The Wynne Home Arts Center has announced a new series of spring art classes set to begin March 20 and continue through April 23.Subjects range from painting, dance, and music to pottery and film. The courses offer an
inexpensive chance for Huntsville residents to get in touch with their creative sides.
Classes range in price from free of charge to $35, and run from a single session to weekly
sessions.
Among the previously offered courses like oil paining, watercolor techniques and film
appreciation, the Wynne Home has added a number of new courses this semester aimed at
offering something more to its patrons.
"It's always fun to have new people involved and willing to show new things to the
community," Wynne Home director Linda Pease said.
Among the new courses offered by the Wynne Home this spring are memoir writing, a bridge
workshop, basic flute instruction, kite making 1010 and two paint along courses, interactive
single session painting workshops that will provide a relaxing atmosphere to students.
"It's something on a Friday night, you can come after work, drink a little bit of wine and
just paint," said Michaela Clark, the Wynne Home's spring intern who organized the classes.
"It's going to be a really relaxing session, and at the end you have a painting to take
home."
The class schedule also includes offerings for children, among them a Story Time Opera
session featured Mozart's "The Magic Flute," a program offered by instructor Rebecca Grimes
as a precursor to an upcoming Sam Houston State University product of "The Magic Flute."
"(Grimes) comes from a background of sharing with the community, so she wanted to put
together a special program in anticipation of 'The Magic Flute,'" Pease said.
All classes have limited enrollment and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.
Registration is available at the Wynne Home. Any class fees must be paid upon registration,
and a limited number of scholarships are available for those who can demonstrate financial need.
Traditionally, the responsibility of a curator was that of caring for a collection of some
kind. This included its conservation, as well as overseeing the development of the
collection. Today, the task of a curator, especially in art museums, is much more than that.
It includes the planning and installation of exhibitions. As such, a curator is a special
kind of artist, in that the job calls for all kinds of creative skills, in order to bring the
exhibition to a successful completion. Each exhibition has its own set of requirements, so
the task of putting together an exhibition is never a "cut and dried" affair.
Without going into all the multitude of details necessary for the creation of a successful
exhibition, suffice it to say that it is time consuming and at the Bermuda National Gallery,
most exhibitions take at least two years from initial concept to opening evening.
The current exhibitions at the BNG are no exception, but, for even those who are regular
attendees at National Gallery events, these exhibitions are bound to be surprising. Much
effort has gone into creating exciting presentations, as well as providing new ways of
perceiving even familiar works from the permanent collection. Add to that, the retrospective
of Will Collieson’s art and you are in for a delightfully diverse experience.
In the lead-up to the opening of the current exhibitions, I visited the BNG a number of
times, and thus was privy to some of the behind-the-scene deliberations on the part of
Curator, Sophie Cressell and the entire BNG team. Much effort has gone into making these
exhibitions a memorable encounter. As an example, consider the exhibit in the Watlington
Room. For those who are BNG regulars, the 16 paintings on show from the European collection,
will be very familiar, but since they are arranged thematically, instead of chronologically,
there is a good possibility of seeing them in refreshing, new ways. Furthermore, the BNG has
had the walls the Watlington Room painted an unusual yellowish green colour. The mention of
that colour might not seem all that suitable, nevertheless, in actuality, it works in two
unexpected, albeit effective ways: it makes the room seem much warmer than previously. The
original light grey walls of this gallery made this space seem cold and unappealing.
Additionally, the new colour makes the space seem more intimate, even smaller.
The Watlington Room exhibition is called Decoding the European Collection. In decoding the
exhibit, the BNG has provided a booklet, with a very helpful essay by Bermudian art historian
Dr Christina Storey. There will be several available, just to the left as you enter the
gallery, and should you have the time to read the essay, you will gain much helpful,
background information on each painting.
In the Lower Mezzanine, there is a small show of paintings by French artist, Elisée Maclet
(1881-1962). He was largely self-taught and specialised in scenes of Paris and occasional
still-life, usually of flowers. As an autodidact, his paintings are often lacking in the
precise observations of trained artists, nevertheless they have great charm and appeal.
Additionally his paintings preserved a slice of Paris, especially the Montmartre of the early
20th century. As in the Watlington Room, the walls of the Lower Mezzanine have also been
painted, in this instance, in terra cotta. The earthy red works well with the Maclet
paintings. It should be noted that these Maclet paintings are from the John Young II and
Nelga Young Collection, which was donated to the Bermuda National Gallery in 2005.
Kirksville's newest business, Dave's Studio, provides an opportunity for veteran
painters to save money and inspiration for budding artists.
Owner Dave Carter, a lifelong artist, said he and his wife Sally set up shop in
downtown Kirksville two weeks ago as a way to make a living in the art business. They
also offer the city something it doesn't have –– a convenient way to buy art
supplies.
"This shop really came out of necessity," Carter said. "We've always thought
Kirksville needed something like this. There are no supplies, or not a very good
selection of supplies, in the area."
Carter said he started his business because artists in Kirksville, including Truman
students, had to settle for whatever Truman State University Bookstore had to offer.
It was an expensive way to purchase supplies, with a limited selection, Carter said.
What students couldn't find there, they had to order online or drive as far as
Columbia to find.
Junior painting major Megan Moore said she knows firsthand how difficult it is to find
supplies. This semester she spent up to $250 on painting supplies. Moore said Dave's
Studio could offer an alternative.
"Now that [the] store's there I probably will get a lot of my stuff there, especially
for painting because it's based towards painting and drawing," she said.
The prices at Dave's Studio are approximately the same as Truman State University
Bookstore and Dave's Studio has many items artists can't get in Kirksville like
easels, oil paints and certain paint colors.
Moore said the store also offered to order supplies she needed for class that she
couldn't find locally.
"I would recommend going and looking because I went in and found a lot of cool stuff,"
Moore said. "And actually his prices are pretty good. I actually wish that I hadn't
looked in the bookstore last week."
Judy Neuwig, director of the Kirksville Arts Association, said Truman students aren't
the only ones excited about an art supply store in Kirksville. She said the local art
community already is excited about the prospect of a new art shop.
"He's a business man, he's also the artist, so he knows what the needs are," she said.
"He knows what he can offer the community. He knows, maybe, what the community wants
and that will evolve over time."
Dave's Studio also offers art classes. The classes range from an introductory course
to learn basic art skills to more focused classes in painting or drawing. Carter said
he wants to make the classes fun for all age groups.
"I'm not a very hard task master," Carter said. "I work with children a lot –– we
have a lot in common. We love to eat, we have the same silly sense of humor. I like to
bring that to the adult classes, too."
Carter's shop also will sell some of his paintings and offer commercial work, like
signs and posters, which Carter said will be his largest source of revenue.
Llano Fine Arts Guild is pleased to have Jean Hensley as our artist for the March 7th,
2011 "hands on" program. Jean is a member of several art guilds and is currently
president of the Mid-West Texas Artist's Guild of Ballinger. She is also a member of
the Creative Arts Club in Abilene, and teaches a weekly painting class at the Do-Art
Studio in Ballinger, Texas. Jean has won many awards and is generous with her
knowledge, makes learning a fun and easy experience.
This program is a mix media "hands on" called Grayscale Painting. Dollface is a small
oil painting with an acrylic underpainting. Please bring your usual oil painting
supplies, otherwise we will share supplies. All supplies will be provided, but if you
could bring your favorite brushes (some old for using with the acrylic) and some paper
towels. After applying the "grayscale", several designs will be available for the
"doll painting". We will share grafite paper/very soft lead pencil to transfer these
designs. Jean will have several paintings in the process for us to view.
The demo starts at 10 am, Monday March 7th, 2011 at the Llano Fine Arts Gallery. LFAG
is located at 503 Bessemer , next to Chrissy's Bakery. At noon we will serve a potluck
lunch and following at 1pm will be our regular month membership meeting. Come to
learn, stay for the food and fellowship and fun. The public is invited. Your $5
donation covers the demo and the potluck lunch. We look forward to seeing all of you.
Blessings.