to beloved artist and mentor
Fred Marinello has been a positive influence for generations of Torrey Pines students.
‘By Michelle Mowad
Over the weekend, Torrey Pines High School Art Department held “For Art’s Sake,” an art show and party featuring works for sale created by students, alumni, and educators of the high school. The art show in its eighth year serves as a fundraiser, community arts affair, and this year marks the farewell to long-time Torrey Pines High School arts teacher Fred Marinello.
Marinello, of La Costa, has surrounded himself with millions of student art pieces and educated thousands of student artists all from one room at Torrey Pines High School for over 30 years. He will retire next month but will continue to serve as mentor, create art, and teach.
“I don’t think I am going to miss anything,” joked Marinello while enjoying the art show Saturday afternoon. “I am taking it all with me. I am always going to be teaching. I am just not going to be coming here at a fixed time.”
Community turnout and the number of alumni submissions to the show is a true testament to the impact Marinello and other art educators have had on students over the years. Marinello was modest and pointed out that the talent and dedication student artists possess is not his own. But, their success can often be linked to his demanding teaching style.
Nearly four hours of interview footage of students, alumni and teachers was taken and edited down to approximately 24 minutes by alumni Jennifer Lee for her submission to the art show. Her video was a tribute to the years of service her mentor has given the Torrey Pines High School community.
“He is very, very encouraging in a discrete way,” said Lee, who now is a film student at the University of California, San Diego. “He has helped me to be more confident and has helped me go on my own path and take risks.”
Fellow art teacher Robert Petitmermet worked with Marinello for 25 years.
“He has basically been able to give the students a sense of what life is,” said Petitmermet. “We can only hope they learn courage, creativity, and the process of art through that.”
Vera Slipper, an instructional assistant at Torrey Pines High School, said Marinello has been an inspiration to many students over the years including her son, who graduated in 1982 and eventually went for a master’s degree in art.
“He has been a wonderful teacher,” said Slipper, who has worked with Marinello at Torrey Pines High School for 25 years. “He is a very humble, kind guy who just loves to do art and show through example that art can be an integral part of life.”
Marinello said as an art teacher he has only given students permission to create. He said he demands hard work and creativity and that the students are the ones who deserve the attention and praise.
“We are only helping to build a lifestyle and then supporting their choice,” said Marinello. “The kids have been the ones willing to take risks and that just makes me look good.”
Patti Fox, an after school art instructor and member of the Torrey Pines High School Art Boosters Club that sponsored the art show, said it will be difficult to see Marinello go because he is so brilliant.
“We are not ready to give up the incredible reputation of the art department,” said Fox. “The arts are alive here and they are going to continue to be alive even though the void will be huge.”
Fox is pleased and eager to have Julie Rais join the art department in the fall as the high school art department’s newest educator.
Rais, of Cardiff, realizes she has big shoes to fill but is eager to get into the classroom. She attended the art show Saturday and was impressed with what she saw.
“I am really excited about being in this room with all this energy,” said Rais. “I look forward to being to foster their talents.”
Marinello started working with the San Dieguito Union High School District two years before he started teaching. He was an integral part of planning the high school. Since then art has evolved to encompass more and more technology but his teaching techniques have remained the same.
He holds a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has received numerous awards over the years. Marinello said he has been exploring expressive and symbolic imagery for over 40-years in themes of birds, plants, man, and landscapes in synthetic, realistic, decorative, abstract, and expressive styles developed in scratch board, acrylic paint, watercolor, colored pencil, inks, and mixed media.
