Split Rock offers creative getaway

And an alumni discount

Instructor Joyce Scott works with a Split Rock Arts Program student in a class on creating beaded sculpture from glass seed beads. The 20-year-old Split Rock Arts Program offers weeklong residential arts sessions in Duluth and at the Cloquet Forestry Center.

Photo courtesy of Split Rock Arts Program

From M, spring 2003

Kate Tyler works with words almost every day as a freelance writer and publications consultant. So when it comes time to write her own fiction, she sometimes finds herself coming up empty. That's why Tyler felt a weeklong intensive workshop in Duluth with one of her favorite poets might be a good idea. Last summer, Tyler attended a Split Rock Arts Program class, Composing a Life: Creating Portraits in Poetry and Prose, taught by Jim Moore. "Getting away was hugely important," she says. "Carving out this time created a space and context for my work as a creative writer.... It was terrific, an interesting and productive week."

The 20-year-old Split Rock Arts Program is a series of weeklong residential workshops led by practicing artists who focus on specific aspects of an art form. Sessions are held on both the University's Duluth campus and at the Cloquet Forestry Center. Among the 38 offerings this summer are workshops on memoir writing, textile arts, wicker basketry, and Drawing for the Truly Terrified. University of Minnesota Alumni Association members like Tyler get a 10 percent discount on course fees. "That was a nice added benefit," she says.

"The name Split Rock was chosen both to evoke the North Shore of Lake Superior and as a metaphor for the creative act of splitting the rock," says Andrea Gilats, Split Rock program director for the College of Continuing Education. "Whether you get in there with a paintbrush or a keyboard, you become energized, creative, and more productive."

Tyler found that to be true. "Nourishing the more creative roots, doing my own work, is very satisfying," she says. "It's given me some new strategies in my professional work. And it just makes me happier."

The alumni association discount on Split Rock fees adds up to more than the cost of a UMAA annual membership, something Gilats knew when she put the offer together. "It's really important that the University serve its family for a lifetime," she says. "One of the best things the University does is give alumni lifelong learning options. When you're in school, you kind of have your eyes on the prize; there isn't time for what we call enrichment learning."

The Split Rock Arts Program discount is just one of a set of lifelong learning discounts offered through the College of Continuing Education for UMAA members.

Split Rock Arts Program registration is under way; the first workshops begin June 29, and the last session ends August 2. Most workshops don't fill until just a few weeks before they begin. See all the offerings and options online at www.cce.umn.edu/splitrockarts or get a catalog by calling 612-625-8100.

To learn more about UMAA membership and benefits, visit www.alumni.umn.edu or call 612-624-2323.

Editors note: Split Arts Program is no longer being offered in Duluth. It is now being offered on the Twin Cities campus and at the Cloquet Forestry Center.