Theo-Land | Video

Kristin Clouston | 6/27/2012

A group of young artists are using cardboard boxes to build their own community and it`s no shanty town. Students at Theo Art School are studying architecture this week and have created a town called Theo-Land.

Sarah Norby`s donut shop is just one many new businesses that have popped up in Theo-land.

"We have an animal shelter complete with stuffed animals and we have Scheels with sporting goods in it and a Dairy Queen with fake ice cream cones and they just have wonderful ideas. They`ve done everything from addresses to sidewalks to sale signs you name it," said instructor Nina Loeks.

"It was kind of hard. They already had the cardboard up, but we had to paint it," said student Ian Ely.

How long did that take?

"About a day to paint a lot of the things."

It`s a project they`ve really gotten into. In fact, the kids actually skipped their morning snack so they could have more time to work.

"They all have wonderful imaginations on their own but when you put them in a group they just explode with creativity," Loeks said.

"The next couple of days we`re going to learn about architecture and stuff and then we`re gonna build houses today and then we`re gonna learn about blueprints," Ely said.

The students will work with real architects to design and build foam board homes to scale and when that part of the project is finished Theo-land will have a downtown and a neighborhood.

Theo is offering a variety of art related camps throughout the summer. For more information, visit www.highprairiecomplex.com/theo/.

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