Visual Arts CenterDarien Visual Arts Center
- VAC Director:
- Anne Tabacco
The Visual Arts Center of the Darien Arts Center offers various rotating classes in painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, and other art techniques for children and adults in fall and spring terms. The educational experience at the Visual Arts Center focuses upon learning the fundamentals of art, refining skills and exploring creativity. Our dedicated and professional staff emphasizes individual instruction with students. We are committed to offering the highest caliber art programs to our community.
Visual Art Classes and Teachers
- Children and Teen Classes
- LITTLE ARTISTS WORKSHOP - (ages 3-5) Let's explore all media for drawing, painting and sculpture. We will make art that is teeny-tiny to super large! With an emphasis on vocabulary these little artists will gain an understanding of art terms and process, and be introduced to new ways of making art.
Instructor: Matthew Burcaw
A1
Tuition: $210
MONDAY, 1;15 - 2:15 p.m. Fall Semester Sept 24 - Dec 17 (no class Oct.8)12 weeks
Winter/Spring semester Feb. 4 - May 12 (No class Feb 18, March 24, April 14)12 weeks - LITTLE ARTISTS WORKSHOP - (ages 3-5) Students play and explore with a multitude of materials, while learning basic art terminology. Experimenting with various media, including drawing, painting, collage, assemblage and sculpture, these little artists come away with a better art vocabulary and knowledge of materials, all of which encourage their enthusiasm of the Arts.
Instructor: AnneTabacco
A2
Tuition: $
Friday, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m. Fall Semester Sept. 28 - Dec. 7 (no class Nov. 23)10 weeks $175.
Winter/Spring Semester Feb 1 -May 9 (no class Feb.22,Mar. 21, Apr.18) 12 weeks $210. - DRAGON TALES AND FAIRY FOLKLORE - (K-2) Students will enjoy exploring the magical realm of dragons and fairies in the myths, legends and stories of many cultures. Each week the children will be introduced to an enchanted tale from a different country. After discussing the characteristics and customs of fairie or dragon lore, students will create an artwork based on the story. With paint, printmaking, collage and clay, children can let their imaginations take flight into the fantastic world of winged creatures.
Instructor: Lisa Hillman
A3
Tuition: $
Thursday, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Fall Semester - oCT 11-Dec. 20 (no class - Nov. 22)10 weeks $195.
Winter/Spring semester - Feb. 7 - May 8(no class - Feb 21, April 17)12 weeks $230. - CARTOONING - (ages 7-14) Students will design their own characters and learn to use them in 1 panel cartoons and 3 panel comic strips. We will study facial expressions & body
language as it relates to cartooning the human figure. Television storyboards & caricature will also be included. The
instructor emphasizes individual instruction & utilizes dynamic on the spot demonstrations!
Instructor: Mike Valentine
A5
Tuition: $
Wednesday 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Fall Semester - Sept. 26 - Dec. 5 (no class - Nov. 21)10 weeks $175.
Winter/Spring semester - Feb. 6 - May 7 (no class - Feb 20, April 16)12 weeks $200. - CHILDREN'S DRAWING & PAINTING WORKSHOP - (grades 4-6) Tailored for the serious young artist interested in all media. Working one on one students develop their own interest in materials and subject matter. Strong guidance from the instructor assures each student will find the way they like to make art. There is a focus on drawing, as Matthew feels all areas of art are first conceived as drawings. Painting and sculpture will also be explored. Looking at artists from the past and present students will find their place in the rapidly changing art world. In painting, the emphasis will be on innovative and traditional techniques. In sculpture, students learn the skill of mold making as well as clay and assemblage.
Instructor: Matthew Burcaw
A6
Tuition: $275
Monday, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Fall Semester - Sept. 24 - Dec 17 (no class Oct.8)12 weeks
Winter/Spring semester - Feb. 4 - May 12 (no class Feb. 18, March 24, Apr. 14) 12 weeks - INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED PAINTING - (Middle & High School) Say it BIG! Painting is such a great way to express yourself, and when you paint LARGE you can say a whole lot more! Learning how to stretch a canvas as big or even bigger than you, or trying something new, like painting on a door or plexiglass; exploring color-field, abstarct-expressionism, minimalist painting and mural painting, students find their voice and choice of material. This class allows the serious artist to take the next step in their creative development.
Instructor: Matthew Burcaw
A7
Tuition: $275
Monday, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Fall Semester - Sept.24 - Dec. 17 (no class Oct.8)12weeks
Winter/Spring semester - Feb. 4 - May 12(no class Feb. 18, March 24, Apr.14) 12 weeks - EXPERIMENTS IN ART - grade 3 - 5 Students will have the opportunity to explore all different types of media to create paintings, drawings, prints and collages. While discovering the properties of paint, drawing materials and a variety of work surfaces, students will engage in the task of observations, and learn to express what they see in multiple ways. The course will take us from the representational to the abstract, emphasizing the process of individual expression to discover the artist within. Most importantly, children will be free to get messy and have a good time.
Instructor: Lisa Hillman
A4
Tuition: $
Wednesday, 3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
Fall Semester - Sept. 26 - Dec. 5 (no class - Nov. 21)10 weeks $195.
Winter/Spring Semester - Feb. 6 - May 7(no class - Feb. 20, Apr.16)12 weeks $230.
Adult Classes
- THE PORTRAIT - All media but preferably oil, acrylic or
charcoal. Classes will include instructions, critiques and a demonstration portrait. Beginners welcome. In addition to catching a likeness, color and values will be stressed. Help will be given to move the portrait along to a quick completion by overcoming inhibitions and stressing spontaneity. Each student has an emerging personal approach to painting,
and originality is encouraged, within a framework of painting fundamentals.
Instructor: Bob Krouskoff
A20
Tuition: $325
Friday, 9:45 - 12:45
Fall Semester - Oct 5 - Dec. 14 (no class Nov 23)10 weeks
Winter/Spring Semester - Feb 5 - Apr.11 (no class Feb 22) 10 weeks
MODEL FEE EXTRA - WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES - Students will explore the use of various media, such as acrylic, charcoal, pastel, and ink in combination with watercolor, as well as direct transparent techniques. Preliminary drawing & composition will
be stressed.
Instructor: Joseph Lamorte
A21
Tuition: $325
Tuesday, 9:30 - 12:30
Fall Semester - Oct. 2 - Dec. 4, 10 weeks
Winter/Spring semester - Feb. 5 - Apr. 22 (no class- Apr.15)10 weeks - BASIC CONCEPTS OF PAINTING - This popular all day class is for the intermediate as well as the advanced student. Students will explore composition, concepts, color and technique while learning the creative process. Varied media will be used including: acrylic, charcoal, graphite and pastels. The above media can be used separately or in conjunction with others. Two 5 wk. sessions. May take both. Second session is not a repeat of first but a continuation of topics and
techniques students have been exploring.
Instructor: Constance Kiermaier
A22
Tuition: $
Thursday,9:30a.m-3:30p.m.
Fall Session 1 - Oct. 4 -Nov.1
Fall Session 2 - Nov 8 - Dec 13 (no class Nov. 22)
Spring Session 1 - Feb. 7 - March 13 (no class Feb 21)
Session 2 - March 29 - April 24 (no class April 17)
5 week session $250.
10 week session $440. - LANDSCAPES & INTIMATE SPACES: A WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP - Make the art connection by studying artists Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and Claude Monet. Demonstrations give the student an understanding of techniques and concepts used by these artists and how to integrate these into their own work. Color, tone, value, shape and line will be studied. We will travel in our minds to Hopper's seashore, Wyeth's countryside, Monet's garden and the Normandy coast of many great masters. We will paint using photos for reference. Students are welcome to use all paint media. A basic supply list can be mailed. All levels welcome.
Instructor: Vicki French Smith
A23
Tuition: $325
Wednesday, 9:30 - 12:30
Fall Semester - Sept. 19 - Nov 28(no class - Nov. 21) 10 weeks
Winter/Spring Semester - Jan. 30 - Apr.9 (no class - Feb 20) 10 weeks - BEGINNING PRINTMAKING - Are you excited about exploring spontaneity and surprises of monotype and monoprint? Using waterbased inks and plexi plates we will explore basic additive and subtractive techniques. Drypoint, transfers, collagraphs, woodcuts and stencils will be demonstrated as ways of achieving richly layered prints. No experience necessary.
Instructor: Karen Vogel-Grefe
A24
Tuition: $365
Monday, 9:30 - 12:30
Fall Semester - Oct. 1 - Nov. 26 (no class Oct. 8) 8 weeks
Winter/Spring Semester - Feb. 4 - Apr. 7 (no class Feb. 20) 8 weeks
Teachers
- Lisa Hillman - Lisa Hillman is a Darien resident and artist. She has had extensive experience in painting, printmaking and collage and has been a long time student of DAC instructor Constance Kiermaier. Miss Hillman is an award winning artist who has exhibited her work in numerous shows. She studied Visual Culture at the Union Institutes' graduate program at Vermont College, and with the guidance of installation artist Jo Yarrington, she has created several installations. She recently curated an exhibit for the DAC at Town Hall. She is a Loft Artist Associate with a studio in Stamford and a member of FIVE ARTISTS.
- Constance Kiermaier - Her teaching experience has included Silvermine School of Art, Norwalk Community College, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, and N.Y. Adult Education. Ms. Kiermaier is a 1992 recipient of a Regional fellowship in Painting awarded by New England Foundation for the Arts/National Endowment for the Arts. She received her BFA degree from the Yale School of Fine Arts, Yale University.
- Bob Krouskoff - attended Brown University and the New York-Phoenix School of Design. After an early career as a freelance illustrator, he headed up his own graphic design firm in N.Y.C. and executed portraits of such luminaries as Carl Sagan, John Houseman, Agnes DeMille and Albert Einstein. Bob has taught portraiture for the last six years and has also taught landscape painting. He spent a month travelling through France returning with 18 paintings done in Paris, LeMans, Brittany and Provence. Bob recently completed a portrait of the current mayor of White Plains and has been interviewed on local television regarding his art. Last year he was awarded first prize in the annual Westchester Beaux Arts Exhibition. He is represented by the Fine Arts Gallery in Bronxville, and his work can be viewed on his website at krouskoff.com
- Vicki French Smith - Vicki is a member of the Rowayton Art Center, Greenwich Art Society, and is currently on the board of Silvermine Guild Art Center. She holds a teaching degree from Miami University, and has taught and exhibited in many states on the east coast. Vicki has recently traveled to France and Italy for an in-depth study of landscape painting. She has studied with Judi Betts, Robert Sakson, Pat San Soucie, Charles Reid and others. This is her 8th year teaching at the DAC.
- AnneTabacco - Anne previously taught high school art before joining the DAC as pre-school art teacher and director of the Visual Art program. She received her BFA in Art Education and Art Therapy from the College of New Rochelle.
- Mike Valentine - Mike is a professional clown, ventriloquist & cartoonist with 20 years experience as an artist & performer. Mike illustrated several books & performs in clubs, conventions & parties. He studied at Pace College of Art, Fairfield University & at the Museum of Cartoon Art. Mike has recently returned to the Darien Art Center after working for Disney.
- Joseph Lamorte - Mr. Lamorte, a career artist, has long been involved in advertising as illustrator and art director. His work, appearing in newspapers and magazines, has at times received national awards. He teaches watercolor painting, and has extensive experience painting in oils. His training has been at Cooper Union and The New School at NYC and at Silvermine College in CT. He has exhibited in galleries throughout Westchester and Fairfield Counties. The National Endowment for the Arts has funded purchase of his work for public space. He is a resident of Darien.
- Matthew Burcaw - Greenwich native Matthew Burcaw has been teaching art for seven years at the DAC. Receiving his MFA this past spring from Parsons School of Design, he has been included in three group shows this past year; Heidi Cho gallery in Chelsea, Drawing Show at Artist Space in SOHO and a group show at Swing Space in lower Manhattan. With a BFA in illustration and Art Education Burcaw spent much of his time in the nineties working with youth in Stamford and Darien, as well as being involved with the local art scene. He was a member of the Loft Artist Association of Stamford for seven years and was their President for two years. His teaching experience includes the Whitney Museum of American Art, Stamford Museum and Nature Center. Trailblazers Academy and the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich.
- Karen Vogel-Grefe - Studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League, NYC; San Francisco Art Institue, San Francisco, California ; Corcoran School of Art, Washingtin DC; Printmaking Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, Ct. Her work is represented in numerous private and corporate collections and has exhibited widely. She is currently on the board at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking and maintains her studio in Bridgeport.