WHITE LAKE, NY (March 3, 2013) – Cobalt Studios, the scene‐painting studio in White Lake, NY, has been chosen to receive a USITT Special Citation for Outstanding Work in Education, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology announced.
USITT, the professional association for performing arts designers and technicians, will honor Cobalt for 25 years of dedication to training scenic artists in the art of painting theatre backdrops. The award will be presented to Cobalt co‐founders Rachel Keebler and Howard Jones at USITT’s 2013 Annual Conference & Stage Expo March 20 ‐23 in Milwaukee, WI, an event that draws over 5,000 people from the world of theatrical design and technology.
Keebler and Jones started Cobalt Studios in 1988 to train scenic artists in the craft they both taught at large universities, including the University of North Carolina School for the Arts.
“Over the years, we received many calls from employers asking us to recommend painters,” Keebler wrote on Cobalt’s website. “We found that the list of qualified people we could recommend was too short.”
The artists decided to create a working studio and scene‐painting shop where students could receive intensive hands‐on training with programs lasting weeks, months or up to two years. Since then, Cobalt has trained hundreds of artists, from Broadway designers to high school teachers, in the art of scene painting.
Set on 28 idyllic acres in New York’s Catskill Mountains, Cobalt is four miles from the site of the original 1969 Woodstock concert. Student artists paint, learn, and work with professionals at Cobalt’s studio, which serves the school and a working shop producing custom stage backdrops for actual theatre productions.
Participants stay in a farmhouse that accommodates a dozen people and share cooking and chores, ideas and inspiration, and artistic community. “Cobalt Studios is modeled after the Guilds from the Renaissance,” Keebler wrote. “Here we combine the classroom experience with the workshop
experience … where a cohesive group of artists nurtured a respect for their craft
as an active part of their community life.”
This method allows Cobalt students to spend more time 
experimenting with newer materials, inventive techniques, and creative designing than many academic institutions can offer. Cobalt’s summer programs often draw experienced teachers seeking ways to better prepare their students to pursue
the art of scene painting.
This is the first time in several years that USITT has awarded a Special Citation to any organization. The Institute has 4,000 members worldwide and has served the performing arts and technology industry since 1960.
Besides honoring Cobalt with the award on Thursday, March 21, USITT will feature Keebler and Jones on a special panel of 2013 Distinguished Award Winners in Conversation about their careers and their visions on Friday morning, March 22, at Milwaukee’s Delta Center.
For more information on USITT, please visit www.usitt.org.
The Catskill Chronicle 
I have known the work of Cobalt Studios for years as they always do one of the opening shows at the Liberty Museum. Their work is absolutely wonderful.
Not being an artist, I am always fascinated by the ability of these talented people to actually create perfect creations….so that a painting of glass looks like the real thing, and a velvet drape looks like you can actually feel the texture.
Congratulations to Rachel and all the students.
Thank you for such a well-written article about one of the hidden treasures of Sullivan County, and thank you, Rachel Keebler, for making this all happen over the years.