Supporting young artists in Los Angeles

In 2013 the Craft in America Center launched a pilot program to support aspiring artists at Fairfax High School’s Visual Arts Magnet. Our goal has been to give students in public high schools the chance to meet some of the leading working, professional artists in the field and to learn about the trajectory of their careers. The arts often suffer at the expense of the otherwise successful STEM education model in public schools (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and for this reason we think our project is vital to giving art students a voice and granting them access to creative resources.

Our most recent collaboration involved glass artists Paul Marioni and Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, whose work is currently on exhibit at the Center in Seeing Into It: Messages in Glass. Previous participating artists have been potter Jeff Oestreich, collage artist Hidde Van Duym, and illustrator JT Steiny.

Fairfax Arts Magnet students visit the Craft in America Center to learn more about Paul Marioni & Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend’s glass work. — April 4: Fairfax students from a workshop led by Susan. She had them paint on acrylic to mimic her layered-glass technique using doodles. First, she started by having them think about defining a doodle (whatever your subconscious wants to release), paint doodles, then add color on the other side of the panel

PNS — April 4: Fairfax students from a workshop led by Susan. She had them paint on acrylic to mimic her layered-glass technique using doodles. First, she started by having them think about defining a doodle (whatever your subconscious wants to release), paint doodles, then add color on the other side of the panel

Learn more about our Fairfax High School pilot program.