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Designer Teaching Class
By Donna Harris
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer
Friday, January 16, 2004 4:00 AM EST
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Designer teaching class at Towne Lake Arts Center|
Always looking to diversify its programs, the
Towne Lake Arts Center will offer a new class to give teens and preteens a
taste of the fashion world.
Canton resident Karron
English, a fashion designer who worked in New York City for more than 10
years, will teach The Art of Fashion Designing to help young people ages
12 through 17 realize that having a career in the industry is an
attainable goal.
"I run across so many teenagers who are interested in fashion design,
and it hit me that I'm a fashion designer, and I can teach them how to do
it," said Ms. English, who has designed for The Limited, Bugle Boy
and Merry-Go-Round. "I'll help them with their portfolio. In that
particular area, there's no place for them to go. They're looking
everywhere to find someone to help them with it."
The eight-week class is from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays from Jan. 20 to
March 9 at the Towne Lake Arts Center at 6576 Commerce Parkway, just west
of Bells Ferry Road in Woodstock.
In the class, Ms. English will emphasize how fashion designs are created
by discussing color theory, fashion design sketching, layering and trend
shopping through magazines and the Internet.
"I'll ask them if they've had something inspire them or catch their
eye, anything from a crazy color to a new hemline," she said.
At the end of the eight weeks, each student will have two professional
portfolio pieces to show and one free consultation for portfolio
direction.
"The challenge is for them to figure out which designer or
manufacturer and design a line for that designer or manufacturer,"
she said. "At the end, it will be a good start for them, especially
if they haven't done that before."
The class will give the
students much more than a head start on a career, according to Ms.
English.
"You see an increase in their self-confidence," she said.
"They're kind of sticking their necks out when they say, 'I like
this.' They're really putting themselves out there, and if they have the
guts to stay out there and express themselves, that can only be
self-building."
Ms. English's interest in fashion design started with elementary school
sketchings of girls and clothes.
The New York native attended a high school that specialized in art design
- everything from fashion to photography to cartoons - and in her last two
years there, she decided to focus on a career in fashion design.
She got her training at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City
and set out on a career that allowed her to travel the world, developing
lines, trend shopping and "the whole gamut."
Ms. English, who is employed by Coca-Cola Co. in the apparel licensing
department, said the arts center's artistic director, Gay Grooms, was
"very receptive" to the class.
"The arts center attracts all kinds of people," she said.
"(Fashion design) is a creative art of a kind, and Gay was very
encouraging."
Ms. Grooms said Ms. English contacted her with the idea a couple of months
ago and gave a "wonderful Powerpoint presentation of her work and
plans for the class."
"She also had an impressive portfolio," she said. "This is
someone who definitely knows what they are doing. I felt such a creative
class taught by an experienced professional like Karron would be of
interest to many young people - young ladies in particular, I imagine -
and it also has a nice tie-in of sorts to the costuming we produce at TLAC."
The cost of the class, which is limited to eight students, is $145, and a
$50 non-refundable deposit must be paid at registration.
Students also have a list of supplies they need for the class: three
fashion magazines such as Lucky, Allure, Glamour or Vogue; six markers,
preferably Pantone, in skin tone, navy, army green, brown, yellow and red;
fine- and medium-point black markers; a note pad with folder to hold
handouts; and a 12-inch clear ruler.
For information about the class, call Ms. English at (404) 441-1631. To
register, call the arts center at (678) 494-4251 or visit
www.townelakeartscenter.com.
Ms. English also will be teaching the class two other times in Cherokee
County.
The Cherokee County Arts Council will offer the class from 5:30 to 6:45
p.m. Thursdays from Feb. 19 to April 8 at the Cherokee County Arts Center
behind the Justice Center in downtown Canton.
The cost is $100 for council members and $115 for non-members. The
deadline to register is Feb. 12.
For information, call (770) 704-6244 or visit www.cherokeearts.org.
The Cherokee County Recreation and Parks Authority will offer the class
from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays from March 8 to May 3 (no class April 5 due
to spring break) at the South Annex Recreation Center on Highway 5 in
Woodstock.
The class, which needs a minimum of 10 students, costs $120. Students need
to bring three fashion magazines to the first class.
To register, call Ms. English at (404) 441-1631.
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