We have  4 weeks until the Spring Studio Course begins. But that isn't all that's going on at the Studio. Life is busy at 300 Shore Road in Cornwall-On-Hudson. We have two seminars coming up in January (see below). Also  during the break we are shrinking our footprint on the shop floor - reducing the deck space - in order to economize on our rent. 

     The dream of finding an adequate shop space (ideally closer to the city) has become somewhat more distant in this inflationary era; also the idea of picking up and moving was not only unaffordable, but also made us rather sad. Shore Road is the "original" scene shop in the Hudson Valley: many of the shops we know today - PRG, Hudson, Cigar Box, and others - had their start here in the 70's and 80's and the paint deck has been in near constant use since the 70's.  As I thought about it , I realized I have been coming to paint scenery in this space  (originally for Nolan's) for 37 years! I greet that ancient gang sink as a familiar old curmudgeon that somehow - amazingly - still functions.

    So we're thinking of improvements. We're adding a long wall separating the school from the PRG storage space, which will reduce our floor space by 50%, but will give us a display wall, and will reduce our rent. We also have added LED fixtures that are a decent 3400 Kelvin - a warm color that has evened out our work areas. For my part, I will  avoid buying the off-brand K-cups from the dollar store and will pledge to keep the Snack Jar somewhat full.

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    About the two seminars coming up in January: The #1 Seminar is called The 829 Exam Prep Open Studio.  We want to help all you applicants to do well on your exams, so we are opening up our Studio for the month of January to any candidates for the USA 829 Track A, Track B, or Apprentice Exams. You may rent space for a day, a week, or 25 days to work on your muslin paintings, drawings, and/or hardboard paint samples. FYI, this Open Studio is uninstructed.

Also , since Rosco has run out of their Off-Broadway 1 oz. test kits we are offering our own O.B. paint kit in 4 oz. containers for sale - a bargain! - available after Jan. 3rd in our Studio. A limited number of these kits - paint, paper and muslin - will be available to those who are not going to be working on their exams at our studio.  More on all this  here and on the Tuition and Registration Page. That's the #1 Seminar.

       The #2 Seminar will have a Guest Instructor. On January 27th we will have a lecture entitled  A Scenic Artist's Intro to Film and TV , presented by 829 Charge Artist Rebecca Perrenod. Rebecca will describe how film and TV shows work, what materials are used, what the different departments and job descriptions are, and what the various terms mean.

 Info and Registration Form for this Film & TV Seminar are  here and on the Tuition and Registration page.

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Please check out our Curriculum page to read how our School works. It's not the usual art school.

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    In the 12-week Studio Course, Instructor Jeff Baringer will carry on with the Panel Molding/Ornament (Donut) Project as he has done for the last several years, but with an updated Ornament and frame design, and I will be teaching Returning Students on Landscape, Color Theory, Trompe L'oeil, etc.  We also have begun the practice of daily sketching; everyone receives a small sketchbook at the first class and I ask everyone to try to do a sketch a day during the week. Students will discuss their drawings and we post them in the classroom. 

    Beginning Saturday, February 3, there will be 12 classes, 5 1/2 hours long - we will go from 9am- 2:30 pm.   Information and Registration Forms for the 12 Week Studio Course are available here and on the Tuition and Registration Page.

    The Founder of the Studio and Forum, Joe Forbes, will be joining us from time to time to teach and to attend Critiques as a Judge to keep us in line. We will continue to invite Guest Instructors. 

   The School is no longer requiring staff and students to be vaccinated for Covid.   The CDC and New York State have relaxed their masking rules, but we need to be cautious - this virus is still hanging around! For some people, it may be wise to wear a mask but it's not required anymore. We have N95s and surgical masks on hand. More on the protocols on the Health and Safety page.

   We also ask new students to sign a Photo Release because we post your work frequently on our Facebook page. 

  The Studio and Forum is ready to welcome New and Returning students for the Exam Prep Open Studio, the Film and TV Seminar,  and the Spring Studio Course.

                                                                 

                              -Jane Snow 

                                        Instructor and Managing Director