Area stylist academy twists its take on hair

Supplies for a hairstylist usually don't include an art brush and an easel.

But that's not the case at Tranquility Design Academy in Manassas.

The cosmetology school added a fine arts class to its 10-month curriculum to reinforce fundamental elements of color and design, and also students' view of a client's haircut as a work of art, explained Tranquility owner and founder Gloria Harding.

The Fine Art Foundation Workshop, which is the only such creative course at a cosmetology school in the region and exceeds state licensure requirements, is taught by Lou Gagnon, a former Corcoran Gallery exhibitor and Disney Imagineer.

Gagnon teaches color theory and artistic concepts, like form and value, value and hue and measuring and nature. The concept is to train students to observe clientèle with the critical eye of an artist.

"I push them to a whole new creative level. Essentially the mission of the class, and the lessons, is to remove the self-imposed limitations by the students," Gagnon said.

Harding thought of adding the class when she mentioned her desire to add courses pushing her students past the basics while speaking to a local client. The client, whose daughter happened to be learning art from Gagnon, suggested they meet. After meeting, Gagnon (having retired from Disney and moved back to the Northern Virginia area) was on board and established the syllabus -- a 25-hour, two-week course.

Participants who have never picked up a paint brush or have had no formal art training, are taken through a five-step process, beginning with a still life exercise, on to two color activities, eventually culminating on a final completed art piece involving abstract and color mixing.

"Many of these students were not given the chance to be an artist and I bring them into the studio at my farmhouse and we work together to awaken this part of the brain that has always been there in each of the students, putting it all together, amplifying the connection between the brain and the eye," Gagnon said.

With a 90-percent client retention rate, Tranquility Design Academy stands by its mission of raising student expectations.

"We teach them that being average is not good enough, they must push themselves to the limit, they must have pride in what they do -- to not settle for anything but the best," Harding said.

The artistic value of class is evident in the unusual attention given to each client's hair colors and intricate up-do's.

"The art workshop with Lou ... taught me the foundation of color theory, which I use every single day," said Staci Stuart. "It released a ton of creativity I didn't know I had. After taking the workshop, I looked at everything around me differently. The most simple objects in the world became so much more complex and extravagant to me."