MARY BETH BASS is an award winning commercial fiction writer, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and The Author’s Guild. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University, and has taught creative writing, improvisation, and acting at a performing arts high school. She has lectured extensively on publishing, and the craft of commercial fiction. Her young adult fantasy novel is on submission, and she is currently at work on the sequel.

Classes are on

Thursdays

RICHARD BYRNES – BFA Notre Dame, MFA Columbia U. Exhibited painting, sculpture, prints extensively. Taught Jr. High School 8 1/2 years on Long Island. A publisher of audio-visual materials, he has continued to teach for 30 years via film-strips, slides and videos. As president of Double Diamond Corp, he has produced over 100 videos for the classroom.

To see his work go to richardabyrnes-artist.moonfruit.com

Classes are on

Tuesdays and Thursdays

CAROL DIXON –BA Vassar College PBK, MA Columbia U., art courses at Pratt Institute and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Received teaching certificates in NYS and CT. Taught at Greenwich Academy as Chair of the Arts and History Departments for many years, offering such courses as studio art, AP art history, architecture, and cultural history. Has taught studio art at the Stamford Museum and served as a visiting artist at area public schools. An artist member of the Silvermine Guild of Arts, she has often served as juror and curator for local exhibitions. Her works have been shown in numerous galleries and museums and are in many corporate and private collections.

"In teaching the Collage/Mixed Media Course, I offer students historic and current examples of collages, assemblages and box art. I show a few of my own works as well and discuss current exhibitions that feature collages. I talk about the special effects that can be expressed through collage such as juxtaposition, trompe l’oeil, and transformation. Attention is given to technique -- how to use effectively both basic art elements such as color, texture, line and composition, and a variety of materials and techniques, such as applying adhesives and other media. Most important is my attention to each individual student's expression, style, and aims. I encourage experimentation, emphasize originality, offer positive constructive criticism and help students find their own direction and assess progress toward it. The collegial atmosphere of the class enables students to share ideas about their work in an open way."

Classes are on

Tuesdays and Fridays

ELLEN HACKL FAGAN - MFA in Painting from Hartford Art School. Ellen Hackl Fagan is a New York City based contemporary painter and conceptual artist. Her work focuses on building relationships between color and sound. She received her MFA in Painting from Hartford Art School in 2005 and recently served as a docent and artist/educator for the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut for six years. Her installations have been in numerous exhibitions, most notably the Chelsea Museum of Art, Duke University and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. She is a co-founder of the Connecticut Womens' Caucus for Art and is a new member of the Greenwich Pen Women. Ms Fagan’s interdisciplinary work has led to her certification in Max/MSP and Jitter interactive software programs through Harvestworks Digital Media Labs in Soho, where she collaborates with composers to build sonic equivalents for her paintings.

LAURETTA JONES - BFA Cleveland Institute of Art. Lauretta is an artist whose work focuses on the botanical world, native plants and exotic spices. She has worked in NYC as a freelance illustra tor and designer and was one of the early pioneers of using the computer as an artist’s tool. She works primarily in graphite, watercolor and colored pencil and exhibits her work widely including solo shows at Wave Hill (NY) and the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Her art is in private collections and is represented in the prestigious collection of the Hunt Institute for Bo- tanical Documentation. Lauretta is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. She also teaches at the NewYork Botanical Garden and has taught at the School of Visual Arts (New York), Manhattanville College, and Western Connecticut State University.

To see her work go to www.laurettajones.com

Classes are on

Tuesdays

FRED MASON - BFA University of Utah; School of Visual Arts; Art Students’ League; New York University; Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts. Taught drawing at New Design Centre, Danbury, CT and at Kimball Art Center’s Summer Art Institute, Park City, Utah, 1996-1997. On Advisory Board of College of Fine Arts, University of Utah.

"As a portrait artist I prefer teaching intermediate to advanced students in the art of drawing and painting the figure and portrait. I feel that my job is to:

(1) help the students to see better.
(2) increase their ability to translate their vision from the live model to the
sketch pad or canvas.
(3) nurture each individual's creative thinking and skills to express his or her own ideas.

The class environment is high energy and stimulating, and offers the opportunity to draw and paint the best professional models working in our area. The students learn a lot from each other, and I learn a lot from my students.

In my own personal work, I continue to travel and paint commissions from Boston and New York to Salt Lake and Los Angeles. The portraits include corporate executives, education leaders and others, as well as their wives, children, dogs and horses."

Classes are on

Fridays

ROBERT MASTERSON – An award-winning writer, editor and teacher. Author of Artificial Rats & Electric Cats (Camber Press, 2008) and Trial by Water (Dog Running Wild Press, 1982). Masterson’s cre- ative work has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, journals, and anthologies. He presently works as a professor of English at Fordham University in NYC and Norwalk Community College, CT. and has also taught at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He has worked as a journalist for regional newspapers in CT and NY. He holds both a BA and an MA in English Literature from the University of New Mexico,Al- buquerque; an MFA from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colorado. He also earned an academic certificate from Shaanxi Normal University, Xian, Shaanxi Province, the People’s Republic of China.

Classes are on

Mondays and Tuesdays

KATHIE MILLIGAN- Skidmore College BS in Studio Art; art courses and workshops in London and the United States; Yale University private seminar taught by Robert Reed.  MFA in painting at New York Studio School, NYC. Landscape and studio artist working in watercolor, oil, charcoal, pen & ink.  Commercial and freelance artist, designer, illustrator for 8 years.

Classes are on

Wednesdays and Saturdays

DOUGLAS MORE -Sculpture in clay/plasticine. BA Harvard College;

LLB Columbia University. Sculpture training at SUNY/Purchase and

Silvermine School of Arts.

"My work concentrates on representational interpretation of the human form, unclothed in my classes.  I aim for animation of posture and attitude, and grace and precision of line.  My teaching is based on the conviction that the key to rendering three-dimensional subjects in mono-tonal clay is learning to see forms and shapes “in the round” and in relation to each other and intervening spaces.  I avoid touching students’ work unless asked to, as I believe they should resolve difficulties on their own when possible.  I also believe that a congenial and friendly class atmosphere, such as prevails in my classes, is conducive to learning, and to its enjoyment."

Classes are on

Fridays

ANNA PATALANO – MFA in Painting and Drawing,Yale University School of Art; BFA in Painting,Tyler School of Art/ Temple University; Summer Resi- dency, Skowhegan ME with over 20 years of teaching experience. As Associate Professor Fine Arts at the Univ. of Texas at El Paso, taught painting, composition and techniques, color theory, drawing, art appreciation; developed and wrote curricula for fine arts ma- jors from a multi-cultural com- munity, created an honors art program; developed scholarship program in conjunction with Corpus Christi State U. fine arts program. Commissioned portraits in private collections nationwide. She is currently President of the Greenwich Art Society and Co-Director of its Studio School.

"Teaching, for me, involves communicating ideas to the student. With regard to visual art, that means communicating ideas about visual perception and describing the art materials and techniques that can be used to express the interpretation of visual perception. It's about teaching the student how to coordinate the eye, hand, and mind in creating an image. This is a complex process that needs to be simplified in order for the student to "get it." Part of my job as a teacher is to help the student break down the process and understand how it works as a whole.
 
Teaching fine art requires that the teacher allow the student to develop his or her own unique vision. It's a delicate balancing act that combines the analysis of visual perception and the use of materials and techniques WITH the student's own personal view, both in visual perception and how the materials are handled. Making art is, to a large extent, about individuality of thought and spirit and this is what I try to bring out in the student while teaching the fundamentals of perception and how to translate that through the use of painting materials.
I create an environment in which the individual student feels comfortable expressing their own ideas. How I do that is simply through respect of the individual and being positive about their unique ideas. I do not try to impose my own way of seeing or doing things on to the student but rather strive to support their own visions.
 
What interests me about art, specifically visual art, is that how we "see" the world often reflects how we think and feel about the world, ourselves, life in general.....all at the same time.  The vitality of the creative process that is expressed through making visual art speaks to many levels of thought and emotion. It is a wonderfully interesting proposition to me  -- how a single process can encompass thinking, tactility, hope, wonder, emotion, vision, and faith continues to inspire my curiosity and captures my imagination."

Classes are on

Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

LISA PIERCE- MA in Creative Writing, Manhattanville College, is a poet, freelance writer and editor, and writing teacher. Her poetry, fiction, and feature
writing have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and newspapers,
including West Wind Review, Poem, Willow Springs, Inkwell, and The
New York Times. Founding editor of Living in Stamford magazine and The
American Mosaic, a suite of four web sites and two blogs, she began her career as a writer and editor at El Nuevo Pais, a daily newspaper in Caracas, Venezuela. She is currently writing The History of Puerto Rico, forthcoming from Greenwood/ABC-Clio.

CHITRA RAMCHARANDAS- A native of Hyderabad, India, Chitra is
a multifaceted artist. She is a painter and also designs jewelry and saris.
After moving to the United States in 1972, she studied Humanities (M.A. Art
History, Manhattanville College, New York) and immersed herself in Abstract
Expressionism, a sensibility that continues to surface in much of her work today.
Chitra has balanced her love of teaching young children and her love of art by
working as a full time elementary school teacher until recently and teaching art to young children. She has exhibited in a number of juried shows as well as in solo exhibitions. She served on the faculty of The Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, N.Y. and continues to teach art workshops for children.

Classes are on

Saturdays

HOLLY MEEKER ROM – MFA American University. Exchange student Rhode Island School of Design. BA Mills College. Water Media award winner. Has taught watercolor since 1989. Docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Elected member of Catharine L. Wolfe Art Club.

"I have taught watercolor over the years to adults.  I have found my students vary in ability, but they are united by a desire to open up a part of themselves that they have always wondered about-that is expressing their artistic side. I handle this with care as I love art very much and I want them to experience it in themselves.  We learn watercolor technique, and how to compose from a still life set-up.  I teach about mixing color from primaries to get secondaries and tertiaries, tints and shades. I teach drawing skills.  I have extensive background in art history, as well as familiarity with artists of today, and I like to present visual examples of these to my students.  I am a coach, helping to lead them toward creativity within themselves.

I am personally interested in art that emphasizes color and light.  I admire the great artists of the past such as Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Modigliani and the artists of more recent times such as Wyeth, Romare Bearden, Nel Blaine, and Fairfield Porter. There are so many I love, it's hard to choose. My own strengths in art are in drawing the figure, watercolor sketches, landscape and collage."

I am a member of a group website called www.paintingsdirect.com  and another called www.clwac.org.  In both cases you look me up by name:  Holly Meeker Rom

Classes are on

Wednesdays,

PETER RUBINO – 35 years teaching; National Academy School of Fine Art, Brooklyn Museum Art School NYC, Scottsdale Artist’s School AZ, Armory Art Center FL, Silvermine Guild of Art CT. Author of The Portrait in Clay. Commissions include “Mother of All Life” Ben Gurion U. Israel, “Angel” monument for Disney Corp., Boy Scouts of America, Sheraton Hotel, Caribbean Cruise Line, American Tobacco Co. and others. Exhibits extensively in U.S.

"When teaching I focus on fundamentals, "The Nuts and Bolts" of modeling the figure in clay. I show students how to use tools to achieve rich flowing forms and dramatic surface textures. My unique, step by step, easy to follow method of developing sculpture in three stages, builds confidence and enables students to create sculptures with individual style and expression. I enjoy working with beginners and intermediate level students and find that introducing students to a new sculptural language and being part of their artistic discovery and growth is enormously rewarding.

I always demonstrate lessons in class before students begin work. It's important to begin thinking in the round so observing the model from all angels is essential. I encourage students to work and have fun during the learning process, after all, in my class there are no mistakes only adjustments!

As for my own artistic direction, I love working in clay and continuously explore new ways to create figures, portraits, reliefs and abstractions. I'm busy with exhibitions, commissions and workshop presentations through out the year."

Click here to see a video clip of Peter Rubino at work

Classes are on

Wednesdays

MICHELLE RUDOLPH – Widely published illustrator of fashion and life-style and a member of the Society of Illustrators, NYC. Her work has appeared in the New York Times,Wall Street Journal, WWD, Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor and other fashion venues. She holds a degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Art Education, and teaches art at Eastern and Central Middle Schools in Greenwich.

ENZO RUSSO - Born in Florence, Italy. Graduate of School of Fine Arts, University of Florence with its traditional formal training. Further training with Italian modern master Giorgio de Chirico. Received the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship (The Harkness House Foundation). Taught in Florence; at Finch College, NYC; University of Colorado; Rosewood Arts Centre, Kettering, Ohio

Classes are on

Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays

KAREN SPRING – Born in England, a former student of and currently assistant to artist Enzo Russo. Received her art education at private schools and with individual teachers in Germany, England, Northern Ireland and the United States.

Classes are on

Mondays and Tuesdays

JEANNIE THOMMA - A fiber artist, Jeannie has been a visiting artist in residence and an instructor at a variety of art schools, including Silvermine Guild of Artists, Brookfield Craft Center, Wooster School in Danbury, The Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, and Westport Arts Center. Jeannie exhibits her felted works regionally. She holds an MS in Teaching from Pace University and is a NYS certified teacher for K-12. Jeannie has done extensive post-graduate work in the fields of art and education.

DMITRI WRIGHT - Continues the American Impressionist tradi- tion of the Cos Cob Art Colony (1890-c.1920). Founder and master artist of the Renaissance Workshop in Greenwich, artist in residence for the Historical Society of the Town of Green- wich, and Director of Education and Master of Fine and Applied Art at the former Connecticut Institute of Art, also in Green- wich. His works are in more than 200 private, corporate and public collections.

"I teach Impressionism as a synthesis of contemporary adaptations derived from classical fine art methods. My students learn how to use Impressionism’s creative matrix of its prevailing technology, asymmetrical composition, optical focus, and color theory with their own artistic insight.

I’ve developed the “Canons of Impressionism” a series of ten principles to help my students mature in their own personal style of Impressionism. Each one learns how to use their own temperament to establish a personalized art form built on Impressionist methodology of quick, spontaneous brushstrokes, loaded with pure light vibrant pigments, which work in contrast with radiant darker colors to produce the Impressionistic effect.

This program is taught in a workshop format allowing each student to work at their own pace through their choice of materials: pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and oils.
Each student is taught the science and poetry of Impressionism according to their learning and working style.

I’m honored to be the Artist-in-Residence at the Bush-Holley Historic Site, the town’s only National Historic Landmark to continue the time honored Impressionist Painting tradition John Henry Twachtman began at the Cos Cob Art Colony in 1892."

Classes are on

Thursdays

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