Pre-College Summer Studio

Art making involves more than the ability to render an image. It is a complex intellectual and creative process of designing, conceptualizing, making, and analyzing. In your Core Classes, which are required of all students, you’ll be immersed in this process through work in perspective, point of view, composition, and structure. Studio work, lectures, field trips, activities, and group critiques provide essential shared knowledge for all students.

You will also select one discipline — Fine Art, Design or our new Graphic Novel track — to study in addition to the required Core Classes. You’ll take separate classes known as “breakout sessions” in the Studio you’ve selected to attend, providing an intensive focus on the discipline of your choice.

A public gallery exhibition and reception on the First Thursday in August at the PNCA campus will provide an opportunity for you to show your work. First Thursday is a city-wide celebration of art centered in Portland’s primary arts district, The Pearl, where PNCA is located. Students also leave the Pre-College Summer Studios with a portfolio of finished work and digital documentation.

Year Round Offerings

The Pre-College academic offerings include a rotating schedule of courses for students ages 14-18. Many of these selections are offered for one college credit.

All students who enroll in a Pre-College course during spring 2008 are invited to attend our Pre-College Portfolio Development Day, on Saturday, March 29th free of charge!

Your portfolio is the essential component of your application to art school. It will be evaluated on artistic and conceptual content, design and composition, technical skill and creative potential. Join high school students from around the state in a day of activities designed to strengthen and individualize your portfolio. Workshops include crafting a successful application essay, digital documentation of your work, figure drawing fundamentals and more.

Counselors and faculty members from academic departments including: Admissions, Alumni Affairs, and Career Advising will present you with tools that promise to make your application process more meaningful and effective. Presentations also cover differences in educational philosophy and student experience at studio arts colleges (such as PNCA), liberal arts colleges, and public universities. Students will learn about “what to do with an art degree,” career paths, and general issues for a successful life after school.

Design Studio

Each student chooses one studio for concentrated study. If you choose the Design Studio, You’ll build your portfolio for college admissions and learn the essential elements of design. Working on paper as well as digitally, You’ll learn to become:

• A problem solver. You will learn a methodological approach to solving design problems involving communication and complex information.

• A conceptual thinker. In the Studio’s conceptual segment, You’ll be introduced to concept development, research methodology, information architecture, and project management.

• An educated designer. In the formal segment, you will be introduced to topics such as the principles and elements of design, typography, composition, and layout.

Through hands-on experience and study with experienced faculty, You’ll gain solid, working knowledge of the principles of design.

Fine Arts Studio

Each student chooses one studio for concentrated study. If you choose the Fine Art Studio you will cover three essential elements of the artistic process. Through practice and study, You’ll become:

• A perceptive observer. Through observational drawing, sculpting, and problem solving, You’ll develop new strategies for interpreting what you observe. This involves both rendering, and the development of more conceptual approaches to seeing the world.

• An analytical thinker. You’ll learn a formal and conceptual language for analyzing art and for understanding the context of work in contemporary culture. Research, proposals, and critiques are an important part of understanding the language of art making.

• A dedicated maker. You will spend most of your time in studio, where the practice of the artist becomes evident. Through manipulation of various media, You’ll explore the tools and materials of visual art.

In addition to working in the studio, You’ll participate in group discussions, visit working artists in their studios, take trips to museums and galleries, and view films and slide shows. The Fine Art Studio will teach you palpable skills in rendering, observation, and basic material knowledge.

Graphic Novel Studio

In the Graphic Novel Studio, you’ll learn to become:

• An innovative illustrator. You will develop a clear understanding of the importance of traditional picture-making skills along with an acute awareness of today’s multifaceted, multimedia-based marketplace. Using a variety of traditional and technology-based media, you will explore the possibilities for personal style in your artwork.

• A creative storyteller. You will spend the summer engaged in the study of the relationship of images and words in storytelling and narrative. The study of traditional comics and illustrated narratives will provide you with a foundation for developing your own voice.

• An engaged participant. You will develop ideas for stories that come from a variety of sources, ranging from social commentary, fiction, to pure immagination. You will learn to investigate critically and effectively the strength of your ideas.

Through discussions, lectures, readings and extensive studio time, students will gain critical tools for crafting and delivering compelling stories.