TW_06.14.10_Edition.pdf - St. John Tradewinds News

Eudora Kean Students Showcase Art at Bajo el Sol
By Jaime Elliott
St. John Tradewinds
Budding St. John authors will
flex their creative muscles in
words, pictures and more this
summer at St. John School of the
Arts.
Coreen Samuel, V.I. Summer
Creative Writing Program
founder, is bringing her distinctive
Young Writer’s camp to SJSA for
the third time this summer. Running
from July 12 through July
30, the camp will meet Monday
through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. While students can expect the
same personal writing instruction,
this summer’s camp will feature
renowned local artists and musicians
as well.
Inviting her sister, the eminent
St. John artist Karen Samuel, to
join the program, Coreen Samuel
has expanded the camp to further
challenge students to look at their
surroundings, she explained.
“By engaging the students to
recreate what they see visually,
it gets them more engrossed in
their surroundings,” said Coreen
Samuel. “They will also be writing
poetry and prose and we’ll be
doing memoir work and personal
narratives as well.”
Students will get out into nature
and will draw upon those experiences
to create narratives, poetry
and paintings. Working with
Karen Samuel, who specializes
in nature drawings, the students
will integrate visual arts with their
writing.
Students will learn how to depict
art themes from their writing,
observe plants and animals, recognize
the abstract nature of an object
and create forms of objects in
nature.
In addition to instruction by
Karen Samuel, the Young Writer’s
Camp will also feature other local
artisans who will provide instruction
in traditional arts and crafts,
music, dance and folklore.
“We’re going to be bringing
poetry and art forms to life,” said
Coreen Samuel.
Students will also explore the
V.I. National Park with education
specialist Laurel Brannick, who
will lead the class on bird watching
trips. Getting to know their
new-found feathered friends, students
will write as naturalists and
St. John Tradewinds News Photo Courtesy of Lisa Etre
St. John students pose with their art teacher at Bajo el Sol Gallery (L to R): J’Wan
Athanase, Ryan Francis, Chereena Didier, art teacher Lisa Etre and Ryan Morton
during their artists’ reception at the gallery on Friday, June 4.
Arts School’s Summer Writing Program
Focusing on Art, Ecology, Poetry and Prose
sketch birds and their habitats.
Getting students into nature will
foster a deeper appreciation of
the environment for students, explained
Coreen Samuel.
“Students will benefit by gaining
a deeper appreciation for conserving
the ecology that is our Virgin
Islands,” she said. “They will
also have the opportunity to look
deeper within themselves through
nature.”
The culminating event honoring
the young artists and writers
is open to the community and will
feature a display at the Summer
Reading Celebration on July 30,
when art and writing pieces will
be shared. A published anthology
will feature a collection of student
writing along with art pieces.
The camp is open to students
from kindergarten through 10th
grade and costs only $295. Scholarships
are also available. Registration
is limited and students are
encouraged to sign up soon.
For more information or to register
for the Young Writer’s Camp,
stop by the school located next to
the St. John Legislature Building
in Cruz Bay or call at 779-4322.
St. John Tradewinds, June 14-20, 2010 11
NExt DEaDliNE: JuN 17