I was 39 when I started studying with Rebecca Tait. I had zero art background and had never had an interest in creating artwork myself. The start of my experience with Rebecca coincided with the end of my graduate work. I was looking for a new challenge, just to make my brain work and stay busy in a positive manner. I had the idea to give art a try - never thinking that I'd still be doing it many years later. 

Rebecca likes to say that everyone at the studio had an interest or enjoyed drawing or doing something artistic before arriving at her studio. I am the exception. I'm ok admitting that I was not good and I wish I had kept my first pieces to prove it. My time learning with Rebecca has taught me that while it may be cliche to say that everyone is capable of being an artist, it's true. Part of the reward in continuing is watching my own progress, but it's also rewarding and inspiring to see everyone grow and improve as artists, right around you. I think it's a big part of why so many people in Rebecca's studio get so good and also why so many continue to stick around even though they are good enough that most would probably say they don't need a "teacher" anymore. 

One of the benefits of working with Rebecca is that it's not your typical classroom environment where everyone is doing identical projects or drills. Rather, everyone is always working on something that is important and personal to that person. This is also motivating to experience. There's very little direct instruction to the group. Instead, there's individualized teaching (and learning) based on the skills that you need at that moment in time- with the added benefit that you can listen in and watch while every other artist receives their own personalized instruction. When people ask me how I improved I tell them it's a combination of hard work and learning through osmosis. Just being in such a positive environment makes everyone better. 

At this moment I've been working on landscapes with oil. I've done watercolors, including a couple of paintings of homes that are hanging in a home and office of a friend who is a collector of art. Like most of Rebecca's students, I started with drawing, and since that's where I started, the pieces I'm most proud of are graphite.

When I first reached out to Rebecca in November of 2022, I had no formal art training, an English degree that I wasn’t using, and a fervent goal to get into a graduate program for scientific and medical illustration. About six months previously, I had started researching master’s programs that offered the degree I sought, and I determined that—despite my nontraditional academic background and lack of art education—I could gain admission to one of these programs with a few years of hard work. At that time, I had a decent amount of experience making art, but I was entirely self-taught, and I knew I was lacking crucial skills that I would need to pursue my master’s degree. The first time I spoke with Rebecca, I immediately felt connected to her and excited about the art education she could offer me. We discussed my goal of making a portfolio and applying to grad school in a little over a year’s time, and I took my first class in her studio the next day.

I learned quickly that I was incredibly lucky to have found Rebecca. I saw my art skills blossom exponentially for the next several months, and the improvements to my fundamental drawing skills, abilities to see light and color, and use of various media made me feel that I was rapidly growing closer to my goal. Even more than that, though, the welcoming and supportive environment made the studio feel like a second home to me, and I made several new friends and connections. During the peak months of my portfolio work, I spent upwards of 12-15 hours there every week gaining both art skills and community.

Rebecca’s guidance made sure that my portfolio was ready in time for application season, and her confidence in me remained unwavering through the whole process, supporting me even when I doubted myself and my skill. Over the next few months, I was thrilled to be admitted to all four graduate programs to which I applied. I accepted the offer from the University of Toronto’s Biomedical Communications program, and, in August 2024, I moved to Canada to begin my first year of the program, where I am now studying for a career in medical illustration. I owe a huge part of my success to Rebecca’s teachings, encouragement, and wisdom, and I know I will be returning to her studio whenever I can for years to come.

I started studying art with Rebecca when I was only nine-years-old.

Before starting with Rebecca, I had a string of art teachers. Some focused on having fun with art while others taught rudimentary techniques and color theories. When my mom did research and asked around someone highly recommended Studio at Glen Gables to us, so we continue my art education there.

My experience here has taught me the importance of a solid beginning and methodical process. Rebecca builds her students’ art skills from the ground up so all of us have a strong foundation. We were taught the process and are encouraged to patiently stick to it. Since my very first drawing, to the one I did yesterday, the first steps have never changed: Baseline. Centerline. Basic shapes. A light chiseled outline. Find the terminator etc…

Although the process will certainly vary from piece to piece and experience to experience, a consistent start means you begin every piece knowing exactly what you need to do to set yourself up for a successful finish; this is important for every person to be confident enough to take the next step forward. I am happy to apply this to my current and future challenges.

I am currently a ninth grader, looking to apply to art-focused high schools. All the skills I have learned with Rebecca at the Studio at Glen Gables have been instrumental in bridging my current skills to new mediums, such as digital art, filmmaking, and animation. I hope to take this knowledge and use it to pursue an art-focused career that combines my passions of art, media, and psychology.

I started class with Rebecca at 10 years old, already loving art . My grandmother recognized this and offered to take me to art classes. I was very lucky to have joined the studio at such a young age. With Rebecca’s high end professional teaching in both painting and drawing, I learned how to work hard, how to take criticism, and how to persevere through challenges.

The studio community was an integral part of my teen years and development as an artist, serving as a launchpad for my present success.

Since then I have received my Masters degree in Fine Arts at the University of Delaware, exhibited my work internationally in Berlin, Germany, and was awarded a year long residency at the Delaware Contemporary Museum.

I have followed in Rebecca’s footsteps and am now an art teacher myself at my Alma mater Rutgers University.

Seeking a way of capturing the immense beauty of what I see, I wanted to learn how to paint. Newly retired as a tenured university professor, a friend referred me to Rebecca. Since I had not taken art since 8th grade, over 55 years ago, I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t even know how to hold the pencil. Well, now, not quite three years later, I am without words of how the process of making art in Rebecca’s studio has warmed my heart and enriched my life.

One-on-one instruction during class and in workshops is amazing. Unexpected is the serenity of the process that occurs when choosing meaningful objects, places, or people to draw or paint. Each piece becomes a personal journey connecting me with the meaning of what I choose to capture in my art. Rebecca’s studio is a magical place.