Gage Academy of Art is a fine art school located in Seattle, Washington, specializing in drawing, painting and sculpting. The core of its programming is traditional observational training, with an emphasis on the foundational skills of figure drawing and painting. Other classes include perspective, watercolor, still-life drawing and painting, cast drawing, egg tempera, design concepts, color theory and encaustic techniques.[1]
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Gage was conceived in 1989 by New York artist Gary Faigin and architect Pamela Belyea. The following summer, their idea came to life in the form of a month-long series of workshops held in Santa Fe. By 1992, after the founders moved to Seattle, it had expanded to scheduled workshops in New York, Seattle and Santa Fe with a roster of nationally known professional artists.
In 1995, the school began operating year-round in Seattle under the name the Academy of Realist Art, offering a variety of classes and workshops for artists of all levels of ability. Two years later, Gage added summer art workshops for teens. This addition paved the way for year-round programs for children and teens offered presently both on-site and in the Seattle community.
Over the next decade, Gage grew rapidly. In 2004, the school transitioned into the historic St. Nicholas Building in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area, quadrupling its square footage. This enabled the school to offer a broader range of educational and community events, specifically those tailored to serving emerging artists in the Seattle area.
Numerous prominent artists have taught workshops at Gage, including Michael Grimaldi, Tony Rider, John Morra, Michael Lane, Jordan Sokol, Juliette Aristides, Yuqi Wang, Peter Van Dyck and Charles Emerson.
Though the school became a nonprofit organization in 2000, adopting the name the Seattle Academy of Fine Art, it changed its name again in 2006 to Gage Academy of Art, thereby incorporating an old French-English word meaning “a challenge” or “a pledge.” A new mission statement adopted in 2010 reflects this idea:
Guided by the belief that artists are made, not born, Gage strives to educate, enrich and engage artists and the community in the visual arts. Gage offers instruction in the principles of drawing, painting and sculpting and is dedicated to helping students of all ages and skill levels realize themselves as artists in contemporary society.
Gage Academy of Art has earned awards for its contribution to the arts both in the local community and on a state-wide level. Most notably are the Mayor’s Small Business Award given in 1998 and the Governor’s Arts Award in 2007 for art education across Washington State. In 2009, Gage celebrated 20 years in art education.
All of the classes and workshops at Gage are open enrollment, meaning you can choose for yourself what to take based on your own interests and considerations. For students seeking continuing education, Gage offers 10-week classes throughout the academic year (and two five-week summer sessions) as well as weekend and weeklong workshops, lecture series and open and reserved studio sessions. Drawing, painting and sculpting from observation are the cornerstones of all of these classes. Typically more than 70 classes and workshops are offered each quarter.
Three well-known Northwest artists, Juliette Aristides, Mark Kang-O’Higgins and Gary Faigin, teach year-long ateliers. From September through June, Gage Ateliers give an intensive studio program for the serious artist-in-training.
Mark Kang-O’Higgins teaches the Drawing and Painting Atelier, in which students work long-term with line and tone, light and shadow, color theory and mixing, proportion and anatomy, as well as different approaches to life drawing and painting. The atelier is a 30-hour-per-week commitment, including working half of every day from the figure model.
Juliette Aristides teaches a four-year diploma program presented in stages. For serious beginning students in the Classical Atelier, the focus is on drawing. More advanced students move into monochromatic and then fully chromatic painting. Fourth-year students work on individual projects with guest mentors. The atelier is a 30-hour-per-week commitment.
Gary Faigin teaches the Still Life Painting Atelier where, unlike the other two model-based ateliers, the focus is on still-life arrangements. Students work from the same objects, allowing creative influence and dialogue with peers in studio groups. Faigin’s students work independently for a minimum of 15 hours in the studio each week, in addition to attending two weekly teaching sessions.
The Gage Youth Programs include a new class each month for children ages 8–12 and teens ages 13–17. Kids classes are tactile, providing instruction in everything from drawing animals to constructing sculpture out of recycled materials. Teen classes are focused on skill building and concentrate on more traditional subjects such as printmaking, figure drawing and even fashion illustration. Over the summer, eight one-week workshops are available to kids ages 6–11. Fantasy mask-making, sewing, hip hop dance, freestyle yoga and clay time are among the workshops offered.
Additionally Gage offers six one-week workshops for teens ages 12–17 and one two-week drawing intensive for older teens. Courses such as Green Building Design, Abstraction 101 and Mixed-Media Printmaking allow teens to explore both two dimensional and three dimensional art forms. The five-week all day Teen Intensive is also offered in the summer for teens ages 15–18, and is designed for teens who intend to build art careers. On weekends, the free Teen Art Studios (TAS) allows teens ages 13–18 to drop in and study with professional artists who provide focused instruction in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Studios have included Techniques of Form in Clay, Portrait Drawing, Explorations in Paint and Observational Anatomy.
Youth Programs instructors have included Marita Dingus, Jim Woodring, Susan Robb, Jeanne Dodds, Janet Miller, Kirsten Graudins, Romson Bustillo, Noah Grusgott, Randy Wood, Ryan Finnerty and Greg Stump.
Gage holds two major community events: Drawing Jam and Best of Gage. The former takes place in December, and features a cast of more than 50 models rotating throughout the building’s studios accompanied by musicians. Hundreds of artists of all ages and skill levels attend the 12-hour marathon, enjoying refreshments, professional artist demos, music and free art supplies.
In June, Gage invites its adult artists to showcase their work for a month-long exhibition. Best of Gage: Student Art Exhibition, Awards and Sale is judged by a local art professional (Derrick R. Cartwright, director of Seattle Art Museum, acted as guest juror in 2010), and ends in winners attending an award ceremony. First prize winners get to walk down the red carpet and accept prizes from the school’s directors. The free event draws hundreds of guests and thousands of dollars in art supplies go to deserving students. In 2009, the sale component was added to the event, allowing collectors to buy both submitted work and art from three ateliers.
Every year Gage hosts a gala benefit as well to support this nonprofit institution. The benefits include dinner, drinks, live entertainment and rousing live and silent auctions. Every other year, artwork is sold at these auctions. On the alternate years, art experiences, such as tours, are sold.
In addition to the large-scale community events, Gage holds numerous lunch-time professional development seminars. ArtTalk focuses on artists’ intentions, process and methods. Artist’s Toolkit centers on the “real world” of art. In The Gallery-Artist Relationship, for example, Gail Gibson discusses what it takes to get noticed by art dealers and the expectations between gallery owners and professional artists.
Gage offers free rotating exhibitions in three galleries within the school. Art from students, instructors and locally and nationally recognized guest artists have been displayed in the Steele Gallery, Rosen Gallery and Entry Gallery. Past artists have included Anna McKee, Amy Johnson, Gala Bent, Chauney Peck, Matt Sellars, Lisa Buchanan, Dawn Cerny and Timothy Cross.
To contribute to Seattle’s art discourse, Gage hosts lectures that coincide with the exhibitions. Working professional artists and art historians lead these discussions, covering a broad spectrum of topics. The lectures are free and open to the public.