Skip to content

Some Art Teachers Just Have It

By Matt Ross

It is a blessing that I get to surround myself with art teachers who are profoundly creative and care about helping others with such passion. It is really special when I can also give back to those people who do the heavy lifting at One River School. This week we…

Read More

America

By Matt Ross

Today I simply want to reflect on America…the amazing country that we live in. I am grateful for having access to so many things and I am deeply aware that being an American comes with great privilege. My motivation to promote the arts is rooted in the fact that I…

Read More

Student Exhibitions

By Matt Ross

We just finished our student exhibitions at all of our schools and I found myself walking around with a constant smile on my face. On one level, I am really proud to see the artwork all over our walls that simply demonstrates the time and effort our students and staff…

Read More

New Documentary Film Course

By Matt Ross

I love documentary films on so many levels. The simplicity to the story telling and the “everyman” subject matter often connects with me. I have sat and watched documentaries about artists, athletes, politicians and topics as diverse as our food supply and scaling Everest. Our first summer at One River…

Read More

Nature is Art

By Matt Ross

It is that simple. Whenever I slow down a bit and reconnect with the outdoors, I am reminded of two things. How much better I feel and how much my brain responds to the visual stimuli of the outdoor. Given the technology available to us today, it is so easy…

Read More

STEM vs. STEAM Education?

By Matt Ross

For those of you who have not engaged in the discussion of STEM and STEAM education, let me set this up before I make a few points. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in…

Read More

Artist Spotlight: Daniel Rios Rodriguez

By Matt Ross

Daniel Rios Rodriguez is one of my favorite artists and I want to tell you a bit about him in our latest Artist Spotlight.  I stumbled on his work at an art fair in 2012. I bought two small paintings and reached out to him to tell him that I…

Read More

Chase Balay’s Story #WeHateCancer

By Matt Ross

10-Year old Chase Balay has a malignant brain tumor. This beautiful 4th grade boy from my town Cresskill, NJ, an accomplished young artist with a special creative spirit, is battling something that is hard to put into words and frankly represents the nightmare we all dread as our worst possible…

Read More

Supporting the Arts Means Supporting Artists

By Matt Ross

  Supporting the Arts means Supporting Artists.  This year, we will show artwork from eight amazing contemporary artists in our two schools in Englewood and Allendale that includes: JJ Manford. Austin Eddy. Catherine Haggarty. Pat Berran. Matthew Fisher. Matthew Phillips. Ryan Johnson. Michael Berryhill. Our new school in Frisco, TX will…

Read More

The Puzzle of Autism is a Personal One

By Matt Ross

April is National Autism Awareness Month and we are trying to shed some light on the mission of supporting those with Autism in America. Despite all of the efforts that have been made over the last ten years, Autism remains a great mystery with no clarity around the cause and…

Read More