Make An Ox-Bow Movie 

with Scott Reeder
$100 lab fee | June 28–July 4 | Exploratory

In this collaborative, hands-on course, students will write, shoot, and edit short experimental films inspired by the Ox-Bow landscape that explore storytelling through image, movement, and sound. Working individually and in small crews, participants will learn the fundamentals of camera work, lighting, editing, and sound design while embracing the improvisational and resourceful spirit of independent filmmaking. Students may use any type of camera—including phones—and will have access to a studio equipped with free editing software. The class will emphasize play, experimentation, and the power of collaboration—celebrating the DIY energy that defines Ox-Bow’s creative community. We’ll look at a wide range of artists and filmmakers who merge performance, humor, and fantasy to challenge traditional cinematic forms, including Jacolby Satterwhite’s digital dreamscapes, Mika Rottenberg’s absurdist labor worlds, and Shana Moulton’s surreal explorations of self-help and desire. Additional screenings may feature Julio Torres, Miranda July, and Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast), alongside documentaries such as Divine Trash, It Came From Kuchar, and Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis—films that highlight collaborative, low-budget, and experimental approaches to cinema. Assignments will invite students to experiment with form and process. In FOUND, students will create a 1–3 minute video using found footage or audio to generate new meaning from existing materials—exploring remix culture, collage, and the poetics of recontextualization. In ACTION, they’ll make a short video that foregrounds movement through performance, choreography, or dynamic camera work. Finally, in FAKE, students will construct a 1–3 minute film using artificial or handmade elements—painted backdrops, thrifted props, or miniature sets—to build imaginative, performative worlds. The course will culminate in an end-of-session screening where students share their finished films with the Ox-Bow community, celebrating the collective energy of making movies together.

SAIC students: This is a 1.5-credit course; use the course code FILM, VIDEO & NEW MEDIA 612 001.

Scott Reeder (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist who uses deadpan humor and cultural critique to expose the absurdity of life. His newest series draws from the traditions of still-life painting to project emotional affect and social relationships onto inanimate objects. Reeder first became known for his text-based paintings and parodies of process painting, as well as for his feature-length improvised sci-fi film Moon Dust and his possibly ironic art fairs (The Milwaukee International and Dark Fair). Solo and two-person exhibitions include shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy; and Jack Hanley, San Francisco. A monograph on Reeder’s work titled Ideas (cont.) was published by Mousse in 2019. Reeder is an Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Building a Cedar Strip Canoe 

with Will Hutchinson
$350 lab fee | July 26–August 8 | Skill-building

Students in this course will work together to build a floating work of art, a cedar strip canoe that will join the campus fleet and be used by future generations of artists to enjoy the Ox-Bow lagoon. Students will develop practical skills including methods for effective handwork with spokeshaves, chisels, and hand planes, as well as steam-bending, fiberglassing, and finishing processes. Although this is primarily a skill-building class, we will discuss the social practice possibilities inherent to the canoe and the relationship between objects, processes, and experience. Readings will include texts by Nicolas Bourriaud, Sigurd Olson, and Agnes Denes, while lectures will present canoe construction varieties and history. Assignments will invite students to practice tool sharpening and setup, along with strategies for cooperative working, division of labor planning, and successful communication. Participants will come away with knowledge of how to build a canoe as well as the tools to apply these practical skills to other artistic endeavors. The class will culminate in a canoe launch, a demonstration of effective and unique paddling techniques, and an exploration of the Ox-Bow lagoon.

SAIC students: This is a 3-credit course; use the course code ​​SCULPTURE 696 001.

Will Hutchinson (he/him) is a former smokejumper and all-around adventurer. Invested in the truth of experience, he focuses his practice mainly on functional objects that attempt to facilitate and enhance experiences from the mundane to the extraordinary. Hutchinson holds a BFA in Drawing from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Montana. He currently works as a full-time knife maker and teaches glassblowing workshops in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.

Floral Intensive

with Maddie Reyna
$100 Lab Fee | August 16 - 22 | Exploratory

This immersive retreat-like course invites participants to explore the sculptural and painterly potential of flower arranging as both supportive of and central to a creative studio practice. Students will create at least three distinct arrangements—one inspired by the lush and layered Garden Eclectic style, one by the contemplative Japanese art of Ikebana, and one based on an abstract artwork of their choice. Mornings will be spent arranging with fresh, seasonal blooms, while afternoons will offer quiet, self-directed studio time for drawing and painting from the arrangements. The group will also visit White Barn Flower Farm, whose team will deliver a beautiful selection of flowers to sustain the class throughout the week.  Demonstrations and guided exercises will introduce the use of chicken wire and kenzan armatures, flower care, and techniques for balance and movement in design. The class will draw inspiration from artists and traditions that treat flowers as both subject and philosophy. We’ll look to Jan van Eyck for his devotion to botanical precision and symbolism, Shozo Sato for his teaching of Ikebana as a mindful and performative act, and Willem de Rooij for his conceptual installations that elevate floral form to social and political reflection. Through conversation and observation, students will consider how arranging can move beyond decoration to become a meditative, painterly gesture—one that reflects culture, emotion, and time. Throughout the week, participants will complete three floral compositions—Garden Eclectic, Ikebana-Inspired, and Abstract Interpretation—each paired with a drawing or painting study that deepens sensitivity to color, rhythm, and form. The session will culminate in a collective installation of all arrangements, transforming the studio into a living gallery that celebrates impermanence, beauty, and creative renewal.

This course is available for non-credit only.

Maddie Reyna (she/her) is an American painter who began arranging flowers as a way to have live subjects for her work. That practice has come to stand alone as she applies considerations of color, form, and composition to three-dimensional organic matter. The recipient of an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she studied at the Flower School of New York, designs flower arrangements for brides and other party throwers in Chicago, and is the Education Director at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency.