Visual Arts Workshop

Passionate about art? Join a community of high school students motivated to stretch their artistic wings in a weeklong summer residential program focusing on contemporary practices in drawing, and printmaking. You will:

• Learn alternative drawing techniques using a variety of media
• Explore silkscreen printmaking through direct drawing and photo emulsion processes
• Examine digital possibilities as they apply to drawing and printmaking media
• Install work in the Milliken Art Gallery for an end-of-the-week exhibition
• Visit Hub-Bub’s Showroom Gallery in downtown Spartanburg for lecture and gallery talk with it’s new group of Artists in Residence.

The Program

Within a studio setting, you will study with Converse art faculty and guest artists whose talents have earned them numerous awards and inclusion in exhibitions worldwide. Enrollment is limited to 10 students, which allows you to enhance your creative skills through personal instruction, hands-on participation, and daily critique sessions. You will even have the opportunity to exhibit your work in the Milliken Art Gallery on the Converse campus.

 

Visual Arts Workshop Faculty

	Andrew Blanchard teaches printmaking and photography at Converse and is director of the Visual Arts Workshop. He earned his BA with an emphasis in printmaking from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2000 and his MFA in printmaking from the University of Mississippi in 2004. Recently, Blanchard’s work was featured in the 20th Los Angeles Printmaking Society Juried Exhibition and the 2009 International Invitational Works on Paper at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Early in 2010, six of Blanchard’s screen prints will be featured in Schiffer Publishing’s new text, Printmakers Today, as well as showcased in 20/20 Vision: The Art of Contemporary University Printmaking at the Firehouse Gallery, Louisville, GA.
	Jonas Criscoe is an interdisciplinary visual artist interested in how our ever-expanding consumer culture shapes the environments and landscape in which we live. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, notably the Texas Biennial and the International Print Center in New York. Criscoe has also been featured in various art publications, including Art Lies and New American Painting: The Western Edition and most recently was a West Prize Acquisition finalists. A native of Austin, Texas, he received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of Texas at Austin, and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008.
	Kathryn Boucher is director of the Milliken Art Gallery at Converse as well as the co-director of the Visual Arts Workshop. She graduated from Wofford College in 2000 with a BA in art history and a BA in finance. While at Wofford, she interned at the Spartanburg County Museum of Art for 2 years. Boucher also holds a certificate in non-profit management from Duke University, which she received in 2001. She worked in development at the Mint Museums in Charlotte, NC for five years and has been at Converse College since August of 2006. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Spartanburg Art Museum and will receive her MA in arts administration from Winthrop University in 2011.

 

Enrollment

The program is open to motivated rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders. Admission is selective and based primarily on the student’s application, artwork and teacher recommendations.

Tuition

The Converse Summer Visual Arts Workshop is designed as a weeklong residential program. Tuition covers residence hall accommodations, all meals, materials and on-campus activities. Early-bird tuition (applications received by March 31) is $675 and regular tuition is $775. A limited number of need-based scholarships up to $200 are available.

How to Apply

Download and print the application
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Deadlines for 2010

March 31
Early-bird application due for $100 discount on tuition

April 15
Early-bird notification of acceptance

April 30
Regular application deadline

April 30
Early-bird non-refundable deposit of $100 due

May 1
Regular applicants notified of acceptance

May 15
Non-refundable $100 deposit due for regular applicants

June 1
Final tuition balance due for all applicants

The following must be submitted:

• A completed application
• Financial Support Application (if you wish to be considered for assistance)
• Sealed letters of support from two teachers
• Images of 3-5 examples of artwork (must be sent in either jpeg format compatible for PC or high resolution prints on good quality paper) - Please include title, dimensions, date, and medium with images

For more information, contact:

Andrew Blanchard
Associate Professor of Art
(864) 596-9179
andrew.blanchard@converse.edu

Kathryn Boucher
Director of Milliken Art Gallery
(864) 596-9214
kathryn.boucher@converse.edu