Kent Blossom Art Intensives (KBAI) offers immersive two-week art experiences each summer that are open to college students as well as individual artists. Similar to an artist residency, participants create a self-directed body of artwork under the guidance of resident School of Art faculty and talented visual artists from around the country. These studio intensives offer in-depth discussions, professional mentorships and unforgettable experiences to all that participate. This summer, from May 24 through June 6, Kent State University’s School of Art is offering four studio intensives: ceramics, painting, print media, and sculpture and expanded media.

Kent State welcomed several new art faculty this past fall semester, including J. Leigh Garcia and Eli Kessler, who will be leading two of the KBAI courses this year. J. Leigh Garcia, professor of print media and photography, is an artist born and raised in Dallas. Following the roots of her own biracial ancestry, Garcia explores the complex relationship between Texans and Mexicans—particularly, the racialization and displacement of unauthorized Latinx immigrants. The print media KBAI will allow participants to investigate the multiple with emphasis on pattern and collage. Visiting artists include Delita Martin from Huffman, Texas, and Julia Lucey of Fairfax, California.

Eli Kessler, professor of sculpture and expanded media, approaches sculpture as a way to examine particular artifacts, rituals, and cultural phenomena. Within his process, ideology and iconography are cut up, rematerialized, and arranged in an attempt to find meaning. The sculpture and expanded media KBAI will explore traditional hands-on sculpting processes, along with digital sculpting techniques. Visiting artists include Chris Mahonski from Richmond, Virginia, and Douglas Rieger from Brooklyn, New York.

Peter Christian Johnson, who joined the art faculty in 2015, will also be leading a KBAI course in ceramics with visiting artists Steven Young Lee (Helena, Montana) and David Hicks (Visalia, California). Shawn Powell, who came to Kent State in 2018, will be teaching the painting KBAI alongside visiting artists Angela Heisch and Sarah Slappey, both from Brooklyn, New York.

Learn more about Kent Blossom Art Intensives and register on our website kent.edu/kentblossomart. Standard tuition rates apply for students. Individual artists can take these two-week intensives for $1,100. On-campus housing is available. Application deadline is April 30.

 

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

School of Art Collections and Galleries

Center for the Visual Arts

325 Terrace Drive

Kent. Ohio 44242

galleries.kent.edu

330.672.1369