We were delighted to welcome another cohort of Fellows through the GlassRoots/Peters Valley Fellowship Program again this year. Since 2021, GlassRoots, a Newark-based, non-profit arts-education organization, and Peters Valley have joined together to offer this unique full-scholarship, arts-education Fellowship where students can explore the arts in depth.
Today, we hear from Jose Angel Ruano on his experience as a Fellow this past summer.
“I want to start by first thanking all the incredibly helpful and inspiring staff and students of GlassRoots and Peters Valley, for everything. My name is Jose Angel Ruano, but I go by Angel. I don’t consider myself to have a solid title or profession at the moment, but I know I have a strong admiration for all forms of Art, and this fellowship allowed me to work with insanely gifted artists, as well as the opportunity to work with and greatly understand myself, which I think is vital for individuals who want to become a prolific artist of any kind.
Practicing so many different mediums of art over the past 5 weeks has really given me huge amounts of inspiration and insight, mainly due to how different each class is from each other, in requirement of tools and certain skills. I specifically enjoyed learning how much work goes into sculptures made with metal, wood, and/or ceramics; it gives you such a newfound perspective on how art is made. Intro classes to blacksmithing, fine jewelry, papier-mache, photography, and printmaking have all had such differences from one another, but I enjoyed that very much, for it gives me a diverse and versatile skill and mindset, aiding me in becoming the artist I want to be.”
