Three hour long classes, three times a day, every day, for two or four weeks in the summer may sound intense, but the time is utilized at the Cleveland Institute of Art pre-college program to grasp new concepts and gain experience in the area of their choice, all while gaining credits and college experience.

The Cleveland Institute of Art pre-college program is a residential program that offers numerous areas of studies and helps participants to become immersed in the business world. Senior Sophia Gugliotta, who attended the biomedical art program, explained the application process and what she submitted to apply.

“I applied online. I digitally submitted photographs of my best works to the Cleveland Institute of Atr’s admissions department, along with a recommendation letter,” Gugliotta said.

Gugliotta mentioned what the program was like and how it helped her gain experience and add pieces to her portfolio.

“The program was surprisingly difficult, but it was a challenge that excited me. The workload was heavy because we were cramming three college credits into two weeks . . . this meant a lot of the work I did was rushed, and maybe not my best, but I learned to work with mediums that I have never gotten the chance to before. It was undoubtedly a learning experience, and I think I got a good two or three portfolio pieces out of it, too,” Gugliotta said.

Gugliotta talked about how the experience differed from high school art classes and why it was refreshing to participate in CIA.

“It was a lot different. In high school, there is a certain attitude towards art class that the majority of kids tend to have. I need an art credit to graduate, and this class is pretty much a study hall, is something I have heard numerous times. I find it a bit upsetting that art is treated that way, but at CIA, every single person there takes art seriously. Every single student is eager to learn and equally as passionate about it. It was extremely refreshing to spend two weeks in an environment of like minded people striving for similar things,” Gugliotta said.

Art teacher Robert Pierson, who participated in the artist residency for high school art teachers, talked about the rewards of doing a residency and the benefit of having other artists around.

“It was really nice to have the comradery of working with other artists in class. We all had our own little seperate booths [and] we talked to each other and complemented  each other on our work. All our art work was different and it was encouraging to be among fourteen different artists from different states and of different ages,” Pierson said.

Pierson mentioned how older items inspired the paintings he created in the program, and how he choose these items.

“I started out thinking about how I have a hard time getting rid of stuff, but I do not just hold onto things because I might need it some day or I cannot part with it, so I did compositions of things that belong to people,” Pierson said.

To enter artwork into shows Pierson had to write a statement of intent for each piece. He explained what a statement of intent is and touched on the question it may ask.

“A statement of intent is not a whole lot different than your college essays that you are going to have to write. When you write a statement of intent they ask you where do you see your artwork going, what kind of artist are you, and you have to figure out what kind of artist you are,” Pierson said.

Senior Trenton Adair, who participated in the graphic design program, explained what he learned from the program academically and also what he learned about the college experience.

“We did around twelve different projects and worked a lot. We had our exhibition once the program was over, I made a lot of stuff their I was able to put in my portfolio. What I learned from the program was the experience with people and how diverse the college experience is, with all the people you meet. Academically I learned a bunch of new skills,” Adair said.

The Cleveland Institute  of Art pre-college program is a program in which high schoolers can apply new skills they learned to their art to help expand their portfolio. The program helps high school students learn more about different kinds of art and allows students to learn new skills in a welcoming environment.