Grounds For Sculpture

In April the students of duCret's 'Spirit of Art', art appreciation class broke free of their normal routine and evoked what they had learned by putting it to the test. A short car ride later they were standing at the gates of Grounds For Sculpture curiously peering inside the park.  In class, under the direction of duCret Instructor Joan Arbeiter they had been focusing on many different aspects of art, including the elements and principles of design. After taking a short-guided tour, the students realized that one could easily spend days walking around the grounds and exploring. The land presents itself in a way that is almost that of an enchanted fairy tale forest. There are many sculptures that one can physically interact with.

Each sculpture is strategically placed throughout the grounds. "Every time you walked up a hill, or around a corner you found a new piece," stated Megan Cocho, a participating duCret student. "For instance one of the pieces required that you walk through a jungle of bamboo. After you arrived at the sculpture and turned around, you'd see many sets of sculptures hidden through out the bamboo watching you with glowing eyes. It was something that we weren't expecting to see, but it certainly peaked our imagination after we discovered them!" she described.

The duCret School of Art is a similar wonderland in and of itself, because imagination is actually an element of living reality that is ritually encouraged and examined in class. In fact, one of the interesting aspects that makes the duCret teaching formula work is that each one of the duCret students comes from a different background. The rich cultural exchange between students at the school enables each to come to deeply appreciate the many different styles of art that do exist in the world. 

Within a smaller and more intimate class structure, each influences another to stretch beyond personal comfort zones, so as to encourage the exploration of a wider range of 'life interpretation'. This in turn, challenges each to become stronger and more passionate about their art.

In the park, each student was able to walk about the grounds and find something that spoke to their individual interests. As part of this class experience, each was then required to logically explain why they were drawn to the pieces instead of simply saying,  "Yeah, it's nice".  The practice of articulating what they saw was an exercise designed to enable them to focus more deeply on how the colors, textures and structural aspects of art  visually help to shape our living world. Not only did the students learn to appreciate and interact with the pieces, but they were were also inspired by them.

Another part of the unique education process at duCret School of Art is that students are specifically encouraged to interact and emotionally and physically engage in everyday life. This challenges them to re-examine their inner perspectives on the current lives they are living and encourages them to seek deeper understanding as to how they may have developed their present day perceptions. Then each is encouraged to begin to 'see' our living reality in terms of structure, shadow, form, color and texture. Inducing a deeper layer of thought enables each to hone in on their innate talents so that they can use their natural gifting to ultimately inspire others.

duCret School of art is now accepting registration for it's SUMMER WORKSHOP PROGRAMS for adults & children. Visit our website for more information, stop by 1030 Central Avenue, Plainfield, NJ between 9am-4pm, or call 908-757-7171.