13
Jan
Jesse Lonergan, alum from 1994, is doing a really fun project for 2012…. he is drawing a dancer a day. Check out his blog!
20
Jul
Caney Demars is an ’08 and ’09 alumni of GIA. Now a student at the University of Vermont, she has come a long way since her days at art camp, exploring interests in music, theater, and countless other artistic outlets. Most recently, Caney has been developing her own distinct style of drawing using intricate line detail and abstract patterns. This style was rooted from a line drawing done by one of the RA’s while Caney was at GIA in addition to the experimental drawing class that taught her to think “outside the box” when it comes to artwork.
You can buy her drawings as prints, phone and laptop cases, and t-shirts!
12
Apr
Kate Floyd (GIA ‘98, Resident Assistant ‘00) made this video about her experience of GIA as a “time of self-discovery” for a class at DePaul University called “Digital Storytelling in Organizations.”
24
Jan
From GIA to a performer’s life….
1993 alum Ben Rameaka is now an actor and voiceover artist based in New York City. He also teaches improv comedy. Click on his name to read his blog and watch funny videos!
I went to GIA in the summer of ‘93. I took acting and stone carving. It was after my freshman year at CVU (Champlain Valley Union in Hinesburg). GIA had been recommended to me by a close upperclassman friend. As soon as I arrived I felt an overwhelming sense of community. Everyone was so open and so available. It was an incredibly formative few weeks for me. I just remember thinking how impressed I was by everyone and all of their abilities and how welcomed we all felt. How we all felt part of something larger than our small artistic endeavors at our own schools. There was something resonant and harmonious about the feeling. Like failure was impossible and inspiration was always just the next conversation away.
Since then I have received my MFA from the Actor’s Studio at The New School in New York City, and I perform and teach improv comedy at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theatre. I have also appeared on commercials and done voiceovers for radio and television.
Performance is my life and I am not sure if I would have persevered through all of the difficulties associated with its pursuit if I hadn’t been buoyed by such a remarkable community at such a young age.
-Ben Rameaka-
Brooklyn, New York
24
Nov
From GIA to cartooning for a living….
1994 alums Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson are cartoonists and animators based in NYC. See below for what they have to say about GIA and how it led to their career…. and why you should start begging time at the copy machine!
In 1994, we spent two weeks at the Governor’s Institute of the Arts. Together we had already spent countless hours nerding out in the independent art room of Montpelier High drawing comic books and cartoons, but this was the first time we were surrounded by other arty geeks who shared our passion for pencil and paper. We took a video class, and, with the help of our instructor Dana and the generous permission to use a photocopier, figured out how to make a short animated film.
16 years later, we work as animation directors for Hornet Inc., a production company located in New York City. At Hornet, we have sold two animated television shows - one currently in production at 4kids Entertainment and one in development at FOX. This summer we collaborated with comics legend Art Speigleman on a performance he wrote and designed with the dance company Pilobolous. We have directed countless animated commercials and short films.
The GIA helped us realize that with a lot of hard work, a copier machine and a little bit of luck, anything is possible.
Check out some of Dan & Jason’s work!
