooling, which will prevent 77 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. 

But perhaps the most significant part of the building is the centerpiece located in the creative space – a Camp-inspired mosaic comprised of more than 4,000 pieces representing the more than 4,000 donors whose gifts allowed for the construction of the new space. Created by professional mosaic artist and former summer staff and Hospital Outreach specialist, Mia Schon, the art captures the spirit of Camp with symbols like stars, pine trees, sunflowers and more, pulled from the lore and history of Camp. It even has some hidden elements tucked away for campers to find within the piece and help get them excited about creating. 

“This is the most important piece I’ve ever done, and I’m really honored to be creating this piece for Camp,” Mia said. “I was in Israel when I heard about the fire, and I was heartbroken. But mosaics are very symbolic, depicting how though things you love may break, you can put them back together to make something different, new and beautiful. I feel that symbolism fits really well with what happened here and what is to come in the future.” 

Mia got her start working in mosaics as a Hospital Outreach specialist in Boston, where she not only learned the modality, but shared her passion with her colleagues. She later moved to Israel, where she soon began receiving commissions for her work, primarily partnering with non-profits to create murals. Now, returning to Camp to create this piece brings her artistic work full circle. 

Over the three months of the mosaic installation, Mia has also had some Camp friends stop by to provide some help and bring back memories of her time at Hole in the Wall. Donors, volunteers, staff and others have had the opportunity to carefully select and place their own piece within the mural, making the work all the more special. The piece is truly representative of Camp and all the people who make the community so incredible.