Eden Laing, in Year 13, describes her exciting trip to CalArts in America. Eden applied for the Animation program which only takes 60 students worldwide. Eden is pictured above, circled in red.
I spent a month in Los Angeles, staying in CalAarts (an art school founded by Walt Disney) completing the CSSSA animation program. This program involved finishing an entire sketchbook and 6 different projects in the span of four weeks, finishing the course with a 2-minute film. I completed this program with 52 other students across California, and in doing so became a 'California Arts Scholar'.
A few of the highlights of the trip included seeing the fabled A113 (which is often referenced in Pixar films), taking a tour of the animation studio, Titmouse, meeting the director of Coco (Adrian Milana), plus all the field trips such as Disneyland, The Humans and The Getty Museum.
CSSSA was life changing. I can see why so many songs are written about California. There is a vibrancy there - a constant excitement in the fact that anything can happen. Attending the CSSSA program was an incredible experience. Meeting such unique and creative people created an atmosphere of PASSION that should exist everywhere. From all the incredible friends I made, I learnt that it's not worth spending time worrying about what other people think, to keep making things and to be kind to yourself!