February CCE classes: ‘small-bite’ time investments for a big impact

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Friday, December 10th, 2021

February’s the shortest month, and PCA&D’s Center for Creative Exploration has themed its February offerings to reflect this with plenty of shorter “small-bite” classes.

Recognizing that the month can be filled with busy schedules, school holidays, and the always-present threat of snow, these one-or two-session classes pack a lot of fun and learning into short time periods. If you can spare a pair of evenings or weekend mornings or afternoons, you can complete these short classes and workshops that deliver a big impact.

For example, Sam Soliman‘s Video Production for Social Media Workshop packs lots of useful information into two Saturday-morning hours on Feb. 19. Participants learn how to create an effective video that can be used across a variety of social media platforms. Soliman says the class is “aimed mainly towards people who are dipping their toes into it for the first time, but it will also delve deeper into the process and how to enhance the knowledge of people who have some experience already.”

The professional photographer and videographer will focus mainly on Instagram and Facebook, he says, “since both are optimized for both short- and long-form video content.” Soliman brings extensive experience to the classroom —he focuses on event, commercial, and portrait photography at PhotOlé Photography, where he also produces videos for social media campaigns, and has experience at Cursive Films as a producer, focusing on the logistics of pre-production and assisting on film and commercial productions.

Similarly, Gabrielle Buzgo-Martin’s I Don’t Get It: How to See and Discuss Art 101 turns two Wednesday evening hours into a session aimed at making participants more comfortable when it comes to visiting galleries and museums — and discussing what they see.

“Art is for everyone,” says Buzgo-Martin, who has a BA in Art from Cedar Crest College and an MFA in Curatorial Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art, “but not everyone has been included in the conversation. Just like any field, there is exclusive language, or jargon, that creatives use to make and discuss their work.”

So if you’ve ever stared at a piece of modern art and wondered why everyone else is so wowed or wondered what the big deal is about a Renaissance painting that, to you, looks like every other Renaissance painting, I Don’t Get It may be for you.

First, says Buzgo-Martin, “we’ll establish a vocabulary that will help viewers look for basic elements of visual organization. then we’ll practice identifying them in works of the ‘masters’ — great artists of history that make ‘good art.’ Think da Vinci, van Gogh, Picasso. After that, we’ll look at contemporary work that you might see today in a gallery.

“It’s just one night, but by the end of the class students will feel more confident going to a museum or at the next First Friday!”