SUMMER SCENE PAINTING
"The summer painting program was a great
experience. I'm not sure what you're better at: instilling
confidence or teaching technique."
Father Ernest, Chaminade High School,
Mineola, NY
"You provide the most stimulating learning
environment and hold the carrot way in front of us to strive
for."
Frances Key , SSP, TTSP I, II and III
AND recently, a two week AIS
"Hi! I just wanted to send you an email
to thank you and Kimb so much for everything I learned in Summer
Scene Painting. I am charging a show right now up in Ithaca
(I am a junior this year), and since our beloved
Binky is not working at IC this year, we now have no paint teacher. Everything
I have learned at Cobalt was so invaluable and now in a time where I have little
to no paint knowledge coming from my mentors, I am so glad I went to SSP. The
show I am doing is huge and we have barely any time to do it, and we have had
to do almost everything that we learned about at SSP (wallpaper, making stencils,
woodgrain, marble). I don't know what I would have done without it! Our new scene
design teacher doesn't really know much about painting and neither does our TD,
so I have literally found myself in a place with my show (and shows that my peers
are charging, as well) where I had to literally find out where and how to order
things, as well as teach th other students things that are important for their
show. Things like making starch and starching muslin have completely fallen into
my hands because nobody knows what the heck they're doing. I even made a little
binder with all the handouts I got and notes I took from SSP and called it my "Paint
Bible" and have referred to it at least once a week through this year. It
has been so invaluably helpful and it has also built up my confidence a ton!
So I just wanted to send you guys a thank-you email, because I literally have
learned all I know about paint from you guys. And I am trying to pass it along
to everyone here at IC as well...thanks SO much! :)
Have a happy thanksgiving and holiday season!"
Kelly M. Syring
"My sense of wonder and excitement about
the world of design and execution of scenery were restored….The
training and experience was exciting and educational….I
am much more confident and comfortable around paint than I
was before….On top of it all I had one hell of a lot
of fun!"
W.M. Schenk, SSP
Rachel, I am just getting around to putting
my summer week at Cobalt into use here at Daytona State College
and need to thank you sincerely! I am sending similar letters
to Sean & Joe. Thank you so much for all you did to facilitate
a fantastic learning atmosphere for me & fellow theatre
teachers. The week was fast paced and we completed so many
various projects. I have so many photos, files, and handouts
as well as my own painted work to share with my students and
colleagues as a result of the teacher training. I also
enjoyed observing you work on commissioned drops, too.
Joe Rial & Sean O’Skea are such a wonderful teaching team. They were
able to cover so many pertinent techniques and have such a vast amount of experience
between them. I was amazed to have kept up with them as they relayed back & forth
from 3-D to 2-D, tromp l’oiel, marble, wood, stone, foliage… They
both were so very generous with the sharing of instruction, materials, and resources.
I can see my classes getting faster paced as I incorporate so many new projects
into my stagecraft classes. I am creating a Cobalt binder with all my notes and
materials in plastic sleeves. I know they will be accessed regularly.
I am recommending Cobalt training to anyone with even the least amount of artistic
skill that wants to develop that into something marketable. White Lake is a charming,
beautiful town & the lakes are great for swimming. I look forward to returning
for another session at some point in the near future.
Thank you!
J. Scott Green, Technical Director, Theatre
Daytona State College
SCENIC ARTIST TRAINING PROGRAM
"I would not be the painter I am now nor
be at this level without the knowledge and nurturing, I got
from you".
Roberto Gallo, SATP class of 2002
Dear Cobalt Folks!
I am doing well down here in Kentucky so far, I've painted
just about every day that I have been here! My TD is
a genius at Photoshop. He was completely excited when he
heard he was getting a painter from Cobalt, so he is a big
fan.
And if I didn't say it at graduation enough thank you all so
much for all your support over the last couple of years. I
owe everything I now know to Cobalt and I don't know really
where I would be without it and everyone there! So thank
you again, I miss you all very much and if I don't say something
about one of you every day, its a rare occasion. Much
love to all, I plan on keeping in touch!
Have a great summer!
Jamie Clausius, SATP class of 2009
"A breath of fresh air. You made me feel
at home."
l.
SPECIALTY PRO SEMINARS
Testimonials coming soon.
|
|
TEACHERS TRAINING
"I never anticipated how much I could
absorb in two weeks. I was challenged to push myself to new
creative levels with each project….These two weeks I
spent at Cobalt were more valuable than any class I had in
graduate school….I loved seeing a scenic studio in operation
each day. Everyone made me feel welcome. Thank you for sharing
your knowledge and resources, your studio and your home!"
Kevin B. Held Head, Department of Theatre,
Speech & Dance, St. George's School, AIS
Dear Sean,
I would like to Thank You for a wonderful experience at Cobalt
Studios in White Lake, NY. I knew for years that Cobalt Studios was the “place to
go” to learn how to paint scenery. This was reinforced
by my experience this past summer during your Teachers Training
Session.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I knew that we would have
expectations, some perhaps high, placed on us and that we would be working very
hard. I had no idea that I would be taken under a teacher’s wing,
your wing specifically Sean, and be guided and trained and pushed and encouraged
to attain the best skills I could in scene painting. I also didn’t
expect to have so much fun painting! Scene painting IS hard work. Spending
9 hours a day should have exhausted me, but every evening I
found myself entertained in discussions and debates with the
other students and teachers and learning even more.
My experience at Cobalt Studios not only taught me many scene painting skills,
but has increased my desire to work harder, make my productions better, piqued
my curiosity in experimenting and encouraged me to expand my skills.
Thank you again for a very valuable experience. I’ve come away not
only with skills, but confidence and encouragement and also a role model in you. I
hope to maintain contact as a resource for all my future theater
work because I value your opinion, your ability to share and
your talent to teach.
Sincerely, Amy Langenecker
Dear Rachel,
The thanks first: Many, many thanks for
the great times I had with you and at your place last week.
It was wonderful. You are wonderful, and your entire household
is wonderful. I sure appreciate the warmth and well-planned
qualities that you have put into it all. It was a lot of fun
to go swimming with you at Sackett Lake, too, and to eat ice
cream together twice! Many, many thanks.
In the company of other theater teachers from
a variety of other schools, I've savored a rich, inspiring,
and delightfully challenging week learning ways to teach scenery
painting to our Tech Theater students. Cobalt Studios has a
couple of very creative teachers in Joe Rial and Sean O'Skea.
Both are articulate, good at teaching us, and rich in understanding
the kind of students we have. Joe and Sean are very good at
sharing tips to help us inspire teenagers to do this visual
work and do it well. Along with the hands-on instruction and
process critiques in many methods, we all learned ways to become
more confident and to inspire student confidence. All of us
who attended had different theater situations yet similar theater
painting questions, and I thrived on being in the company of
my peers. What a valuable workshop week! Doing all our paintings
in the professional space of Cobalt Studios was a fabulous
bonus. I learned from that, too. Thank you all.
Margaret McCandless, Bancroft School,
Worcester, Massachusetts
MONTH
AT COBALT
Cobalt Studios reply:
"Ah, isn't it great to be needed? And what do we hear about Scenic Art dying????
HRUMPH, I wish, I wish more folks would have your experience, to know how valuable
a scenic artist IS!! It truly is wonderful to know about something that is valuable.
I am thrilled to hear how you are taking the ball and running with it! It would
not be happening if you had not stepped up to the plate! Anyway, thank YOU for
using it all, and for passing it on! not everybody can come to Cobalt, so we
count on having students such as yourselves pass it on. Why the "powers
that be" do not recognize the value of having a paid person there is beyond
me. (it could be you!) It truly is the unknown career choice, and also the unrecognized
missing link sometimes!
Anyway, Thank you! May I put your letter on our website as
a testimonial? It might inspire some others to come, or some
places to hire scenics!
Keep in touch! Cheers!
Rachel
"Rachel,
I am so happy I was with you for a semester!!! I wish I had
done this
years and years ago. I have a couple of students who are really
good
painters, who really get it. They really keep looking at the
color copy
before they put a brush or roller to the canvas. I told
one that she
might want to consider this specialty as a career some day
(she's a
freshman).
.And thank you Rachel for getting me to plan. I mean to actually
sit down
and write out what I'm going to paint first, second, third,
last. And then
to actually examine a photo, like a coroner examines a body,
and mix the
colors accordingly. I had 31 colors for Drop #2. Can't wait
to photo and
send you.
I LEARNED SO MUCH in ten weeks!!! Wish I were there for two
years. But
we'd need a better place to stay than where we did. And our Wal-Mart is SO much
better than yours."
Best regards,
Paul
(Paul came here for part of his Sabbatical using the Month
at Cobalt Program.) |
