CCAD Director of Continuing Education Cat Sheridan and Kareem Jackson

When her full-time gig doesn’t occupy her time, alumna Cat Sheridan (CCAD 2003), is an enthusiastic arts and culture consumer and an active member of and participant in several arts-minded groups in central Ohio.

Recently, Sheridan, the director of Continuing Education at CCAD, helped plan Off the Grid, a benefit event to support the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Besides serving as co-chair of the GenWex Advisory Committee, the Fine Arts graduate also is active in the Columbus Arts Marketing Association, Ohio Art League, Creative Arts of Women, and ARTillery Ohio.

“In the past five years I’ve developed a strong relationship with the (Wexner) center in a volunteer capacity and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help out, and the relationships I’ve gained in the process,” Sheridan said in a recent Q & A session with her co-chair Kareem Jackson for Wexblog.

Sheridan said she finds that “volunteering in an organization you care about offers deeper connections, richer experiences, and can often open doors you never imagined” and that community involvement has changed her approach to advocacy.  “I am far more vocal and do my best to inform and motivate people about the great things we have happening right here, right now,” she said.

Read the full interview here.

CCAD Opens Summer Art Class Registration

CCAD’s Continuing Education (CE) Office has started registering for summer programs, and spaces are filling up.

“Summer is a great time at CCAD,” said Cat Sheridan, director of Continuing Education. “We have weeklong workshops for kids, studio classes that are really useful for art educators, and our usual array of design classes and workshops that have become very popular with professionals looking to brush up on their skills. In addition to all this, summer is when we run our College PreView program, which let’s rising high school juniors and seniors come and live on campus for three weeks and take classes—it’s like a test drive for art college.”

Search to find classes & workshops for the community--adults & children

In addition to opening up summer registration, the college launched a CE class and workshop finder. This new system allows people to search based on whether they are looking for adult or children’s classes and to refine that search by grade and/or area of interest, the system will then pull classes or workshops available through Continuing Education that match their criteria. While currently the system is only showing summer options, soon the other semesters will be added.

“The old set up was clunky,” explained Sheridan. “We could only post one term at a time and we had to organize courses by program. Now we can send our customers to one place and they can search based on who they are and what they are looking for. Eventually, when a parent looks for classes for a third grader they will get a listing of options that include classes in our Saturday Morning Art Classes program and our Creative Summer Workshops program—we will soon be able to show a year’s worth of options in one search.”

Anyone interested in taking an art or design class, workshop or symposium (or signing their child up for a Creative Summer Workshop) can go to www.ccad.edu/ce to search, register and pay online.

Parents and high schools students interested in checking out CCAD’s College PreView program should visit the website for details.

“Adding a  lecture series just made sense,” said Cat Sheridan, director of Continuing Education. “A lecture is a great introduction to taking CE classes at CCAD and is convenient for someone who is just beginning to explore art instruction. For people who have taken classes with us before, these lectures offer something new for them to explore.”

“The lectures are interesting on their own, and are a nice professional development opportunity for people working in creative fields” added Sheridan. “However, the lectures are also a fun way to add value to a CE class you are already taking—for instance if you are taking a painting class you might want to check out the the Color Basics lecture and then apply what you learn during your next class session.”

Options include:

• Developing a Critical Eye, Thursday, March 31, 6:45-9:30 p.m. Discussion will focus on what makes things visually appealing and how to critique and improve basic designs in your personal and professional life.
• Color Basics, Thursday, April 7, 6:45-9:30 p.m. Come to explore the basic principles of color theory (how colors contrast, complement or work in concert) and leave seeing the world a little different.
• Portfolio Development, Thursday, April 21, 6:45-9:30 p.m. This program introduces potential art students, parents, and art educators to the admissions process and success as an artist or designer. Learn what constitutes an acceptable portfolio, how to finance a private art school education, and where career paths lead.

Registration is $10 per lecture. All lectures are in the Canzani Center auditorium. Parking is free in CCAD parking lots (see Campus Map for lot locations).

Bathroom Mirror Self Portrait I by Sophie Knee

Ohio Art League’s November gallery exhibition features works by three CCAD faculty and adjunct instructors.

Chicks with Big Rollers, curated by Sophie Knee, is on view through Wednesday, Nov. 24. The exhibition includes works by Kathy McGhee, associate professor, Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, and Mariana Smith, adjunct instructor, Foundation Studies and Fine Arts. Knee, an instructor in CCAD’s Continuing Education program, also has work in the exhibition.

The Ohio Art League regularly presents member-curated exhibitions at its gallery, 1552 N. High St. at the Ohio State University South Campus Gateway. Details about the November exhibition are at www.oal.org.

Go to the Faculty Biographies page of CCAD’s website to learn more about McGhee and Smith. Knee’s biography is available on the CE Faculty page.