Join us for a free discussion/Q&A with a panel including Caroline Smith (Caroline Smith & the Goodnight Sleeps), Heather Allen from CMAB,  and Allen Stanley of Red House Records.  This event is moderated by Chris Osgood (Springboard for the Arts, McNally Smith College and part of the seminal rock group Suicide Commandos). The panel will discuss grant opportunities for independent musicians. the pros and cons of finding a record label, how to tour/promote your music independently and answer any questions from the audience.

Jeremy Messersmith will lead a workshop on songwriting and his inspirations, motivations and methods.  This event is free!

June 17, 18, 19
Paramount Theatre Visual Arts Center and Elk River High School

New Features:
Attend at NO COST!!!
Select the workshops that interest you, Choose from two sites-Elk River or St. Cloud

This year’s Arts Camp is a collaborative project with the Paramount Education Outreach Dept, Central Minnesota Arts Board & Elk River Arts Magnet Program. Come to learn, to be refreshed, to make art, to network, to plan for the year ahead. When you are not in sessions – Shop, have coffee or lunch with friends, enjoy a Studio Pass at the Paramount.

Download the Workshop Schedule and Briefs here

Workshop Briefs:

Music and Culture

1. Nachito Herrera, acclaimed Cuban jazz artist and his wife, Aurora are special guests for this year’s Arts Camp.  We encourage everyone to hear their performance-lecture about Cuban culture and music.  This workshop will also help us, as teachers and artists, to think about how we can respectfully use the arts to approach cultures with which we may not be familiar.

Literacy Workshops

1. Lee Ann Goerss, CMAB Rostered Teaching-Artist, will present a session for elementary teachers to connect art to language arts and math standards, talk to students about recycling and to identify elements of visual art. Participants will create 3-dimensional mixed media art and will explore the parts and uses of a robot through stories and interactive poetry.
2. Douglas Wood, award-winning author of 31 books and CMAB Rostered Teaching-Artist, will present a session for writers, artists, and teachers that will focus on the use of simile and metaphor and their value in self-awareness and expression. Douglas draws on his experience as a wilderness guide as well as an author in the process of guiding an exploration of a “writer’s path”. He may also include elements from his workshop, “Miss Little’s Gift” describing his early struggles with reading due to ADHD and dyslexia. Session particularly suited for educators of 4^th thru 6^th graders. Participants will write, and they WILL have fun!
3. Britt Aamodt, storyteller and playwright and CMAB Rostered Teaching-Artist, will present a session for artists and teachers to explore the art of storytelling and how we can use stories, as a professional, to talk about who we are and what we do and, as a teacher, to explain course material in a fresh way and help students find their own voices through story.
4. Jill Dubbeldee Kuhn, CMAB  rostered Teaching-Artist and CSB/SJU Gallery Manager will present to artists and teachers altered book examples of rescued and recycled books creatively transformed into sculptural forms, journals, or a book with a new story all its own.  Dubbeldee Kuhn will also offer suggestions for starting open dialogues with students of all ages about the book’s past and present place in history.  These dialogues could also lead to calligraphy residencies and presentations about children’s book illustrations by this artist.
5. David DeBlieck, artist/educator and director of Dancing with Many Voices, will lead a session on “reading” dance from a cross-cultural perspective. Language Arts teachers and others will participate in gentle movement exercises, and examine how fundamental principles of movement reveal identity and meaning in dance.
6. Rana Nestrud (Elk River) or Jane Oxton (St. Cloud) will present information about the Picturing Writing – Literacy Through the Arts training available through the University of New Hampshire.  This powerful teaching tool uses watercolor, words, poetry and book-making and has an amazing track record with elementary students and in schools with large numbers of ELL students.  Come explore whether this training might be right for you or your district.  We could help bring it to you next summer.

Clay Workshops

1.  Damien Husen, art educator and ceramic artist, will present a session on the ancient and dynamic process of Raku firing. Participants will design, glaze, fire and take home a Raku vessel (provided by the instructor). Throughout the process, participant will learn about the various clay bodies, glazes, kilns and equipment necessary to achieve success in Raku. No prior experience necessary.
2. Anne Meyer, Teaching Artist, will present a session for artists and teachers to practice a decorative technique for clay that offers participants or students a forgiving approach to combine imagery with clay.  This technique relates nicely to both scratch-art paper, and wood-cut or lino-cut prints.  Participants will carve a prepared clay cup, take away simple recipes and do not need any prior experience.
3. Melissa Gohman, Visual Arts Director at the Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center will present a session on creating underglazed ceramic tiles inspired by the geometric designs found on traditional Cuban encaustic tiles. No experience required.
4. Peter Newland, a teacher/potter at Elk River High School, will present a session on clay and cultural. We will explore/share strategies to gain us a deeper understanding of culture through clay and to appreciate the people who made them. Participants will have an opportunity to try “Agateware” on the wheel. Basic clay experience is recommended.  (Elk River site only)

Public Art – How and Why??

1. Heather Allen, Program Officer at the Central MN Arts Board, will present a session for artists and teachers that will include a tour of some old and new works of public art in Elk River. She will discuss the process of planning and community engagement involved in bringing works of public art into reality.  Come prepared to expand your definition of what constitutes public art and dream about what you would like to see happen in your community.

2. Paramount’s Visual Arts Director Melissa Gohman along with local artists Dan Mondloch and Willicey Tynes – tour the River’s Edge mural, Natural Life on the Mississippi, the Mahowald Plaza mosaic Tied to the River, and the Can Am Granite piece at the nearby downtown fire station.  Visit with artists about the process and the impact of public art.  What might such a project mean for your school or facility?

Making It Happen

1. Heather Allen, Program Officer at the Central MN Arts Board, will present a session for artists and teachers that will cover the parts and process of writing a grant application to help fund a project in your school/community or bring a professional artist in to provide a unique arts learning experience. Participants will have an opportunity to brainstorm ideas for arts learning projects that could fit their school, and learn the basics of writing a grant proposal.  Additional help will be available after the session, for those interested in a further exploration of the granting process.

2. Jane Oxton, Education Outreach Coordinator for the Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center will present a session for artists and teachers to explore strategies that help students of all ages prepare and process in order to make meaning of performance field trips.
3. Willicey Tynes, CMAB Rostered Artist and Rana Nestrud, Director of the Elk River Arts Magnet Program -  ideas for developing residencies that work and leave a lasting impact.
4. Becca Barniskis, a poet who teaches and who has lots of experience helping teachers and students of all ages respond to art in museums and in classrooms, will lead participants in responding to a visual art exhibit using a specific process to organize their responses and to generate language. Participants will have a chance to consider how the strategies in this session might apply to their own work as artists and educators in whatever medium they work.

For the Fun of it!

1. Gwen Hanvy Registered Yoga Alliance, licensed Language Arts teacher and CMAB Rostered Artist will lead you in a session of what yoga is and is not; no prior experience needed. Her soothing voice will guide participants of all ages and body types through proper breathing technique and a series of gentle poses highlighting the calming effect basic yoga movements and breathing can bring to you and your classroom.

2. Wine Reception – Arts Camp will end with refreshments, wine and soda, for a chance to visit, celebrate and network.

*NOTE* Our database has been having problems with some registrants  using @charter.com emails.  If possible, please register with a gmail, yahoo, hotmail, or another email service other than charter.  Sorry for the inconvenience.