BAYarts' intensive art camp, "Launching Pad," allows teens to have fun while preparing to attend art school.

BAYarts is offering a course, appropriately titled "Launching Pad," for students that have just completed their sophomore, junior or senior year in high school that is designed to encourage serious students to try new media and continue to build their portfolio. As students prepare for art school, they will work with professional artists and teachers in a variety of disciplines and locations. This intensive week-long "camp" will be a once-in-a-lifetime way for students to get close to real working studios and get focused attention on their portfolios. The camp is August 2-6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The course will include working in BAYarts ceramics studio, a life-drawing class with a nude model, plein-air painting, and a detailed look at the nuts and bolts of painting (like the best ways to stretch canvas, use materials and so on). The students will head out to Zygote Press for some hands-on print-making and visit the Cleveland Institute of Art. Also included will be  a portfolio review and a cook-out/chill-out on the last day.

Classes are small: only 15 students, so students get plenty of one-on-one time and attention. Cost for the five-day course is $300 for BAYarts members, $335 for non-members. To sign up, call 440-871-6543 or stop in during office hours: Monday-Saturday 9-5, Sunday noon-5. Visit www.bayarts.net for more information.

Erin Stack is the Education Director at BAYarts.