Coldwater Arts

Artistic expression reflects elements of human thought and cultural meaning that no other form of human expression can quite capture. In this class, students will be introduced to the foundational elements of visual design and the methods of analysis by which artistic intentions, aesthetic effects, and cultural meanings may be understood and fully appreciated. We will examine art from a variety of historical periods in class before making daily visits to some of Los Angeles's premier art museums, where students will practice their analytical skills in group discussions as well as written exercises. In the process, students will gain greater confidence in their ability to understand and appreciate aesthetic objects and begin to discover the ways in which the visual arts may more fully impact their lives.

Because we will be out for much of the day, students will need to bring lunch to this program.

Want to learn how to sew your own clothes but don’t know where to start? In this class you’ll learn the basics including how to thread a sewing machine, understand a sewing pattern, choose the right fabric for your project, cut your pieces correctly, and stitch accurately. You’ll leave class with a pair of comfy pj pants and a covered pillow for your room, feeling accomplished and inspired.

The week-long summer dance intensive is designed for students interested in strong dance technique, injury prevention, choreography, and performance. While engaging with professionals experienced in Broadway, television, and concert dance, students will be exposed to a variety of dance genres such as hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and more, with an emphasis on dance theater and commercial dance.  Students should wear dance or fitness attire and bring lunch and water each day. By the end of the program, dancers will walk away empowered and prepared to join the Harvard-Westlake Dance Program or the Harvard-Westlake Dance Ensemble. The course culminates in a performance for friends and family.  

Program lead and Harvard-Westlake’s Director of Dance, Queala Clancy, has performed and taught dance for over 20 years with international travels and performance credits from B.E.T. to Cirque du Soleil. Instructor Neisha Folks has performed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Broadway with film credits: Malcolm X, Glitter, Meet the Fockers, Coke, and others.

Ever wished you knew how to create your own original sewing patterns to bring your ideas to life? This is a great place to start! In this 4-day class you’ll learn the fundamentals of patternmaking for fashion design by drafting a pattern for a loose-fit T-shape top of your design. You’ll begin by taking your own measurements, drafting the pattern, and sewing a muslin test garment to check the fit. Then you’ll learn how to customize your pattern to reflect your design. You’ll have the opportunity to choose and purchase materials for your project during a field trip to a local fabric store, then you’ll cut and sew your own unique garment. Sewing machines, tools, and most supplies are provided, but students will need to purchase their own fabrics and thread to suit their individual project. Intended for confident beginners. PREREQUISITES:

• know how to thread and operate a sewing machine
• able to sew straight and curved seams with accuracy
• understand basic sewing terminology including right side/wrong side, selvedge, straight and cross grain of fabric, stitch width/length, and seam allowance.
• be familiar with sewing pattern markings including notches, straight grain line, and center front/center back fold line.
• have completed at least one garment using a store-bought sewing pattern

This two-week exploration will teach you how to translate the human figure into drawing and painting using a variety of materials. While working from life, you will advance from gestural work to developed compositions, emphasizing line, space, light, proportion, and figure/ground relationships. You will gain a deeper understanding of classical, modern, and contemporary usage of the human figure. This context and technique will be a point of departure for the cultivation of individual style and voice. The class is recommended if you are already working in the arts and are interested in developing your college portfolio. Please note that nude human models will be used for this class.

This is a two-week intensive to learn the fundamentals of screenwriting. This course is an opportunity to hone your craft by creating and completing a short screenplay. How do you construct a short film screenplay that is succinct yet complex, simple but powerful? Students often struggle with how to make a good story and yet story is the key to making a successful film. We will watch short films and do lots of writing -- exploring character, dialogue, plot, and different genres and styles. This two-week intensive is an opportunity to hone your craft and make your films better. You will have a lot of fun in this class, and your writing will improve. A selection of screenplays from this class will be produced during Making a Short Film. Past screenplays produced during the Summer Film Program have been selected for film festivals.***For new and experienced writers.

The Harvard-Westlake Summer Jazz Workshop is designed to decode jazz improvisation. Like any new language, jazz requires a complex vocabulary and learning this vocabulary takes time, patience, and lots of practice. Do you love to play your instrument but aren't totally sure what to do when asked to "solo" Chris Sullivan's, Harvard-Westlake's Director of Instrumental Music, leads this well-structured and FUN camp, which will equip you with a skillset to succeed in playing improvised music. Through small group master classes, semi-private lessons, small ensemble playing, and detailed ear training and music theory instruction, you will gain a deeper and more meaningful relationship with melodies, chords, scales, and rhythm, the essential building blocks of becoming an excellent jazz musician. Open to all instrumentalists who have had at least 12 months of instruction. No jazz experience required. (8th grade students may audition for placement consideration.) You should bring your own instrument.

In this two-week photography course, you will engage in a range of analog and digital photographic techniques and explore the intersections between the two. You will learn black & white 35mm film photography, cyanotypes (sun prints), and more, in addition to viewing and discussing artworks by professional photographers. One question this course seeks to pose is, in what ways do older modes of image-making continue to inform the way we look at and make photographs today? This course is designed to be an introduction to 35mm / analog photography for those who are new to photography, as well as an opportunity for intermediate photographers to dig deeper into analog processes and spend some more time in the darkroom.

This three-week workshop is open to students and alumni that have previously taken at least one full semester of Upper School Ceramics, Sculpture, or Glass. It is a chance to build on skills and begin to develop a college arts portfolio. For three hours each day, there will be an open studio policy where you can make anything that you wish within the given time frame and potential of the Harvard-Westlake 3D Art studio facilities. Ceramics and glass artists may arrive with creative ideas or just an interest in improving their throwing or glass blowing/working skills. For ceramics, weeks one and two will be dedicated to wet work including throwing, hand-building, and trimming. Week three will focus on glazing, loading the kilns, and firing the ware. You will have the option to create works utilizing both cone 10 and cone 5 clays and glazes. Materials and tools will be provided. Special requests should be directed to the instructors at least two weeks before start of course. PREREQUISITE: HW Students only or permission of the instructor. You must have taken at least a one-semester course in the medium you would like to work in. For example, you must have taken Potter's Wheel to work in ceramics. This is a largely self-directed program, overseen by HW Visual Arts faculty.

This is a one-week intensive to learn the fundamentals of camera work, editing and storytelling. Have you ever wanted to make your own films? This film camp, designed especially for 7th-11th graders, offers a comprehensive approach to filmmaking with a focus on narrative. We'll watch films to identify what makes a good story and learn all of the necessary tools from cinematography to editing. The HW campus will be our back lot as we shoot scenes in various genres, which we'll edit into short films complete with music and credits. You will work in small groups and get a chance to explore story development, production design, acting, directing, cinematography, and editing.

This is a two-week intensive to shoot and edit a short film. Do you already have experience and want to be part of a filmmaking crew? This session is right for you. There are opportunities for actors, directors, cinematographers, production designers, sound designers, composers, and production assistants. Scripts will be selected by the teachers from those generated during our Writing the Short Film intensive. You will work in small production teams based on interest, each crew working with a mentor. Each film team will start with casting while determining the visual style of their film. The campus serves as the back lot and sound stage as we scout locations and develop each film's production design. Then we'll plan our camera work and shooting schedule. At the end of the first week, we will have finished pre-production and started production. In the second week, you will finish filming and begin post-production, creating a first rough cut to be screened for friends and family. In past years, films produced in our program have been screened in film festivals and won national awards.***This class will not cover basic instruction and, therefore Summer Film: The Basics or equivalent is a prerequisite. If you have not met the prerequisites but feel you are ready for an advanced level course, you may apply by submitting a link to your previous work.***

If you're someone who loves to create visual stories and would like to learn an editing software that professional editors use, as well as learn to complete a student-produced short film for social media and film festivals, this session is for you. Using the footage from the Making the Short Film sessions, not only will you learn to use Adobe Premiere Pro, you will also explore different editing styles, learn audio editing and dubbing, create a soundscape with sound effects, select music, add special effects, make interesting title sequences and credits, do color corrections, and learn how to export a video, both for festivals and for social media. A film can be shot and simply edited, but to make a film competitive in the festival world, one needs to refine the editing in many ways. This post-production session will demonstrate how a short film is assembled, completed and made ready for the big screen.