True to the... name. by Tia Calkins, June 25th 2017

Well the first week is almost over, and good things are already in motion here at Mount Gretna School of Art. Whenever a large group of creative people come together, there’s going to be an interesting energy ebbing and flowing as a new community begins to form.

           True to the program’s name, it has been intense so far with four to eight hours of classes, workshops or lectures everyday. From what I’ve seen at this point, one of the main ideas stressed by the instructors is about thinking in different ways, or using a different part of your brain than you normally would. This seems to be a reoccurring point made, though they go about explaining it to us in their own unique teaching methods.

           Learning to think abstractly about space, shapes and just the art making process in general also seems to be an important theme among the teachers. There’s so many exercises-so much information- that has been passed down this week. It really gets you thinking about what you’re doing when you make art, or more importantly, introducing stimulation to make sure those creative juices are really flowing.

           I’m excited to see where the next five weeks are going to lead us as a group and I can’t wait to track my own progression as an artist after completing this course. Lots in store to say the least.