"Evolution of the art reflects the evolution of the person. After dramatic developments in the artist's life, the art will reflect the changes" ~ unknown

The JansenArt Traditions International Educational System
Our dream and vision for a standardized, comprehensive teaching program became a reality in August, 2004. Seven decorative painting teachers from across the United States and Canada came to the Jansen Art Studio in Pennsylvania, U.S. In a collaborative effort, this group of talented artists and teachers, under the leadership of David Jansen MDA, developed, designed, and wrote the long-awaited Traditions International Teaching Program.

This program is designed to be a developmental program for artists and teachers who want to advance their skills in painting.

Program Initiation
In order to enter this new program, you must first attend an introductory one-day seminar. These seminars will be held throughout the U.S. and Canada. Or, you may take an in-home open book written test based solely on the information contained in the JansenArt Traditions Technical Guide.

Program Timetable
The program, which began in January 2005, will be taught by the following teachers who developed the curriculum:

Heritage Teacher - David Jansen MDA - Pennsylvania, USA
Heritage Artist - Sue Pruett MDA - California, USA
Heritage Artist - Susan Abdella MDA - California, USA
Heritage Artist - Donna Richards - Utah, USA
Heritage Artist - Gaby Hunter - West Virginia, USA
Heritage Artist - Donna Rose Prestridge CDA - New Jersey, USA
Heritage Artist - Josette Fleury - Quebec, Canada
Heritage Artist - Neadeen Masters CDA, B.C. Canada.

This group shares over 100 years of experience in traditional painting and teaching methods, which is reflected in this important educational endeavor. This comprehensive teaching system will provide the decorative art teacher with an in-depth, continuous program for their students. The teaching system takes the student on an artistic journey from beginner to advanced. It is designed to educate the student in all technical facets of decorative painting and to bridge the gap to fine art. The student will acquire knowledge of color theory and painting styles, as well as gain an appreciation for the historical significance of decorative art and art principles. This collaborative effort aims to standardize the decorative painting industry through education.

The Heritage Artists who were the co-authors of this International Educational System brought a unique flavor and expertise to this system, while standardizing the techniques and methods to be used for teaching with Traditions. These Heritage Artists will be traveling in the United States, Canada, and other locations around the world presenting Traditions Teacher seminars.

Traditions Artists Learn the Fine Art of Decorative Painting. The Traditions Educational System is a developmental program, which takes artists on an educational and historical journey as they work through the levels and styles of decorative painting. The program manual, presented by our Heritage Artists in a 5-day seminar, introduces the participants to 30 comprehensive lessons creating the bridges to fine art. The Traditions Educational System is offered as a complete teaching or study curriculum for the artist. It is divided into three modules, Module A–beginner; Module B–intermediate; and Module C–the advanced level.

Each module, consisting of ten lessons, is specifically intended to advance the student through a series of learning steps focused on understanding color knowledge, technique, and art principles including the history and symbolism of the particular genre or style of painting. The lessons within the modules are closely linked to each other in a methodical manner. The link reinforces skills, knowledge, and confidence through the consistent use of standardized language, techniques, and detailed explanations of art theory.

Each lesson creates an ebb and flow, providing challenge as well as building confidence to make every painting experience a valuable one for the artist. Each lesson provides learning objectives as a standard to be achieved before the student moves forward. As the lessons unfold, the participants make the visual and technical connection to the transferable skills that take them from one subject to the next, building their foundation as artists. Participants are able to move beyond the project mentality and see the real value for this change in teaching and learning approach.

Module A is intended to build the artist’s foundation through the correct use of tools, language of color, and mixing, stressing the mechanics of brush control required for all styles, including landscape painting. Each of the ten lessons builds momentum as students are introduced to the challenges of learning dimension and color control, all of which leads to greater artistic confidence.

Module B is designed to advance the knowledge gained in the first module through more involved designs, in-depth color and value studies, and the introduction of several layering and blending techniques. Through the introduction of realism, sophisticated stroke design, landscapes, floral, and still life, the program establishes the technical building blocks for more to come in the next module.

Module C challenges the student once again, yet reinforces all previous lessons while continuing to build the toolkit for advanced skills and techniques. At this point the student has attained a higher level of confidence necessary to execute more advanced designs with greater detail and proficiency with an understanding of the theory required to do so.

The Journey continued . . . the second installment was launched in 2006. Module D is designed to establish the artist’s future, introducing him or her to in-depth study workshops. As the artists progress forward, they will draw on learned skills, painting experience, and a new confidence to explore advanced topics such as color theory, stroke, portraiture, realistic floral and still life, landscape, seascape, and so much more .

Traditions Education is for all Artists ~ which one are you?

The Traditions Education program is presented as the 'Teacher Program’; it is also being used as a 'study' program. More students today are looking for this style of education. The program is designed to TEACH at all levels.  The nature of this program is for personal artistic development as well as to provide a very strong teaching curriculum for teachers to teach others from.
The program has been developed to build personal skills and to provide a strong painting foundation for the future decorative painter. One does not have to be a 'teacher' to take the program for personal development; however they have to be actively teaching in order register as a Traditions Teacher and in order to teach the program to others.
The program offers a ‘win win’ style of education for all artists, both teachers and students alike. 
There are really several ways to gain the Traditions knowledge and to study and learn within the program itself.  Here are just some of them.

1.) New Teachers who wish to advance their own painting knowledge as well as have a step by step syllabus to teach from will attend the 5-day Teacher seminar and take the program back to their shops and studios where they will teach it to their local students over an extended timeline. 

2.) Experienced Teachers who wish to 'fill in the blanks' in some areas that they may have missed or forgotten along their development and painting careers.  Many teachers may not have had the opportunity to study a variety of styles or techniques, and may realize that there are several ‘holes’ in their knowledge. 

3.) Earnest Students who to seek a developmental program for personal study, they too can attend the 5 day Traditions Teacher seminar and work through the manual on their own, at their own pace. (These students may not have access to a shop or studio near by, or where they can attend classes on a regular basis. These students still wish to find a way to study and grow their painting skills)

4.) New as well as Experienced Students who wish to learn a very comprehensive program such as the Traditions Educational can attend weekly classes from a shop or studio that has a registered Traditions Teacher on staff who offers the program in weekly classes. If you are interested in this program ask your local shop to start offering one. Contact anyone of the Heritage Artists for more details about starting a program near you. http://www.jansenarttraditions.com/media/HeritageArtistsTeam.html

5.) Students who are potential teachers may be thinking of taking the next step to begin teaching will have at their fingertips an entire teaching program laid out before them, with no worries about 'what to teach' to their potential students.  They will know they are providing the most well rounded program available to day.

6.) Veteran Students who do not have any desire to teach, may also wish to attend either the Traditions 5-day seminar or take the program offered as ongoing weekly classes from a shop or studio. They may do so in order to re-visit and re-learn techniques and theories they never learned correctly or have completely skipped. This is another way to fill in the 'missing links' in knowledge and painting experience.

This Educational program is very comprehensive and it will provide unique benefits to each individual who attends the program because it addresses several important facets of decorative painting as well as traditional fine art foundational skills. Each artist will reap his or her own unique rewards from this program!

Traditions Artist - Traditions Artists are required to understand the basics of the Traditions paint line including the pigments and mediums used. This is accomplished by taking a one-day seminar or reading the Traditions Artist Teaching Guide and completing the online test administered by DecoArt. If you wish to continue your education or would like to become a Traditions Teacher, we recommend advancing to the following levels.

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Traditions Teacher - 'The Traditions Teacher' is a Traditions Artist who 'wants' to educate and elevate artists to new levels.  This teacher will be knowledgeable in techniques and colors as they apply to art principles. The Traditions teacher will be versed in all the paints and mediums and be able to start new students on their journey.  The Traditions Teacher will understand this new resin acrylic and will be able to teach the Traditions Educational System with the materials and designs provided.

The Traditions teacher will understand this new resin acrylic and will be able to teach the Traditions Educational Program with the materials and designs provided.

Requirements for the Traditions Teacher:
Attend a 5-day Traditions Teacher Seminar taught by a Heritage Artist.
Actively teach and participate in educational courses.

Please Note: The Traditions Education program may also be used as a self directed, self study course. If used in this manner, the program offers the artist flexibility and the ability to work at their own pace.

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Heritage Artist - This is an appointment made to qualifying "Traditions Teachers" who have been further trained in traditional and old world techniques by an authorized JansenArt™ Heritage Teacher. Application for this appointment can be made at any time but positions are limited and will be filled as they become available.

Requirements for the Heritage Artist:

This is an appointment made to qualifying “Traditions Teachers” who meet the general requirements and have been further trained in traditional and old world techniques by an authorized JansenArt™ Heritage Teacher.  Application for this appointment may be made at anytime, however positions are limited and will be filled as they become available.  Selection will be made from those who successfully complete the application process and meet the current needs of the program.

1. Applicants must be a Traditions Teacher actively teaching the Traditions Education Program.
2. Applicants must have hands on experience teaching Modules A, B, and C of the Traditions Education Program.
3. Applicants must possess general pigment knowledge.
4. Applicants must possess a clear understanding of Colour Theory that includes the use of the pigment wheel.
5. Applicants must believe in the ‘philosophy’ of the Traditions paint system and the ‘ideology’ of the Education Program.
6. Applicants must be willing to forfeit all other paint media and use JansenArt Traditions paint exclusively.
7. Applicants must possess a clear understanding of the materials and methods as presented in the Traditions Artist Technical Guide.
8. Applicants must be highly motivated to work within the framework of a team.
9. Applicants must follow the guidelines of the Educational Program as it has been designed and laid out by the Heritage Artist Team.
10. Applicants must possess the initiative to lead and direct when required and communicate with team members.
11. Applicants must be able to work under the guidance of a Heritage Teacher and the original Heritage Artist Team.
12. Applicants must possess people skills.
13. Applicants must possess the ability to present material in a lecture style format.
14. Applicants must possess the ability to work independently when needed.
15. Applicants must possess computer knowledge, be able to create Word documents and manage email.

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Heritage Teacher -

This Heritage ‘Teacher’ designation defines the highest education level of the Traditions Education Program. This level is open to any Heritage Artists who has held the position of Heritage Artist for a minimum of 2 years and who wishes to participate and advance within the program.
To achieve this designation, the Heritage Artist submits a finished painting which is a study of an Old Master , accompanied by a written ‘thesis’ to support the study.  This portfolio is submitted for consideration by a panel of their peers. The participating artist follows the guidelines as laid out by the program.

 

For a color brochure click here ...
To view the Education Program Gallery, please click here....

Module A - Lessons 1-10

Lesson 1 – Introduction to Supplies

Lesson 2 – Introduction to Color Theory

Lesson 3 – Daisies and Strawberries
Skills: basecoating; brush control; comma strokes; dots; line work

Lesson 4 – Apple, Pear, and Stroke Daisies
Skills: sideloading; float shadows; pat highlighting and blending; washes; glass barrier; check border; crosshatching with dots

Lesson 5 – Bird and Heart
Skills: brush control; S-strokes; mottling texture; pat highlights

Lesson 6 – Country Tin
Skills: mixing; tin preparation; floating with extender; form control; graduated strokes; float washes

Lesson 7 – Introduction to Landscape Painting
Skills: making gesso from texture medium; preparing the canvas; mixing color from a limited palette; toning color to create harmony; dimensional control; atmospheric and linear perspective; lost and found edges; puddling; line work; crosshatching and details

Lesson 8 – Tompte
Skills: stroke control; sideload glazing; liner and detail control; introduction to a simple face.

Lesson 9 – Rooster, Fruit, and Berries
Skills: form through technique; comma strokes; dots; liner and detail work; float color; stipple highlights;tone colors; drybrush highlights; slip-slap background; simple face features

Lesson 10 – Drybrush Scene and Cartouche
Skills: drybrush highlights using large and small objects; using transparencies to create depth

 

Module B - Lessons 1-10

 

Lesson 1 – Learning to See Value in Colors

Lesson 2 – The Art of the Brush - Stroke Control

Lesson 3 – Bauernmalerei
Skills: wet on wet strokes; controlling 2 colors on a brush; tipping strokes and dots; stippling

Lesson 4 – Penn Dutch
Skills: controlling multiple colors on the brush; angle brush; double sideloading

Lesson 5 – Introduction to a Seascape
Skills: monochromatic value control; mixing colors; atmospheric perspective; pickling; spattering; outline; thick and thin liner work

Lesson 6 – Value and Blending Study
Skills: from a 2-dimensional shape to 3-dimensional form, understanding the 'role' of values within a painting.

Lesson 7 – 'The Gatherers'
Skills: Painting a landscape; mixing colors from a limited palette; controlling color brightness or dullness; creating and reducing contrast; dimensional control; establishing a light source; developing a center of interest; glazing; wet in wet casual blending; detailed liner work; the human figure

Lesson 8 – Wild Rose and Strawberry
Skills: realistic style painting; refined blending; block and blend; refined linework; layering

Lesson 9 – Still Life Study
Skills: cylinder form; ellipse; faux finish; wet on wet blending

Lesson 10 – Telemark
Skills: wet on wet blending; stroke blending control

Module C - Lessons 1-10

 

Lesson 1 – Intensities and Colors
Skills: the difference between color values and intensities; varying intensity without changing value; the relationship between colors and their background as they relate to intensity

Lesson 2 – Art of the Brush - Stroke Control

Lesson 3 – Swedish Dalamaling
Skills: glazing; dimensional control; simple faces; faux finish; transparent strokes; casual layering

Lesson 4 – French Regency
Skills: tone colors to give harmony; wood preparation; faux wood graining; overall composition softness; shadow softening; controlling “gold”; common tint color; transparent color washes

Lesson 5 – Country Tin
Skills: value and liner work control; solid layered strokes

Lesson 6 – Golden Strokes and Roses
Skills: controlling “gold” with color; light passage; double loading the brush

Lesson 7 – Partridge and Pear Cartouche
Skills: brush control for feathers; intensity - creating a center of interest; brush mixing; layering for depth; wet on wet blending; mottled background for movement; complementary toning

Lesson 8 – Stroke Roses
Skills: brush loading; layering; triple-and multi-loading; creating form

Lesson 9 – Dutch Floral
Skills:the value of underpainting;depth through layers;the effects of using the properties of different pigments; wet on wet glazes

Lesson 10 – Still Life – Trompe l’oeil
Skills: dimensional control - lost and found edges; shapes; form; perspective: ellipse; cast and resting shadows; realistic still life; below eye level perspective; transparent glass - study; float color; refined blending; washes.

Module D - Lessons 1-10

 

Lesson 1 - Harmony
Coordinating colors through understanding hue shifting; choosing the correct toner.

Lesson 2 - Line of Design
Learn the tools and techniques used to move the viewer's eye through a design. Study the elements of design, weight, and composition.

Lesson 3 - Marquetry
Learning how to imitate traditional marquetry and wood staining through the layering of color.

Lesson 4 - Introduction to Still Life Painting
Developing shape and form, learning to paint a simple glass object, copper, silver, pewter and cast shadows.

Lesson 5 - Romsdal Rosemaling
Creating a harmonious palette to be used for both light and dark backgrounds. Using two different lines of design within the same painting. Wet on Wet stroke blending.

Lesson 6 - Telemark
Harmonious palette to be used for both light and dark backgrounds. Weaving scrolls and transparent scrolls.

Lesson 7 - Introduction to Wildlife
Fox study in a natural landscape setting, fur, bark, and wild grasses.

Lesson 8 - Leaf Study
Learn a variety of leaves and their forms, painting through a seasonal progressive color wheel, final details and embellishments.

Lesson 9 - Portraiture
Study the human head, explore the relationship between the facial features, tonal underpainting.

Lesson 10 - Flemish Floral
Steps and reasoning of classic historical Flemish style. Establish depth in advanced floral composition. Appreciation of symbolism.

Lesson 11 - Landscape
Reproduction of Dutch Master landscape, tonal underpainting, explore historical venetian technique, perspective, cloud study.

Lesson 12 - Introduction to Murals
Learn the concepts to create a rendering and necessary tools to approach murals, using the design from Lesson 11.

Special Sections:
“Gateway to the Future” - A study in Allegory and Symbolism
“Historical Preservation” - Zhostovo - Black Floral Tray
“Historical Preservation” - Zhostovo - Chrysanthemum Tray

For a color brochure click here...

Mentor Program - Open only to participants who have attended the 5-day educational seminars.

A new and optional resource has been developed and put in place for those who wish to participate. Our 'Mentor Program' has been created as a support strategy to help guide the artist to succeed as they work through the program's lessons.

The concept for this program came to us after requests from participants who wished to have 'helpful critiques' of each lesson after it was completed. This is a confidential and optional program that participants may use at anytime, and as as often as they wish to.

The Art Apprentice Online provides this service as an additional 'tool' for the artist. It is a convenient way for the participant, especially those teachers who wish to know that they are on track with their approach to meeting the lesson's objectives. The Apprentice Online sees this as a useful way for the artist to gain confidence so they will know that they are proceeding on course. Our goal is to help all participants reach their potential.

For additional details about this Mentoring Program and the 'Lesson Critiquing guidelines' and to also learn more about our approach to executing them, please visit the TT section of this web site for more information.

The Heritage Team recognize the dedication of the participants in the education program and their desire to continually raise the bar.

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TT Forum - Access to this forum is limited to participants and Teachers who have taken the Traditions 5-day seminar.

On this web site there is a section called 'TT Access' this section of the web site is dedicated to supporting the Traditions Teacher and those 'Education Participants' who are using the Educational Program for personal self study. This closed forum will be a valuable resource for the participant.

 

If you would like to interact with other Artists who share the same traditional language of art and who also have a serious interest in art education, please join us.

This 'Yahoo' list is a "PUBLIC" forum and is not restricted to only Traditions Teachers and Artists. All artists are invited to join.

Our mandate is to network with artists as well as all teachers and share the benefits of the Tradition Paint System and the Educational Programs that are available.
Our goals on this list are two fold. One is to inform and answer questions as they relate to the Traditions System while at the same time create an opportunity to raise the level of education across our painting communities.
Artists are invited to join this list to learn more about 'Traditions' and also share their experiences as it relates to the paint system.

For more information about 'Traditions Art Education' and JansenArt Traditions Artist Acrylic paint please visit www.jansenarttraditions.com
If you would like to share this web site with others please save The Apprentice Online image to your own website. Visit the Support pages of this website.

• Join the ‘Traditions Artist’ forum to network with the other artists: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/traditionsartist/

LoreTraditions Teacher '5-day' Seminar

What is The Traditions Teacher Seminar? - This Traditions Teacher 5-day seminar is a 'participatory' program, and is designed to introduce participants to the 'Tradition's International Teaching Program’

What is the 'Tradition's International Teaching Program’ – This program is a developmental program for Decorative Artists and Teachers wanting to advance their skills in painting. 

What will participants do during the five-day Traditions Teacher seminar? - During the 5 days, the participants will be introduced to the ' Teaching Program' Participants will receive and work through the comprehensive teaching manual, which covers 30 lessons and original designs.

What will participants have at the end of the 5-day seminar? - Those who participate in the seminar will have the teaching manual covering 30 lesson plans, 24 sets of design materials giving them a comprehensive Decorative Painting curriculum from which to study or teach new students.

I presently teach decorative painting, what additional benefit will I gain from taking this seminar? - This teaching curriculum offers Painting Teachers a technical guide to decorative painting. This 'Educational Program' will enable Teachers to take themselves and their students on an artistic journey from beginner to advanced painting.

I own a shop, how will this program help me if I attend the 5-day seminar? - This Educational Program provides future teaching materials and designs; taking students from beginner through advanced levels. This Educational Program provides the teacher with standardized techniques for teaching.

Will I be allowed to teach the lessons and designs from this program after I take the seminar? Yes. Only participants who attend Traditions Teacher 5 day Seminars will be permitted to teach the Traditions International Educational Program to their students. 

May I share the program with other teachers? - No.  Only teachers who attend the 5-day seminar and who are registered Traditions Teachers are authorized to teach with the Traditions Teaching Program.

Can I purchase the International Teaching Program Manual if I do not wish to attend the Traditions Teacher Seminars? - No. Only teachers who attend the 5-day seminar and who are registered Traditions Teachers are authorized to teach the Traditions Educational Program.

I am not a 'teacher' at this time; I have been thinking about teaching in the near future, could I participate in this seminar? Yes. This is step two in the Progressive Educational Levels of JansenArt Traditions Educational System and is designed for artists who 'want' to educate and elevate artists to new levels.  This program is a 'tool kit' providing the knowledge and the theory to become a well-rounded decorative artist and or teacher. However, please keep in mind, due to the substantial amount of material presented, the 5-day seminar will be taught at a very steady to fast pace.

Course Presentation

Will I paint during the 5-day seminar? - 'Samplings' of the course 'designs' and the techniques will be painted on 'sample boards' allowing participants to experience the technical requirements of several of these thirty lessons. 

Will there be lectures and demonstrations? - Yes. The course will be presented with interactive demonstrations and discussions of the materials as presented throughout the manual. 

What about the pace of the seminar? - Due to the substantial amount of material, the seminar will be taught at a very steady pace.

Will there be an exam at the end of the course? - No. Participants will not receive formal evaluation, nor will there be an exam upon completion.  This is not a 'certification' program, rather a program of participation. 

The Seminar Supplies

What surfaces will I paint on? - Surfaces will be matte board or similar surface for ease of transport and travel.

What supplies will I need to bring to the 5-day seminar? - All regular painting supplies will be required. Brushes, water container, palette paper, wet palette etc. Paint will be provided and is included in the seminar.

How will I know what to bring to the seminar? - Teachers who are registered for the seminar will receive supply lists prior to the seminar.

 

Traditions Education Brochure - You may download this colored brochure or save the file and share with your friends and other artists.

Click this click to see the brochure

For more information about studying the Traditions International Educational Program, becoming a registered Traditions Teacher, or attending or hosting a Traditions Artist Seminar in your area;

Please contact: Sue Pruett MDA - suepruett@sbcglobal.net or any one of the Heritage Artists (see their contact information on this website)

Also you may visit this link: http://www.jansenarttradions.com

When attending any of the Traditions 5-day seminars, it is a good idea to be well prepared and rested. This seminar is an intense week of discussion and in depth education. The seminar discussions are interactive and touch on all aspects of art education, from the point of view of the student as well as the teacher.

Seminar participants have stated that they are re-energised and inspired and they leave the classroom 'buzzing' with ideas and plans for their future as an artist. It is recommended that participants come to class rested and ready to absorb everything that is shared between the seminar presenter and other participants.

The following essays have been written by Traditions Teachers (TT's) who would like to share their thoughts about Traditions Education.

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"I was recently asked the following three questions."

By Georgia Dawbon
Traditions Teacher

1. What has Traditions Education meant to you as an Artist?
2. How has Traditions Education changed your approach to teaching overall?
3. How has Traditions Education changed your approach to learning?

"I found these questions very thought provoking and not as easy to answer as I originally anticipated! The Traditions Education has had an immeasurable impact on my life as an artist, a teacher and a student.  To me, these three things are very tightly wound together and I am unable to separate one from another, but for the sake of these questions I will try.

The first way Traditions Education touched me was as a student.  In April 2005 I found myself in a class about to receive an Instructional Manual that I could use to teach Decorative Painting.  I had no idea what was about to happen to me as this was my first Traditions Teacher Seminar.  I had been on a plateau for a very long time.  I desperately wanted to be a better painter but I didn't’t know how to get there.  Looking back, I realize that there was something missing.  I knew I was looking for something but I just didn’t know what ‘it’ was.  I found ‘it’ during that five day seminar.

For me, ‘it’ was direction.  The Traditions Education is a map!  As a student I have a logical, thorough set of lessons to work through.  I can study technique, theory and history in each lesson.  All of these things spark creativity in me and a new appreciation for the art around me!  Each lesson builds on skills learned in the previous lesson.  If has filled in the many gaps in my skill set and has sharpened the skills I already had. 

As a teacher the Traditions Education gave me direction.  Again, it provided the map!  It has breathed a new sense of purpose into me.  It has re-ignited my enthusiasm and passion for painting and sharing of these skills.  The lessons are so thorough and well laid out that I can concentrate on the teaching and no longer have to spend hours designing my own lesson plans - everything is at my finger tips!  The Traditions Education has sharpened my focus.  I have turned my studio into a classroom.  I no longer offer painting classes, I offer painting instruction.  I have now incorporated Art Reference books, value scales, colour and pigment wheels and other art theory materials into my new classroom setting.  The lessons have helped to ‘elevate’ my language.  I am now able to express in words what I was previously only able to demonstrate with my brush.

The most fundamental and important change has been at my very core.  The new direction I have taken has forced me recognize myself as an artist.  I actually feel like and believe that I am an artist. It has instilled a deep felt confidence that I didn’t previously have.  The Traditions Education has helped to turn me into a thinking and independent artist. The more I study this program the more I learn.  The more I teach this program, the more I learn.  The more I learn, the more I grow.  The more I grow, the more I realize there is to learn. 

Barrie, Ontario
creinput@mcw.net
Sunday, February 11, 2007

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"Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master" ~ Leonardo da Vinci

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"Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach." 
By Carolyn Findlay
Traditions Teacher

"From a young age I enjoyed sharing ideas and helping others to create.  In the classroom I admired how the professor instructed the student. I have been a teacher of art for many years now and have seen any number of changes. With the faster paced lifestyles, the amateur artist leaned towards crafty project orientated 'pieces' favoring welcome signs and pillows which could be finished in one four or six hour class.  I can’t say I was bored with painting wooden boxes... for some of the designs were beautiful. I went to class looking forward to seeing and working with the students, but something was missing.

One day I signed up to take a weekend seminar with David Jansen MDA. Like a tinker with his horse and wagon coming to town with his pots and pans, bottles of potions and cure alls, David Jansen mesmerized me with this new and wonderful line of pigments and mediums. His brush pulled long creamy comma strokes on bird tails and swirling transparent flower petals. His willingness to answer and share information was a breeze that blew the cobwebs from my mind and stimulated further inquires. I was more than curious about the Tradition’s Educational Program he spoke of.  I signed up for the very first Traditions Teachers seminar in my area.

I guess to say my life was changed would be a little strong, but not far off. I used to teach the mechanics of art and I did it well and enjoyed the classroom but since becoming a 'Traditions Teacher' I now teach with emotion, feeling and excitement.  The 'Modules' of the educational program are so well thought out that each lesson makes you want to move ahead and explore the next one. I was so excited about staring Module D with my students I could hardly sleep the night before the first class. I cannot express how much pride I have in the accomplishments of my students as they have moved through the program.

I thank David Jansen and the Heritage Artists for putting together such a detailed and understandable teaching program.   When I am in the classroom with my students is when I am at my best, thanks to ‘Traditions.’

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"The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas

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How has the Traditions Education impacted you as an artist?
By Connie Clark
Traditions Teacher

When I walked into the Traditions Artist class that David Jansen was teaching little did I know what an impact it would make on my artistic journey. I was there to learn about the new Traditions paint and it only took a few minutes to realize that it was an exceptional product. As the class progressed David began talking about an educational program that was going to be implemented and he gave us an overall indication of just what that program was going to include. There dangled the hook.

I had been painting for many years, self taught actually and the quest for information and supplies had gone down a long road, sometimes ending at a dead end and often with frustration. I wanted to learn to paint, it is a desire that has never left me nor the pleasure I get when brush is in hand. In the seventies when I started to paint we were raising two young lads and living on one income. In those days like many other families extra money was scarce so I painted on my own learning by trial and error. Mostly error but I eventually arrived at a place in my artistic endeavor that I felt comfortable with. As time went on and life changes took place I was now able to take some classes. I reached a level that had made me hunger for more technique and I wanted to be a real artist so I enrolled in the Traditions Educational Program that David had talked about hoping that I would find some of that knowledge.

The program has been so much more than I ever expected it to be. I was of the impression that an artist was born with the talent and that beautiful images flowed effortlessly from their brushes. What I have learned is that a good painting comes from a lot of thought and planning before the paint ever hits the canvas. As a house needs a good foundation before the embellishments can begin so does our canvas. The educational program has given me that good foundation. Some skills that I already had have been reinforced and some have been honed but there are many more that need to be developed.
The History before each lesson satisfies my desire to learn what came before and the why. It adds an academic feeling to the program.

For many years one of my goals has been to paint a floral like the Old Masters. I felt if I could do that I could truly call myself an artist. Module D will give me those skills and only wets the appetite for more. I have gained more confidence in my own abilities and I am no longer afraid to step out of my comfort zone. My artistic journey began many years ago but has taken many side roads but with the Traditions program I see the road ahead as a life long journey straight ahead filled with many new and exciting discoveries. Thank you David Jansen MDA for planting the seed during the TA seminar, and Neadeen for helping it to sprout during the 'Traditions Teacher' seminar.

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"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced." ~ Leo Tolstoy

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