Dive into a summer of artistic exploration in Maine's inspiring landscapes. Join fellow young artists on a two-week adventure where artistic traditions meet the crashing waves.

Dates:
Jul 22, 2024 - Aug 2, 2024

Levels: Beginner, Intermediate,
Workshop Fee: $4195
Workshop Duration: 2-weeks
Workshop Location: On-campus
Class Size: 10

This workshop is a part of the 2024 summer Academy program.

Book before December 31st, 2023 and save $300 on any 2-week Academy workshop or $1000 for the 6-week summer school programs. Early Bird discounts will be applied automatically & cannot be combined with any other offers.

Filmmaking

Note: Workshops can also be taken individually.

6-Week Summer Film School (Jun 24 - Aug 2, 2024)

  • 2-Week Film School (Jun 24 - Jul 5, 2024 - SOLD OUT)
  • 2-Week Film School (Jul 22 - Aug 2, 2024 )

  • 2-Week Advanced Film School (Jul 8, 2023 - Jul 19, 2024)

  • Finishing Strong: Editing & Post-Production (July 22 - August 2, 2024)

Photography

Note: Workshops can also be taken individually.

6-Week Summer Photo School (Jun 24 - Aug 2, 2024)

  • 2-Week Digital Photography (June 24 - July 5, 2024)

  • 2-Week Advanced Digital Photography (July 8, 2024 - July 19, 2024)

  • Scholastic Portfolio Development (July 22 - August 2, 2024)

Book Arts & Design

Midcoast Maine Summer Arts Expedition (July 22 - August 2, 2024)

There is a tradition of artists throughout history who pilgrimage to Maine to indulge in creative experimentation and exploration. Winslow Homer, Rockwell Kent, Louise Nevelson to name just a few. They formed collective places to meet with kindred spirits to gather ideas and share views. Today, scores of artists of all ages still flock to the places where the rocky shores and the sea collide.

Enjoy the beautiful coast of Maine, comb for treasures, and capture images and stories that can be incorporated into your work.

Please join us as we continue this tradition for a two-week creative adventure. We will work on campus as well as travel the mid-coast to explore artists’ estates (Bernard Langlais), museums (Farnsworth and Center for Maine Contemporary Art), and lighthouses (Rockland Breakwater and Owls Head) to immerse ourselves in a unique Maine summer experience. Smell the sea air. See the schooners sail by. Beachcomb for treasure. All these can be incorporated into your work during these two weeks in Maine.

Young Artists Academy, students shooting a short film on the breakwater in Rockland, Maine
Academy students on the famous breakwater in Rockland, Maine.

We will begin our time together by creating a one-of-a-kind, hand-bound artist sketchbook/journal from scratch. This will act as a home where you can explore your writing and drawings, let your imagination run wild, or record all that you see and do for these two weeks. Forge beyond traditional art practices through bookmaking, zine creation, mind mapping, and various printing techniques. We will work with a professional visiting artist to make your stories come alive by creating a “crankie”. (I don’t mean how you feel waking up early in the morning). A crankie is a scroll drawing “cranked” between two rods to unveil your visual narrative like early forms of time-based art! The possibilities for your short story, poetry, graphic novel, visual story, and one-act play are endless. Combine these with expressive and colorful visuals created using gelli-prints. This is an easy and fun process that uses a tray of gelatin as the base for layering shapes of color for bold imagery.

Make your own unique hand-bound artist sketchbook/journal to record all that you see and do during your 2-week adventure!
Create gelli-prints and combine your prints with your own short story or poem. Your work and project options will only be limited by your imagination.
Learn the process of mind mapping, a visual technique used by artists to organize, generate, and explore ideas in a visual format.
Book Arts & Design student focusing on their freshly printed letterpress design for a zine.
Create your own Zine, prints, and more!
Let the beautiful Maine landscape inspire your stories and drawings. By instructor Jessica Hamilton-Jones.

Whether you are an experienced young artist or just starting, this is the perfect opportunity to begin or expand a strong artist portfolio, and your artist’s books will document the memories that will stay with you throughout your life.

Things you can expect to do and create:

and more!

Student work:

 

About the Maine Media Academy

For over 30 years, each summer the Academy at Maine Media cultivates the next generation of photographers, filmmakers, and book artists through expert learning opportunities. Academy students join a longstanding community of artists and visual storytellers committed to building a legacy of mentorship and lifelong creative learning. Instructors in the program are accomplished working artists and professionals who are dedicated to the personal success and artistic journey of their students. Students will be surrounded by peers who share their passions and are guided by working artists who encourage creativity as they instruct them in the latest skills and techniques and help create portfolio-level work.

Brief Academy Overview:

  • Student days are comprised of both classroom and field/location work: lectures and critiques, demonstrations, shooting, editing, writing, computer workflow, and/or digital lab work, depending on the workshop. All instructors are talented industry professionals as well as experienced educators, and each works with a teaching assistant, providing additional support for their class. The students are busy all day and into the mid-evening hours.
  • All students reside in our campus residence, occupying the lower floor. Rooms are all private baths with a maximum of three students per room (most will be doubles). Resident Advisors (RAs) also reside on the same floor to monitor and supervise. The upper floor is occupied by non-Academy adult workshop attendees who will have little exposure or direct interaction with the Academy students.
  • During the week, all meals are taken together in the dining facilities directly across the street. Weekend meals are taken in the local economy and transported by the RA’s – or sometimes do cookouts. This cost is included in the tuition package. Parents may indicate any special dietary needs upon registration.
  • RAs supervise the students when not in class and help make group decisions about weekend activities which may include swimming, bowling, movies, and hiking. Coin laundry facilities are available on campus.
  • A lobster dinner is served (there are other choices) on the last Friday night of each workshop, and all Maine Media students gather for an evening presentation of highlights from the week’s work. Parents are welcome to attend, and meal tickets may be purchased in the Registration Office.
  • We recommend students have access to $150 over the two-week period for incidentals, snacks, movies, field trips, etc.
  • Check-in is on Sunday, between 3 and 6 and departure is on Saturday morning.
  • Tuition includes accommodation, access to campus amenities, transportation once the workshop has begun, meals (including a lobster dinner!), Resident Advisors, and Teacher’s Assistants.
  • Students may request a transcript be sent to their high school for possible credit.

Questions or Need More Information?

We have the answers to your questions and are here to help! You can give us a call at 877-577-7700, email us at [email protected], or get in touch online.

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Instructor: Jessica Hamilton-Jones

Jessica Hamilton-Jones is an artist and art teacher at Waterville Alternative High School in Waterville, Maine. She also teaches a cutting-edge art program that collaborates with Colby College and Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education. This program exposes a diverse group of students with several teaching artists from around Maine to explore how to develop an artistic practice.

In 2020, in a collaboration between Colby College and Waterville Public Schools, Jessica taught at "Sum Camp”, a summer math remediation for 5th-graders that focused on exciting arts-integrated math lessons.

Jessica holds a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies in Maine Studies from the University of Maine, a Bachelor of Art in Education from the University of Maine Augusta, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. 

Jessica is committed to advocating for art as a catalyst for positive societal change and encouraging lifelong learning to ensure students are prepared for today's challenging world. Jessica incorporates many opportunities to involve community members and experiences in Maine that will instill a positive sense of place for future generations. She aims to present projects that build confidence while encouraging individual expression, experimentation, discovery, and fun! These projects focus on diverse cultures and explore art history to inspire students' abilities to tell their own narratives while creating learning spaces that are safe and respectful of each individual.

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