Winterim in the Arts

Whether learning calligraphy or dabbling in music production, this Winterim students got the chance to explore a plethora of unique art courses not offered during the regular school year. Brion Kennedy, director of performing arts, touched on the exploratory nature of these classes.

“Winterim allows us to expand our offerings to other areas of the arts that either aren’t covered by the standard curricula or are just touched on,” he said. “Given that Winterim classes are elective, it's really exciting to see where certain students’ interests are.”

This year, students had 10 arts courses to choose from: Calligraphy, Art of Murals, Fast Fashion, Textiles, The Color Blue, Bookbinding, Music Production and Recording, Musical Theatre, Shakespeare, and Tech Design. In Music Production and Recording, each student wrote and recorded an original song.

“The girls have done such a great job learning about the technological side of recording and the creative approach to songwriting,” Mr. Kennedy said. “They were privileged to have three visiting artists during Winterim: Joey Stanca, an audio engineer from Blackbird Studios, and Risa Binder and Benji Harris, a songwriting duo.”

In addition to these courses, 18 upperclassmen conducted independent studies within the arts. Traveling to Los Angeles, France, Ireland, and working locally, they partnered with advisors to complete innovative projects. 

Senior Nora Fenelon spent the first part of Winterim in Ireland learning traditional looming techniques before returning to her on campus studio.

“My theme is combining textiles with clay. I’m using my trip and the family I was with there and all the sites that I went to as inspiration for my ceramics pieces,” she said.

Senior Kim Kirschbaum also created ceramics projects during her independent study.

“I’m working on sculptures that are about women and their acceptance and struggle with beauty,” she said. “Right now, I’m working on Pandora’s box. I love Winterim, because I get to make huge artwork.”

Senior Leelee Campbell spent her independent study creating collage art for her AP Art portfolio.

“My working theme is female suffering and female emotions. Anger, sadness, jealousy — the things that society tells women to keep under lock,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of fun with collage art because I feel like it’s a good way to represent those emotions. I like having the eight-hour workdays to just play and experiment with everything.”

The dedicated time for art and experimentation was a highlight for Winterim students. We can’t wait to see where they take their new passions!