Students have come from all over the United States and Canada and have attended from countries as far as Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and New Zealand. They are always impressed with the beauty of the region, the campus of Western Carolina University and the town of Sylva. 

CMA is currently celebrating its fifth year of programming exciting workshops and retreats for Artists and Writers. The programs have evolved since first creating “The Summer ARTS Series,” five weeks of Visual Art and Creative Writing Workshops. The SAS is partially sponsored by the College of Fine and Performing Arts and held in the Bardo Art Center and the College of Art and Design at WCU. And in 2013, the opportunity for CMA to program in other locations too, when founder and Executive Director Norma Hendrix created the concept of traveling to inspiring locations and running retreats with workshops from a variety of historical spots across the United States. 

The retreats for artists and writers will be held this year again in Taos, New Mexico, April 16-22; Lake Logan in Canton, May 9-15, Sept. 11-15 and Oct. 24-29; and (new this year) two weeks of CMA retreats with workshops in the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts on the beautiful Cape Ann, Aug. 14-19 and Aug. 21-26. 

“We began programming Visual Arts Workshops in 2012, and within two years added Creative Writing,” Hendrix said. “These two disciplines are a natural fit, and the exchange of ideas and concepts between writers and artists is wonderfully inspiring.” 

Now in its third year of programming Creative Writing workshops, CMA has ramped up its commitment. The Summer ARTS Series now offers three workshops each of the five weeks of the Summer ARTS Series in; Poetry, Nonfiction and Fiction, to be taught by a stellar faculty of award winning writers.

The Visual Art workshops have concentrated on Book Arts, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Painting and Printmaking. This season CMA has added two Photography workshops geared to inspire participants in the use of photography as a tool for abstraction and “painting” with layers of imagery or as a foundation for printmaking in the process of photogravure. Another highlight for the 2016 season is the rich selection of Encaustic offerings: encaustic printing (both on sculptural forms and on paper) and encaustic painting with mixed media, both 2 & 3-D. The Ceramics workshops this season will bring instructors who are masters of different surface treatments, glazing techniques, for both wheel turned and hand built forms. CMA is also returning a host of instructors who have become favorites for their workshops in Painting and Mixed Media. 

For all the details and how to enroll, visit the CMA website at www.cullowheemountainarts.org.