OLD LYME — Beginning this month, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts will offer a Young Masters Afterschool Program for students ages 12 and up. Students will be fully immersed in a professional studio environment, working directly with the instructor as they learn the skills necessary to achieve excellence in the fine arts, and their individual artistic goals.
Classes focus on observational drawing, painting, and sculpture, building on a progression of increasingly complex assignments first initiated in the art Academies of Europe, and designed to engage and challenge, while also developing students’ confidence in their abilities.
The Young Masters program is led by the new Director of Youth Programs, Rick Lacey. Originally from Evergreen, Colo., Lacey has spent most of his life in Lyme, Conn. After graduation from Lyme-Old Lyme High School in 2007, he graduated from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 2011, with a BFA in painting.
Lacey is a recipient of the American Visions Award as well as the John Stobart Fellowship Award. He has been featured in several national magazines, including both American Artist and Art of the West.
Lacey currently works at Lyme Academy teaching highly popular classes in drawing and painting.
“Our Afterschool Program offers an unparalleled opportunity for young artists to learn the traditional techniques of observational drawing, painting, and sculpture, in a contemporary studio environment. I look forward to offering the Lyme Academy experience to a new generation of artists” comments Lacey.
In keeping with traditional academic practices that date to the Renaissance period, first-year students will follow a drawing curriculum; students continuing on to a second year will focus on painting or sculpture.
The Young Masters After-School Program is offered over two semesters each year and is designed to follow the Region 18 K-12 academic calendar.
The Fall and Spring semester sessions meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Students can opt for one or two program days per week. Students can join at any time, subject to space availability.
The fall semester runs through Dec. 22, 2022. The program costs are $550 for one day a week, $1,100 for two days per week.
Visit this link for more information and registration details.
The mission of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is to teach the foundational skills of drawing, painting, and sculpture in the figurative tradition. By its commitment to training students in these skills and an engagement with contemporary discourse, the Academy will empower a new generation of artists.
Through its programs, the Academy is committed to enriching the cultural life of the community.
As an extension of programming, the Academy has recently announced the opening of de Gerenday’s Fine Art Materials and Curiosities, a new shop offering fine art materials and giftable objects from around the globe.
Learn more by visiting www.lymeacademy.edu.