Visual Arts Workshop

Workshop StudentPassionate 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

Visual Arts Workshop faculty and studentsWithin 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 Blanchad 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. In the last year, his prints have been showcased in over a dozen local, national, and international exhibitions, including shows in London, Belfast, and at the Museum of Modern Art in Wales.
Brian Hitselberger Brian Hitselberger earned a BFA in painting and printmaking from Tulane University in New Orleans in 2005. The following year, he was one of four inaugural Artists-in-Residence at the HUB-BUB Arts Initiative in Spartanburg, South Carolina. During this eleven month residency, he worked with artist Leah Brown and the Spartanburg Area Conservancy to create the large-scale outdoor installation, the “Scarecrow Wedding,” located in the Cottonwood Trail wetlands, which received much media attention. Currently, Brian is an MFA candidate in Drawing and Painting at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. His narrative-based multimedia work has taken the form of drawings, prints, artist books, paintings, assemblages, constructions, fiber-based sculpture, installations, and recorded sound (although he primarily considers himself a painter). He has exhibited widely throughout the southeast, garnering several awards in juried exhibitions, as well as participating in print exchanges in South Africa. His work has appeared in Locus Magazine, Roots newspaper, and the Wooster Collective.
Kathryn Boucher 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. She has been at Converse College since August of 2006.

 

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 15) 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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Early-bird deadline is March 15, 2008. Early-bird applicants will receive a $100 discount on tuition, priority in admission and notification of acceptance by April 1, 2008. Applications will be accepted through April 15, 2008.

The following must be submitted:

  • A completed application
  • $25 application fee (to be applied toward tuition if you are accepted and refunded if not accepted)
  • 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
Department of Art and Design
(864) 596-9179
andrew.blanchard@converse.edu

Kathryn Boucher
Department of Art and Design
(864) 596-9214
kathryn.boucher@converse.edu