In each of our classes we try to give our students the skills to work with a given medium. Therefore, the emphasis is on process and not on product. This process is essential to the outcome. We may look at a work of art such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes. We may appreciate the final result. Do we realize the process of creating them? If we do then you can really say “WOW!”

We classify our clients as “students”, those who study in order to learn. A willingness to study is essential to the mastery of a skill. All of this takes time, patience and dedication. If you only master one step in a given skill, then you have learned something. To aim for the total mastery of a skill is like climbing a staircase one step at a time. Slowly, steadily, you get closer to achieving your goal.

As the different skills are mastered, the instructor can present challenges to you that will increase your skill levels and possibly your creativity. Creativity is found in problem solving and critical thinking that is used when presented with a challenge. With the mastering of skills, a student can then be introduced to the question, “what if”. This is where the real fun begins.

A client may enter a class with a particular product in mind that demands skills that cannot be mastered overnight. Sometimes, a client wishes to copy something that already exists; or take short cuts in order to have a visible result that meets an aesthetic that falls far below the range of possibilities available. They look for this path because it is safe and familiar. Please allow yourself to be a beginner and explore the possibilities of the medium.

As instructors, we are not here to demand your perfection but to offer you the skills that will eventually lead to your success in creating work in a chosen medium. We hope you enjoy learning, enjoy the possibilities, and enjoy the process of working in your selected medium. This approach will insure successful results on any level.

Mary-Elaine Bernard, Stone and Paper Art Center, LLC