While some spent their summers outside in the sun or studying for the school year ahead, others found solace in the bottom floor of the Pigott Family Arts Center, surrounded by potter’s wheels, fish tanks, and paints. This July, Lakeside debuted a three-week summer arts intensive dedicated to the individual work of students interested in painting or pottery.
Jacob Foran, a Lakeside ceramics teacher and the Lakeside arts department head, came up with the program in the fall 2025. “[The idea] started with some conversations with my colleagues here. I had probably five different ideas for classes,” says Mr. Foran. Lakeside had never had an arts intensive, so developing the program required multiple meetings and support from the curriculum committee, Mr. Foran recalls.
Arts intensives are unlike Lakeside’s academic year art classes, which include courses such as Introduction to Ceramics and Advanced Drawing and Painting. Instead of teaching students a wide range of skills and assigning specific projects, the intensives give time for students to focus on any project that sparks their interest. “It’s much like higher-level [arts] classes,” says Mr. Foran. “They’re working like actual artists, and they’re taking charge of their own creative process.”
The Lakeside Arts Intensive was also accompanied by Mr. Foran’s grilled hot dogs and waffles, a visit from guest artist Regina Bautista, and a trip to the Assembly Arts Fair. During lunches, students had the opportunity to share their presentations about inspirational art they’ve seen.
“Most art intensives I’ve taken are very independent and individual-focused. [In] this one, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with other artists,” says Gigi A. ’27, a senior at Shorewood High School. “It was really welcoming. I was the only non-Lakeside student there, but I felt like I was part of the group.”
Though most students either attended Lakeside or graduated last year, Mr. Foran explains that “for me, the most unexpected thing is how much I care about other students beyond Lakeside having access to us here. We have such a great arts program. I really want more students to have access to what we offer.”
The group also ranged in experience. Though Ashley Z. ’27 hadn’t taken a Lakeside ceramics class, she signed up for the intensive to delve into pottery. “I’ve always been drawn to the ceramics studio because of all the fish and plants and all the light,” says Ashley. At the end of the intensive, Ashley turned what she had intended to be a freshwater tank into a tide pool sanctuary dedicated to her mom. “It was nowhere near how I imagined it at the beginning. I think a big part of the growth also came from the course being unstructured, so I could really create whatever I wanted. Everyone there [was] so open to possibility.”
