There's No Place Like Rome....

During Spring Break this year, duCret Instructor Mark Romanoski led 36 duCret Students, Faculty Members, Alumni and friends of duCret through Paris, Milan, Florence and Rome. For participating duCret students;  Andy Judd of Bridgewater, Rae Cawley of Westfield, Brandon Drake of Plainfield, Tomas Hurtado of Clark, Liam Kaiser-Sheridan of Scotch Plains, Steven Lopez of Elizabeth, Christopher Peel of South Plainfield, Laura Smith of Bergenfield, Ben Vogler of North Plainfield and Duane Watson of Englewood, it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

On a whirlwind travel agenda, arranged though EF Tours (an international educational travel program for faculty and students) and focusing on Renaissance Art History, the group experienced an array of historical landmarks, famous statues and sacred sites such as the Vatican City. Starting in Paris and traveling to Milan, Florence and finally Rome, they were able to visit the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower and  Arc de Triomphe. They also visited the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica and saw the Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s ‘The David’. “I lost ten pounds walking’, Chris Peel stated emphatically. When asked if the trip changed his perspective on life somehow, Andy Judd replied, “Absolutely. To see these historical icons we’ve studied in class, in ‘real life’ sends a powerful message to artist's everywhere. Here at duCret you can explore everything and do anything artistically. You can open up your soul and just ‘be’ yourself. I was thrilled to go on the trip.”

When the students arrived home, they were immediately thrust into preparations for duCret’s annual Art Show, in which six very special awards were presented, aside from 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and honorable mention recognitions. These annual honorary awards included: The Alfred Schultz Award, The Ann & Dudley duCret Award, The Edward W. Pardee Memorial Award, The Furman Fink Award, The Walter Swain Award and the Alumni Award.  This year, it was no surprise that a few last minute art entries were ‘Europe’ influenced.

Mark Romanoski the trip's leading faculty member who teaches Acrylic Painting and Fantasy Illustration at duCret, is an ecclectic artist himself who personally works in a wide range of modalities; from fantasy art to works themed in ancient religion. He is also an accomplished mural artist. He began his career in the studios of famed illustrators Tim and Greg Hildebrandt. His work in fantasty art includes D.C. Comics, Marvel Comics, WWE and World of Warcraft.

Mark will be teaching a 'Drawing Super Heroes' Workshop this summer 2011 on July 6th from 1pm - 4pm. This one day workshop will focus on the basics of drawing all your favorite super heroes. This includes proportion, anatomy, posing and character development. Learn to develop 3D reality on a flat surface, and add power and punch to any super hero of your choosing. Those interested can REGISTER NOW by calling 908-757-7171, or by walk-in to 1030 Central Avenue, Plainfield NJ, between 9am - 4pm, Monday through Friday.

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.