Allison Conner can't wait for another class on graphic design to be offered at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. The 14 year old local high school student says the graphic design workshop held

there over the past seven week-ends is the best class I have ever taken. It has helped me a lot,  she says as she stands beside some of the illustrations she produced of her favorite band. Conner isn't the only one excited about the class. Patti Ward, who  served as the coordinator for the design classes which were ran for seven weeks on Saturdays, says there were so many applications that two sessions had to be scheduled - one in the morning and another in the afternoon. We had 58 applications and only had room for 34, Ward said. The workshop was taught by Teresa Engle and Andrew Ilnicki, two Virginia Commonwealth University instructors, both of whom hold

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY and their Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communications from VCU. They are the top design artists at VCU which ranks as one of the best art design departments in the nation,  Ward added. Ward said the two were amazed at the quality of the equipment which the Center had secured for the design class. With a full color printer which can produce life size posters and art work and 17 new computers, members were designing a wide variety of materials. this is the most

advanced laboratory south of Richmond and west of Tidewater,  said a proud SVHEC Executive Director Ted Bennett. Bennett said he and other members of the college staff had made trips to other areas before opening the workshop. We wanted a broad based regional program,  Bennett said, noting that he and others had traveled

to Chicago, West Palm Beach, Florida and other places before starting the project. This first class, which was offered free of charge to high school and college students throughout Southern Virginia, attracted members not

only locally but also included two from Danville and one from Patrick County. Students from the Fuquay School in Farmville and the Galileo School in Danville also attended. And this class is just the beginning  Ward said they are now looking at summer programming for younger students, as well as setting up two dual enrollment classes in graphic design for the coming school year. Students quickly realize the career potentials they may have when

participating in classes such as these, she said. And Bennett has plans for a June 4 Regional Arts Initiative Conference at The Prizery, having already invited a number of artists to come together to leverage arts design with Virginia Tech and private industries. The focus will be The Business of Arts and Design.  Several guest speakers have been invited to participate. During this conference he is hoping to introduce participants from Pittsylvania,

Charlotte, Henry, Patrick and Mecklenburg Counties and the cities of Danville and Martinsville to the future and potential that he sees in art design. We at the Center believe this initiative has the power to transform

and revitalize the region culturally, socially and economically. It is truly a regional effort,Bennett said.