FALL HIGHLIGHTS & COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Please note: public school educators who wish to enroll on full scholarships prior to Tuesday, September 4, must meet teaching area relevancy requirements listed below.

October 11 - 14, 2012

Poetry with George Bilgere    University Heights, Ohio
Whether you are a beginning poet or have written and published poems for years, you will enjoy this class. The course will make you a better reader and writer of poetry. And if you happen to be a teacher, you will learn practices and techniques that will help you teach and present poetry more effectively in the classroom. We will write poems based on specific assignments each day. The poems will then be discussed in a friendly workshop environment. We will talk about what works well in your poems and what strategies might help make your work stronger. We’ll also read poems from a variety of modern and contemporary poets. At the end of the course, you will be a better writer and teacher of poetry, and you’ll also have a larger sense of the contemporary American poetry scene. Oh—did I mention that we’ll also have a lot of fun? No previous experience is required.
Teaching area relevancy: Creative Writing, English, Language Arts, Literature, Poetry teachers, and Librarians

Folk Dance with Peter and Mary Alice Amidon    Brattleboro, Vermont
While sharing some great traditional American and English dances and singing games for children, we’ll discuss how to create a positive dance experience from the very first dance session. We’ll learn how to keep the dancing engaging, how to choose a dynamic succession of dances and singing games, how to foster dance independence, and how to make dance an integral part of the music program and of the greater school community. Folktales have layers of meanings which deal positively and directly with children's deepest questions and fears. In this workshop, the Amidons will tell some folktales and then engage you in retelling and acting them out, so that you can immediately retell them to your students. Mary Alice will demonstrate several ways to use children’s picture books to create powerful, satisfying, and often emotional experiences for children, including adding recorded background music, and adding music and movement participation to the reading of a picture book. No previous music or dance experience is required.
Teaching area relevancy: Dance, Music, Physical Education, Social Studies educators

Safer, Spontaneous, Simple Printmaking with Solarplate with Dan Welden    Sag Harbor, New York
You’ll produce several 8x10 inch images during this enthusiastic workshop using Dan’s unique Solarplate etching technique, which utilizes UV light and water instead of traditional grounds and acids. The Solarplate is the original light-sensitized polymer printing plate that yields diverse effects from a variety of images. First, drawings and paintings are created on acetate and/or digital prints and photographs taken on transparent film. The images are then processed and transferred to the Solarplate. Artists may also choose to paint directly on the Solarplate. Either technique creates a matrix capable of yielding many impressions.  This workshop is designed especially for the educator interested in printmaking, and although knowledge of the process is not essential, a background in printmaking is helpful.  You can work on your own images, drawings, photographs, or digital images in India Ink, paint, or pencil. If you’re interested in working digitally, bring a black and white image on transparency film, 8X10 inches. A background in printmaking is helpful, but not required.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts educators only

Digital Photography: Illusions with Connie Imboden    Baltimore, Maryland
Illusions are fascinating, and working with illusions in photography can be a very interesting way of working with visual language.  The power and danger of illusions is that we see them as absolute truth. We trust our eyes -- “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” This class is about ways of exploring, discovering, developing, and utilizing the influence of illusions beyond mere tricks of seeing to compelling and poetic means of communication.  We will employ illusionistic techniques through assignments, discussions, and critiques.  This course is open to anyone with a basic knowledge of their camera’s operations.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts, Photography, Journalism/Newspaper, Yearbook, Media, Film/Video educators

Abstractions in Watercolor with Jan Heaton    Austin, Texas
In this course, you’ll find the balance between spontaneity and control. The watercolor medium offers the artist the ability to be free and spontaneous and release inhibitions in creating art. In this workshop, we’ll use watercolor and our intuition to explore the development of abstract form from an observed reality. We’ll focus on a singular subject, such as a sketch, object, or photo, and from this source, we’ll subtract, expand, isolate, redefine, and translate. You’ll complete a series of works that explores this one central subject. We’ll also explore various experimental techniques and tools that can be utilized to create a finished painting. You’ll create a personal sketchbook journal that will document your journey to redefining the art process.  This workshop is for students with previous watercolor experience.  Students from all stylistic backgrounds are welcome, but the course emphasizes the non-representational style.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts educators only

October 25 - 28, 2012

Polyester Plate Lithography with Kathryn Polk    Tucson, Arizona
It’s time to eliminate the lithography “fear factor!”  Thanks to recent developments, polyester plates have become one of the newest and most innovative alternatives to traditional stone lithography.  They are more affordable and the process is less toxic than with other types of plates, such as photo-litho, zinc, and ball-grain plates. In addition, polyester plates can be printed on an etching press, making them accessible for more printing environments. Even though polyester plate lithography is not stone lithography, you can still achieve a beautiful aesthetic and tactile effect with this process.  During this workshop, you’ll create a small edition of prints using hand-drawn and/or photo digital images. We’ll cover planning your edition, developing your image, preparing your plate, creating textures, experimenting with lithographic drawing techniques, inking/rolling up your plate, easy and accurate registration for color, and how to sign and clean up your prints for the final edition.  All ability levels are welcome.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts educators only

Illustrating Children’s Books with Mike Wimmer & Jime Grabowski    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
We’ll address all aspects associated with the creation of a picture book -- from the inspiration of the story, to illustration, to the mechanical construction of a book, to the contract, layout, and printing. Mike and Jime will demonstrate their approaches to illustrating for children, showing examples of each stage of book development.  Then, you’ll be guided through the process to create your own work. Please note – this workshop is heavily visual arts oriented.  The focus of the workshop is on visual elements, so previous visual arts experience is required. 
Teaching area relevancy: Visual arts teachers.  Also open to Language Arts, English, Creative Writing teachers and Librarians WITH VISUAL ARTS SKILLS.

Elementary Music: Bash the Trash! Building Musical Instruments from Recycled and Reused Materials with John Bertles    Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
We’ll discover the science of sound and sustainability as we design and craft increasingly complex instruments. Then we’ll explore how to put these instruments to work in the classroom by writing and performing musical stories based on the sounds of our instruments.  We’ll compose fun and simple music using invented notation techniques inspired by the attributes and limitations of our instruments, and then assemble, rehearse, and perform a short concert of our work. Throughout the workshop, we’ll discover how to move from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to STEAM by adding the Arts, how to incorporate easy activity-based assessment at every step, and how to modify the workshop to fit your own classroom curriculum. This workshop is taught nationally through the Kennedy Center National Partners program. No previous music or art experience is required.
Teaching area relevancy: Music, Science, Math teachers

Acrylic Alchemy: Formulating & Painting with Acrylics with Kristy Deetz DePere, Wisconsin
Acrylic is perhaps the most adaptable, archival, and non-toxic of painting media. Handmade acrylic paint mixes various types of binders and additives with pigment dispersions. In combination with acrylic media, additives, gessos, grounds, varnishes, and speciallty acrylic polymers, acrylic paint can form a quality film and create a variety of textural effects or finishes on any number of surfaces. Acrylic paint has the advantage of drying quickly, repelling moisture, and enhancing surface texturing, and it can be used on and with a large variety of materials. Students will formulate their own acrylic paints and experiment with a variety of techniques on canvas and paper supports. This workshop covers all the basics of making and painting with acrylic paints and more, offering instruction in collage, image transfer, and hard-edge techniques. Participants should expect to spend approximately ¼ of the workshop time mixing paint and ¾ of the time painting. All levels are welcome.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts educators only

Photographing Strangers with Jim Stone Albuquerque, New Mexico
Photographs are more compelling when populated, but how do you make informal photographs that include people who are not your relatives, friends, or paid models? This class will help you gain skill in managing spontaneous portrait situations, as well as increasing your confidence in approaching people to be photographed and gaining their cooperation. Students should have a camera and some photographic experience, but no specific equipment or techniques are necessary. Your digital camera should be manually adjustable in addition to automatic, and its file-quality menu should have a setting for a "raw" or "camera raw" format. Most digital SLR cameras will be fine, most pocket-sized compact cameras will not. If you have a laptop computer less than five or six years old, bring it. This class will not allow enough time for the use of traditional film and darkroom techniques.
Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts, Photography, Journalism/Newspaper, Yearbook, Media, Film/Video educators

November 1 - 4, 2012

Acting: Performing Short Fiction as Theater with Stephanie Hunt    San Francisco, California
Inhabit your favorite works of fiction or poetry and create new literature for the theater by using great short stories performed theatrically.  We’ll experience bringing fiction from the page to the stage through a series of techniques honed by the San Francisco theater company Word for Word.  We’ll break a story into scenes, discover character possibilities, theatrically realize narrative passages, and learn how to divide the language into an actable text.  We will discuss how to choose a text and practice staging strategies.  In the Word for Word form, the story is performed in its entirety, including “he said” and “she said.”  The intention is to remain faithful to the author’s intentions, while imaginatively expanding the possibilities in each circumstance and character.  This surprising and fun workshop is open to all ability levels.
Teaching area relevancy: Theater, Drama, Speech/Public Speaking, English, Language Arts, Creative Writing teachers

Drawing for Beginners with Richard Hull    Chicago, Illinois
In this workshop, we’ll focus on both observation and imagination.
Using perceptual drawing exercises to address how we actually see and memory drawings exercises to see how perception is affected by memory, we will engage in a wide range of drawing techniques, both additive and subtractive. Whether these exercises lead to abstraction or representation, the ultimate goal will be to make something you never thought you would.
Teaching area relevancy:  Any teacher responsible for teaching visual arts, including elementary educators and arts coordinators.

Special Needs: Making Music – Links to Learning with Deborah Stuart and Will Cabell    Western New Hampshire
We’ll explore a wide variety of traditional songs, chants, and singing games and build simple homemade musical instruments from natural or recycled materials. Everything we do will be engaging and fun and can be used to promote learning for students of all abilities. We’ll explore links to language learning, creative thinking skills, social development, and classroom curriculum through hands-on experiences. We’ll share inclusive and adaptive strategies and easy-to-make adaptive tools for using with students with disabilities. Teachers will leave with a wealth of new musical ideas and materials for their classroom.  The workshop is designed for those working with students with special needs, and previous musical experience is NOT required.
Teaching area relevancy: Special Education, Alternative Education, or Music teachers with students who have special needs

Print Blitz! Alternative Methods in Printmaking with John Hitchcock    Madison, Wisconsin
Print Blitz! will introduce you to techniques of water-based screenprinting and oil-based monoprinting with low-tech stencil printing methods.  We’ll focus on the post matrix and pushing the surface of paper, wood, and fabric. The course will stress the current trends of print media in our contemporary American culture. Emphasis will be placed on both gaining technical proficiency and gaining an awareness of how these skills can be utilized within a larger cultural context. Demos will include a combination of hand dyeing, sewing, drawing back into, and manipulation of the surface as well as exploring sculptural print, water soluble markers, paper, handcut, and photo stencil methods to create experimental Unique Prints. We’ll explore a variety of procedures including rubylith and hand-cut stencils, direct photo emulsion, multiple printing of layers, cmyk files used for four-color screenprinting, and alternative printmaking procedures. We’ll discuss methods of printmaking that can be produced by hand and with a computer as well as homemade screens, waterbased inks on paper, fabric, and wood. No previous experience is required -- open to all levels of learners.
Teaching area relevancy:  Visual Arts educators only

Basic Digital Photography with Ben Long
Learn the ins and outs of digital photography, from shooting to editing and printing, in this fun four-day workshop. No matter what your skill level, you'll learn something, as we cover all the specifics of your camera's controls, as well as how to compose and expose a shot. After a lecture/presentation on shooting on Thursday afternoon, we’ll get up Friday morning for a shooting expedition in the area. The rest of the classes will center around post-production, including importing, organizing, and keywording your images using Adobe Bridge; tone and color corrections in Photoshop; dodging, burning, and other localized edits; and finally printing. Basic computer skills required. Students must bring their own digital camera, either digital SLR or point-and-shoot. Whether you're an abject beginner, a dabbler, or a seasoned digital shooter, this class will help you get your photography to the next level.

Teaching area relevancy: Visual Arts, Photography, Journalism/Newspaper, Yearbook, Media, Film/Video educators