I guess I use a lot of superlatives when talking about La Romita, but there are so many amazing people involved in each season, I really hope it doesn’t sound like I’m bragging. The line-up of instructors this year reads like a Who’s Who of professors and workshop leaders. Starting with Ken O’Connell (5 – 19 September), Professor Emeritus and long-time head of the art department at the University of Oregon, each teacher is well-known for their own art, their own pedigree, but also for their proven ability to transfer that knowledge to students young and old, professional and dilettante. Laurie Doctor (19 August – 2 September) and Sharon Zeugin (22 September – 6 October) came to us through Ken; Laurie as his assistant for a workshop a few years ago at La Romita, with Sharon attending the same workshop. Both are known internationally as professional calligraphers and innovators in the world of mixed media art workshops. Sharon runs the “Literally Letters” program at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and Laurie has made art, taught and performed for twenty years at Naropa University in Colorado.
Nora Venturelli (25 July – 8 August) has a deep understanding of the Italian culture and visited us a couple of years ago to see if we could collaborate. After getting to know her and her work, we are excited to add her to our list of teachers. As a professor at the University of Michigan, she has honed her art as well as her teaching skills.
Jane McElvany Coonce (1 -15 May) has over thirty years of experience teaching adult education in the Arlington Virginia area. She works primarily in oil, pastel, and terracotta, offering our participants new opportunities in these media. Marsha Wooley’s (18 May – 1 June) experience; fifteen years teaching in Colorado at the University of Colorado, Metro State, and Arapahoe Community College, have prepared her as a wonderful leader of students along the journey to the realization of the vision and skills necessary for them to progress as artists. Harold Allanson (4-18 June) is a self-taught master of painting the outdoors on his beloved Gabriola Island on Canada’s Pacific coast. His paintings are bold, realistic works often expressed in strong colors, revealing water reflections late in the day, early morning sunlight or deep shadows; the sort of painting that will catch the viewer’s eye from a distance. His enthusiasm is infectious. Fritz Kapraun (20-30 June), Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington is gregarious, talented and just plain fun to be with. He has been with La Romita for many years running and is perhaps our most popular teacher. Carol Cooper (8-22 July), long-time professor at NorthWest Arkansas College, is a creative master teacher, an expert at watercolor techniques: flat, graded and variegated washes; wet on dry; wet in wet, offering something new for students at all levels.
And, finishing up our year, in the glorious Umbrian autumn, is Daryl Urig (9-23 October), an adjunct professor and academic coordinator at the University of Cincinnati. He has a ambitious schedule of workshops throughout the country where he hones his prodigious talents.
Please contact me in California to talk about any of our programs that could interest you. — Edmund Zimmerman, Director