As summer rolls around, Ohio State's campus quiets down considerably. For some children, OSU becomes a place of interactive learning and experience through summer art programs offered by OSU's art department.
The College of the Arts annually holds several workshops to further the education of children in the areas of music, digital animation and other various art related disciplines. Some of these workshops are fairly traditional, such as those held by the School of Music. The workshops have been a part of the school for many years and are held for students of various ages and skill levels, according to osu.edu. The Flute Workshop for example, which took place June 18-22, celebrated its 21st year on OSU's campus.
The workshop was created specifically for high school students, and the program offered private lessons, master classes, small ensembles and other activities that will improve the students' musical abilities.
Though art is one of the main disciplines offered to camp students, jazz and string workshops were also available for high school students. The program offered the expertise of a faculty comprised of national and international performers and ensemble directors. The Morning String Student Workshop, which has hosted more than 1,270 central Ohio students during the past 21 years, is open to students entering grades four through eight.
The Morning String Workshop, which also ran from June 12-28, offered not only instrumental instruction, but also allowed the children to interact with other children who had interests similar to their own.
Mellasenah Morris, the director of the School of Music, said she believes the faculty should expand its outreach to students of all ages.
"It is great walking in to Weigel on a summer morning and feeling the energy coming from young people carrying their instruments, chatting and moving in to rehearsals," Morris said.
The Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design is a research center at OSU and is currently one of the premiere animation education centers in the world, according to osu.edu.
Each year since 2001, the workshop, entitled Digital Animation: A Technology Mentoring Program for Young Women, allows individuals entering grades eight and nine to learn about computer-generated animation. This year's theme is Ohio Prairies and OSU's Marion Campus Prairie Nature Center will be used to study.
From June 19-30, 15 young women, selected through an application process, work with mentors who are female graduate students at ACCAD. This year, the program also has two undergraduate students working as mentors.
Caitlin Gosnell, a sophomore in the exploration program at OSU, was a participant in the program in the past and is now one of the undergraduate students working as a mentor for the workshop.
"I enjoyed the overall process more than anything," Gosnell said. "Seeing an idea from beginning to end and getting to flesh it out is really pretty exciting, and I really enjoyed how collaborative of a process it is."
In addition to their own problem-solving skills and collaboration with each other, the participants use the same software used in creating movies such as "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek" to create their own digital animation.
"I think the camp works really well in terms of giving the participants a new way of looking at technology," Gosnell said. "It's good at showing that computers are a tool, which I think is the most important step in learning to love technology. Once you learn that the computer is working for you and not the other way around, technology can be very exciting."
For girls like Gosnell who are excited about working with technology, the workshop offers a solid foundation to explore the possibility of a future in the field.
"I think it gets them thinking about this as a career or even confirms their thinking that they do want to pursue this as a career," said Maria Palazzi, the project coordinator and director of ACCAD. "I want them to consider this as a discipline as they look toward college. The industry, of course, needs more women."
Whether the girls choose digital animation as a career or not, this workshop is certainly a unique opportunity.
Palazzi also said this year Dreamworks Animation, who is a sponsor of the program along with Fifth/Third Bank, will do a live video conference between five of their production artists and participants of the program. It will be an opportunity for the girls to hear from professionals about their work and interests, as well as ask any questions they might have.
Whether it is improving one's craft of music making or learning to create a digital picture, OSU College of the Arts' summer workshops are empowering for both students and instructors alike.
"The most rewarding aspect is when I hear an 'ahhhh' spread over the classroom the first time the girls make a small bit of animation on their screen," Palazzi said. "There is something very magical about making animation."
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