Summer 2022 Youth Spotlight: Mark W.

Mark is a photo apprentice with us this summer!

What is the most interesting thing you have learned this summer?

I learned about shutter speed and ISO, like if it’s too bright I gotta turn down the ISO. I didn’t know anything about cameras before this summer, I never even took a photo on a DSLR camera before. I like these cameras because I like how the background is blurry. I enjoy taking landscapes and portraits.

What has been your favorite project so far?

I liked doing the collage with me and Miracle. I like being in pictures and posing.

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer?

Taking more pictures on the DSLR cameras. I want to buy a camera for myself. I want to edit videos too. I know that editing takes awhile but I can do it and I enjoy it. I’ve been taking photos of basketball and football games.

Has this class impacted the type of art you want to make? If so, how?

All I know is that it taught me a lot. I didn’t know anything about cameras before this.

Favorite athletes: For basketball, it’s Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul. For football, it’s Lamar Jackson.

Favorite musical artist: Lil Poppa

Summer 2022 Youth Spotlight: Christian H.

Christian is one of the graphic design apprentices with us this summer

What is the most interesting thing you have learned this summer?

How to use magazines to create collages. I like how I can put a whole bunch of different things together and make something beautiful. I’ve never done them before this summer and really like them. The ones I made are mostly about basketball and sports.

What has been your favorite project so far?

My favorite project was making our own Instagram post layout on Canva. We picked a template from Canva that we liked and put our own photos and designs on it. I did mine of prom night last year.

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer?

Seeing the final billboard. Designing it has been fun, and the mental health part feels relevant to me. 

Has this class impacted the type of art you want to make? If so, how?

I didn’t really get a choice with choosing graphic design, but I think compared to photo, it is definitely harder. I had to learn how to use Procreate and other programs on the computer.

Favorite Movie: The Hate U Give.

I’ve watched this movie like 12 times. It’s a part of Black excellence and police brutality and justice. It’s one of the first movies I’ve seen where it shows things like these. I like it because this is what we go through in the world today, it’s not fiction, it’s real life.

Summer 2022 Youth Spotlight: Zach H.

Zach is a studio apprentice with Mr. Ahmad in graphic design!

What is the most interesting thing you have learned this summer?

The most interesting thing I learned was how to use Procreate. Compared to drawing on paper, it’s easier to fix my mistakes on. I’ve used Canva and 3D printing programs before this summer at other camps I’ve been to.

What has been your favorite project so far?

Mood board and vision board stuff.

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer?

I’m looking forward to see the final billboard project. The process has been slow, but we are almost done with the photo editing and photoshop part. I taught myself photo editing before, so I knew how to do that before this summer. I taught myself because I like taking pictures of people and of myself. It’s been hard though, because I don’t have anyone I can take pictures of. I’m looking forward to drawing more too. I’m pretty good at drawing. I used to draw a lot in 6th grade, but then the pandemic happened and then I’m waking up at 9:30 every day and my computer is right by my bed, it got harder. Going to school and being there is so different because at school there are no temptations, and I’m more of a hands-on person. I want to practice drawing more here in person.

Has this class impacted the type of art you want to make? If so, how?

Yes, this class made me want to explore more graphic design. For photography, my cousin does photography, so if I have questions about that, I can ask him. I chose to be in the graphic design group because I liked it more. I enjoy the drawing part. Procreate makes it easier for certain parts, but I don’t have a tablet or stylus at home so it’s harder to do.

Favorite Musical Artist: Tyler the Creator.

I like his flow. I really like his old music. His new music is something I can listen to and go to sleep to. I started listening to him awhile ago and just worked my way through all his albums.

Summer 2022 Youth Spotlight: Tyonna G.

Tyonna G. is an apprentice in our graphic design group this summer

What is the most interesting thing you have learned this summer?

The most interesting thing was the rubber printmaking lesson. It was my first time doing it. I usually don’t really like drawing, but I definitely like doing things with my hands more than doing things digitally.

What has been your favorite project so far?

My favorite was the project with Jasmine we did this project, it was about border control. It was a heavy topic but we did a collage about it, we cut up pictures from magazines. I liked the way that Jasmine led the activity and the topic and the fact that we did it through collage. I liked all parts of it.

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer?

Nothing in particular. I wasn’t really into art at the start of this summer, I was kind of against it at the beginning, but now I’m paying attention more and it’s a lot more interesting.

Has this class impacted the type of art you want to make? If so, how?

I’ve only done art in school before and I liked doing these new methods of art here.

Summer 2022 Youth Spotlight: Lynette O.

Give it up for Lynette, an apprentice in the graphic design group!

What is the most interesting thing you have learned this summer?

Probably learning that we can find art everywhere. Like how we can take pictures of places that we see everyday, but being able to make such beautiful art out of it. I’ve been able to see this through the billboard project, what we are doing right now with photoshop, and editing the photos that the photography group has taken of every day things, like row homes and people on the streets. It’s all really cool.

What has been your favorite project so far?

Probably our vision boards with Brady, the prompt was “Where you see yourself in 5-10 years?” Being able to envision that through a collage was a good exercise. My vision board was a bit disorganized because I don’t know where I want to be in the future, but I just put smaller things, like living in an apartment or having a dog.

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer?

Seeing the final product of the billboard. I’m excited to see a billboard that we created.

Has this class impacted the type of art you want to make? If so, how?

Learning graphic design has impacted the art I want to explore more. It got me thinking about incorporating art into your professional life. I haven’t done graphic design before, so it was intimating at first, but Mr. A and everyone helping was nice. I don’t think I prefer graphic design over traditional art, but digital art is also very fun.  

Favorite movie: Dead Poets Society

It’s about an English teacher who comes to traditional sports oriented school and teaches them the beauty of poetry and writing. There’s a quote from it that I like: “We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."