MASTER CLASS

For a viewing of works by Master Class students, go to the Master Class Gallery.

For admissions information, write jss@netivision.net.il or visit the JSS Website.

The Jerusalem Studio School’s intensive studio program is based on the model of a “master class,” instilling the values of total commitment to work, intimate engagement with great art of the past, and the attainment of the personal vision that grows from continuous practice. This is not a place where subjects are taught, but an environment in which integration and mastery are the utmost attainments of a daily struggle. The JSS Master Class is unique in Israel, and attracts an accomplished array of students from abroad as well. The class is comprised of a group numbering approximately thirty students, chosen for outstanding talent, commitment, and motivation.

The studios, located in the Talpiot industrial area of Jerusalem, are spacious and beautifully lit by natural north light. The Master Class works five full days a week, Sunday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m., with the option of continued study between 5 and 8 p.m. A model is available at all times. In addition to the large Master Class Studio, there are seven Independent Studios for advanced students, and the Common Studio, also for the use of advanced students. All students have access as well to a large rooftop deck which offers panoramic views for landscape painting.

The small size of the JSS enables the development of the dynamic student/mentor relationship necessary for the stimulation of artistic growth. Furthermore, the close proximity and sharing of spaces by advanced and beginning students promotes an exciting and fluid learning environment.

The working day at the JSS is structured to parallel the day of a professional artist, permitting the continuity and absorption in work which are so essential to an artist’s growth and life. Each day is based on independent work revolving around painting and drawing projects. The students work primarily from the human figure, although other subject matter and pictorial issues – landscape, still life, copying and variations on themes and compositions – are dealt with as they apply to the student’s individual needs and inclinations. There are no distracting course requirements or additional academic demands at the JSS. The incentive to work comes from the students themselves.

The authentic studio environment of the Jerusalem Studio School awakens in students the realization that there is no way of proceeding artistically without becoming involved in the most intimate of terms with the traditions comprising the art of painting and drawing. The days and months spent drawing and painting, investigating materials and methods, and exploring approaches to pictorial structure yield fruit.

In time, the committed student begins to produce work of quality and integrity, and what began as raw talent develops into a disciplined artistic personality dedicated to the perfection of the painter’s craft and the pursuit of a mature personal vision.

The Jerusalem Studio School is a four-year program of study for students with little or no prior art school background, and a two-year program for more advanced students who have substantial art school experience. Foreign exchange students have the option of coming to study at the JSS for a semester or a full year.