Category Archives: Public Programs

Art Center for Kids students imagine fashion on Mars

Instructor Yelen Aye (right) gives his Saturday High students some fashion sketching tips.

In less than two weeks, Art Center and students in grades 4–8 will be taking fashion to a different level. Or in this case, a different planet.

Every Spring term, all Art Center for Kids classes—from Animal Sculpture to T-Shirt Design—focus on a common theme: imagining life on Mars.

It’s all part of the Imagine Mars Project, an interdisciplinary program sponsored by NASA and the National Endowment for the Arts that takes students on a virtual mission to Mars and brings them back with a new outlook on community, science and the arts.

For these classes, Art Center for Kids students have an opportunity to meet with scientists and engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to bring this theme to life.

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Adding value to the world: Art Center at Night student Julienne Johnson

Artist Julienne Johnson in her North Hollywood studio. Photo courtesy of the artist.

“Her work impressed me with its own combination of raw confidence and formal strategy,” said art critic Peter Frank of artist Julienne Johnson. “She knows how to put together a painting, even as she puts herself right in the middle of its fabrication.”

Frank edited Johnson’s first art book Ashes for Beauty, which documents the artist’s collection of the same name, which was the subject of two solo exhibitions at Santa Monica’s TAG Gallery in 2010 and 2011.

Johnson has taken several courses at Art Center at Night over the past few years and she credits the College’s continuing studies program with dramatically changing her work as well as her approach.

“I learned that the making of art is of great value to the world,” said Johnson. “I already knew how immensely important it was to me, but it was through Art Center that I felt empowered to proclaim it boldly.”

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Meet Environmental Design alumna Zorine Pooladian

Designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL '12.

Sometimes finding your true calling can feel like flipping on a light switch. Just ask designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL ’12.

The Environmental Design alum was first turned on to the world of lighting design in an Art Center at Night (ACN) course; these days she’s working on a lighting project she plans to unveil at New York Design Week next year.

We sat down recently with Pooladian to ask her about her ACN experience, and here’s what she told us:

“I have always loved art and architecture. I grew up in a 300-year-old house in Iran that had high ceilings and walls covered in paintings. As a child, I remember being amazed that somebody could leave something behind that would last for centuries.” Continue reading →

Art Center at Night: Register now for Fall courses

Untitled by Lori Dedeyan. Created in "Photography as Contemporary Art" with instructor Bia Gayatto.

Plato once said, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

Sometimes breaking free of old patterns can be a scary prospect. Know what’s even scarier? Getting stuck in a rut out of a fear of trying something new.

At Art Center at Night, we offer more than 150 courses—taught by award-winning instructors who are practicing artists and designers in their field—that can help you step out of your comfort zone, learn a new technique and expand your creative horizons.

New courses offered this Fall include: Personal Branding; Children’s Picture Books; Meditation and the Creative Mind 2; Traditional Letterpress: Analog; Introduction to zBrush; Introduction to Motorcycle Design; and Creating Content for Automotive Media.

Courses start September 10; register today!

Ready to step into the light?

Related:

Meet Art Center at Night student Arotin Hartounian

Just call him Stan: Art Center at Night’s Stan Kong

Tony Luna: Making Change Happen

Valedictorian Roy Tatum Shares with Graduation Crowd Lessons He Learned at Art Center

Valedictorian Roy Tatum addresses the Summer 2012 graduation crowd.

At last Saturday’s Summer 2012 graduation, Graphic Design graduate and Art Center valedictorian Roy Tatum shared with the assembled crowd some lessons about life, learning and the design process that he picked up while at the College.

Here are a few highlights.

On his high school aspirations:

While everyone I went to high school was making plans for college, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to attend [college]. I hadn’t found something I was passionate enough about to devote a significant amount of time.

On something a fellow musician told him:

I had just finished playing a show and I was talking to the drummer of the band that had played after us. He had gone to an art and design school in Los Angeles and he told me about his experience and I thought, That doesn’t even sound like school. That just sounds awesome.

On Art Center’s Public Programs:

Like many of you, I started by attending Art Center at Night. I remember being so excited and eager to learn from the teacher during the first night of class. I came home and thought to myself, This is what I love, this is what I’m passionate about. I was so excited I couldn’t wait to apply to the day program.

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Sparking Passion for Cars and Design

Art Center for Kids students in Jeffrey Leon's "Designing Cars" class.

Car enthusiasts come in all shapes, sizes—and ages.

Recognizing this, and aiming to inspire the next generation of auto lovers, the Collectors Foundation awards scholarships and grants to organizations that are committed to both hands-on education and making a difference in the lives of young people through the appeal of historic vehicles and vessels.

An Art Center partner since 2005, the Foundation supports undergraduate scholarships in Art Center’s Transportation Design program, as well as scholarships for students interested in transportation classes in Art Center’s Public Programs, Saturday High for students in grades 9-12 and Art Center for Kids for students in grades 4-8.

Eunice Han, age 16, of Rowland Heights, Calif., received a Collectors Foundation scholarship in 2011 to cover the cost of an Introduction to Transportation Design class in Saturday High. “The opportunities given through this scholarship helped set my path by revealing to me the incredible role of art and design in our community,” says Eunice. “I realized that without a doubt I had to be a part of it.”

The class also opened Eunice’s eyes to the wide range of design careers available to her. She is now considering a career in industrial design. “I enjoy being able to create solutions,” she explains, “whether that be of a product or even a graphic representation.”

From an early age, Greg Bagdasaryan of Glendale, Calif., had dreamed of designing “killer” cars. He began Art Center for Kids classes at age 12 and received a Collectors Foundation scholarship at 18, which enabled him to take a Saturday High beginning transportation class.

“The class changed my perspective by showing me how to sketch simple shapes and use them to express my ideas for cars and other things,” says Greg.  “It was a great first step in learning what design really was and how to think about ideas and show what can and cannot work.”

Now a student at Pasadena City College, Greg is working hard to improve his design skills as he builds a portfolio that he hopes will gain him admission to Art Center. “It takes a great work ethic,” he adds. “I’ve learned that if you aim for the top, you can succeed. All it takes is that spark of passion.”

The power of cars to inspire the creative spirit is something that the Collectors Foundation understands well. While not every student who receives a Collectors Foundation scholarship sets his or her sights on designing the automobile classics of the future, many describe developing a greater appreciation for design in the auto industry and beyond.

Meet Art Center at Night Student Arotin Hartounian

ACN student Arotin Hartounian.

Sometimes pursuing your passion isn’t the easiest decision to make.

Just ask Art Center at Night (ACN) student Arotin Hartounian, who last term completed Illustration Techniques with Robert Pastrana.

We sat down recently with Hartounian, and here’s what he told us:

“I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, but I moved to Glendale when I was 10 years old. It’s been a real blessing. As a kid, I was always drawing and experimenting with images, but the thought of pursuing art as a career never crossed my mind. That would have been unimaginable. Those opportunities just don’t exist in Iran.

“I began to see things differently once I entered high school. I started taking more art classes and, with the guidance of my art teachers, I began to realize that there were real opportunities out here to be an artist. When I first told my parents that I wanted to be an artist they didn’t take it seriously because they weren’t aware of the possibilities either. Over the years, I’ve had to prove to myself and them that I’m serious and that there are a lot of well-paid, well-respected fields out there for creative individuals.

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Metro Expo Line Opens This Weekend, Alumnus Ronald J. Llanos’ Work Featured at Expo/Western Station

An illustration by alumnus Ronald J. Llanos; his work has been installed at the Expo/Western station.

The much-anticipated Metro Expo Line opens this weekend and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is celebrating by throwing a party. From 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29, everybody can ride the new light rail line connecting the Westside to Downtown L.A. for free.

And while Metro is touting that it will only take 30 minutes to travel between Culver City and Downtown, they’re encouraging everybody to make multiple stops this Saturday to partake in a number of celebrations–Latino jazz band Double Gee Ninenet at the 7th St./Metro Center Station are one of many offerings–from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..

Alumnus Ronald J. Llanos.

And on both days, riders should be sure to disembark frequently as each station features new commissioned permanent work by a different local artist, including Tom LaDuke, Samuel Rodriguez and Jessica McCoy. Near and dear to our hearts at Art Center is the Expo/Western Station, which features Ephemeral Views: A Visual Essay by Fine Art alumnus and Art Center at Night and Saturday High instructor Ronald J. Llanos.

More than four years in the works, Ephemeral Views consists of 24 mosaic panels, each one 8′ x 3′, that feature Llanos’ trademark translucent watercolor impressions of the vibrant characters that make up the everyday street life of the greater Los Angeles area. For some behind-the-scenes snippets of what to expect to see at Expo/Western, check out Llanos’ blog here and here.

“You might call me a ‘visual journalist’ or an ‘urban realist.’ My images are inspired by people, and by places I travel to or frequent,” reads Llanos artist’s statement on the Expo Line website. “I feel that if I search within myself for that which I find interesting about the places and people of those areas, I might be able to communicate with people across time.”

For more on this weekend’s Expo Line grand opening festivities, visit Metro’s website.

Illustrations by Ronald J. Llanos; his work captures the vibrant street life of the L.A. region.

Get Experienced with Art Center at Night

Students in an Art Center at Night "Intro to Graphic Design" course. Photo: Four Eyes Photography.

Are you experienced in the ways of Art Center at Night?

No? Then you’re in luck because the College is giving you three nights in a row—starting tonight!—to experience first-hand Art Center’s popular continuing studies program.

At Experience Art Center at Night, you can sit in on several ACN courses, observe student presentations and critiques, take a self-guided tour of South Campus, and watch ACN’s instructors in action. Whether you’re seeking to advance your professional career, looking for a new creative outlet, or preparing a portfolio for entry in to Art Center’s full-time degree programs, Art Center at Night has a wide range of courses to fit your needs.

Participating classes:

Monday, April 16, 7–9 p.m.
Digital Design 1; Digital Magazines for iPad; Fashion Illustration; Intro to Environmental Design; Intro to Graphic Design; Intro to Product and Transportation Design; Perspective; Service-Based Products; and Visual Communication and Form Development.

Tuesday, April 17, 7–9 p.m.
Contemporary Letterpress; Introduction to Advertising; Intro to Documentary Film; Intro to Graphic Design; The Next Great Idea; Photo 102: Taking it to the Street; Product Design: Process; Physical Computing with Arduino; and Web Fundamentals.

Wednesday, April 18, 7–9 p.m.
The Art of Storytelling; Editorial Design for the iPad; Essential Typography; Exploring Lighting: Next Step; Graphic Design; Illustration Techniques and Concepts; Intro to Environmental Design; Intro to Package Design; Intro to Product and Transportation Design; Motion Design 1; Printmaking Studio; Product Branding Strategy; and Visual Communication and Form Development.

See you there!

Experience Art Center at Night
April 16–18, 7–9 p.m.
Art Center College of Design
South Campus
950 South Raymond Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
artcenter.edu/atnight

Art Center for Kids Students Imagine Life on Mars

Art Center for Kids students get up close and personal with a Mars Rover model.

This August, NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity will land on the surface of the Red Planet. Armed with a geology lab, cameras galore and a rock-vaporizing laser, Curiosity’s mission will be to find conditions favorable for life.

This Spring, all students enrolled in Art Center for Kids—Art Center College of Design’s program for students in grades 4–8—will have a special opportunity to work with Curiosity engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to imagine what a future community on Mars might look like.

It’s all part of the Imagine Mars Project, an interdisciplinary program sponsored by NASA and the National Endowment for the Arts—and of which Art Center is a proud partner— that takes kids on a virtual mission to Mars and brings them back with a new outlook on community, science and the arts.

Art Center for Kids students in "Architecture from the Inside Out" design buildings suitable for the environment on Mars.

Every Spring term for the past six years, all Art Center for Kids classes focus on one common theme: imagining a future life on Mars. In these classes, young artists and designers, in cooperation with scientists and engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, translate this theme through a variety of disciplines.

“Here on Earth we take certain things for granted, like gravity,” says David J. Delgado, Art Center alumnus and Lead on the Imagine Mars Project for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who says the main skill Imagine Mars students develop is creative problem solving, “We ask the students to dig into their imagination and come up with things that have never been seen before.”

Delgado says the wide array of disciplines taught at Art Center for Kids means those ‘things that never seen before’ take on infinite variations—whether they’re group projects built in Architecture from the Inside Out (“How do you design buildings to fit into the environment on Mars?”), constructing narratives in Cartooning Technique (“What kind of people will live there? What will they do?”) imagining how pets would survive on Mars in Animal Sculpture (“The students have come up with some really fun spacesuits for their animals.”) or capturing images of life on Earth in Photography to remind residents on Mars of their roots.

Delgado also points out that the lessons learned in class go far beyond simply learning about Mars, “The instructors at Art Center for Kids use Imagine Mars as a jumping-off point to get really creative. Not only are the students learning about Mars, but they’re also learning skills for their specific medium, say photography. And they’re not just learning how to take a photograph, but they’re also learning about how tell stories through pictures. All the classes do a really good of that.”

Art Center for Kids Spring classes begin February 19; register today!

David J. Delgado, lead of the Imagine Mars Project at The Jet Propulsion Laboratory.