Author: Journal Record Staff
August 5, 2022
Quartz Mountain State Park & The Lodge, which offers the amenities and comfort of a fine hotel within a scenic state park, is considered the ideal location to immerse yourself in the arts. The Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute is an all-inclusive experience, with all meals and lodging included in tuition. (Courtesy photo)
Oklahoma educators—especially those involved in the arts—may want to tune into the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute 2022, a comprehensive workshop held at Quartz Mountain State Park & Lodge in the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma.
OFAI, scheduled for October, will offer Oklahoma adult artists and educators the opportunity to participate in workshops in the visual, literary and performing arts. Many will be designed specifically for those seeking continuing education to enhance their classroom environment through the arts.
According to the release, the workshops will be led by nationally renowned artists and are offered for all skill levels – from beginners to professional artists.
Participants can choose from workshops in writing, digital journalism, photography, cookies, painting, printmaking, ceramics and more. Registration begins on August 10.
The three-day retreats will be held October 6-9, October 13-16, and October 20-23, with discounts for private school teachers, OFAI alumni, students and others. Public school teachers seeking full scholarships can enroll starting August 17.
“OFAI is by far the most interactive, healthy professional development I have attended,” said Mounds Elementary teacher Kay’Lee Maddox of Sapulpa, who participated in last year’s OFAI. “I’m a fairly new teacher and I’ve learned so much about how to make my lessons more interesting and well-rounded for my students, especially when the goal is to include an artistic element in each of my core lessons. “The strategies I have learned will be extremely useful in preparing my students for class tests. Beautiful scenery with amazing content with a full stipend for public educators!”
According to the announcement, this year’s faculty will include Suzi Pond, an award-winning digital journalist, producer and storyteller. Pond spent years serving as the master storyteller at United Way of Greater Portland, creating audio and video stories with the goal of community engagement. Since then, she has launched two multimedia storytelling companies. Participants in her workshop, Introduction to Audio Storytelling, will learn the technological and methodological fundamentals of creating compelling stories, including how to identify, capture and structure a story.
