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A different kind of artisan will soon join the potters, jewelers, and weavers who've made the southern California town of Ojai a tourist mecca.
On 14 September, the inaugural class will convene at the Ojai Digital Arts Center, which was announced Wednesday. The Center hopes to attract computer graphics professionals for intensive workshops in Web design and Internet-centric applications like Macromedia's Flash.
But it won't come cheap to students. Registration for the first five-day intensive Web design class is US$1,295.
"They're priced for people who might come from a corporation or someone who is already earning their living doing Web design," said Lynda Weinman, one of the Center's co-founders, adding that future plans include more affordable classes for locals.
Right now, Weinman and partner Bruce Heavin need to recoup some of their investment. The purchase of 20 maxed-out iMac workstations running Virtual PC was financed entirely out of the couple's pockets. They hope that their consulting relationships with major software vendors may result in some donated licenses.
Initially, classes will be taught by Weinman and Heavin, who fled Los Angeles in 1996, preferring to conduct their businesses via FedEx and the Internet in order to enjoy Ojai's bucolic charm. Heavin is a painter and illustrator whose clients include Adobe and DreamWorks SKG Interactive. Weinman is the author of six books on Web design, and a frequent headliner at trade shows and technical conferences. Weinman is betting that her personal brand -- she is something of a celebrity among Web designers the world over -- will attract students to her somewhat remote, though lovely, location. A trial run this spring was encouraging, gathering students from across the US and Austria.
Weinman formerly taught classes at San Francisco State University and Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. The only downside of relocating to Ojai was the limits it placed on Weinman's academic career. The Digital Art Center will enable her to teach again.
Weinman said her approach will differ from the plethora of programs at art and film schools. "There is a glaring need for a school that is run by industry leaders to teach other professionals in the digital arts."
Too true, says John Parenteau, a managing partner at the Los Angeles visual effects house Digital Muse. "There's not a lot of this available in the business." The Digital Muse electronic artists who create effects for film and television shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and The X-Files typically come from design or film schools.
What's missing from their education, in Parenteau's opinion, is real-world experience.
"Though most people who are teaching in the [digital arts] field are also working professionals, the programs themselves are usually designed by art educators, and the students aren't intending to go into the production field. They often lack [the] understanding of skills [that] people need to work in the film business."
Though the Digital Art Center hasn't hit the radar of most Ojai residents yet, acceptance of this new art form should be smooth, if Otto Heino is any indication. Heino has run Otto's Pottery in Ojai for 26 years; his own Web site went up in February and has been successful for him.
"The more the better," he said when informed of Weinman's plans. "Art is just art."
