After having a late start in eighth grade to the art game, junior Camille Fellers is one of 83 participants in the elite summer residency program at the Kansas City Art Institute. This program brings together art students from across the nation to Kansas City, Missouri from July 10 to July 29. The program allows for high school students to experience college art and to invest in their talents.

“Basically it’s a college experience; it’s getting you ready for college art,” Fellers said. “You work with real professors and you work in a real studio. You go through real college class, six hours a day, is devoted to studio time. That could be filled with life drawing, figure drawing, whatever kind of drawing. For example, I’m going for painting; that’s where they’ll teach me how to oil paint and [use] different techniques for acrylic painting.”

After having done many different forms of art, Fellers settled on drawing and painting as her favorites.

“I have done drawing and painting, illustration, ceramics and sculpture,” Fellers said. “I really liked doing ceramics and sculpture, just because I hadn’t done it before and it was something new. I like doing new things, but I also really like to draw and paint. Those are my favorite.”

Solely devoting her studio time to painting, Fellers is able to work with different types of techniques and media available at Manhattan High School.

“My studio time will be devoted to painting, so they’re going to show me a lot of techniques,” Fellers said. “For example, here at Manhattan High we can’t do oil painting, because we don’t have the funds for it or we don’t we don’t have the space for it. They’re going to teach me that and some other basic things like framing. Just essential skills, techniques and different ways to use the mediums.”

This camp helps students understand what art schools are looking for in applicants.

“It definitely is [helping me reach my goal of getting into KCAI], it does help you understand what they are looking for in an application, and what any college would be looking for,” Fellers said. “They do a portfolio review at the end, where they look at all your stuff and tell you what you weak spots are and what your strong points are and point you towards the right direction.”

For Fellers, going to the camps means that she can branch out and grow as an artist with other students like her.

“I am really looking forward to developing confidence as artist and I’m really looking forward to interacting with different people and meeting new people, because people from all around the country come to this,” Feller said. “And just be able to develop those skills to get into a nice college.”