WOW!

The gold-medalist in sidewalk painting in Germany and Italy of 2010, Melanie Stimmell, wowed the lightening-braving crowd on August 25, 2011!

Our Fredericksburg Academy students were also treated to her presentation the next morning before her flight back to LA.

A severe thunderstorm, just days after the quake, descended on Fredericksburg before our public presentation with Melanie on Thursday evening.

We fortunately kept power in our theater and went on with the show. We were treated to an excellent speaker who shared considerable tips on the entire Via Colori experience. Postural tips of crossing your legs while working to avoid back and knee strain, guidelines of etiquette with not spilling drinks near the artwork, how to handle so many questions and comments while working, and how to successfully recreate an image with brilliance and depth were all addressed. The slides of her 25-foot paintings were astonishing, from Renaissance Madonnas to Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau muses. The children especially loved her lady in the pond with 3-d balloons appearing to fly. Thank you, City of Fredericksburg Arts Commission , Sue Henderson,and Fredericksburg Academy for providing this excellent, unforgettable experience for our community.

September 2011

TROY HOWELL ARRIVES

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JkZ1nbVPJ8

www.troyhowellstudio.com

September marks the 5-year anniversary of our Artists in Residence program in the Lower School of Fredericksburg Academy. We have a unique program lined up for this year, with internationally acclaimed illustrator and novelist Troy Howell working with our kids throughout the year. Please visit troyhowellstudio.com for his many incredible accomplishments, including familiar cover illustrations for Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Mary Pope Osbourne's Myths series, and his own newly published The Dragon of Cripple Creek. He has graciously offered to work with our students on both narrative elements of writing and illustrative components of a story. We start with Medieval literature and illustration in the middle of this month, then we prepare for Via Colori downtown on the 24th and 25th.