During summers 2014 and 2015, I had the opportunity to teach ceramics to students at Interlochen Center for the Arts in northern Michigan. Students from all over the world were enrolled in middle and high school camp classes, for two three-week sessions. One of the most exciting aspects of Interlochen Arts Camp (IAC) was the wide range of student experience – and the related challenge of differentiating instruction. Many students had never touched clay before, while others in the same classes had significant experience.

Interlochen’s staff and facilities are unparalleled, and the intentionality of arts programming during summer camp was a new paradigm for me.