The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and Golden Artist Colors partner to present Scholastic Awards educators with a wonderful opportunity: a two-week painting residency in upstate New York. The 2019 residents attended the residency over the summer and are now back in the classroom. We asked the residents how the residency impacted them and how they are applying what they learned to their teaching and artistic practices.

Michael Frassinelli

Because of my experience of trying out new materials and developing new imagery, I got a renewed appreciation for the struggles my students sometimes come up with starting new work and use my own experience as an example of taking chances, starting sometimes randomly, and refining ideas. Upon returning to my studio I immediately set up areas to complete the large paintings I had begun during the residency. I also have begun several oil paintings, which I have not worked with for a while. The GOLDEN products we were able to get as part of the residency (in my case the fluid acrylics) has changed some of the ways I paint and re-introduced me to colors I had forgotten about. And although I had begun a new series of paintings several years ago and have painted since I was a kid, most of my work in the last 20 years has been mostly sculpture. However, after this experience, I have begun to look at the world around me more as a painter.

Jenna Hudock

I accomplished more there in two weeks than I’d ever been able to do before, given the amount of time dedicated to studio practice. Due to the residency and my use of social media, I have been offered a one-person show at the Youngstown Jewish Community Center for January. This is something I’ve not done before, so I do feel that this has given me an opportunity to step up my professional practice!

Christina Keith

My goal at the residency was to be open to new products and techniques, and to push myself to create as much new work as I could that was inspired by the related people, environment, and experiences. The technical classes, access to top-notch spaces and supplies, and enthusiastic support from the Golden [family], staff, and fellow residents all helped fulfill this goal . . . I have developed new lessons and added to existing ones to incorporate technical skills that I learned while at the residency . . . While I hold the content that I teach in high regard and will continue to refine my practices to teach it as effectively as possible, I have realized that the most important and oftentimes long-lasting role in my profession is to positively connect with others, encourage them to take risks and celebrate improvement, and build a relationship with them through the arts.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is proud to partner with organizations like Golden Artist Colors and the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation to offer exciting opportunities to our educators. Educators deserve all the support we can give them, inside and outside of the classroom.

Be sure to follow the Scholastic Awards on Facebook and Twitter to learn about more exciting opportunities for our educators!