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| FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions |
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Arrival --- Departure --- Supplies --- Visas --- Shipping --- Internet/Phone --- Weekend Transport --- Models --- etc.
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Q: How and when should I arrive in France?
A: Students for the 3-month Intensive Program are advised that their group arrival time
and date is always the Thursday before the first Sunday of class, meeting at 4:00 PM,
at the Angers-St Laud TGV train station.
You can get TGV bullet train service directly from CDG airport to Angers-St Laud. See our
TRAVEL page for advice.
A privately hired taxi/shuttle service will meet arriving Intensive students at the
Angers-St Laud TGV station at 4:00PM, and depart by 4:30PM for Argenton-Chateau.
(Shuttle costs 20 euros per person, one-way, payable after arrival).
Students wishing to rent a car for the season, or just for entry, should pick up their car
in Angers, and follow the group shuttle. All the major European car agencies are
represented inside the train station (Hertz, Avis, Europcar).
Monthly and special program students should download their PDF course brochure for arrival information.
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Q: How and when should I leave France?
A: Please do NOT schedule your exit flight on the final Friday of class.
All our programs work in the studio until the final hour, on the last Thursday.
All students have a two-night "cushion" after the final Thursday of the program, for cleaning,
packing and a farewell evening. All students must take time to return their assigned housing
to Studio Escalier in the condition it was received.
Therefore, the earliest day we suggest for a return flight is the Saturday after the last day of
class. Note: students flying that day should reserve a mid- or late afternoon
return flight from Paris-CDG airport (departing after 2:30 PM).
If you leave directly from Argenton-Chateau, it is very difficult to get to Paris-CDG airport any earlier than 12 noon.
If you must book a return flight before 2:30 PM, we recommend spending the night
in Angers or Paris before you leave.
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Q: How and when should I leave Argenton-Chateau? How should I connect to my exit flight?
A: Please do NOT schedule your exit flight on the final Friday of class.
All students have a two-night "cushion" after the final Thursday of the program, for cleaning,
packing and a farewell evening. All students must take time to return their assigned housing
to Studio Escalier in the condition it was received.
We request that all students plan to vacate their program housing no later than 11:00 AM
on the Saturday after the last day of class. (For 25 euros per night/per individual, students and guests may remain in
program housing through the weekend, but MUST exit no later than 11:00 AM on the Monday after the last day of class.)
NOTE: The group exit shuttle is always scheduled to leave at 8:00 AM on the Saturday after the last
day of class, arriving Angers - Gare SNCF at 9:00 AM.
All students pay individually for their own exit from Argenton-Chateau (whether by group shuttle on
Saturday at 8 AM, or later by taxi, rental car, Monday public bus, etc.)
The group exit shuttle to Angers on Saturday costs approximately 105 euros total.
The cost is paid in cash upon arrival, and split equally between all riders, regardless of their number of bags.
For a Saturday exit to Paris itself, you may depart Angers at 9:37 AM, arriving Paris-Gare de Montparnasse at 11:15 AM.
For students flying out on Saturday, the easiest exit is a 9:46 AM train departure from Angers direct to
Paris-CDG airport, arriving at 12:15 PM
For all outgoing flights on Sunday afternoon, it is best to exit Argenton-Chateau on
Saturday, and spend the night in Angers, or at an airport hotel, on Saturday night.
If you leave Angers-Gare SNCF on Sunday at 9:46 AM, you can get to Paris-CDG airport at 12:15 PM for check-in.
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Q: What about bringing supplies? How can I order art supplies over there?
A: A course supply list is sent to all accepted students approximately six weeks
before the first day of class.
You can bring all your supplies on the plane as checked luggage, or ship them 2-3 weeks
ahead of your arrival (Always use regular post airmail. Ask us for advice on labeling
to avoid paying customs charges.)
If you prefer to work with specific brands of extra-fine art materials (oil-primed linens, oil grounds, fine art
papers, etc) you should bring them with you.
If you wish to buy extra-fine art materials in France, we suggest
Sennelier,
Adam-Montparnasse,
Maison Gattegno or
Dubois in Paris.
After you arrive,
DALBE in Angers is a fine arts retail store that carries a standard range of fine artist's materials.
Some 3-month students prefer Boesner in Bordeaux for ordering general fine arts products. They
offer an extremely large selection of fine arts materials, including
Schmincke-Mussini and Old Holland oil colours at wholesale prices.
Students fill out their own orders, using order forms from the current catalogue.
Orders are placed by fax, and take 3 - 7 business days to arrive.
BOESNER online catalogue sales (Vente en ligne) are in French only. Click
here for their site.
Note: Buying a new French easel/landscape box in France for private use is less expensive
than mailing yourself one.
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Q: What advice do you have on packing and shipping to France?
1) Ship yourself as little as possible, whether you are sending art supplies, clothing
or personal effects.
Shipping items back home, out of France, can be very expensive.
2) Travel as lightly as you can. No one regrets carrying too little. Remember to bring shoes you can
stand in all day, a good all-weather jacket, and clothes you are not afraid to get dirty. Our central school activities
are drawing and painting.
3) We stock large pads of paper for purchase, but you should
carry your own paint, canvases and brushes.
4) Previous students have left behind many dozens of books, which now form a lending library,
including fiction and non-fiction in English and French, as well as various pocket dictionaries and many language study books.
5) If you absolutely must send/receive packages,
ALWAYS USE regular mail (US Post Office, Royal Mail, La Poste, etc.)
First class mail normally arrives from North America or the UK in 3 - 5 business days. First class airmail packages take 8 - 12 days.
6) Navigating any package through French customs can be a difficult and expensive experience.
Ask us for advice on how to label your regular mail packages for French customs.
7) Please, DO NOT USE Fedex, DHL or UPS.
They will cost alot more, and will typically arrive in Argenton-Chateau in 3 - 5 business days, regardless.
So-called "overnight" deliveries always require counter-signed delivery, and can incur large customs
charges upon delivery, or long after the fact, which is highly impractical for both students and administration.
8) Outgoing FEDEX envelopes from Argenton-Chateau to the USA can cost up to $110 USD, for a single letter,
and will arrive in the USA in 3 - 6 business days.
If you have an urgent letter or payment to send outside of France, we STRONGLY advise you to use regular
first class mail from La Poste, never French Chronoposte.
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Q: Can you give me exact instructions on how to get from the airport to the school?
A: Directions for students who wish to drive from Paris can be made available on request.
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Q: Do I need a French student visa to spend three months at Studio Escalier?
A: No, most students do not need a visa. Any US, UK, European, Canadian or Australian
citizen with a valid passport is granted an informal three-month tourist visa just by
walking off the plane in Paris.
However, US resident aliens are advised to apply for travel permission at least six
months before they wish to travel.
All others should contact the French consulate in their country of residence for
visa requirements.
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Q: How can I connect to the internet?
A: All students are strongly advised to bring their own wireless capable laptop computer, Blackberry or PDA.
WiFi DSL service from Orange-Wifi is now available at our local bar/cafe/brasserie, the
Cafe Calimero.
You must sign up for an Orange Hotspot service plan, before or after you arrive:
http://www.orange-wifi.com
All students have free access to the school's wireless DSL network at Les Sylvains. (Non-tenants 6PM -10PM only.)
Free WiFi internet access via the school network is NOT offered during the figure sessions,
for obvious reasons.
Free landline DSL internet service is available in Argenton-Chateau at a public internet
resource center, at the local junior high school. They have eight desktop computers for free public use.
They are open most weekdays, in the evenings only, but are completely closed during August.
The free center in Argenton-Chateau is good for occasional e-mail and chatting, but not great for use as an emergency or business contact.
There is no free computer access, ethernet access or dial-up internet connection available to students
through the Studio Escalier office.
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Q: How will I speak with friends and family? What do you know about French cellphone service?
A: The least expensive option is to bring your own wireless capable laptop computer.
Students with wireless capable laptops may use their own VOIP service (Skype, Vonage),
via the wireless hotspot at the Cafe Calimero, or via the student DSL network at Les
Sylvains. (Non-tenants 6pm- 10pm only.)
If you already have a cellphone in your home country, please check with your service
provider for current overseas service options, including roaming charges. Many
international options are available thru US telecom companies, and technology
is always changing. We strongly suggest to all students that they do their own research.
If you need a new handset, a basic "pay-as-you-go", rechargeable Nokia cellphone can be bought
in France for as little as 59 euros. If you already have your own handset, installing
a "pay-as-you-go" French SIM card in it will cost approximately 30 euros.
Such a phone offers a rechargeable Orange Mobicarte or SFR credit account, for making calls inside
France and continental Europe only, with no contract needed.
Note: A "pay-as-you-go" French cellphone receives calls from anywhere, at zero further cost
to the student.
This is perfect for students who need an emergency contact number of their own. Friends
and family can profit from VOIP (Skype, Vonage) or any of many discount calling plans
in the US to reach you.
However, calling out to the United States directly from a "pay-as-you-go" French cellphone
is a very expensive proposition. (1 or 2 euros per minute).
International calling cards, available from the post office, offer everyone the option
to call internationally from the payphones in town, at slightly better rates. But
they offer a somewhat unreliable network.
Studio Escalier does not offer any housing that comes with its own landline telephone service.
Experience also suggests that installing your own landline for 3 or 6 months is not a realistic option.
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Q: What about bringing and using my other electronics?
A: French AC current is rated 220-240V. Virtually all recent electronics (computers, iPods,
PDAs, cellphones, digital cameras and camcorders) are universally rated AC100 - 240V, and
are France-friendly. Check for ratings printed on your power cable.
If it is rated AC100 - 240V, all you need to buy (before you leave, in your home country)
is a French plug converter. We do NOT recommend bringing any equipment that requires
actual voltage conversion. If you do, you will need to pack your own voltage converter.
No student use of cellphones, PDAs, computers or cameras is allowed in the studio. iPods
(etc) are strongly discouraged.
We expect open eyes and ears in the studio at all times, to create a sensory space for
non-electronic culture. We learn from one another's critiques, as well as our own. The
conscious presence of our neighbor is an amazing educational asset.
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Q: Will instruction be in English?
A: Yes. We can also instruct in French and/or Spanish.
Speaking some French is required to function well on your own outside of class. The French
rarely speak English to visitors, and the majority cannot.
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Q: How will I get around town?
A: Located as it is -- in a very tranquil, small, completely self-sufficient town -- the program
is designed for minimal commuting expense and maximum concentration. It is a great place
to walk, jog, hike or bike.
Though most working people in town have cars to drive in/out, much of the daily life in
town is conducted on foot. If you wish to spend three months drawing and painting in a small
medieval town, walking or biking everywhere, surrounded by quiet, green countryside
and abundant wildlife, you have come to the right place.
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Q: How can I get to Paris or other cities on the weekend?
A: There is no public transport directly in or out of Argenton-Chateau on Saturday or Sunday.
In light of this situation, Studio Escalier schedules its studio programs to run Sunday through Thursday,
and takes its weekends on Friday and Saturday.
This allows our students to connect to existing departmental bus service, to travel at
much lower cost. (For example, taking the public bus to shop at the weekly farmer's market
in Thouars on Friday morning costs 3 euros round-trip. The same trip is only possible by
taxi on Saturday morning -- when there is no market -- and it costs 50 euros round-trip.)
Please refer to our TRAVEL page for the easiest day-trip and "studio weekend" itineraries
in and out of town, recalling 1) that our "studio weekend" is on Friday and Saturday, and 2) that Saturday and overnight trips
always require you to reserve a taxi. See next question below.
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Q: How do I hire a taxi?
A: Saturday daytrips and "studio weekend" getaways -- leaving Thursday evening, or early Friday morning, with a Saturday evening return--
always require the student to hire a private taxi to connect them to a nearby bus or train station.
It is smart to share the cost of the taxi ride, and students should expect to organize themselves and their trips with one another.
Local taxis are NOT on-call 24 hrs/day, and need to be booked in advance. Please write
down your name, address and itinerary on a piece of paper, walk over to their dispatch office,
and hand it to them (remember: use 24 hr time, i.e. 13h00,
19h45, etc.) The dispatcher can closely estimate how much it will cost, if you ask.
Important: Taxi reservations must be made Monday thru Friday, and preferably at least a week
in advance.
Cancellations or changes must be made at least 24 hrs in advance. You will be billed for missed connections.
(Taxis du Chateau, 6 route de Bressuire, 79150 Argenton-Chateau - Tel: 05 49 65 71 90)
Taxi rates can be considerably
higher before 7AM and after 7PM, as well as on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.
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Q: Can I rent a car?
A: Many students will wish at some point to travel freely around our region.
Very competitive short- and long-term car rentals are offered locally at Bonnet Peugeot/CLV
Location in Argenton-Chateau. (4 weeks @ 3500km = 765 euros; full standard weekend (Friday
evening-Monday AM) @ 300km = 125 euros. Manual transmission only.) Please contact us for
more car rental information.
Long-term rentals are also easily arranged online through Hertz, Avis or Europcar. You can
reserve and pick-up a rental car from any of these agencies at the Angers/St Laud train
station when you arrive.
NOTE: Fuel is VERY expensive in France (1.37 euros/liter; $6.55 USD/gallon).
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Q: Can I buy or rent a bicycle or scooter in town?
A: Purchase, yes. A variety of new and used bikes and mopeds are for sale via CM3 Cycles
in Argenton-Chateau. Bike rentals may be negotiated through them, on a case by case basis.
For scooter rentals, call or visit Entreprise LIGNE (Tel: 05 49 66 10 52) in Thouars.
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Q: Will we have a male model/ a French model/ a female model/an English-speaking model?
A: We hire a variety of international, professional models over the course of the year,
but details are always being worked out. Our models may speak English, Spanish, Dutch
or French.
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Q: I want to learn to draw, but I am not ready to paint, so I want to draw all summer,
can I do that?
(also: I already 'know how to to draw', so I want to paint all summer,
right away, can I do that?
A: The 3-month Intensive course offers daily instruction in both drawing and painting.
If you have never painted before, or you think you know all there is
to know about drawing, please simply apply first, showing us your best work, either drawings
or paintings, and let us decide if this is the course for you and what you need to learn.
Our tradition has always maintained that the better part of painting is drawing.
("Le dessin comprends trois quarts et demi de ce qui constitue le peinture." - JAD Ingres)
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Q: What tradition do you belong to? What exactly will you two be teaching?
A: Please see our mission statement and the course description page.
This is not a cast-drawing course, nor is it a course in late 19th century classical
styles or techniques. We offer a distinctly demanding, deeply informative,
contemporary-classical approach. We teach a qualitatively living sense of form, and are the benefactors of over 125 years of modern American insights into color, subject matter and design, as well.
Our collaboration as a trio is due mainly to our common experience under Ted Seth
Jacobs. Our program and practice is an outgrowth of what he teaches, but we teach
what we understand and know how to do. (see also www.timothystotz.com, www.michelletully.com
and www.tonyryder.com)
Via Ted Jacobs and other teachers, we share a rich artistic tradition.
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Q: I have become mainly interested in portraiture, can I focus on that?
A: Pursuing likeness, in all its aspects, is a central part of learning to paint and draw
in our tradition. The human portrait is part of the human figure, and its differences are
those of content, not of kind. When the time comes for longer poses in the Intensive
Program, you can focus on portraits, if you like, and we can discuss what you most need
to work on.
Or, sign up for our next monthly Portrait Residency Program.
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