From Staff Reports
Pens to Lens is happy to announce two exciting and new faces that have joined the board.
COVID-19 brought many challenges to volunteer, youth, and school programs. Pens to Lens also experienced these same challenges and is beginning to recover. Now Pens to Lens is excited to offer a new look this year.
Pens to Lens is a non-profit program where students grades 3 through 12 write a script. The scripts are judged, and the winning ones are made into movies. This year the theme will offer two different options. Students must use a recognizable Corsicana location for their script. Then they can choose between a plot involving courage or hero–or any topic they have had a passion to write about.
A poster portraying the winning films is open to art students.
Cash prizes are given to the winners of both the script writers and the poster artists. All will be exhibited at a Red Carpet Gala at the Warehouse of Living Arts Center at a date to be determined later.
The two exciting, new young men joining Pens to Lens are Zane Marsh and Colton Ogborn. Zane is the owner of RAD Designs. He studied graphic design at the Art Institute of Austin. Currently, he is busy in Corsicana painting murals, recording, and video taping. He is excited about encouraging young and new talent.
Zane was born in Montana but raised in Austin. He has always pursued art in all its forms and has been self employed as a freelance artist for eight years. After moving around a bit he settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado for about four years. After the pandemic, the opportunity presented itself in Corsicana so he decided to move down and open up a design studio.
Zane states, “I would love to offer my skills and knowledge for the kids of Corsicana to inspire and show them what’s possible. One of the most important pieces of information you can learn in a creative field is being open to anything and understanding that anything is possible. If you know this then it will help you in anything you hope to achieve.”
Colton Ogborn is the content creator at ComicsAlliance and ScreenCrush. He graduated from Corsicana High School and was in one of the films for Pens to Lens when he was in high school. He has been making films in Corsicana since he was 14 years old, and “can’t wait to help today’s students have that same experience.”
Colton stated, “Every great film starts with an idea, an idea that is then taken to the page and becomes a screenplay. Writing a screenplay is one of the most fun and exciting forms of storytelling a writer can embark on. As a filmmaker and screenwriter, I’ve sat many hours staring at a blank notepad or watching a writing software cursor blink. My greatest tip to avoid this problem, most commonly known as writer’s block, is to just start writing. Even if it’s gibberish. We all have a story to tell.”
Kudos need to be given to the staff that worked with Pens to Lens during the past few years. They will continue to offer advice and their skills to support Pens to Lens. These are also professional people with an outstanding background: Julie Mitchell, Marcus Baldwin, John Kaiser. Jay Jones, and Guy Chapman. Another exciting new face to assist with guidance is John S. Davies, professional actor and director. He will be acting in and directing the play, Our Town at the WLAC, Sept. 8 through 17.
For more information about the rules and regulations of the Navarro County Pens to Lens program visit www.NCP2L.com.
Navarro County Pens to Lens is a 503© non-profit organization. It is partnered with Navarro Council of the Arts, Warehouse of Living Arts Center, Corsicana Independent School District, and Hull Creative Arts Foundation. Donations can be made to HCAF, P.O. Box 2172, Corsicana, TX 75110
Please be sure to support those that support us here at the NCG and check out our advertisers:
Warehouse Living Arts Center | Salvation Army | CWTP Copy Center | I.O.O.F. Trade Days | Gallery Wah Wah
A big THANK YOU to our supporters:
The Hull Creative Arts Foundation and the Lampier Family.
If you too would like to help financially support the Navarro County Gazette please email us at news@navarrocountygazette.com