We're taking a step back in time. Flash back to Wednesday, June 8th, 6:00pm at Creative Arts for our end-of-the-year bash.
Elena Raucci putting the final touches on our performance space.
First, allow me to explain the event. We throw a celebratory party to end the 'school' year of art, music and theatre programming. Our amazing volunteers transform Pilgrim Hall into a whimsical performance and art exhibit space, and the Board brings dinner for attendees to enjoy. The event is for anyone and everyone and, most importantly, FREE!
Dinner...thank you Board Members!
The evening begins with a light supper. Attendees mingle, much and muse over the art show, which highlights our visual arts faculty and select work by art students. I included a few selections from the show. We had over 25 works on exhibit!
Portrait of Jennifer Hart by Dennis Hart (Visual Art Faculty)
Painting 102 student
Untitled, by Nedret Andre (Summer Visual Art Faculty)
Clay projects by the Clay Mania! EMARC program
Many diners and patrons of the Arts!
After dinner, attendees gathered for a beautiful concert by music faculty and advanced students, punctuated by scholarship awards and improv by our Traveling Theatre class!
A small 'snap-shot' of the audience
This evening was an important event for two reasons: 1. to celebrate everyone's hard work and 2. we formally announced our capital campaign to purchase a building of our own. To kick off the concert, former Director and co-founder of Creative Arts, Judy O'Hare, presented a check for $1,000 to make the campaign 'official.' Thank you, Judy!
Judy O'Hare presenting her check to current Executive Director, Jennifer Hart
The ladies from Traveling Theatre kept the audience laughing with improv games and sketches.
Musical performances and awards followed. Two music and one theatre merit scholarships are given each year. To apply for the Renzel Rongone Memorial scholarship, theatre students write an essay and submit it to Theare Director, Angela Merrill.
Anabele Moda was this year's Theatre Scholarship winner. She read her essay "Why Theatre is Important".
The James O'Hare Memorial scholarship is given to an exceptional student studying a string instrument. String students are nominated by their teachers. The Mildred D. Hersh Memorial scholarship is given to an exceptional piano student, also nominated by teachers. Nominated students for both scholarships demonstrate technical achievements, perform and practice regularly, love music, and have a fantastic attitude.
Judy O'Hare presenting Tim Sanford with the scholarship award.
Tim Sanford and his Violin Instructor, Jenna Potts, perform Sonatina in G Major for Two Violins by J. F. Mazas
This year, Tim Sanford won the O'Hare Memorial scholarship and Paul Maschhoff won the Mildred D. Hersh Memorial piano scholarship. Congratulations! Both performed after winning.
Piano Instructor Roald Wilson presented the Mildred D. Hersh Memorial scholarship to his student, Paul Maschhoff.
Paul performs the technical piece, Prelude #1 by George Gershwin
The Board of Trustees also gives awards to exceptional community supporter, faculty, staff or volunteers. This year's Creative Choice award went to volunteer and staunch Creative Arts advocate, Susan Roberts! Susan volunteers in our office at least 2 days per week, provides support for our theatre vacation programs, and created our current registration database. Her son, Max, also takes violin lessons from Jenna Potts and theatre programs with Angela Merrill.
Jennifer Hart and Susan Roberts sharing a moment
Deborah Gilburg received the Founder's Award for her help in strategic planning, promoting Creative Arts, and creating the foundation for our capital campaign. Thank you, Deb!
Deb Gilburg and Jennifer Hart embrace while Boar President, Virginia Wadland, looks on
The Creative Arts Ensemble also performed! Music teachers Laura Burgess, Sheryl LaFayette, Elena Raucci and Karl Orvik decided to start an ensemble and are available for weddings, concerts, parties or other performance opportunities.
The Creative Arts Trio (comprised of music teachers Elena Raucci, Laura Burgess and Sheryl LaFayette)
Lailoo Perriello, violin student of Jenna Potts, performs Country Dance by C. M. von Weber
Julia Parker performs Fantasie, Andantino mvmt by G Faure
Thomas Winsor, piano student of Roald Wilson, perform Prelude in C# Minor by S. Rachmaninoff
Alexander Witham, vocal student of Brian Ocock, sings The Vagabond by R. V. Williams
We ended the evening with great music and dessert!
The cake was hand-made and decorated!
We had many more fantastic performers! If you attended, you were treated to a very special evening. If you missed us...there's always next year! Thank you to our sponsors: Nelson & Rita Burbank, The Raucci Family and Longwood Place! Most Importantly, thank you to our volunteers for all your hard work in decorating, making food, setting up and cleaning up; we couldn't have done it without you!
Performers watching "backstage," waiting for their cue.
Our Traveling Theatre Troupe had their last performance at Lynnfield Public Library in the children's section. It was a great location to perform Nursery Crimes: Four and Twenty! In true Traveling Theatre form, students played different characters from their first two performances. Playing different characters challenges our students, keeps them on their toes, and teaches them (using classical acting methods) how to understand, develop and become different characters.
Parents and other audience members watching the skit
As an aside: While our Troupe waited to perform, cast members had a great time looking for and reading children's books. The variety of books were almost too much of a distraction for our actors, however; what a great distraction! It was comforting to know books still captivate young readers!
Our Goldilocks waits for her cue
The performance space was intimate, which seemed to throw-off our actors. As the skit progressed, they became more comfortable, and the audience was able to understand and hear all actors. This again demonstrates that acting is not just repeating lines. Our actors have to bring energy, stamina, confidence, originality, imagination and dynamic creativity to each performance. It's not easy!
As with all Creative Arts theatre productions, the cast kept the audience in stitches, especially Goldilocks, who committed crimes to change the plot line because she was sick of eating porridge. Bravo!
Bravo to the cast of Traveling Theatre! Bravo to their parents for driving them to performances! Bravo to instructor Angela Merrill for mentoring our young actors!
We welcomed the beginning of summer and school vacation with a series of sculpture art workshops. Over the course of one week, students explored and created several sculpture types: kinetic, recycled art, organic forms and shadows and light.
This is an example of a kinetic sculpture harnessing the power of wind by artist David Riemer.
During the kinetic workshop, student created sculptures that MOVE using balance, wind and gravity, while learning about different artists that make kinetic sculpture.
Dolphin by Evelyn Howell
Penguin and 'Rubber' Duckie by Tim Sanford
In "Animal Homage" students used clay, plaster and rigid wrap (the same material used to make casts for broken bones) to mold, shape and sculpt different animals. Using watercolor paints and photographs for inspiration, they painted habitats for their animals (real or imaginary)...paying careful attention to food selection and biodiversity.
Sea shore by Tim Sanford
forest habitat...notice the relief animal addition
The Friday sculpture class played with light and shadow by creating sculptures that, when illuminated, cast unique patterns.
In the light: simple car construction...
in silhouette...
Students accomplished another fantastic reflection project...which I will share on another blog post. For now, have a great holiday weekend...and hopefully our students will look at sculpture differently; taking time to notice shape, form, pattern, texture, function, symmetry/asymmetry, and balance.
Did you know Creative Arts holds monthly figure drawing workshops? The workshops are monitored by resident artist Dennis Hart who provides critique, instruction and advice as he takes the class through a series of timed poses. A nude model, traditional for figure work, moves through timed poses to keep the class sketching!
The above drawing is from a 10 minute pose. 10 minutes is considered a long pose, giving the artist enough time to add details, fix proportion and begin shading.
Figure classes generally begin with a series of 15-30 second gesture poses. Short poses are akin to stretching before an intense workout and are used to warm up the mind and synch visual observations with physical translation. Gesture sketching also loosens drawing muscles in the hands, arms and back, allowing for free, open sketching movement.
Gesture is a type of fast sketching to capture, in rudimentary form, the 'essence' or idea of a subject...usually a moving subject. Sketching is free-form, flowing and active, with intense focus on the model and minimal glances at the paper. It's not uncommon for artists to break a sweat!
This video is a good example of the free-form movement of gesture sketching to capture the 'essence' of a subject.
As pose time increases (usually 1-10min), gesture is still used to capture basic pose shape. The remaining time is used to add detail.
Usually, a teaching artist proctors the class by monitoring pose time and offering critique or helpful hints. It's helpful for the artist to receive feedback and gain outside perspective. Figure workshops or classes are generally 2.5 to 4 hours and incorporate at least one 20-60 minute pose.
This example is from a 10 minute pose.
You do not need to be an artist to experience figure drawing or explore gesture sketching! Many outdoor enthusiasts, naturalist and scientists used gesture sketching (especially in the field) to record observations.
Example of a naturalist sketchbook.
Creative Arts will continue to hold monthly figure drawing workshops, and invites you to attend! To find out more about the program, please call the office at 781-942-9600!
