Rebecca Fredericks may be the third-generation artistically inclined member In her family, but it took more than genes to win an 812,000 trustee scholarship to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
The 17-year-old daughter of Phyllis and Anthony Fredericks of Glen Rock, near York, formerly of Mertztown, say it took a lot of hard work, many bows of study and practice to achieve this accomplishment.” Her mother adds, “Rebecca has drawn since she was a child. She has natural talent, but she works hard at it.”
The scholarship recipient attributes her interest in painting to her studies with Myron Barnstone at the Barnstone Studios in Coplay, where she attended children’s classes at age 13, then, the following year, started in the adult group. “It’s important to start young,” she says, “you must learn the basics before you go in your own direction.”
To Myron Barnstone, the winning of the grant by Rebecca is particularly significant: The $12,000 brings the total of scholarships achieved by students at the Barnstone Studios to a total of $273,150 for Rebecca and 20 past graduates. In 1985, for instance, Rick Posh won full $30,000 tuition to the Pratt Institution as a result of a national talent search scholarship program. Full tuition for $20,000 to Tyler was won by Mary Ann Harris in 1979 and by John Henderschedt in 1980. In 1982, David Molloy won full tuition for $25,000 to Pratt. The list goes on.
“From its inception, Barnstone Studios has sought to provide the foundation information and the guidance which allow a beginner to develop genuine skills and authority,” said Barnstone. “Without a doubt, the recognition and encouragement that the graduates of the Studios have received, from the foremost art colleges in the country, demonstrate the magnitude of the achievement of this program of art studies.”
In most cases, Barnstone said, “the 21 graduates of the Studios have won outstanding excellence art scholarships at the time of entrance to art school. However, some of these students have gone on to win competitive awards once they were in their second year, or even later. These highly competitive scholarships are not easy to come by, Barnstone contends. As many as 1,000 students from across the country enter most of the major competitions to vie for a very limited number of significant awards.
Members of the 1988 “graduating class” include Kerri Hymans and Cheri Soriano, a transfer student from Moravian College, both of whom have been accepted at Carnegie Mellon University; Jana Fisher, a transfer student from Millersville University, Jennifer Fry, Lisa Perriconne and Sherri Kriebel also have been accepted at the Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan. All of the candidates have been accepted at the school of their first choice.
And back at the Studios, Brigham Dimick, who in 1980 won a full scholarship to the Tyler School of Art with a portfolio he prepared at the Studios, has returned to prepare a portfolio for graduate school. Grace Winrow, a graduate of Moravian College, is also preparing a portfolio for graduate school. Sixteen-year-old Rasa Heyda of Los Angeles, California, and Cindy Ceron, a graduate of Moravian College, are preparing portfolios for application to European academies.
“These on-going students, and a host of younger students who are pursuing their studies with a view to challenging major scholarship competitions and qualifying for respected art schools, constitute the rank and file of our high school enrollment. They work with adult associates, art teachers and professional artists who attend the classes. This mix of levels of achievement has benefited everyone,” said Barnstone.
Rebecca’s most inspirational artist is Van Gogh, she says. Her area of interest is devoted to color, geometric design and mostly the figure. Fashion and the illustration field, in general, is her goal to pursue once her education is completed. “ I know the fashion illustration field is very competitive, but I plan to try my luck on 7thAvenue after college.”
Her long-range goal? “To retreat to the country and paint just what I want to paint.” The Susquehanna High School student claims to have deep roots in the country. Most challenging to any artist claims Rebecca, “is trying to convey the form and making it look realistic to celebrate the character and not to degenerate it to a photographic appearing work.”
Original Article found online HERE
