Art Portfolio Camp Helps College Applicants

(Newswire.net — June 16, 2014) Guelph, ON — Students just can’t get anywhere near the amount of drawing skills required to have a hope of getting into one of these programs on their own, even the best high school art programs can’t hope to prepare students for the intense regime of post secondary art and design. This is where Karen Kesteloot and Garth Laidlaw’s “Drawn to Success Portfolio Building Boot Camp” comes in.

 

Karen and Garth are local portfolio coaches who assist high school students in preparing their art portfolios to get accepted into the colleges they want. In order to further spread their knowledge and make it more accessible they are offering the Portfolio Building Boot Camp, which provides affordable, time efficient summer courses for high school students aimed at getting them into an art college. 

 

Each of the 15 possible courses is unique in their own right, building specific skills that will help kids beat the 30:1 odds. The courses are between 150-175 dollars each, last 3-4 days and are 12-15 hours long. The courses are scheduled so students can make the best of their summer vacation while attending the classes. There are no classes on weekends.

 

“As a recent college graduate, I can remember what it was like to be in the students’ shoes,” says Laidlaw, speaking of the camp. “I feel responsible as someone who made it through one of the toughest art programs in the world, to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned to the coming generations. Getting into difficult art schools is absolutely possible for any student who seeks the proper training, and I believe that the courses that Karen and I are offering are perfectly suited to do so.”

 

Karen and Garth are both active local artists working in their own unique fields. Karen is a fine artist and interior designer by trade, and her designs have been used in buildings all around the world, including in France, Belgium, Israel, Iceland and Spain. She has been working in and around colleges for upwards of 20 years, and uses her extensive experience to get 100% of her students into their chosen art college. 

 

Garth Laidlaw is a local animator who graduated from Sheridan College, one of the world’s most top ranking animation programs. He is passionate about actualizing what he describes as an “arts community”, and believes that working together with people with varying talents is the best way to succeed. This influenced his decision to collaborate with Karen, as they believe they can accomplish more for their students by working together as opposed to competing individually.

 

The courses are to be held at Necessary Arts, a multidisciplinary studio space located in the (Gummer) building in downtown Guelph. 

 

Necessary Arts co-founders Frances Hahn and Cynthia Waldow are thrilled to add Garth and Karen’s teaching to our studio. 

 

“Their course offerings round out the workshops and professional practice component that is essential to making Necessary Arts vital to the Guelph arts community”, Waldow said.  “What better way to nurture and celebrate the creativity in others than by bringing in youth trying to break into the arts.”