Contact Arts-Kids at: info@arts-kids.org or 435-615-7878

Press Release

The Park Record (Park City, UT)

June 19, 2004
Section: Scene
Arts-Kids and Spy Hop join forces
Claymation is the subject of latest program in Park City

Casey R. Basden

Youths, ages 12-16, will have the opportunity to discover their talent as filmmakers as part of a collaboration between Arts-Kids and Spy Hop Productions. Spy Hop specializes in educational programming through multimedia arts.

The organization has a history of working with other non-profits, and this summer, will team with Arts-Kids for their Camp Claymation summer workshop.

Participants will work collaboratively in groups of three or four to develop ideas for their film. According to Gina Eddalson, program director for Spy Hop, "They do everything from creating a simple story line, which we call storyboarding, they create the characters out of clay, they make the backgrounds it's actually a series of still photos that end up making the film."

Using a video-editing program called Final Cut Pro, the footage will be turned into a film and then burned to DVD for participants to take home.

In order to make the workshop happen, Spy Hop must bring the computers that have the necessary software to Park City. The organization is also providing volunteers and instructors to help participants through the process.

Lezlee Amoss, art director for Arts-Kids, notes, "We're both non-profits with similar mission statements. Ours is 'empowering youth through the expressive arts, and theirs is 'empowering youth through multimedia.'"

Because of their similar goals, it seemed natural for the two organizations to offer summer programming for youth said Amoss. This particular workshop, however, is different than anything Arts-Kids has offered in the past.

According to Amoss, the workshop is more focused. Typically, a new artist is brought in every day, but, with this workshop, the process is more involved, yet not overly challenging for participants.

As part of the workshop, Arts-Kids will be conducting an opening and closing school. At the beginning of each day, kids will pass around the "talking stick" as they introduce themselves, state their high and low of the day and explain their intention for the day.

When the day ends, participants will again gather, discuss whether or not their intention was met and describe what the achievement meant to them.

Amoss is excited about the collaboration with Spy Hop, particularly because it offers something new to the people of Park City. Eddalson, on the other hand, is familiar with how the process.

"We do a lot of partnerships with other non-profits including schools, boys and girls clubs and arts organizations. Besides our own classes, this is what we do."

But, if the class is to take place, there must be a minimum of 15 participants registered. According to Eddalson, "They're going to have fun first of all. That is the most important thing, really. But, they're going to learn to think about stories, about characters and using their energy to solve problems It introduces them to all the mediums of filmmaking."

Pat Sanger, executive director of Arts-Kids, agrees. Because there are not many similar programs in Park City, the opportunity becomes even more valuable to youth interested in learning about claymation and creating films.

The executive director says, "This is a whole process they learn. They not only work with their hands, but they learn to write and get to see their finished project in the form of a film. They learn to work together as a team because it will be a joint effort, they learn to think out of the box and develop problem solving and listening skills."

Camp Claymation for youths 12-16 will be held at Park City Mountain Resort's Kids Mountain School Aug. 2-6 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration is $175 and scholarships are available. Space is limited to 20 participants. To register, call 615-7878.

Photo: Sebastian Hooker shows off the clay character he made as part of an Introduction to Claymation workshop. Youth in Park City will have the same opportunity.

(c) 2004 Park Record. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.