Postgraduate Year in the Visual Arts at The Putney School
 THE PUTNEY SCHOOL, a co-educational boarding school, offers a one-year postgraduate program for public and private school students who wish to
engage in concentrated work in the visual arts. Students in this program will live
on The Putney School campus in southern Vermont. and will participate in the larger school community. Founded in 1935 on progressive principles, The Putney School offers unrivaled depth and opportunities in the visual arts.
GOALS OF THE PROGRAM
- Personal attainment and accomplishment in the visual arts
- Preparation of college entry materials, including portfolio, college essays, improved
transcript, teacher ecommendations, etc.
- Increased development of confidence, maturity, self-awareness, and independence
- Development of skills for college, including writing, enhancing the likelihood of
success in college
CURRICULUM
 Students will engage in concentrated drawing from observation during the fall, with the human figure as the
centerpiece of this work. Coursework in color theory, linear perspective, composition and design, and materials and techniques will supplement advanced studio classes in particular media. Postgraduates may choose courses
from the entire school curriculum.
CRITIQUE AND DISCUSSION
Once a week all postgraduate students will gather to discuss sources for inspiration, plans for continuing, developing, or expanding their work, and achievement and shortfalls. The process helps students articulate their goals
and to learn how their work is perceived and received by others.
TUTORIAL
Each student will take part in a tutorial equivalent to two courses with a member of the visual
arts faculty. The tutorial will culminate with
an independent exhibition in the spring.
Participants will have the opportunity to
show work frequently during the course
of the year in the school's art gallery in
the Currier Center.
 GUEST ARTISTS
The school will welcome distinguished artists to present their own work and to review student work. These artists will simultaneously exhibit in the Michael S.
Currier Center Gallery, which shows the work of six professional artists each year.
ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM
EVENING ARTS PROGRAM
Within the standard Putney School program a wide
range of evening arts activities is offered to stgraduates.Activities include wood
working, blacksmithing, stained glass making, jewelry making, metal sculpture, web design, ceramics, fiber arts, and other visual arts.
PORTFOLIO PREPARATION
Putney teachers and the college counselor will work directly with postgraduates in preparing portfolios of
artwork and other college-preparatory materials.
STUDIO TIME
Post-graduates will have
additional time for studio work during the school's afternoon activities period.
ACADEMIC OFFERINGS
Ceramics • Fiber Arts • Photography • Sculpture • Printmaking • Painting • Drawing • Digital Filmmaking
THE PUTNEY SCHOOL’S POSTGRADUATE YEAR ART FACULTY
SUSAN BREAREY has exhibited widely in the
United States and overseas. She received
her MFA in painting from RISD in 1994
and her B.A. in French literature and art
from The Evergreen State College in l988
and teaches drawing and painting at The Putney School.
BRIAN D. COHEN, a printmaker, has shown in over twenty individual exhibitions and over 150 group shows, taking first in
three major international print compe
titions. He founded The Putney School Summer Programs in 1988 and has
taught visual art here since 1985.
JOESEPH FICHTER has sculpted abstract
and figurative forms in steel, stone,
and wood for 30 years, emphasizing
the fluidity of natural forms in motion. He has exhibited nationally and
completed numerous public and
private commissions.
MELISSA JOHNSON graduated from The Putney School in 1977 then attended UVM and Goddard College. She has been a weaver and designer for Oak Grove Yarns and the Green Mountain Spinnery for 15 years, and a custom weaver for individuals and juried craft centers.
GORDON JONES, a life-long teacher, is a practicing painter with a particular interest in watercolor, history of materials, and workshop practice in western art. He
teaches painting and drawing, and History and Language of Art at The
Putney School.
LYNNE WEINSTEIN has worked as a photo editor for Life Magazine, published her work nationally, and exhibited throughout the northeast. For the past ten years, while
a fine arts photographer, she has been
working with teenagers, teaching them
the art she loves.
NAOMI LINDENFELD has developed and
refined her hand-built, layered, colored clay technique for over twenty-three years. The ceramics teacher at Putney since 1998, she encourages her students to bring their pots to life by giving their pieces gesture, drama, and definition.
ADMISSION
Admission to the postgraduate year in the visual arts is by application, portfolio, and interview. Applicants should expect
to have received a secondary school diploma before the start
of school in September 2009. Financial aid is not available for a postgraduate year.
Rick Cowan, Director of Admission
The Putney School
418 Houghton Brook Road
Putney,VT 05346
rcowan@putneyschool.org
802-387-5566
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