August 1, 2001
Katherine Tolford

The La Cañada-Flintridge couple are the Founders of Mission: Renaissance, a Glendale-based company that has 18 studios throughout Southern California.

A staff of 100 teachers helps spread their mission, that everyone can become creatively literate, to more than 4,000 students a week.

"We found a way to get somebody to do things people had said only a few could do," 70-year-old Larry Gluck said.

He started Mission: Renaissance in 1975, after spending 10 years making a name for himself as an artist in the Virgin Islands.

The Glucks opened their studios to encourage people to explore their creative abilities regardless of their inhibitions or insecurities.

They also wanted to counteract the trend in art education toward more abstract painting.

They believe it's essential for an artist to know the basics before they branch out into other styles and techniques.

"Once you get an apple, you can abstract it. You can't abstract nothing. You need the ABCs. You need the 3 Rs in art – just like reading, writing and arithmetic," Sheila Gluck said.

She initiated [Mission: Renaissance's] children's program in 1985. [Mission: Renaissance] teachers use a method Larry formulated based on his experience and observations of other artist's techniques.

Students first learn the proper way to hold a piece of charcoal or a paintbrush, then progress at their own pace through a sequence of lessons, developing the skills to draw, create tone and dimension, work with color and eventually paint in oils and watercolor.

With an average of six students to every teacher and assistants in each class, students receive private instruction within a group setting. The Glucks say this personal, supportive approach to instruction helps their students flourish.

Many [Mission: Renaissance] students have won art competitions throughout Southern California.

Karen Rolls, a three year [Mission: Renaissance] instructor, said her students have no trouble finding their own voice, even as they're learning the basics.

"They really come into their own," said Rolls, who teaches 10 classes a week. "They're not necessarily copying to a T what's in front of them. They're putting their own style into it. They learn the technique and little nuances, which is rewarding."

Nine-year-old Nadia Guzman, who graduated to watercolors, said she specializes in cats, dogs, cheetahs, and wolves. Her favorite piece is of a white wolf.

"I did such a good job on it. I had two chances to ask questions. I only asked one. I did the rest on my own," said Guzman, who has been attending [Mission: Renaissance] for a year.

Larry said the self-esteem students develop as they put together shapes and images and colors is transferable into their everyday lives.

"In creating life, you put parts of life togehter - everything has to fit together and relate to one another," he said. "As you create, you learn to visualize, observe, make decisions. You have to create something in your mind first before it happens in your life."
 

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