La Europa Academy is known for our wide variety of arts activities including visual arts, music, dance, writing and drama. This summer, our visual arts program taught by artist Laura Johnson will be offering some fun and exciting challenges pushing students to find their artistic voice with three diverse classes.
"I want to understand each individual artist and her voice through art,” says teacher Laura Johnson. Plein air, or outdoor, painting will replicate the experience of making a living as an artist. Students will understand the artistic process from real life. They will be delving into the concepts of transition and change as they work outside with changing light, weather and natural conditions. Students will be given similar assignments to those given to artists submitting work for juried exhibits.
Laura will be teaching landscape fundamentals, working with horizon lines and perspective. Many students are interested in fashion design, and fashion design starts with fabric so the fabric arts class will take students through the basics of fabric. Students will be using batik, paper making and elements of nature in their work. They will be learning how fabrics combine through weaving and knitting. Finally, they will put their creativity to work on the sewing machine using the variety of fabrics they have experienced through the semester.
The biggest challenge for many high school art students is building a portfolio for submission to the art school of their choice. The portfolio building class will expand student exposure to a variety of art forms so they can submit a diverse portfolio. Art schools expect a student to be flexible and diverse in her work rather than only being proficient in one art medium. Plein air painting, fabric arts and portfolio building will give La Europa students a chance to expand their artistic vision and find their voice this summer.
About La Europa Academy and Mosaic House Transition Program
La Europa Academy is a residential treatment center for girls ages 14 -18 who struggle with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, depression, school refusal, disordered eating and substance use. Our program, located in Murray, UT, uses a combination of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and clinical expressive arts to help students learn to manage their emotions effectively. Students at La Europa experience expressive art therapies multiple times per week as well as engaging in creative arts in our fully-accredited high school.
Mosaic House Transition Program provides La Europa students with a step-down experience toward the end of their stay in residential treatment, in order to help transition the student to the next step. Mosaic House is a 15-bed home where students can practice the skills they have learned in a less-structured environment.