Stacie's CE Class

Hello from Stacie's CE class.  I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing artists and creative thinkers.  Crazy Camryn, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Sophia, Acting Allison, Marvelous Michael, Krusty Kristen, Vegetable Vanessa, Juicy Julia, Kuckoo Kaly, Kind Katelyn, Sugar Shaya, Napping Natalie, Awesome Aurora, Devious Danny, Silly Sam, and Merry Merrelyn have all accomplished some amazing things in the past 3 days.

Day 1 began with the name game (where the above names came from).  It was a fun way to break the ice.  After the name game, they worked on some journal writing and reflection.  Each artist came up with a discovery they had already made about themselves and then created a goal for the rest of the day.  They also wrote stories/poems about an ancient doorway. They had a picture of an ancient door way and I let them use their creative juices to come up with a story for what was beyond the door.  Maybe some of them will share their amazing stories/poems at the parent presentation on Tuesday night.

 



Day 2 was all about self reflection.  Students envisioned where they might be in the future.  Then, they drew their future self in the mirror and I took a photo of them looking into that mirror.  It's a little complicated to explain, but the results were inspiring.  In addition to the drawing and photo, they wrote a short poem about their future self.  Here are some examples.

                          

Day 3 we were very tired, but we still managed to create some awesome poems and stories inspired by some of the paintings we will see tonight at the Pageant of the Masters. These artists truly amaze me with their creativeness.  I know they look forward to sharing some of it at the presentation on Tuesday night.

Beep Boop

Hi Parents!

This is counselor Sara and coordinator Tim, writing to tell you about the amazing day we just spent with arts-X-press!  After our usual daily activities of Creative Expression and Arts workshops, we ventured to the Plummer Auditorium to see Shrek the Musical.  It was a roaring comedy based off of the popular Dreamworks movie, which had us all in heaps of laughter.  After the musical we had the unique opportunity to talk to the cast and ask them questions about the production of the musical and the weeks of practice which went into it.

The day only got better from there!  Once we had traveled back to Vanguard and filled the grumbling middle school bellies, we rotated through spotlight workshops to give each arts-x-presser an opportunity to experience the magic of vocal, theater and dance.  From creating human machines to learning how to sing a round, we were able to sample multiple art forms and gain a better understanding of the passion and dedication which goes into everyones artistic expressions.  The spotlight workshops were a great segway into the evenings bonding activity, where we took time to appreciate people in our home life as well as at arts-X-press.  The day's activities really helped us grow closer as a group and learn that as artists we are connected through the spirit of the arts no matter what our practice is.  We saw so many students taking creative risks today and it makes us eager to see what is in store for the days to come!

Can't wait for tomorrow's adventures and the excitement they will bring!
Super Counselor Sara and Terrific Coordinator Tim

Week 2 - Day 2

So much fun today! Shrek was aMAZing, and we're spending the evening in workshops for theater, vocal music, and dance. Here are some pictures of today's fun.

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An arts-X-press first- a DOUBLE double bass section!!

CE Day 1

Hello from Michal's CE class!

In Creative Expression, we have about an hour to write, discuss, collaborate, laugh, share, and journal about our time at Arts-X-press. We start the day with some journal-ing, including thinking about a discovery and a goal. Lots of goals on the first day consisted of trying to make new friends and the discoveries were all about how much we love the arts! Some of us were really nervous about our arts workshop but so far their attitudes are great and everyone is taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zone!

We also journal about our day. Yesterday we saw Sunset Boulevard so our journals consisted of our responses to the play. Lots of us wrote about our favorite parts, which included the twist at the end, the part where he crashes into her lawn, the part where she goes back to the studio and where Joe and Betty are writing their script together.

We also spend some time doing an activity. Yesterday our activity was a Life Map. We thought about and then discussed where we were in our lives but also where we came from and where we are going. We noticed how over the years our families, our likes and dislikes, our personality, our goals and desires, have all changed over the year. It could be something small like not having siblings when we were little but then having some when we were older or liking Sponge Bob when we were little and now living Pretty Little Liars. Then we thought about our future where we wanted to be when we grow up. We thought about if we wanted to go to college or what career we wanted, if we wanted to get married or travel or explore the world. We created written and visual maps that represented our life.

Today we prepared for Pageant of the Masters by partnering up and choosing a painting we will see tomorrow. In our partner groups, we wrote a story that was illustrated by the picture. There were stories written about popes and monks, the Wild West, desert crossings, couples in Paris and London, men with many wives and big families, quiet scenes at the movie theater. We are really excited to compare our stories to the real stories that we'll learn about at Pageant tomorrow.

Our plan is to also write Ancient Doorway poems and collaborate on putting together an awesome show for the Parent Presentation. We can't wait to share with you all that we've done!

Week 2, Day 1

A new session of artists is on campus and ready to create! Here's a sampling of our first arts workshops today.

Excursions and Immersions! Week 2

Here's a big HUGE
              WELCOME
                                                                         to our Session 2 Arts X-Pressers!

We are so excited to have this group of young artists on the Vanguard University campus this week! Right now they are getting themselves settled in and grabbing some grub. Soon we will start getting ready for a weekend full of fantastic performances and activities!


Tonight, we will make the trip out to Musical Theater West in Long Beach! We get to attend the matinee performance of Sunset Blvd. The story of this production is set in 50's Hollywood, and follows the journey of a silent-screen actress and a come-back screenwriter as they work together to get back on the screen! 



Tomorrow we will continue our musical theater quest as we head up to Fullerton to enjoy the matinee performance of Shrek the Musical put on by 3-D Theatricals. This production is based on the 2001 DreamWorks film we all know and love. The students are SO excited about this performance, and we are going to have a BLAST! This is sure to be a musical unlike any other!


If you think that's the end of our fun, think again! On Monday, we will spend the afternoon and evening down in Laguna Beach. At the Festival of the Arts, we will get to explore lots of artwork displays as well as have the opportunity to make some of our own!

After taking in all that the festival has to offer, we will end the evening with the ALWAYS fabulous Pageant of the Masters. This performance includes live people being made up and posed up against backgrounds to replicate various forms of artwork. This year's pageant theme is "The Big Picture," and will include classic works that inspired early filmmakers!

Okay, off we go! So much fun to be had, so little time!

Session 2 begins

We can't wait for Session 2! Just in case you've misplaced your bus schedule, here it is. Don't forget your Medicine Labeling Form! Here's the Packing List  in case you need an extra copy.

BUS A

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Student arrival time: 8:05 am

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:45 am

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:15am

BUS B

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 8:10am

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 9:00 am

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:30 am   
                       

View arts-X-press Bus Stops in a larger map 

Visual Arts - Week 1 Video!

We had an awesome time exploring all types of media including Clay, Tempera Paint, Crayons, Colored Pencil, Watercolor Pencils, Pencil, Charcoal, Chalk Pastel, Oil Pastel, and Watercolor! We took risks combining the media and seeing if everyone could combine their work to create Horses in Motion using a Stroboscobe! Great Job Everyone!

Day 4: Cat's CE Class

Greetings, Parents! My name is Cat and I am new to Arts-X-Press this year.  The students and I have had an amazing time, seeing and doing so many exciting, fascinating and stimulating activities.  They have humbled me with their talents and their willingness to be so creative.  Your children are amazing! In my CE class, we have explored each other, the universe, ourselves, our imaginations and more.  The results have been fantastic.  They have written reflections, stories, and poems.  They have expressed themselves very creatively and have come to share quite openly.  I am proud of their growth in such a short time.

Today, we did a lot of finishing up.  One of the things we finished was a composite story with the theme of exploration.  I supplied the first line and the kids filled it in with one line each.  Here it is: "Once upon a time, there was a group of amazing explorers.  They were all unique, shy, open and daring, but in the end they would be united with two things.  The things were friendship and creativity.  Their creativity and friendship would create amazing things. Sometimes, they were unsure of themselves.  Even when they were unsure, they could help each other through the hardest obstacles.  They worked together to help each other by encouraging one another.  When they did this they could overcome anything. People became inspired by seeing kids work together as a family and a team.  They started to care for each other but they had to go with what they had learned together.  They learned a lot of new things on their journey." (By [not in order by line]Andrea, Brianna, Cambria, Clarissa, Dennise, Gabi, Hali, Haley, Kendall, Keri, Michelle, Victor, and Xandra)  And by the way, one person who was inspired by seeing your kids work was me!

Thank you for sharing your kids with us here at Arts-X-Press. It has been a wonderful session for me and I know I'll see them again in the future doing big things!

Week 1 Parent Presentation

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday! It begins at 6:45 pm in Newport Mesa Church, in which is on the the northeast corner of Vanguard's campus. Parking is free, the whole family is welcome, and your young artists can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.

A professional videographer will record the presentation. You can pre-order a DVD for $15 and professional group photos for $10 on Tuesday night. ArtsMart merchandise will also be on sale.

Day 3: Stacie's CE Class

Good Morning!!  So much exploration (ooOOooo) has occurred in the past 3 days.  In our class, the campers have been exploring themselves as artists through poetry, journals, and other forms of writing.  They all have expressed what they are learning about themselves as artists and where they see themselves in the future. 

On the first day of class, each camper wrote a letter to themselves describing their feelings on the first day.  I can't wait for them to read those letters again tomorrow to see how their feelings have changed over the short course of 3 days. 

Tomorrow night is the big Parent Presentation and my class is so excited to share their work!  They will each get the opportunity to present part of the work they have been creating in CE.  I can't wait for the parents to see how amazing and reflective their children are.

I leave you with some pictures of the artists at work:

Day 2

We continue to have a blast here. Today, after returning from seeing Sunset Blvd. we had spotlight workshops in dance, theater and vocal music. Lots of us got to try something we had never done before!

Fun at VWA

We had tons of fun at the Pacific Symphony concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater yesterday!

MiMo's CE Class

Hello parents!

This morning's blog post is brought to you by Michal and Mo's CE class. We apologize for the lack of pictures- we were having so much fun writing and sharing and creating that photos were the last thing on our minds.

Here's a little peek of how we spend our time in CE.

Each session, we start out with some journal-ling. We make sure to come up with a Discovery for the day, and a Goal for the day.

Kira- I never thought I would actually enjoy a symphony like I did yesterday.

Leah- I discovered that I'm better at sculpting than I thought I was. When we made our horses in visual arts class I was nervous that everyone else's sculptures would be better than mine and when I made mine it came out better than I thought.

Sam-I discovered that 3 minute showers aren't hard and that Mo works at Disneyland Resort!

Laura- This is totally 100% my passion, for lack of a better word. This is so cool, apparently, you can improvise on your violin, which I do all the time, but it is actually a thing!

Brittany- My goal is to come up for an idea for the talent show and maybe start practicing.

Bianca- My discovery today was that because I'm a dancer, I am still considered an actor. I never knew that!

Shelly- I know I said my goal was to get put in vocal, but I realized that I should get out of my comfort zone and do something new. So that was my discovery. My new goal is to go out of my comfort zone and explore the different types of arts.

Cole- My goal is to have fun!

To jump-start our discussion about our theme of EXPLORATION, we talked about exploring space. This tied into our concert seeing Holst's "The Planets". We paired up and created our own planets.

Bryant and Joshi- Welcome to Planet Z! There are mountains made out of diamonds, all the ground is black, it rains rocks, the forest could change colors when it will be hot, cold and rain. If you enter Planet Z you turn into one of the 3 options (magical people, mythical creatures or combined people). Every plant is a Venus Fly traps. If you are a wizard, you breathe helium.

Damian and Medha- Welcome to Phersephone Flato. Our people have the ability to heal by touch. Six small villages surround a jungle forest and the inhabitants are Martians who wear rusty armor and carry ray guns. The atmosphere is made of nitrous oxide in the morning, oxygen at noon, and CO2 in the evening.

Jessica and Pamela- Welcome to Planet Jesimela. The fruits on the trees can cure any sickness The ground looks like pink and purple rocks with blue trees and bushes with green fruits that turn into water when touched by the rocks. Puff people are rainbow colored and have giant eyes but turn into black, giant spiders. They are harmless... most of the time...Rare gems named Pasica can only be found in the center of the planet.

We also started to prep for seeing Pageant of the Masters and wrote stories to the pictures we are going to see at Pageant. Here are a few incomplete versions.

Anna and Grace- The king was sitting in his throne room. When all of a sudden, his 3 wives came bursting through the door. He was flirting with one of the maids. The three women, Victoria, Elizabeth, Jeannette, started talking at one. "How dare you!" Victoria said. "Why her? I'm prettier." Elizabeth asked. Jeannette gave the king a look. The King is horrified at their discovery. He runs but followed by the haunting memory of then. The king burns the crown and becomes a peasant.