February 6, 2020
We are almost at the end of January in 2020! Wait, no…. January already came and went! It’s February! How did that happen? It just amazes me how time flies. How are your resolutions for the new year doing? My personal resolutions are doing OK...I resolved to read more (I’ve read one new book and I’m in the middle of the next one), exercise more (I’ve been walking every day) and to start a regular monthly blog for Studio ACE, launching in January. Obviously I’m a little behind on that one :) ….but like all resolutions, they sometimes have their own time frame and none of us should be discouraged. Progress not perfection, right?
Speaking of resolutions, I have an overarching and ongoing resolution for Studio ACE….
Resolution: Provide Art Opportunities
That’s right, my continuing resolution is to provide art opportunities for our community. This has been a passion of mine since I was a volunteer at Oceanside Museum of Art and saw what the power of art can do for people of all ages.
I started Studio ACE in October of 2016, and for the first year we just participated in fairs and festivals. But with hard work and diligence, a studio space was located and lo and behold, we signed a lease for our brick and mortar location in February of 2018! After months of hard work to renovate the space (thanks to the tireless efforts of so many wonderful volunteers), ACE officially opened its doors in June of 2018, truly making my dream of providing arts education to our community come true.
Here’s How We Do It
ACE currently provides an array of offerings and it’s just the beginning! Here’s a bit of what we do:
Our brick and mortar location, located at 3861 Mission Ave. (next to the Mission Branch of the Library), has a variety of art classes for Toddlers to Seniors. No matter your skill level, you can learn to draw, paint, watercolor and, most importantly, dive into your imagination and creativity! We have camps for kids 6-12 (our next one is coming up this month during the President’s Day school break) and family classes that are strictly donation-based on Sundays. Art classes for kids 12 and under are only $5! WOW! That’s because a big part of our mission is to provide quality art instruction that is affordable and accessible.
We have a free program for adults with developmental disabilities. We are so proud to provide this programming which continues to grow.
Our signature children’s programming is ArtsConnect, which brings critical programming to underserved schools by infusing the arts into Common Core subjects, such as math, language arts, science, and literacy. Our instructors work in collaboration with the teachers to enhance the student-learning experience by integrating at least two of the arts (music, movement, performance, visual art) into these subjects. This imparts communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity elements which, in turn, awakens a living, transformative learning experience for the students.
We continue to collaborate with community organizations providing free art experiences at fairs and festivals. We are in our third year collaborating with Oceanside Firefighters, Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation, Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center, Green Oceanside and Museum of Making Music. This past year we also provided an art experience at the Samoan and Filipino Festival, Alley Art Festival in Vista, and First Friday Art Walk Oceanside. We can’t wait to add more!
Why the Arts are Important
As Robert L. Lynch, President, Americans for the Arts, said, “The arts empower. The arts give a voice to the voiceless. The arts help transform American communities and, as I often say, the result can be a better child, a better town, a better nation and certainly a better world. Let’s champion our arts action heroes, emulate them and make our communities everything we want them to be.”
This is my goal for Studio ACE and I will do everything I can to make it happen. I mean, really, do I have the best job or what?!
Come In and Get Creative!
So whether you didn’t make resolutions or you are doing about as well as I am, I encourage you to stop by Studio ACE and get creative!
Julia Fister, Executive Director
