High School Students Attend Art and Design Summer Camp | Information Services

East Carolina University’s first summer art and design camp tailored specifically to the needs of high school students attracted more than 50 students from the tri-state area June 16-21.

Everyone had the opportunity to explore their creativity, develop new skills, learn about potential careers and meet new people during morning and afternoon sessions at the ECU School of Art and Design in the Jenkins Fine Arts Center. Students lived in White Hall for a week, which ended with a display of what the students had created and souvenirs to take home.

Animation, digital and darkroom photography, textile design, sculpture, graphic design, film and video, and paper sculpture were taught by experienced instructors under the leadership of ECU Camp Director Daniel Kariko and Assistant Director Robert Quinn.

High school seniors Catherine “Rin” Kelley of Fairfax County, Virginia, and Brenna Wilson of Holly Springs created the characters at an animation studio.

“I thought it would be cool because I could get a taste of what a college campus was like and what I could do if I were on a college campus doing art,” Kelley said. “I’m doing things I’ve never done before. I like it very much. It’s nice to meet other people in the arts because I don’t have many friends who are in the arts or want to be in the arts.”

Kariko said that art students are often a minority in their high schools. “They’re not necessarily surrounded by all these creative types, so these types of camps really allow them to see that there are other people like them and enjoy the process, and reinforce their belief in, ‘Hey, this is what I’m all about,’ and what I’m doing,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons these types of camps work so well. It’s geared toward their specific interests.”

Wilson said she wanted to attend the camp because she wants to pursue a career in the arts. “One of the hottest things out there is graphic design, so I wanted to take graphic design classes, and there aren’t many of them where I am,” she said. “I wanted to come see what a college graphic design class was like and get a head start.”

Each participant chose, designed and drew their own character using Photoshop and Illustrator software. “I usually create digital art like this, drawing female characters. I like to play with fashion and I like to create dresses based on flowers or animals,” Wilson said.

“I thought of the spiky hairstyle because I was watching ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘Bring It On’ and I thought something from the early 2000s would be funny,” she said of her character. “I also tried to add a little bit of a ‘Mean Girls’ feel, a little bit of a high school bad girl. I don’t draw many faces, so I wanted to have fun with it.”

“You can see we all did something different,” Kelley said. “I was going to make a fool of him, but it didn’t work out. I recently read and watched The Lord of the Rings, so that’s where the idea came from. I don’t usually draw monsters, but I thought I could test one.”

ECU student Logan Poe, a senior from Charlotte who worked as an animation assistant, said she wished she could have attended a summer art camp like this in high school. She hopes to eventually work behind the scenes as a character designer or in prop design.

“Animation is very closely related to my major, which is illustration, so I’m having fun watching them get used to the programs here and the process of turning their sketches into 3D models,” Poe said. “It allows them to get a little more familiar with the program and get used to the software. It would be good for future students to get a sense of how you work here and what it’s like to be an art student here, because it’s very similar to a regular class.”

Kariko said the classes were at the level of first-year students.

The animation was one of the most popular and was offered in both morning and afternoon sessions to suit interests. Hilary Huskey, assistant professor of animation and interactive design at ECU, led the sessions.

“When we become artists, we kind of rely on our childhood experiences. Their art is now animated. Their art now is games, digital technology and digital environments,” Kariko said.

In the textile design studio, Clara Menzo of Cary used strips of fabric to frame a baby’s face she sculpted, inspired by her newborn cousin. Menzo recently graduated from Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh and will attend ECU in the fall.

She chose ECU after hearing stories from many of her teachers who are ECU alumni about their great experiences and memories, as well as stories from others who studied at ECU.

After visiting the Menzo campus, I really liked the art and surroundings. She wanted to attend summer camp to see what a real classroom looks like. “I’m very excited,” she said.

Menzo said she had wanted to pursue animation since she was a child, but had considered other disciplines. “Right now I’m here, looking for art and pursuing it, and I know I’m going to go one way or another. I don’t know what direction, but I’m definitely going to do something with art,” she said.

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