From the 2012 Art Educator’s Studio

The Art Educator’s Studio, an invite-only residential opportunity for high school art educators, will return for its third year this July.

The weeklong experience allows art educators to invest in their own creative growth, build relationships with their peers and CCAD faculty, learn specific techniques and lessons to take back to the classroom, and take advantage of CCAD facilities.

Last year, the program had participants from across the country, including California, Florida, and New York.

“Our Continuing & Professional Studies office does a great job of creating residency programs over the summer for middle school and high school students considering a future in art. We saw an opportunity for an easy crossover to an entirely different population—high school art educators,” said Paul Ritter, admissions manager at CCAD.

Participants get a residence hall room in CCAD’s Design Square Apartments, meals in the dining hall, workshops with faculty, and their own studio space with faculty input on their studio project.

“One of the appealing factors of the program is that invitees are chosen because of their contributions to the field of art and design. We look at factors such as their student success and recognition on a national level and work to bring educators to campus whose commitment to teaching art and design is evident,” Ritter said.

Marcy Adams’ “Arrangement Number 2″

The small group of participants ensures an intimate environment where educators can have one-on-one classroom and studio experiences with faculty members.

Marcy Adams from Fort Wayne, IN, attended last year’s program and is currently showing the work that she made in the summer studio in the exhibition M.A.C Show at Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery in Fort Wayne.

“It was beneficial to have the studio time at CCAD because I seldom have one week entirely to myself to create art,” Adams said. “I work 50 hours or more a week, maintain a rental business on the side, and I am married with four children.”

Adams used her time at CCAD to create a new body of work and enjoy the one-on-one times with CCAD professors who served as mentors.

She received help in particular from Gordon Lee, professor of Fine Arts, who worked with her on a new technique, which she applied to her existing work.

“I came away from the workshop with a pile of figure drawing sketches, two large-scale drawings, two completed mixed-media works, one animation short, and a few digital drawings. I can continue to develop my drawings into finished works, and I have learned several new techniques that I will utilize in the future,” Adams said.

“Our goal is for each of these participants to go back to their high school classrooms with a refreshed passion for art and a positive testament for their students regarding what CCAD has to offer anyone interested in art and design,” Ritter said.

Students work in CCAD’s College PreView program

As we eagerly wait for the temperatures to rise in Columbus, we can’t help but get excited about our upcoming summer programs, which cater to all ages and cover many visual arts interests.

For more than a decade, Creative Summer Workshops have been a popular destination at CCAD, serving everyone from age 6 to 90. The one- to two-week workshops run half days, Monday through Friday, and both morning and afternoon classes are available.

For parents, these workshops provide a perfect day camp for their creatively inclined children. Class subjects range from classic drawing to digital art to comic book drawing and photography. The workshops are arranged by grade level so students can learn and play alongside their peers.

For adults, the workshops can be a wonderful staycation adventure—imagine taking glassblowing every morning for your vacation. New this year is an exciting two-week workshop titled Cast to the Future. Participants in this workshop will work in CCAD’s new Fab Lab with CCAD’s dean of design arts and chairs of Animation and Dimensional Studies. Students will generate a piece of jewelry from a virtual 3D object, learn the basics of 3D polygonal modeling, print their model on a state-of-the-art 3D printer, and harness the power of a 3000-year old technology to cast the print in bronze, silver, or gold.

CCAD’s popular College PreView returns, offering high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors a three-week college experience. During the program, students are able to live in our residence halls, take classes with our faculty, meet professional artists, exhibit their work, and explore Columbus and its art scene. New this year, the program is offering an additional option to take a guided trip to New York City.

This summer also launches CCAD’s Discovery Club. The weeklong residential art camp allows students an experience similar to College PreView, but designed for grades 7–10.

Summer is also a good time to take one of CCAD’s degree courses. The term is more condensed in the summer, and with lighter summer BFA enrollment there is a greater likelihood of non-degree-seeking students getting into classes.

“We often see art educators take advantage of CCAD’s degree courses during the summer,” said Cat Sheridan, director of Continuing & Professional Studies. “During the summer, educators may have more flexible schedules, so it is easier to take advantage of these classes. They are able to use our facilities, learn from our faculty, and develop both professionally and personally.”

To view a complete list of workshops offered to children and adults, click here. To learn more about College PreView and Discovery Club, click here.

College PreView students work on paintings

By Kristen M. Foley

CCAD’s resident College PreView program provides 10^th-, 11^th- and 12^th-grade students an immersive three-week, college-life experience. This year the college is going even farther with this popular program.

College PreView is expanding to offer an option for middle school students who want to investigate life at an art college, and is adding an optional New York excursion week to its high school program.

College PreView was created to provide students an on-campus, intensive core art curriculum, while still allowing them to focus on an elective area of their choice, just as they would if they were attending college to earn their degree. While here the students are afforded the opportunity to interact with professional artists and faculty, exhibit their own artwork, and explore Columbus and its local arts scene. It’s a collection of college-life experiences that can enrich a student’s future art education.

This year CCAD wanted to open up that experience to students in seventh-, eighth-, and ninth grade by offering CCAD Discovery Club. Discovery Club is an in-residence experience, has core classes and focused electives that relate to the college’s major areas of study, and includes local excursions to round out the college life experience. CCAD Discovery Club is designed with a younger audience in mind, and is one week long rather than three.

“We know that the students who come will be transformed and will understand better what they would like their path to be,” said Cat Sheridan, director of Continuing & Professional Studies. “These younger students can also discover what it is they want to do and we can help them to dip their fingers in all the pots and figure which one is best for them.”

In addition to broadening the audience for a College PreView experience, CCAD is taking it farther—to New York City

Junior and senior high-school students can participate in an optional five-day trip to one of the nation’s art centers.

“We wanted to provide these students with an even deeper experience,” said Sheridan. “We want to help them understand what CCAD grads are doing in the art industry and allow them to take a look at the different art contexts they can jump into when they earn an art degree.”

Students receive three college credits for participating in the traditional College PreView program and the additional travel week for juniors and seniors will earn them an additional credit as well as an enriching art experience.

Sheridan expects students from all over the country to participate in both programs and spaces will fill up fast.

The College PreView program runs July 7 – 27 with the additional optional travel week that runs July 28-Aug. 3. Students can start the application process now and some scholarships are available. Learn more here.

Discovery Club’s weeklong residential art camp is offered three times over the summer so students can choose the week that best fits their schedule. Session one: July 7 to 13, session two: July 14 to 20, or session three: July 21 to 27. Registration starts March 1, learn more here.

For more information on both programs, click here.

SMAC student contemplates her piece

By Kristen M. Foley

It’s a common holiday phenomenon: first there are the long lines, then the hastily ripped open packages, and finally the gadget/toy overload and burnout. Some savvy shoppers have opted out of such exhausting holiday trends and are instead buying experiential gifts, such as art classes.

At CCAD the Saturday Morning Art Classes (SMAC) program explores every genre of art a kid could possibly fathom. Imagine giving kids the opportunity to participate in classes that include animation, drawing, digital art, ceramics, comic book drawing, printmaking, photography, and more. The classes are also broken down by grades; therefore, students learn with others in the same age group.

SMAC student looks over her work

“This is a gift that could effectively change the path of or broaden a child’s horizons,” said Cat Sheridan, director of continuing & professional studies. “To give education is more than a simple, one shot-deal; it’s something that will stay with the student for life. It’s a great thing to give.”

Children as young as first grade can experiment with pencils, crayons, pens, paint, clay, and a variety of other materials. They have the opportunity to be part of something outside their normal learning community and are able to express themselves in creative ways.

“We have many families who have been part of the program for years and years. This is their child’s artistic outlet,” adds Sheridan. “They may get to do art in their grade schools or high schools and come to CCAD to have the unique opportunity to be around other kids who are there because they love art. They want to grow their passion and their abilities.”

Sheridan is no stranger to this concept. She is not only a graduate and now employee of CCAD, but she also participated in Saturday Morning Art Classes—starting when she was in the first grade. There are many other students who, just like her, started out in these classes and decided not only to pursue a fine arts degree, but to continue on at CCAD.

SMAC students work on their drawing skills

“As a non-degree student in these programs you still get to be part of the CCAD family,” said Sheridan. “Sometimes it ushers them into the degree program and sometimes softly into a life of art in other ways.”

Adults aren’t left out of the educational gift opportunities either. Adult programs are offered at a variety of times and days of the week and include ceramics, fashion design, Photoshop, jewelry, website design, painting, welding, and more.

CCAD’s Continuing & Professional Studies office offers gift certificates, which can be purchased by contacting the office at 614.222.3248. But with the college’s winter break fast approaching, Dec. 20 is the last chance to order a gift certificate before the new year.

To view a complete list of workshops offered to children and adults, click here. To learn more about CCAD’s Continuing & Professional Studies programs, click here.

Continuing & Professional Studies instructor helps student

CCAD’s Continuing & Professional Studies fall classes are open through Sept. 14 for registration and includes a host of new offerings geared toward entrepreneurs and business owners, as well as a full range of studio classes for art educators and community residents.

“CCAD has done a tremendous job of expanding its adult course offerings to meet the needs of the large and growing number of local professionals employed in creative fields,” said Robin Hepler, director of marketing & communications.

Workshops, lectures, and courses cater to the growing creative community. Classes have been crafted with designers and artists in mind, covering the foundations of accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and design law. Small business owners, in all markets, will also find the web design and branding courses useful.

Adults work on an art project

The college has also expanded its online course offerings to better serve out-of-state alumni and customers who need more flexibility in their schedules. Some of the classes available include introductory and advanced level instruction for Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign software programs.

And if you want to stretch you creative skills CCAD has plenty of hands-on studio arts courses such as oil, watercolor, and acrylic painting; ceramics; drawing; advanced pattern drafting and sewing; and jewelry making.

“The Continuing & Professional Studies courses allow people the opportunity to learn and/or fine tune their skills,” said Cat Sheridan, director of continuing & professional studies. “People taking any of our courses also  have access to state-of-the-art equipment and classrooms, with instructors who have been trained and are professionally employed within their fields.”

Adult classes, workshops, and lectures, which are also open to high school juniors and seniors, begin the week of Sept. 17. To register for a class and look at the complete listing of courses, click here. To learn more about CCAD’s Continuing & Professional Studies program click here.

Student painting in summer workshop

Summertime is often filled with pools, vacations, sunscreen, and art… yes, art.  CCAD offers adult and children’s workshops and classes that are a great opportunity to throw yourself into the creative community.

“CCAD is kind of an amazing place to be during the summer,” says Cat Sheridan, director of Continuing & Professional Studies.

Children can take one-week, half-day workshops during which they can explore a wide range of art techniques. For adults, CCAD provides an extensive variety of workshops and classes that fit all schedules including daytime, evening, and online formats.

“It is great to see people walk into our classes and then see the difference in them when they leave,” Sheridan says. “A lot of people leave here with bragging rights; they can say ‘hey this weekend I went to college and studied with CCAD students and faculty.’ They even have final pieces to show off.”

Student drawing in a summer workshop

CCAD brings summer art classes to a new level with the resources made available to participants. Those involved in the program will have access to state-of-the-art equipment and classrooms and will be provided with all the necessary supplies. Instructors are practicing artists and are a reliable source of information for students interested in the arts. Many classes and workshops are also assisted by current CCAD students.

“What really stands above the rest about this program is not only do participants have access to these resources, but they are also able to study with people who enjoy art as much as they do and explore along with them,” Sheridan says. “It is a pretty awesome deal.”

Children’s classes explore themes such as animation, drawing, digital art, ceramics, comic book drawing, printmaking, photography, and more. The classes are also broken down by grades, so students can study with peers in the same age group.

Adult programs are offered at a variety of times and intervals. Available classes include ceramics, fashion design, Photoshop, jewelry, website design, painting, welding, and more.

To view a complete list of workshops offered to children and adults, click here. To learn more about CCAD’s Continuing & Professional Studies program click here.