Creativity and wonder rule in art school

My Masterpiece Arts Center is a family enterprise run by musician-singer-songwriter Rayyn Cortez as director/administrator, and wife Anna, a professional graphic designer, booklover and Macintosh-addict as program director.

Joining them as head teacher is Anna’s sister Kara Escay, a painter who received her Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines.

My Masterpiece offers art, music, creative writing, drama, Macintosh multimedia, dance, and choir lessons for children, teens, and adults. Its pre-school program called “Wonder Kids” Toddler Program accepts students as young as two years old.

As with most new ventures, My Masterpiece began small, with two core programs offered in 2005 that attracted about 50 students. This year, the Cortez couple expects to run five core programs and up to 35 courses and six premium services that refer to services such as recording for solo artists and bands, sound design for original songs, and jingles including musical scoring and voice-overs, graphic design and illustration, and personalized creative-ware like party packages, invitations and souvenirs. Staff size has grown to five full-time teachers and four part-timers.

Rayyn Cortez attributes the steady growth of My Masterpiece to many satisfied clients, although the company is relatively new in the market. “Parents who started out with us in 2005 have referred to us their friends and family. And we have expanded our offerings to creativity workshops for corporations and organizations, entrepreneurship for teens, customized production numbers and off-site programs in cooperation with schools and other learning institutions.”

A personalized approach, small class sizes (maximum of 10 students), and a unique digital portfolio for each student count among the most liked features of My Masterpiece programs.

“My Masterpiece is a place where families and friends learn and grow through the arts. We believe in inspiring creativity and wonder through a variety of innovative art-based programs all under one roof,” Cortez says.

Majority of materials and teaching resources used by My Masterpiece are not available locally and have to be ordered from abroad. Its teachers are “young, creative, talented, and dedicated teaching artists who graduated from prestigious schools and have undergone training the My Masterpiece way.”

Cortez is confident 2007 will see a rise in enrollees as people, not just the young, become more conscious of the personal need to tap their artistic side for a fuller, more vibrant, and balanced life. “Even corporations are realizing the need to send their employees to creativity and self-enrichment classes. It leads to greater productivity and opens the mind to innovation.”