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Registration is open for college credit courses as well as literary inspiration: Check out our CCE summer sessions

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Tuesday, July 13th, 2021

PCA&D’s Center for Creative Exploration’s schedule of summer classes is a blend of college credit-bearing options for pre-college students, classes that use the written word to spark creativity not only for writers but for visual artists as well, and a selection of single-session workshops that provide a quick boost of inspiration or a glimpse at a new-to-you skill

Below are options for pre-college students as well as literary experiences. Next up: What’s in store for Young Artists in grades 1-9. Class registration deadlines are approaching, and spaces are limited.

Pre-College

Getting a head start — or even just a better idea of what college-level study entails — is a great way to explore the college experience and earn college credit before students even enroll in college! PCA&D’s eight Pre-College options allow students to build their own full-day experience, or pick a single class in an area of special interest:

  • Concept Art: Evolution and Application with instructor Jen Kraft: This online 10-session class grants a college credit to those who complete it successfully. The class explores the history of Concept Art, which has become popular with the boom in video games, films, and animation. Kraft, a 2014 graduate of PCA&D with a BFA in Fine Art, is a freelance concept artist and illustrator based in Baltimore. Along with instruction in both digital and traditional skills, students will learn the range a concept artist is expected to have, and what skills are needed to work in this rapidly growing and highly competitive field.
  • Figure Drawing with instructor Leah Limpert Walt: This 10-session in-person class also grants college credit. Limpert Walt will guide students through figure-drawing techniques that will be applied to the full figure, an extended figure drawing, the portrait, and even hand studies. Limpert Walt, PCA&D ’19, is an exhibiting painter and sculptor based in York.

You can see every category of class offered this summer by the Center for Creative Exploration, and find registration information, here.

 

  • Graphic Design and Visual Branding with instructor Joseph Bend: This in-person two-week class grants college credit. Topics will include Adobe Photoshop,  Illustrator, typography, design principles, and the current graphic design industry landscape. Students will explore key demographics while building a voice around their visual brand. Bend, a 2019 graduate in Graphic Design from PCA&D, is the winner of a Graphic Design USA Packaging award and a PCA&D award for Excellence in Leadership. He is working on his Master’s in art education at Millersville University.
  • Intermediate 2D Animation with instructor Phillip Kieffer: This 10-session online class is worth 1 college credit. Students will  improve their understanding of facial animations, seamless loops, and walk cycles. Animation will be produced digitally, by students, in a traditional hand-drawn 2D aesthetic using the latest version of Adobe Animate. Students should be comfortable drawing and have basic computer skills. Kieffer, an award-winning animator and PCA&D Digital Media graduate, is currently based in Lancaster.
  • Portfolio Preparation: Level Up & Impact with instructor Beth Hacker: This credit-bearing class is a deep dive into the portfolio, one of the crucial elements of applying to college or art school. It also provides valuable studio class experience to enrich confidence and creative vision. Students will learn portfolio-strenghtening strategies, with personalized instruction as they create a new body of work that amplifies their technical skill sets. They’ll also learn how to select work that best highlights their talents, as well as different presentation techniques. Hacker, who has a decade of experience as an adjunct professor teaching fine art and design, is co-founder of a gallery and project space as well as the collaborative art team Dear Keystone. She has curated more than 25 exhibits around the country.
  • Printmaking Studio with instructor Gabrielle Shelley: This two-week in-person class is worth 1 college credit, and serves as an introduction to relief printmaking as an art form. Students will learn about various types of printmaking, safety, fundamentals, and techniques, and will create original works of printed art by hand and using presses. Shelley is a  graphic designer with experience in print, packaging, point-of-sale, and branding design. She is also a printmaker and sole proprietor of Fresh Prints of Lancaster, a small linocut printmaking studio.
  • Introduction to Creative Writing with instructor Joshua Keller: Worth 1 college credit, this two-week online course serves as a fundamental overview of creative writing craft and technique. Students will become familiar with the ways in which language and structure enact particular effects and, by the end of this course, will have developed an initial consciousness of strategies ranging from diction to detail to tone in verse and prose forms. Keller is a doctoral candidate and Lecturer in Craft Practices in the English Department of SUNY Albany.

Literary experience

This summer’s Adult Enrichment session offers four deep explorations of writing styles and techniques to jump-start your own creative flow —whether you’re a writer expanding your own practice, or looking for a way to spark a new way of working in your medium of choice:

  • Cut-Up Poetry with instructor Erin Dorney: Channel the Dadaists of the 1920s and poet William S. Burroughs, remixing text into something new. In this Aug. 3 in-person workshop, all participants will use the same source text, revealing the many different possibilities of language. Participants will also have the option to combine collage techniques in order to craft their cut-up poem into a visual object. The Lancaster-based Dorney is a frequent CCE instructor, co-founder of FEAR NO LIT, veteran of numerous residencies, published poet, and juried artist.
  • Intro to Writing Flash and Micro Fiction with instructor Joshua Keller: This two-week, four-session online class starts July 27 and focuses on how short-short stories present unique challenges in terms of narrative development, character, and storytelling. Keller is a doctoral candidate and Lecturer in Craft Practices in the English Department of SUNY Albany.
  • Writing the Occcult: Poetrics and Practice with instructor JenMarie Macdonald: This in-person three-session class, which begins July 19, examines the relationship between writing and the occult, and the ways each informs and enriches the other. It is open to writers of all experience levels working in any genre.  Macdonald is a Lancaster-based book artist, writer, and publisher.
  • Writing the Reported Essay with instructor Donna Talarico: Reported essays merge topics you’re passionate or curious about with research and interviews. The class explores examples of reported essays from popular magazines and newspapers, and teaches how to structure your own, covering publishing opportunities for reported essays. The in-person, three-session class begins July 22. Talarico, the founder of Hippocampus Magazine and Books and its annual conference, HippoCamp, is an independent writer and content marketing specialist.