Art School

As a concerned Baltimore City school teacher, I was caught up in the City Council's deliberations regarding the bottle tax ("Bottle tax rise gains in council," June 12). I was imagining a classroom with beautiful, vibrant colors and large clear windows that allowed natural light to pass through. I thought of clean scents of newness and possibilities. I thought of how I could help my students understand that our school is an example of what is possible through hard work and perseverance.

Walking along Mount Royal Avenue from Maryland Institute College of Art to the University of Baltimore, what struck me most was the corridor's abject seediness: The buildings had a thick coating of decades-old industrial grime, there were strip bars across the street from the University of Baltimore, mega-sized roaches and a restroom mockup peeked out from the broad windows of the Odorite Building, prostitutes brazenly plied their trade at the...

Hans C. Schuler, noted Baltimore sculptor and founder of an art school that bears his name, died Saturday of cancer at the Baltimore Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Northeast Baltimore. He was 86.In his art, Mr. Schuler employed the techniques of the Old Masters of the Renaissance.Examples of his work include portrait busts, commemorative medals for universities and hospitals, and architectural renderings for numerous churches and public buildings.

Fred Lazarus has made many great contributions to Baltimore, but perhaps one of his lesser known and appreciated ones is raising the bar for high quality architectural design, as represented by the Brown Center and the Gateway student dorm building on the Maryland Institute College of Art campus ("MICA's Fred Lazarus to retire in 2014 after guiding art school for 35 years," April 30). Those buildings serve as inspirations for the rest of Baltimore. Excellent design is a vital element for raising the spirits of residents, workers and visitors alike.

For nearly two centuries, the Maryland Institute College of Art has been known for training painters, sculptors and fashion designers. But in May, MICA broadened its course offerings, and it is preparing to confer its first master's degrees on about 200 students planning careers in fields ranging from engineering to public health to computer science. The next step: an MBA program that will start next fall and provide classroom instruction at both MICA and the Johns Hopkins University's Carey School of Business.

In sculpture class, the art students stand in front of wooden pedestals delicately molding the features of human faces in wet clay. The busts are remarkably lifelike. Two eyes, a nose and a mouth -- all where they should be -- and expressions that make the faces look like real people, not department-store dummies. Clear north light streams down from huge skylights. Below, the students work under the patient tutelage of an instructor who offers quiet advice and encouragement as he strides across the studio floor inspecting their work.

A large drawing hangs behind Doreen Bolger's desk, dripping with the words "Forward in all directions. " The phrase, drawn with bleach on dark paper by Baltimore artist Colin Benjamin, has become something of a mantra for Bolger, the director of the Baltimore Museum of Art . "I like it for many reasons," Bolger said. "How do you move forward if 'forward' is in five directions?" Lately, that's just what she's been doing. For nearly two years, she has overseen the renovation of the museum's Contemporary Wing, which reopens this week.

Nicki Minaj wanted a cell phone case that matched her larger-than-life look - something cartoonish, with bright colors. So last year, the pop star turned to Tristan Herbert, a 23-year-old Parkville artist who makes custom covers for iPhones and Androids. Herbert spent 11 hours designing a case with a drawing of Minaj sporting long blonde hair, big hoop earrings, a belly shirt and blazer. The words "Pink Friday," the title of Minaj's first album, run alongside, and the background is, of course, pink.

Tattoo Tux stands in the middle of his electric studio and takes a deep drag on his cigarette.Surrounded by colorful stencils and strange sculptures with flickering candles, miniature Buddhas and skulls, he leans against a table and kicks at the leg.He's trying to explain his fascination with tattoos. Why did he, at age 41, after quitting the business to put himself through art school, open another tattoo parlor? Why did he, after painting still lifes and becoming fascinated with religious icons, go back to drawing dragons on men's backs?

Fred Lazarus has made many great contributions to Baltimore, but perhaps one of his lesser known and appreciated ones is raising the bar for high quality architectural design, as represented by the Brown Center and the Gateway student dorm building on the Maryland Institute College of Art campus ("MICA's Fred Lazarus to retire in 2014 after guiding art school for 35 years," April 30). Those buildings serve as inspirations for the rest of Baltimore. Excellent design is a vital element for raising the spirits of residents, workers and visitors alike.

The proposed partnership announced earlier this month between the University of Maryland College Park and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington is one of the more unusual ideas floated in recent years, not least because it would involve Maryland's flagship university investing in a privately owned institution located outside the state. Yet from what is known of the plan so far the potential benefits for both UM and the Corcoran could far outweigh the risks involved in such an arrangement, and for that reason it's worth exploring further.

Nicki Minaj wanted a cell phone case that matched her larger-than-life look - something cartoonish, with bright colors. So last year, the pop star turned to Tristan Herbert, a 23-year-old Parkville artist who makes custom covers for iPhones and Androids. Herbert spent 11 hours designing a case with a drawing of Minaj sporting long blonde hair, big hoop earrings, a belly shirt and blazer. The words "Pink Friday," the title of Minaj's first album, run alongside, and the background is, of course, pink.

A large drawing hangs behind Doreen Bolger's desk, dripping with the words "Forward in all directions. " The phrase, drawn with bleach on dark paper by Baltimore artist Colin Benjamin, has become something of a mantra for Bolger, the director of the Baltimore Museum of Art . "I like it for many reasons," Bolger said. "How do you move forward if 'forward' is in five directions?" Lately, that's just what she's been doing. For nearly two years, she has overseen the renovation of the museum's Contemporary Wing, which reopens this week.

John E. Sparks, an artist, educator and a nationally known printmaker who developed and chaired the department of printmaking at the Maryland Institute College of Art for nearly 40 years, died Aug. 2 of prostate cancer and pneumonia at Meritus Health Center in Hagerstown. The former longtime Charles Village resident was 69. "I respected John a great deal. He had, how shall I put it, a lot of attitude and I'm sure he rubbed some people the wrong way, but he was an artist," said artist Raoul Middleman.

E. Carey Kenney, a noted Pikesville artist who headed the art department at McDonogh School for more than three decades and whose oils and watercolors were inspired by the Owings Mills campus' rolling hills and fields, died Thursday of pneumonia at Seasons Hospice at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown. He was 98. "Ed Kenney was a dear friend and a fabulous teacher. He was a wonderfully colorful person," said George S. Wills, a semiretired Baltimore public relations executive and painter who graduated from McDonogh in 1954.

I agree that state-of-the-art schools are something to aim for, but your letter writer left out the most important part of the ideal classroom: The person who sits behind the desk in the front of the room ("Baltimore needs state-of-the-art schools to grow," June 23). I was seven years old and had been in school for a year and a half when I was transferred from an expensive private boarding school to a public school in Baltimore City. I was left-handed, but nobody had ever heard of dyslexia.

John E. Sparks, an artist, educator and a nationally known printmaker who developed and chaired the department of printmaking at the Maryland Institute College of Art for nearly 40 years, died Aug. 2 of prostate cancer and pneumonia at Meritus Health Center in Hagerstown. The former longtime Charles Village resident was 69. "I respected John a great deal. He had, how shall I put it, a lot of attitude and I'm sure he rubbed some people the wrong way, but he was an artist," said artist Raoul Middleman.

E. Carey Kenney, a noted Pikesville artist who headed the art department at McDonogh School for more than three decades and whose oils and watercolors were inspired by the Owings Mills campus' rolling hills and fields, died Thursday of pneumonia at Seasons Hospice at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown. He was 98. "Ed Kenney was a dear friend and a fabulous teacher. He was a wonderfully colorful person," said George S. Wills, a semiretired Baltimore public relations executive and painter who graduated from McDonogh in 1954.

As a concerned Baltimore City school teacher, I was caught up in the City Council's deliberations regarding the bottle tax ("Bottle tax rise gains in council," June 12). I was imagining a classroom with beautiful, vibrant colors and large clear windows that allowed natural light to pass through. I thought of clean scents of newness and possibilities. I thought of how I could help my students understand that our school is an example of what is possible through hard work and perseverance.

A Baltimore circus-arts instructor and her students are at Niagara Falls today, where they'll be helping to prime the live audience for Friday's televised walk across the falls by high-wire artist Nik Wallenda. "It's going to be chaotic," Erica Saben, founder of Charm City Movement Arts, said Friday morning after arriving at Niagara Falls the previous afternoon. "I hope we'll get a good spot to watch the walk ourselves. We'll have to see how big the media hype is. " Wallenda's family has been walking high wires as the Flying Wallendas for generations.