Behind the Scenes

M AY / J U N 2020

RANA FAURE is a photographer with a wide variety of clients and a regular contributor to TownVibe Media. She is a co-founder of Mother Image, a boutique photo agency specializing in authentic women’s lifestyle images, as well as a contracted photographer for Madison Square Garden. Of shooting the images for our house feature, Rana says: “Seeing the family move from inside to outside enjoying the many areas of the home and property inspires the way I photographed it.”

AMANDA DUFF is a Ridgefield-based writer, publicist, and toddler mom. Of her Young Families article, “A Good Pairing,” which appears in The Vibe section, Amanda tells us: “Experiencing Ridgefield through the Milligans’ eyes was such a joy. It was fun learning about their favorite spots, as hearing what people love about Ridgefield always brings a new perspective to the town I’m proud to call home.” We plan to re-continue this series which we started two years back.

JULIA BRUCE is a longtime resident and has been contributing to TownVibe publications, including Ridgefield Magazine and Wilton Magazine, since 2015. In this issue, Julia reports on the efforts at St. Mary School and Parish to help those in need in Guatamala. “A small but impressive group of parishioners from St. Mary Parish in Ridgefield are volunteering to help make change there,” says Julia.

PAMELA HOVLAND is a regular contributor to TownVibe publications and runs a small graphic design studio. For more than 20 years, she has also taught design as a senior critic in design at Yale University. Hovland was passionate about writing “A More Perfect Union,” in honor of the passage of the 19th amendment 100 years ago, and interviewed women of all ages, backgrounds, and political persuasions from Wilton, Norwalk, and Ridgefield.

Summer happens at Hopkins

June 29–August 7, 2020

Hopkins Summer School programs are open to everyone!

• Squash, grades 3-12 • ROAR Girls-Only Camp • Creative Writing, grades 7 & 8 • Write it Right! grades 9-12 • Pre-Algebra, grades 7 & 8 • Algebra, grades 8 & 9 • SAT Prep, grades 10-12 • Le Havre Soccer Camp • And many more

Contact Kevin Cronin: (203) 397-1001 ext. 372 or kcronin@hopkins.edu

Vol 18, Issue 3 May/Jun 2020 MAGAZINE Ridgefield

GEOFFREY JAMES MORRIS

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher

DEBORAH HAYN

Creative Director

KIM ZEISS

Operations Manager

LAURIE NEWKIRK

Director of Digital Strategy

SHARON PECK

Production Manager

KELLY GELS

Operations Assistant

Contributing Writers Heather Borbeau, Julia Bruce, Heather Creagh, Amanda Duff, Pamela Hovland, Megan Smith-Harris

Contributing Photographers Rana Faure, Doug Foulke, Pamela Hovland, Kristen Jensen

ADVERTISING SALES 203-431-1708 Camille Giacomazza (ext. 113) Jennifer Hines (ext. 210) Jill Lawlor (ext. 115) Wendy Packer (ext. 117) Lisa Stiehl (ext. 112) Cara Vermeulen (ext. 213)

We welcome input about this and future issues. Please address letters, queries, and ideas to editorial@townvibe.com. To advertise: advertising@townvibe.com or call us at 203-431-1708. For those outside Ridgefield, to subscribe for one year, send $25 to:

TownVibe 386 Main Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877 203-431-1708

Ridgefield Magazine is a publication of TownVibe. ©2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the publisher. townvibe.com

Who and What Is RPAC?

RPAC Art Center & Academy was born from a vision where, as a community, artists would be able to create art, receive instruction from MFA-certified educators, and take part in community events. We offer private and semi-private studio workspaces to our Resident Artists with 24/7 access, membership options, curriculum-based and independent-study educational programs, a state-of-the-art computer lab fully equipped with the latest cloud-based creative software, and much more. Each resident artist and member is part of RPAC and part of our family.

What is RPAC’S mission? To create, promote, and exhibit the working artist, emerging artist, and student while providing a supportive and creative environment.

Can you give us a sneak peek of the

types of classes available? Art classes in painting, watercolor, and various mediums of choice, including illustration and graphic design learning through freehand as well as digital, using the latest Adobe Creative software. We offer workshops with classroom instruction in various topics from logo design to how to paint in acrylic and oils. We recently started offering online classes through a LIVE interaction platform.

Who are your faculty? MFA-certified instructors from Western Connecticut State University and Naugatuck Valley Community College; workshop instructors from Cooper Union and Naugatuck Valley Community College; as well as various other industry leaders/experts where we see a need or void of knowledge.

Spend time learning new graphic skills. RPAC is offering creative online workshops. Learn Adobe software like Photoshop, Illustratror, and InDesign. Learn from RPAC experts who teach at the university level and have worked in the graphic design and illustration industry for 3+ decades. RPAC will also be offering online classes in studio art, photography, illustration, and a workshop for creator’s block (it’s similar to writer’s block, BUT WORSE!). For details, go to: www.RPACartcenter.com

Online Workshops

Who are your students? High school students who are looking to: a) build/ create their portfolio resumes for college applications, b) unleash a hidden talent and passion to ultimately lead to a career; adults with a passion for art who want to dabble in a new medium and/or enhance an existing skill; professionals looking for continuing education and/ or to enhance the creative side of their employees; art educators.

Tell us about your gallery. Along with the RPAC Art Center & Academy vision, came RPAC Gallery, which we opened to provide a place to showcase the resident artists’ work in a retail gallery storefront with a prime, downtown Main Street, Ridgefield location. In addition to the retail storefront, the gallery’s online home, RPACGallery.com, offers a more extensive collection of each Resident Artist’s work.

Any final thoughts? As we celebrate our one-year of the Art Center this July, we look back and take pride in what we as a team have accomplished and the comm- unity of artists that we call our RPAC family. As our journey continues, we look forward to a future full of creativity and learning. Thank you from RPAC!