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Confessions of an impressionist lunatic
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - March 05, 2008)
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Photo Courtesy of Hillsdale Public Library
Christine Mugno, left, has been running an art studio out of her Hillsdale home for the last seven years. She is pictured here with 8-year-old student, Taylor DeMarco, of Hillsdale.
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“I am an impressionist lunatic,” says Christine Mugno, the director of the Hillsdale Art Studio. “Monet,
Degas, O’Keefe’s flowers… I really love the use of color.”
For the past seven years, Mugno has run the studio out of her home, taking small groups of young students under her wing and getting serious about art. Mugno has never been a big fan of arts-and-crafts. You won’t find Popsicle-stick coasters or friendship bracelets in her studio; “I don’t do birthday parties,” she says. She is much more concerned with teaching children about the history of various art movements and media, and getting into the finer points of art composition and execution.
While both her motivation as an instructor and her emphasis on development of skills may seem a little advanced for children, Mugno herself is not the least bit intimidating. With a cheerful voice and open, sunny countenance, it is no wonder this teacher is able to gain the trust and respect of her students, who in turn give her the best of themselves. The key, she says, is to not treat art as an inborn gift, but as a discipline like any other, requiring practice and dedication. “I always say, ‘It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you never learned how.’” Another thing she makes sure her students understand is that being a good sketch artist does not necessarily mean one will be a skilled painter, and vice versa. “It’s like being an ambidextrous baseball player. The techniques are totally different, and you have to practice,” she says.
Mugno, who just turned 41, says that a lot has changed in art education since she graduated from
Pearl River
High School in 1985. While she felt free to pursue art in college, she says that she thought her career options were limited to either being a professional fine artist or being an art teacher. Now, she says, she makes sure her students understand that they have numerous options. There is work for artists in the advertising, theater and television industries. “You can design sets, wallpaper… somebody’s got to put the design on a piece of toilet paper.” They may not be the most glamorous jobs, but as Mugno points out, it’s all about doing what you love. For an appearance at her high school’s alumni day, she even went so far as to put together a list of “101 Art Jobs,” to show art students that there are art jobs out there just waiting to be filled with creative passionate people.
As for her own professional art aspirations, they have often taken a back seat to her responsibilities as an educator. “I’m so busy thinking about my students, I don’t think about myself.” After obtaining a Masters degree in Computers in Art, Mugno taught art classes in the Pearl River,
N.Y.
Middle School for 10 years before leaving to start a family. She says that the experience of teaching out of her home studio has been very fulfilling. “I love kids and I love art, so I am so happy I could put the two together.”
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Staff photo by Karen F. Mrnarevic
An acrylic painting of a seaside landscape by Sarah ViceConte, age 5.
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Meanwhile, in her spare time, she continues to keep her own skills up to snuff by doing murals and decorative painting in people’s homes. She has also come up with her own unique take on classic commissioned portraits, which she calls “rear-flections,” because they feature subjects viewed from untraditional perspectives, from behind or in profile. “I do a lot of gray pastels, so they look almost like old black and white photos,” she says. Like many artists, Mugno itches to paint and draw all the time, making her home a constant showcase for her work. A red wall in her living room serves as her own personal gallery, and often the interior of the house itself becomes her canvas.
“My husband laughs because every time he comes home another wall is fauxed.”
A collection of Christine Mugno’s students’ artwork is on display at the Hillsdale Public Library through March. The work is mixed-media, ranging from charcoal and pastel drawings to watercolor and acrylic paintings, and the artists range in age from 5 to 17 years, and most of them are
Pascack
Valley residents. On Thursday, March 6, the library is hosting a reception for the exhibitors and anyone interested in seeing their work at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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