STUDIO JOURNAL

Ling, George, David, Leigh Ann in Chelsea, July 2006

This summer it has been my great pleasure to fulfill the role of instructor in The School of Visual Art’s Summer Residency Program 2006. I am humbled by the opportunity to work with students, to aid them in generating art work, communication skills, and provide an example of how to live in the art world. There are many amazing artists in this program, which counts 34 in all. A large number of them are still in their twenties and are considering the possibility of attending graduate school. Many came here from other countries, such as Lithuania and Portugal, and are coming to New York for the first time. The chance to work in a school can be refreshing, and the attention of daily alternating instructors on each student’s chosen body of work for the allotted period can be quite stimulating. Besides myself, other instructors include Jill Weinstock, Danica Phelps, Steve DeFrank, and Peter Hristoff.

I first met with students in this program during the summer of 2005, when I was invited by Keren Moscovitch, Assistant Diractor in SVA’s Division of Continuing Education, to lecture about my experiences and accomplishments in the art world. Though less famous than many other figures appearing here, it was perhaps my connection to the art world, via family connection and lifetime experience, that made me an interesting candidate. Now, as an instructor, I have gotten to share more than a passing concern with the many participants in this ongoing program, to provide the benefits of a New York art education, in the studio and outside, in the galleries and streets, which is the accepted purview of regularly attending students.

Trang Bui, Tania Castellano, Ling Chang, Annika Connor, Karina Contreras, Dana Cooper, Cathleen Cueto, Leigh Ann Davis, Marc Freeman, Tracey Goodman, Samantha Hahn, Sara Hernandez-Pons, Emily Henretta, Tamar Hirschl, Jennifer Kincaid, Rufus Lusk, Brian Maller, Cindy Mason, Kelley McCarthy, Jeremy Olson, Candida Pestana, Gabriel Shuldiner, Fumiko Toda, George Towne , Marlene Vinha