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The ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ Program offers workshops for all ages and abilities on our picturesque mountain campus. The tradition of gathering an impassioned community of artists during the summer months in Idyllwild dates back over seven decades and has served generations of musicians, painters, writers and performers in a variety of disciplines including dance and theatre. Join us in discovering the magic of an ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ summer, and explore your creativity in an inspiring setting with an enthusiastic community of students, faculty and staff. Residential options exist for adults and students aged 10 and up. Day programs exist for children aged 5 and up.

Past events

Past Event

Bracelets with Charm

18+

Instructor: Amelia Toelke

This workshop will focus on the creation of a sterling silver charm bracelet adorned with charms designed by participants. Learn precision soldering techniques that focus on chain making, sweat soldering, small-scale construction and fabrication with sheet and wire.

Past Event

Shape to Figure

18+

Instructor: Michelle Solorzano

Spend a week bringing a figure to life! Using slabs, templates, and reference images, you’ll build a hollow form in parts, assemble and refine it, and finish with patterned surface decoration to tell a story.

Past Event

Volumetric Image Transfer and Tile

18+

Instructor: Forrest Lesch Middelton

Uncover your artistic voice through tiles and wheel-thrown forms. With Forrest’s guidance, explore image transfer, silk screens, embossments, and reduction cooling to create richly decorative, functional wares with fresh surface approaches.

Past Event

Drawn to Surfaces: Illustrative Handbuilding

18+

Instructor: Milo Berezin

Create lively characters, patterns, and narratives on hand-built pottery! This workshop will introduce various soft slab building techniques including slab coils and press molds. Students will then explore illustrative decorating techniques on greenware using slip, underglaze, and customizable carving tools.

Past Event

Piano Performance

18+

Instructors: Diane Hidy & Antoinette Perry

This workshop is designed for advanced level pianists to improve their performance skills and polish their repertoire. Daily Master Classes and performances take place in the beautiful William M. Lowman Concert Hall.

Past Event

Exploring Calligraphy

18+

Instructor: Rick Paulus

Enjoy an immersive calligraphy journey as you explore a broad range of tools, materials, and techniques, from historic to contemporary, with expert guidance throughout.

Past Event

Enhancing Raku Through Design

18+

Instructor: Eric L. Stearns

This workshop is designed for artists familiar with throwing who want to expand their skills, develop a custom color palette using Mason stains, and experience the challenges of Raku firing.

Past Event

Casting Clay, Molds and Models

18+

Instructor: Daniel Garver

Slipcasting from start to finish! A broad introduction to moldmaking to expand your practice. We will cover a wide range of material including model making, simple press molds to complicated multipart casting molds, mixing casting slip, plaster, glazes, and more.

Past Event

MATHLAB – Online

13-18

This course is designed for both incoming and current students, offering an opportunity to get a head start on their math learning, continue their progress from the previous school year, or focus on credit recovery. MathLAB allows students to progress at their own pace while participating in live Zoom sessions with their teacher three times a week, for at least one hour each. To maximize the benefits of the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ Math Program, students are strongly encouraged to engage in independent work outside of the required Zoom meetings.

Past Event

Turning the Page: Altered Books

18+

Instructor: Cat Orlando

Transform old books into unique works of art by turning their pages into a canvas for self-expression. Explore mixed media techniques including collage, painting, cutting, folding, stamping, layering, and journaling.

Past Event

Uplifting Porcelain Jewelry Lab

18+

Instructor: Malia Peoples

Discover the intersection of ceramics and jewelry-making! Shape, layer, and decorate colored porcelain clay into earrings, pendants, and more. Practice assembly techniques and take home unique porcelain jewelry that is sure to surprise and delight.

Past Event

The Poetics of Power and Play

18+

Instructors: Tom Laichas & Lynne Thompson

In this week-long workshop, Tom Laichas will teach the first half and Lynne Thompson will teach the second half! Laichas’s ‘Poetry and the Prince‘ will explore how poetry responds to corruption and power by examining diverse political forms from satire to lament, drawing on global poetic traditions. Thompson’s ‘Wordplay and Other Roads to Verse-City‘ will then focus on craft and play, using a variety of forms including prose poems, glosas, centos, and forms of her own creation to discover new approaches to writing.

Past Event

Poetry: ‘The Room in the Elephant’

18+

Instructor: Brendan Constantine

Howard Nemerov described poetry as ‘a means of seeing invisible things and saying unspeakable things about them.’ In this workshop participants will re-examine metaphor as a source of strength, liberation, and a gateway to compassion. No experience necessary. Sufferers of ‘Writer’s Block,’ strongly encouraged!

Past Event

Memory and Place: Alternative Photography

18+

Instructor: Nīa MacKnight (Anishinaabe/Lakhóta/Scottish)

This class will explore visual narrative techniques through alternative, experimental photography processes while drawing inspiration from the local ecologies of Idyllwild.

Past Event

Plein-Air Pastel & Observational Drawing

18+

Instructor: Judith Schonebaum

This is an introduction to the wide range of possibilities of using chalk pastel! Through a variety of exercises exploring drawing techniques, such as line, style, color, layering, composition and observation, participants will gain the tools to pursue individual expression.

Past Event

Cane & Rush Seat Weaving

18+

Instructor: David Johnson

Discover the art of traditional seat weaving as you learn to hand cane a patterned frame and rush weave a small footstool. The class also includes tips on selecting and shopping for used chairs to restore.

Past Event

Curtain Up! An Adventure in Theatre

10 – 13*

This exciting two-week program is designed for enthusiastic and motivated actors, both newcomers and seasoned performers alike! All are welcome, and we have something for everyone. The culminating performance will be inclusive of all levels of experience and talents. 

*This is a Junior Artists program and will follow those guidelines outlined in our FAQ section.

Past Event

ELL & Arts

13 – 17*

This two-week program builds English proficiency through creative work and collaborative projects. Students strengthen their language skills in small classes with individualized attention, opportunities for self-expression, and general connection through the arts. Mornings focus on English in use; afternoons invite students to apply their knowledge through visual and performing arts, discussion and reflection.

*This is a Teen program and will follow those guidelines outlined in our FAQ section.

A painting of hands and blue butterflies.

Frequently Asked Questions