WRITE RHODE ISLAND CREATIVE SUMMER INSTITUTE

Introduction to Animation

Calling all animation fans! This week-long course provides an introduction to various animation concepts and techniques, ranging from the paper animation of the 1920s to modern-day 2D cartoons. We will be watching screenings of different animation and trying out all the techniques ourselves. In addition, students will have the opportunity to make their own short animation over the course of the five days using the skills they’ve learned, which we’ll watch on the final day!

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a collective storytelling game played amongst friends with dice telling you what you can and can't do. Over the course of one week, you are cordially invited to come play D&D, build a character, and go on an adventure. What makes this particular D&D game unique is that we will be taking a break over the course of the game to allow writers space to write the story of their character, with the hope that -- at the end of the week -- the story will continue.

No previous D&D experience necessary. Extra readings available.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Current Affairs

In this class we will focus on current issues of interest to you and building the skills to deepen understanding. We will watch and read the news, and write about it! This is a great basic skills English class: reading for details, grammar, essay construction, expressing multiple points of view.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Fairies, Fables, Folklore

Do you love fairy tales, fables, folklore, myths? What about them is so enchanting to us? For so many of us, fairy tales are the first stories we ever hear. So how can we capture their magic in our own works? In this class we will discuss what exactly a fairytale is, does, and how they're created. We will also talk about how the fairy tale as a form can be useful to all of us, no matter what genre we write in.

Whether you write fantasy fiction, young adult (YA), literary realism—or even poetry—there are lessons inside the techniques of the fairy tale that we can all borrow from for our creative purposes. After we pinpoint the elements of fairy tales (and read a few!), we will explore the genre via writing exercises to embody their logic and allurement inside our own work.


Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Small Books

Learn to make a variety of small books to present your poetry or selected poems or prose. There will be a short writing prompt each day, as well as learning skills in a variety of media. Papermaking, gel printing, and collage will be utilized to finish several books or a small book series if you wish. The last day of class will be finishing books from all of the materials we have made together and making a small book to take home as a memento of the class.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26 |

Say It with Clay

In this class, students will learn ceramic hand-building techniques. Students will create functional and nonfunctional ceramic art. Learn how to create with coils, slab construction, and clay pinching methods. Students will create their own pieces and learn how to glaze finished artwork.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - July 26

Fundamentals of Comics: Make, draw and create your own comics.

This course will explore the fundamental building blocks of comics including panels, page layouts, and the relationship between text and image. Through a combination of in-class exercises and at-home assignments, students will get the chance to explore the many possibilities of the comic medium and learn how to effectively tell compelling stories through sequential art.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26

Reading and Writing Horror

In this workshop, we will explore why some people love horror (and why others hate it), and how to create horror for the page or screen. We’ll explore a diverse group of writers such as Stephen-Graham Jones, Shirley Jackson, Octavia Butler, Akela Cooper, Stephen King, Grady Hendrix, Jordan Peele and more.

Students will explore creating their own monsters in a series of writing exercises. Students will get an opportunity to scare the crap out of their peers and share their work in an inclusive and encouraging environment.

For students who love horror.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22- 26

Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is often defined as a very short story. Like a special type of recipe, flash contains its own fundamental ingredients that students will learn how to 'cook with' throughout the week. Lessons will include writing with precision, clarity, vibrancy, rich sensory details, and captivating beginnings and endings. Along the way, we will look at examples by well-known flash writers that we can potentially model our own work after.

By the end of the week, students will have learned a variety of methods to write self-contained stories in 1000 words or less.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26

What’s Your Truth? Poetry Slam & Performance

Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours? Slam poetry gives us a space to speak straight from the heart. In this workshop, we will learn how to write slam poetry, as well as techniques for performing with confidence. Together we will use our voice and body to express our personal truths in the spirit of love and play.

Students will leave with information about the local slam community, as well as poetry exercises for writing slam in the future.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26 |

Unconventional Storytelling

In this course we will break the rules. You will learn to understand the facets of traditional storytelling in order to subvert the conventional fictional narrative form in your own piece. We will take advantage of literary forms such as letters, advertisements, grammatically incorrect rantings, grocery lists, and phone conversations. Rule breakers are encouraged to join.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22- 26 |

Where’s Poetry? Erasure and Visual Poetry

In erasure (or blackout) poetry, you erase words in newspapers, old books, or magazines to create poems. Every page is a small puzzle for you to solve. In this workshop, we will write and redact together on the hunt for hidden poetry in the world. We will play with different techniques to make visual poems, from a simple black marker to expansive collage.

No special skills in writing or art necessary! Everyone is a hidden erasure poet.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Dungeons and Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a collective storytelling game played amongst friends with dice telling you what you can and can't do. Over the course of one week, you are cordially invited to come play D&D, build a character, and go on an adventure. What makes this particular D&D game unique is that we will be taking a break over the course of the game to allow writers space to write the story of their character, with the hope that -- at the end of the week -- the story will continue.

No previous D&D experience necessary. Extra readings available.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26

How to Draw Real & Imaginary Landscapes

Learn how to observe the world around you through drawing and then use that knowledge to create fictional landscapes and cityscapes, scenes, backgrounds, and settings for your artwork.

In this hands-on art class, you'll learn about the history of landscape art and the ideas and techniques behind it ranging from renaissance paintings to modern scifi concept art, as well as how artists use visual and conceptual worldbuilding to make the places they draw or paint feel believably full of interesting personality and characterful detail. You'll put what you learned into practice in both drawing from life around the neighborhood and from our imaginations in the classroom. We'll use a variety of drawing materials including pencils and ink, charcoal, and watercolor, with the option to bring your own digital tools. Sketchbook required.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26

Essential Math

In this class we will work on our personal finance unit and “real-life” math skills by incorporating individual projects along with homework assignments and quizzes.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - 26

Nature Drawing

In this class we will observe and draw the natural world and use that knowledge to create fictional landscapes, scenes, backgrounds, and settings. We'll cover the foundational ideas behind landscape drawing like conveying depth, portraying color and light, using perspective for drawing buildings and structures, and setting the scene in an illustration with characterful details. We'll discuss the history of landscape art, as well as how artists use framing along with visual and conceptual world building to make the places they draw feel believable and full of interesting personality.

We'll use a variety of drawing materials including pencils and ink, charcoal, and watercolor. Sketchbook required. We will go outside for this class.

Grades 7-12 | Afternoon Session | July 22 - 26

Say It with Clay!

In this class, students will learn ceramic hand-building techniques. Students will create functional and nonfunctional ceramic art. Learn how to create with coils, slab construction, and clay pinching methods. Students will create their own pieces and learn how to glaze finished artwork.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22 - July 26

Centering Yourself for School: Wellness & Creativity

The past several years have been quite turbulent (to say the least) in so many aspects of our lives. As we struggle through all the challenges we are faced with, the need to focus on wellness is perhaps greater than ever. This class offers the tools we can use to keep ourselves calm, grounded and creative, including mindfulness, journaling, community, physical activity, and communing with nature.

Grades 7-12 | Morning Session | July 22- 26