“One more time. I can go faster.” A group of students from Saint Martin de Porres High School gather around a table at The Cleveland Print Room, eyes shut tightly, mouthing their time. They are practicing rolling film—an old technique, but a newly acquired skill—to get ready for their first dark room experience as members of Young Snappers.

 

Sponsored by Jones Soda Co., this photography residency program partners their school, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning (formerly Young Audiences) and The Cleveland Print Room.

 

The 18 seniors are working with social studies teacher Danielle Hayes and Cleveland-based artist Donald Black Jr., a teaching artist with Arts-Inspired Learning. Leading a series of nine afterschool workshops exploring methods from pinhole cameras to SLR and 35mm, Black Jr. is guiding the students into a deeper appreciation of non-digital technique and composition.

 

Known for its unique identity of random images wrapping each bottle, originally shot by iconic designer/photographer Victor John Penner, the company later used crowd-sourced images to highlight submissions by its drinkers. The student residency, piloted in a school in northern California, was expanded this year into Cleveland and Detroit. This November, the students will participate in a Skype Q+A and critique with Penner. One selected student’s work will be seen nationally on bottles of Jones Soda (and get to pick the flavor).

 

To see the student work, visit the online gallery at

jonessoda.com/young-audiences/gallery

 

The work will be on display at Saint Martin de Porres on December 16 as part of the school’s Holiday Family Night.

 

To partner with Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, visit arts-inspiredlearning.org.

 

Center for Arts Inspired Learning

13110 Shaker Square, C203

Cleveland, Ohio 44120

216.561.5005

arts-inspiredlearning.org