The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)'s Early College Program Summer Institute (ECPSI) brings an extraordinary array of students from all over the world to create portfolio-quality work, make connections with our world-renowned faculty, experience SAIC’s amazing facilities, and earn college credit. Through ECPSI, you will be empowered to bring your ideas to life, whatever form that may take. You will have the freedom to work in multiple media: you can incorporate text into paintings, combine performance and sculpture, or cross boundaries from sound to architecture. In our one-, two-, and four-week sessions, you'll follow a college-level curriculum with day-long studio courses, critiques, workshops, and a final exhibition. This course begins with an intensive study of the human form and anatomy. Working from direct observation of the nude model, students build drawing skills with an emphasis on both traditional and non-traditional drawing techniques that may include charcoal, conte crayon, pastels, ink, and water-based paints. Students explore trends in contemporary figurative art and examine how and why artists continue to use the human form as a subject and vehicle for personal expression. With guidance from the instructor and feedback from peers, students investigate personal ideas and concepts while developing a series of portfolio-quality drawings.