Lacey Waterman
Lacey Waterman is an Art Director and Graphic Designer currently based in New York. She has been working in both Los Angeles and New York since obtaining her BFA in Advertising from Art Center College of Design in 2008, and most recently earning her MFA in Graphic Design at Yale University in 2014.
James Takata
James believes Ryman Arts is still fulfilling the same mission today as when he was a student here - training young artists in classical techniques and encouraging them to pursue careers in the arts.
Michelle Washington
Nine years ago, I was an incoming high school freshman who loved to draw. I can recall earlier years getting in trouble because that was all I wanted to do...
Mynor Chinchilla
When I got into the program, I found all of my instructors to be remarkable; we never wasted time. Our days were always jam-packed with very informative assignments and my instructors would do a great job of motivating us...
Aaron Estrada
Each day I would go to Ryman Arts awaiting to be exposed to new thoughts; new ways of looking at art. It gave me reassurance that what I truly wanted out of life can happen. But most importantly it gave me a secure home to which I felt comfortable to visually express myself—for without art, I would go crazy...
Leslie Chinchilla
Ryman Arts had such a great impact on my life that I figured I would love to be in the nonprofit world. Now, I'm helping children from poverty-level families learn music and art for social change, and be our next leaders in their communities...
Mikael Kloda
At a Ryman college fair, I presented my artwork to prestigious colleges and received great feedback. This led me to apply for the California State Summer Program for the Arts – an amazing life-changing program...
Frank Rivera
I was confronted by a class full of talented young artists led by an enthusiastic teacher that was very passionate about the fine arts. It was interesting to be in a room so diverse...
Jaime Ballesteros
I currently work in the film and television industry as an assistant director and the imprint on my character left by Ryman Arts is utilized everyday. I carry a certain part of Ryman Arts with me still...
Marisa Ortega
I believe that Ryman is one of the best programs out there for teaching students art with the highest quality lessons and instructors out there. It has changed my life and most likely countless of other students’ lives as well...
Shane Prigmore
To present your work, and to then have that work critiqued by the incredible instructors and guest lecturers in the Ryman program was the sparking point for my career. This is how I learned to work with others, and bounce ideas and concepts with others in the field…
Zoe Axelrod
Ryman Arts was truly the gift of a lifetime. Being surrounded by passionate, creative teens I could truly relate to, and experiencing arts education in a college environment really gave me the confidence to attend an arts college and to pursue a career in art...
Christina Joseph
Looking back now, Ryman was one of the best experiences of my high school career. For one day a week I had the opportunity to just draw and leave the stress and worries of the school week behind...
Zaira Hernandez
As from my own perspective I can say that art exists everywhere. I call art all that allows me to create. One of the things that I like the most about art is to know that there is no limit for creativity...
Adrianna Arambula
Honestly, before Ryman, I didn’t know the talent for art existed within me – my high school art teacher asked me to apply out of nowhere and I was accepted! Throughout and after Ryman, not only has my concept of the arts changed, but my concept of life...
Lindsay Lopez
Whether you’re a doodler, a serious art student or a world-renowned artist, you must practice if you want to improve and grow. It’s probably the most important habit I learned as a Ryman Arts student. It’s helpful to take a sketchbook with you wherever you go…
Michelle Wiener
I have learned how imperative it is to have a group of artists to bounce ideas off of, argue with about theory and philosophy, and to grab a sandwich with. The energy keeps you excited to get back to the studio and produce...
Oscar Magallanes
I envision Ryman Arts as a strong family that trains a student to be an aspiring artist who becomes a successful artist who then mentors a new Ryman student...
Amanda Rountree
I am so grateful to Ryman Arts for the amazing opportunity I have had to work with people whose talent and vision I admire so much, and to the wonderful people I worked with at Walt Disney Imagineering for encouraging me, helping me to grow both in my technical skills and my ability to see and think creatively, and for giving me a chance to glimpse into the magical world of Imagineering.
Ashley Perez
At a very young age, I was a huge fan of all Walt Disney movies, songs, and parks. When I knew that I wanted to be an artist my dream was to become an animator at Disney Animation Studios. The Beginning of my dream came truewhen I received a call from Matt Roberts, notifying me that I got the 2012 Disney internship. I was so surprised and shocked that I pinched myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
Kelsey Hardwick
When Ryman first announced the Marty Sklar Internship at Walt Disney Imagineering I knew it would be a great opportunity, but I did not know how I could fit into such an accomplished company. After a little bit of research I learned that Imagineering covered a wider variety of disciplines than I could have imagined. I started to think about why I loved going to Disneyland so much and what about the Disney Company I felt was so special.
De'Von Stubblefield
To me the best part of the whole experience was being assigned two mentors that are my biggest inspirations, and the top talents in their field and they were Shiyoon Kim for Character Design and Bruce Smith for Animation! Shiyoon told me that learning animation not only brings my characters to life but also strengthens the design as a whole because I would have to think around the form rather than just putting the lines down that didn’t have a purpose.
Stephanie Jazmines
I was extremely fortunate to have gotten this internship through Ryman. Because of it, I was able to see that there are more to jobs than punching in and out and staring at a screen in a dimly-lit cubicle. It’s cliché, but I’ll admit it – jobs can be fun, not only in terms of the work, but the environment itself. There’s something about working with people who love what they do that makes you love what you do even more.
Courtney Tuck
Every Imagineer I met was helpful with guidance and making sure I got the most out of my time there. I could not thank Ryman and WDI enough for the opportunity to do something I love and work with people who love what they do too. I hope to return to WDI and see what else I can learn.
