high school

Hi everyone,

Last week, Mississippi State University’s art department hosted their annual INvision art camp for high school students. These kids got to experience a taste of life as an MSU college art student by living in a campus dorm, eating campus food, becoming familiar with campus grounds through planned social activities, and making art.

I led three workshops– Photoshop, t-shirt design, and book binding. Other workshops offered by MSU faculty included ceramics and drawing. This event is a fun getaway that helps students decide if art and design has a part in their college future. Even more, we hope it attracts them to choose MSU for their college education!

This summer we had 10 high schoolers in attendance. This bunch of kids were an exceptional group. They were so polite and eager to learn. I enjoyed teaching them.

Below are images of what the students produced in my workshops, lasting a couple hours each. Action shots are credited to art department technology coordinator Aaron McElfish, originally posted on the MSU Art Galleries Facebook page.

PHOTOSHOP
The goal was to design a surreal composition using stock photography found on the Internet.

Savannah-Alley-final — by Savannah Alley

BOOK BINDING
Students learned how to fold and bind a multi-section hardback book. See an online tutorial HERE.

MSU Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and dear friend Elizabeth Tofte also joined us for the book binding workshop.

{Continue scrolling to see examples of their finished books…}

T-SHIRT DESIGN
Students collaboratively drew patterns inside a bulldog’s face, representative of our school mascot. Information about the event will be typed underneath. It will be screen printed white on maroon shirts. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

INVISION ART EXHIBITION
Students hung and placed their artwork from the week inside MSU’s Visual Arts Center to share with their families before leaving for home. (Look at those gorgeous hand-bound books!)

It was a great week! If you know a high school student that has an interest in art, I hope you will share this opportunity with them so they can attend next summer!

Hello world! It has been awhile since I have documented my art and teaching experience on the web. You last heard from me in May as I was wrapping up the spring semester. Summer brought new experiences, visiting friends and family, making new discoveries to improve my health, lots of gluten free cooking, and REST. I also finished buying the supplies I needed to convert my apartment dining room and back porch into a papermaking studio! I will share in future blog posts how I’ve been using my home studio, what my students are doing this fall semester, and more exciting news.

Between June 5th-12th, I volunteered to lead three workshops for Mississippi State University’s art camp for high school students. The camp has been an annual event for three years now for students that are 16-years-old through incoming college freshman. I taught a recycled papermaking workshop, and beginner workshops about Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Students also learned about photography, graphic design, drawing, ceramics, and sculpting processes from other MSU faculty.

What is great about this event? Young students get to have a hands-on experience with all types of mediums and processes, and decide if art and design has a part in their college future!

Below are examples of what students produced in my workshops, lasting a couple hours each:

ILLUSTRATOR
Students constructed and stylized an animal of their choice in the Adobe software.

PHOTOSHOP
Students’ goal was to design a non-objective, abstract composition that creates space and interest. They needed to experiment to consider color and value as they worked in the Adobe software.

PAPERMAKING
Each student had the opportunity to make at least two sheets of hand-recycled paper with the supplied paper, leaves, flowers, grass, and dyes to their creative liking.