Alumni are encouraged to post testimonials to our Art Workshop International Facebook page.
“Thanks to the time I spent in Assisi revising poems, I have managed to get quite a few published this past year and I have received several awards.”
—Diana Woodcock, Assistant Professor, School of the Arts in Qatar. She won the Creekwater Poetry Prize in 2007 andan international publication prize in Atlanta Review’s poetry competition in 2006.
“The best thing I’ve ever done for myself as a writer.”
—Linda Stasi, columnist and critic for the New York Post and television host of NY Channel 1’s What a Week with Mark Simone. She’s been a Newsday and New York Daily News columnist, has written four non-fiction books, and her first novel debuts in 2013.
“Studying Italian with Caterina Bertolotto at Art Workshop International’s workshop in Assisi was an unmitigated joy. The extraordinary advantage of being in the country of its source – ‘la bella Italia’ – was enhanced a thousand-fold in Caterina’s Italian class, where we studied the basics of the language in an informal, comfortable setting from this seasoned, talented, and dynamic Italian native. And there’s more: frequent visits to local vendors, where we put into practice what we learned and, the icing on the cake, Caterina’s ‘inside’ insights into the Italian character and culture as revealed through the language.”
—Maxine Gold, New York City, a former instructor of French language and literature, who currently provides freelance writing and editing services to a variety of clients in the public and private sectors.
“I started The Insufficiency of Maps in Assisi, and read an excerpt there outside the old studios. Dorothy Allison scribbled on my two little pages “Write the novel!” and I did. I just wanted to thank you two for an experience that really did something amazing for me.”
—Nora Pierce, is a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her first novel, The Insufficiency of Maps, is published by Simon and Schuster. More on our blog.
“Working with Jayne Wenger in the hill town of Assisi was inspiring. She is organized, articulate, and thoughtful. We got an enormous amount done and had fun! Art Workshop International was an incredible experience which I will never forget.”
—Deborah Slater, Artistic Director, Deborah Slater Dance Theater. She is the winner of a 2008 CHIME Mentor Grant and a 2007 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Hotel of Memories.
“Last summer I had one of the most memorable experiences of my lifetime. I studied pastel portrait with Ellen Eagle, an exceptional and gifted teacher. She helped me see what had previously eluded me - light, shadow, composition, the nuances of the human face. But what was most extraordinary was the experience of grasping both the model seated before me and what I saw inside. The opportunity to work intensively over a two week period allowed my work to grow under the gentle but rigorous guidance of Ellen. All this, the Italian sky, and Assisi at your feet!”
—Dr. Susan Sherman, psychoanalyst and pyschotherapist, who teaches in graduate psychotherapy programs in New York City, where she also studies portraiture in pastel.
“The best writing workshop imaginable” is how the Rosellen Brown course, “Many Ways to Tell a Story,” is described.”
—Ellen Greenblatt, educator who conducts workshops for teachers, including an online course for UCLA extension. She is also on the AP and SAP test development committees. Ellen has developed and teaches a literature course called The Legacy of Vietnam
“Not only is her work beautiful and psychologically evocative, but Ellen Eagle is a wonderful and inspiring teacher. Last summer I traveled to Assisi, Italy, to take an intensive workshop and was impressed by her dedication and eloquence. Ellen has a commitment to her art both as an artist and teacher. It is impressive and would provide students an amazing opportunity and window into the art world.”
—Verna Amakawa, has been a Master Cartoonist/Artist for Disney murals at Contemporary Hotel, Florida; Museum Educator and Coordinator for Adult Outreach and Docent Training. She is an Advanced Placement Studio Art, Drawing, and Painting instructor for secondary level.
