AP 3D Design Students Explore Creativity and Mindfulness at The Ecology Center

Upper School Advance Placement 3D Design students stepped out of the classroom and into the natural landscape this week, spending a full day at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano to explore creativity, mindfulness, and the possibilities of site-specific artmaking.

The retreat followed several weeks of classroom study on earth art and site-specific works, giving students a conceptual foundation for understanding land as an artistic collaborator. That framework shaped the day’s activities, which blended reflective practices with hands-on making.

The morning opened with a sound bath held outdoors, a calming sensory experience aligned with research from Your Brain on Art that encourages openness and sustained creative focus. Upper School students then walked the grounds, observing textures, plant forms and the rhythms of the working farm. A community lunch prepared from ingredients grown on-site gave students a chance to share personal stories and discuss how a sense of place informs their creative identities.

“Being in a new environment encouraged fresh insights and deeper conversations,” said Jesse Standlea, Upper and Middle School visual arts teacher. During an outdoor lesson on the soil’s natural clay, students learned about its composition, history, and properties before forming their own clay works surrounded by the center’s garden beds. The hands-on session also opened space for individualized portfolio discussions, with emerging themes including coastal erosion, environmental cycles, wonder, lore, indigenous knowledge, and native plants.

A spontaneous walk emerged from one of those conversations: after a discussion of native plants tied to a student’s portfolio, the group set out to identify specimens with cultural and ecological significance. Mr. Standlea said the moment “reflected the retreat’s purpose, allowing curiosity to guide the day’s learning.”

This year’s experience builds on last spring’s fieldwork at the ArtLofts in Laguna, where students engaged in bronze casting and studied the region’s coastal landscape. The visit to ARtLofts centered on students’ “origin stories” which are the early sparks and motivations that led them to make art. “Those reflections continue to serve as a foundation for deeper thinking about artistic purpose,” said Mr. Standlea.

Throughout the day, Upper School students experimented with habits that support creative flow, including mindfulness, observation, walking, movement, communal storytelling, and working in unfamiliar environments. Students experimented with multiple methods for accessing their creative best, discovering strategies they can use in their ongoing studio practice. Many students reported that beginning with mindfulness helped them stay focused and connected to their ideas.

By the end of the retreat, The Ecology Center’s fields, pathways, and gardens offered more than a backdrop, the natural environment became a catalyst for renewed curiosity and a sense of wonder. Upper School students returned with new approaches for their AP portfolios and a strengthened understanding of why art matters in their lives.