Testimonials

Conference Presentation Testimonials…

2012 South Carolina Art Education Association Conference

"When one eats a delicious apple, it's difficult to say which bite was the best. The process for me is great, but it's all excellent!"

"Mandy,
I took two of your workshops at the AENJ Convention this past weekend. I learned a great deal.I was never really taught drawing in college, we were just expected to use what ever method we found on our own which really was no method at all...just winging it..you are an amazing teacher."

"Very interesting! Presenter was excellent, very helpful and worked at an excellent pace."

"Thank you! I'm so happy I had [this] experience today."

"The handouts are relevant and easy to follow. The language and vocabulary that was introduced was really useful: Notional space, envelopes, [design] lines. Also ways to check and revise work were useful. This was a terrific workshop and Mandy did a wonderful job!"

"This workshop opened up something new that [fascinates] me... a renewal to my interest in drawing."

"Completely different way of thinking and approaching drawing."

2012 New Mexico Art Education Conference

Skill-Based Learning Testimonials...

Brandon D. Drake, Admonished, 19 x 20 in., oil on board

Everyone is born with God given talent in some aspect of their life. But without practice that aims to build and nurture that gift, it will never grow. Skill based training in art education is so important because aspiring artists have ideas and want to share them visually, but are frequently held back by the ability to execute them the way they wish. Training the skills needed to do so in drawing and painting frees the creative ability to be applied to the paper and canvas. I have always loved drawing and painting, but knew there was more I could do to achieve a higher quality. When I began my formal art education and started practicing skill based training, I was amazed to see how quickly my capacity to execute what I wanted improved. I no longer felt limited by my ability, but empowered.

- Brandon D. Drake (Adult Student)

"Going back to the fundamentals was crucial in my art education. Although I had been painting and drawing all my life, there were many gaps in my artistic foundation that left me feeling unsure of my abilities. Working with a skilled instructor through the basic fundamentals of painting and drawing catapulted my confidence and gave me a solid framework with which I now feel I can create whatever my mind can conjure."

- Erin Anderson (Adult Student)

This type of training is not easy, but it has been life changing for me when it comes to my future career as an artist. I can only imagine what I could have done by 30 if I had had access to such knowledge and instruction at a much younger age. I am thankful beyond expression for my teachers that are dedicated to bringing back this level of instruction and disciplined artistic training. The instruction I have received has opened my eyes and allowed me to accomplish what I would have thought impossible.

- Lara Marshall (Adult Student)

"I was given some natural talent in the arts, but until I received skills based training, I did not have the full confidence that what I pictured and desired to paint, I could actually make appear on the canvas or paper. I taught at the junior high level for nine years and have now taught at the high school level for seven years in a public high school district where I adapt the lessons for that environment. I want students to be able to do any kind of art they wish. If they decide to work outside the representational world of art, it needs to be because they want to, not because they don’t have the skill. My students’ work since I began this method has improved so dramatically that I have been asked to instruct teachers in my own district as well as outside of it in the process. Three of my students using this process have advanced to the State level in competitions sponsored by the Texas Art Educators Association, and two others have had their work included the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts Student Art Exhibition. One of these students won the top prize as well. I’ve had students complete surveys of my class as to which projects were enjoyable, which they learned the most from, and other categories. The overwhelming majority chose these projects as the ones from which they learned the most."

- Nancy Hines (Certified Art Teacher)

Nancy Hines, Hold my Hand, Graphite on Paper, 8x8 in.

Artistic freedom lies in the mastery that comes from rigorous training and continuous practice. Like learning to play an instrument, learning to draw and paint with great accuracy and subtlety can be extremely frustrating but once mastered, the rewards are endless. Academic training is about the development of craftsmanship and learning to see beyond craftsmanship; more than merely an educational method it is also the rediscovery and continuation of a means of expression anchored in history and tradition, that is devoted to the reverence of beauty, harmony and timelessness.

- Sophie Merle (Adult Student)

Sophie Merle, Portrait of Haley, Charcoal on Paper, 31 x 22cm.

Skill-based methods are geared toward helping the student merge understanding with observation to create representations that are true to nature as well as conception. Artists who master these skills have the power to invent, express, and visually communicate anything they can imagine. My desire is to master this ability to connect eye, mind, and hand.

- Rebecca C. Gray (Adult Student)

Artistic freedom lies in the mastery that comes from rigorous training and continuous practice. Like learning to play an instrument, learning to draw and paint with great accuracy and subtlety can be extremely frustrating but once mastered, the rewards are endless. Skill-based training is about the development of craftsmanship and learning to see beyond craftsmanship.

- Sophie Merle (Adult Student)