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In early January, Professor Merlin Szasz from RISD will be teaching a Rondel Relief workshop,
which I am quite excited about taking. I used to see his public commissioned work when I traveled to
Rhode Island to have my work cast in bronze and was entranced with the design and fluidity of his work.
I got a chance to see his first and only gallery show at the Providence Art Club last Spring and was
re-enchanted with the superb craftsmanship, the symbology and the beautiful alphabet he designed for
his commemorative pieces. We had Merlin here for a day to discuss his work and everyone was impressed
with his ability to convey the passion he has for his medium. I took a medallic arts workshop back in
the 80's and have a real love for this intimate medium. Relief is a strange hybrid spawned between
drawing and sculpting, and as such is a real challenge for an artist.
I am also pleased to introduce Sean Kramer and his egg tempera workshop and class. I've always been a
fan of egg tempera, gravitating to the Early Renaissance section of museums and marveling at the clarity
and luminosity of those egg tempera paintings on panel. Unlike oil paintings which dim with age, egg
tempera paintings remain as fresh as the day they were painted. And Icon paintings strive to reveal
not just visible light, but the lights of soul and spirit. And speaking of light, Aaron DiGaudio offers
a Sculptural Light class for students to fashion an artistic object of illumination- in the form of a
sconce or lamp.
Two new instructors focus on the human form. Richard Brown Lethem offers Figure Drawing and Russ Whitten
offers a class in Portrait Drawing. To me, drawing the human form is the best training for an artist. If
you can draw the figure, you can do anything. Gail Sauter brings a new dimension to classes here with
Mastering Color Harmony and Developing Personal Voice & Vision. I am certain that any artist can
benefit from her guided discussions on aspects of the creative process.
Another workshop I am planning to take is Susan Pratt Smith's Painting on Glass. She had one of her new
pieces here under construction with our in-house stained glass artist Lynn Robertson. It was a translation
of a Tiffany piece that had been based on an Edward Burne Jones Pre-Raphaelite painting and incorporated
exquisitely painted and fused sections for the body elements of the piece. It seems like a fascinating
process. So many classes pique my interest. What's a dilettante to do?
Cheers,
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