Last Spring, two very talented Calais students, Wyatt T. and Robert S. won visual art scholarships through the Dance Innovations Performance Foundation (DIPF). As recipients they were honorary guests at the DIPF Scholarship Awards Banquet, a prestigious event at the Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, NJ.  The scholarships gave each student the unique opportunity to pursue an art program of their choosing. We caught up with Wyatt and Robert to see how they used their scholarship money.

Wyatt attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Design over the summer. The three week summer program introduced him to new illustration skills and topics.  When asked what he enjoyed most, Wyatt said “being taught how to ink comics, do character designs, and how to draw body parts and muscles.” Throughout the program Wyatt learned a lot and would like to go back again.

Robert used his scholarship to attend the Creator’s Workshop.  He did so well there that the school extended his eight week scholarship. Some of the lessons Robert worked on included spacing, creating original characters, and drawing correct proportions of different animals. When asked what is favorite lesson was he said “…drawing horses.” Robert enjoyed his time at the Creator’s Workshop so much he chose to enroll in more classes. He highly recommends the school and said that the teacher is nice and has a relaxed teaching style.

We are so proud of Wyatt and Robert and we look forward to seeing their creativity and self-expression continue to blossom.

The Dance Innovations Performance Foundation (a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization) was established in 1999 in order to give back to the community. The foundation awards performing and visual arts scholarships to students who, because of special needs or special circumstances, would not be able to attend the program(s) of their choice. If you would like to know any more about these programs or about DIPF, you can contact Mr. Catalano through his e-mail at chris.catalano@thecalaisschool.org.