The Academy Launches Its Inaugural Wenning Workshop
The first Wenning Workshop took place on Tuesday, March 10, at the studio of artist Ron Donoughe, well known for his 90 paintings en plein air of Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
A group of nine students, along with Middle and Senior School art teacher Kate Mason, and Alumni Associate Susan (Ratcliffe '55) Sour, Ph.D., traveled by bus to Ron's two-story studio in Lawrenceville where he showed them his work and described his process as an artist. “He focused on ‘An Artist's Way of Seeing’ and the students were very attentive,” Dr. Sour reported. “It was quite interactive and informative. Ron did a painting right in front of us - he chose an area of his studio that we could all see come to life as he worked.”
After lunch, provided by the Wenning Fund, students had the opportunity to work on their own paintings. “Most had never used oils before, so that was quite special as well,” Susan explained.
“The Wenning Workshop was so much fun! The kids set up their own palettes and canvasses in front of huge windows in Ron's studio that face out towards the street. They practiced mixing different colors, observing shapes and shadows, and working in layers,” Kate recalled. “I think this was just such a great opportunity for our students to meet and learn from a local practicing artist, and to get experience with a material we don't often use in the art studio.”
The group of sophomores thought the workshop was a valuable experience. “I had a lot of fun learning about oil paints and the life of an established artist,” Megan Hilberg said. “My experience at the Wenning Workshop was eye opening. His artistic skills and capabilities exceeded my expectations,” Madison Martin said. “However, the most eye opening part was that the artist was able to teach me a few art tricks that I never thought I would be able to accomplish.”
The annual Workshop, designed to be a one-day creative project for a group of high school students hosted by the Academy, pays tribute to the remarkable artistic spirit of Bill Wenning (’85). Bill inspired his friends to explore the worlds of ideas and of art, including David Darby '85 and Sandra Hudak '85 who initiated an endowment to fund this project.
