7-July Classes -2011
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2011 Classes
Ceramics with Alexsondra Tomasulo
of Mud of the Ages
4 Wednesday evenings beginning July 6th 6-9 $180 members $200 for non-members
Exploring clay / Join in the Evening Fun- Wheel throwing And Hand building. This class is suitable for all levels of experience. From the true beginner to the advanced . learn new techniques and enjoy this ancient process we call mud.
ALEXSONDRA TOMASULO holds a double major in fine arts, both in Ceramics and Life Drawing. Working in clay for over 25 years, she weaves her love of philosophy and spirituality into her varied sculptures and vessels. Her work is demonstrative of allowing the medium to gain understanding of self. Her work has been in galleries in Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Maine. She moved to Maine almost 16 years ago, where she opened her studio, Mud of the Ages.
Ceramics with Liz Proffetty
Exploring Clay: Plates, Mugs Bowls 6-9 Mondasy July 11,18,25, Aug 1 – 4 weeks $180 members $200 nonmembers
We will be learning wheel -throwing and hand-building techniques to create functional and decorative ceramic items. This class will be open to all levels of abilities from the very beginner to experienced potter. All work can be fired with dinner-ware safe glazes. PROFFETTY Price of class includes 25 lbs. clay.
Irene Plummer
Acrylic Painting for Beginners and Intermediates
July 11,18,25,Aug 1 Mondays 1-4 $180 members $200 non-mem
Have you always wanted to paint but don’t know where to start, or think only “real artists” can? Or have you started the painting process but find yourself frustrated and could use some support to get to a more sophisticated level?
This course starts at the beginning. Absolutely no drawing or painting experience is required. All that is needed is enthusiasm, curiosity and the willingness to be open to the experience of painting. Through various exercises, students will learn the basics of painting in a non-competitive atmosphere. Various techniques of using the acrylic medium will be explored as well as composition and color theory. We will work primarily from the observed world, including still-life and landscape. If you are a “true blue” beginner, this class is for you. If you are not a beginner but want to learn more, this class is for you. Students will be expected to provide their own supplies. A list will be provided and explained in the first class.
BJORN RUNQUIST
ALL DAY – OIL July 9 & 10th
Landscape painter Björn Runquist will host a two day workshop this summer, July 9 and 10, 2011. The workshop will be an introduction to the basics of plein-air painting, focusing on the dynamics of building a painting and the techniques of alla prima painting as well as employing the same techniques to paint from digital photos if weather keeps us inside. Particular emphasis will be on evoking light and its use as a compositional element. The workshop is open to all levels.
The first morning will begin with a demo painting and then each painter will set up and paint. There will be a group critique at the end of the day.
The second day will be a full day of painting. Mr. Runquist will actively critique each painter through both days. Day two will also end with a group critique.
Ann Gordon
Plein-air Watercolor
July 13,14,15 from 10-3 with a half hour break for lunch $225 members $250 n/m
July 20,21,22 from 10-3 with a half hour break for lunch $225 members $250 n/m
How do you simplify the complex elements found in nature? What is your personal reaction to the landscape and how can you translate that experience into a successful watercolor painting? Design color value, composition, the formal elements of Art, will be stressed in this watercolor class out of doors. What effect does light bring to a painting?
Clouds – water – reflection – foliage what to put in and leave out. The students will explore all aspects of landscape painting. Class will meet out of doors unless the weather chases us inside. Watercolor will be stressed but students welcome to work in all media. Basic painting experience helpful.
Ann Gordon is a Graduate of American University’s Fine Arts Program and has established a reputation as an artist and teacher in her home town Garrett Park Md, a suburb of Washington D.C. Her works have been exhibited in numerous Galleries and Shows throughout the Washington Metropolitan area. Ann’s watercolors are painted from life and reflect her interest in the interplay of color and light and form. Ann has retired as an Arts/Specialist for the US Army and when she is not at work painting she volunteers as a Docent for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Carol Jaeger
ZenTangles Sunday, July 10 1-4
Sunday, July 10th from 1 to 4 p.m. Location: River Arts on Main Street in Damariscotta. Zentangles® is a fascinating combination of meditation and drawing, though you need no particular drawing skills to enjoy tremendous success with this technique. If you can make marks with a pencil and a pen, you have all the skills you need. The class will be taught by a certified Zentangle® instructor, Nancy Lubin. This simple technique allows you to focus, become centered and calm, and is a wonderful method for dealing with being “stuck” whether by writer’s block or artists block or just plain stuck. Fee: $45 per person. All materials included. Minimum class size: 10. Please register with River Arts (563-1507).
Anne Alexander
Alabaster Stone Carving Weekend
July 22, 23, 24 Fri. 4-7 PM Sat. 9-12:30 & 1:30-4:30 and Sunday 9-12 $145 members $155 non-members
Students will carve small pieces of alabaster stone into organic forms. We will look at examples of nature from the surrounding ecosystem (shells, lichen, plant pods) for inspiration for the forms of our work. Methods of carving including hammering with chisels, filing, sawing, and drilling will be taught. The various methods of finishing the stone from wet sanding to oiling and waxing will be the final part of the workshop.
Anne Alexander received a BA in sculpture from Bard College, NY and an MFA in sculpture from Alfred University, NY. She has been living in Maine teaching and sculpting since 1989. She has received two Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grants and a Fulbright Senior Scholar Grant to study the Art and Artifacts of The Taino Indian in The Dominican Republic during the 1998/99 school year.
She has taught Sculpture and 3-D Design, and drawing at Alfred University, UMaine, Orono, and at The Design School at Altos-de-Chavon, in The Dominican Republic. She currently teaches at Waynflete School in Portland.
Anne primarily carves her work in wood and stone. She makes pieces that range in size from small hand held pieces to human size exterior installations. Her work is organic in form and are abstractions of small life forms from the natural world, (marine life, plant pods, insects etc.) Her work also refers to the human body and expresses themes of life stages, germination, growth, regeneration, sexuality, and cyclic changes. Please refer to her website- web.me.com/annealexander to see examples of her work.
Materials List -
If you have any rasps, files, riffler files. an old towel. fabric flexible work gloves, an old paint brush (1/2-1”) for brushing off your stone while working, a plastic tub or bowl 8”W. a small jar- baby food or jam size
John Knight
July 23/24 weekend Landscape Painting workshop $180 members $200 non/m
July 31 One Day – Landscape Painting workshop $90 members $110 non/m
Painting outdoors can seem overwhelming. This class will focus on how to simplify landscape elements and how to compose a picture with a few main shapes. While working outdoors, we will talk about new ways of mixing color, ways of applying paint, and how to create space in a painting. This class is open to all experience levels including beginners.
John Knight holds a MFA in Painting from American University and a BFA in Painting from Indiana University. He was the Maine Arts Commission Individual Arts Fellow for 2007. In 2004, he was a Fine Arts Fellow at The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Mass. He has done artist residencies at the Carina House (Monhegan Island, Maine), Acadia National Park, the Millay Colony and the Vermont Studio Center.
Sandra Dutton
WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
July 16, 9am-1pm $60 members, $70 non-members
Writing and Illustrating Picture Books for Children–What makes a good picture book text? How do you create a dummy? What’s the best size for a picture book idea? With a combination of discussion and hands-on activities, students will learn how to create their own picture book dummies. Page layout, sketching, rhythm, pacing, and text placement will be discussed. Students will also learn how to submit their work for publication.
Sandra Dutton is the author and illustrator of Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast’s Guide to Proper Behavior, a “witty collection that entertains.” (Starred review, Kirkus). Dutton’s books have been named to “Pick of the Lists” by American Bookseller, and featured in Publishers Weekly. Her most recent book for children is Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth. She has taught both art and writing at the elementary, high school, and university levels, and has a Ph.D in Rhetoric & Composition. Her musical “Just a Matter of Time” was produced as an Equity Showcase at the Sage Theatre, Times Square, New York City. Her reviews have appeared in the New York Times Book Review.
Sandra Dutton is also a painter. Her work has been shown at the Maine Art Gallery, University of Southern Maine, University of New England, Boothbay Region Art Foundation, and River Arts. She exhibited widely in northern California during the 1970s and was named by Taylor & Ng one of San Francisco’s Best Designers.
www.MaryMaeandtheGospelTruth.com
Andrea Sulzer
Drawing with Line July 27th and 28th 10-1 each day
$110 for members $135 for non-members
Using the drawn line as our means of expression, this class will stress the act of drawing as a means of opening new avenues of sensation, thought and awareness. In addition to using our faculty of sight (i.e. developing observational acuity) we will see how sound and touch can relate to building drawings. We will work both from observation and in a way that is free from representational constraints. We will use a variety of media with a special emphasis on drawing with a reed pen and ink.
Sulzer has earned a baccalaureate degree in French and masters degrees in Forest Biology, Education, and Fine Arts. She has worked as an instructor of English as a second language, a field ecologist, lab instructor in plant physiology, scientific illustrator and an instructor in Studio Art and Drawing. Her work has been exhibited internationally at galleries as varied as Plane Space in New York City, the Atrium Gallery in London, Sowaka Gallery in Kyoto and at the Tramway Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. Additionally, Sulzer’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at ICON Contemporary Art in Brunswick, Maine and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland. She is featured in the Current Work -Maine Home and Design Art Issue 2011.
Supplies:
18” x 24” drawing pad (or about 5 sheets of paper that size or larger)
Vine charcoal
Compressed charcoal
Small bottle of black India Ink
