MARC offers winter art classes

When organized events dry up for the season, local residents can still find plenty of things to do at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center.

Starting next month, the MARC will be offering Winter Art Classes for those who would like to try their hand at drawing, silk painting and pottery- or jewelry-making. Costs for each course vary from $45 to $150; partial scholarships are available through WabiSabi.

Moab artist Victoria Fugit is kicking off this year’s classes on Monday, Jan. 11, with a five-week class every Monday through Feb. 8 that focuses on drawing skills, values and composition. Once that class ends, Fugit will begin to teach a watercolor class on Tuesdays from Feb. 9 through March 1; some drawing skills are required.

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Katrina Lund aims to ignite the human imagination with “The Genius of Creativity” – a class that was more than one year in the making. Lund hoped to teach the same class last year, but she found herself so busy preparing for her stint as the National Park Service’s local 2015 Community Artist in the Parks that she had to put it on the back burner.

A longtime artist, Lund found new inspiration in the book “Creative Block” by Danielle Krisa, as well as a TED Talk by author Elizabeth Gilbert that radically altered her thoughts about creativity. Gilbert took a page from ancient Greek and ancient Roman beliefs that creativity is an external force, predating the Renaissance-era notion that creativity is something that is hidden inside a person.

Lund’s class, which will be held each Wednesday from Jan. 13 through Feb. 10, is not so much about creating artwork as it is about the process of fostering a creative environment.

“Anything that ends up on paper is totally secondary,” she said.

Students who sign up for the class should not grow too attached to anything they create while it’s in session: At Lund’s instruction, they just might find themselves cutting and pasting their drawings into new shapes and forms.

“Don’t plan to go home with this beautiful thing that you’re so proud of,” she said.

In keeping with her vision of a collaborative process, Lund may ask one person to work on a line drawing, and then have someone else color it in.

“I think that there’s so much to be gained by other people who are on the same wavelength as you,” she said.

In other highlights at the MARC this winter, Christina Minasian will be leading two metal-stamping workshops once a month, teaching students how to make their own personalized pendants and cuff bracelets.

Switching gears, Minasian will also lead three four-hour “intuitive painting” workshops that begin with an hour of all-levels yoga. It’s a spontaneous, playful and liberating approach to art, she said, creating a nurturing and supportive environment where there are no such things as mistakes.

Skills are definitely not a prerequisite at a two-day silk painting workshop that Color Creek Fiber Art owner Mary Hertert of Grand Junction, Colorado, will be teaching in late January.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to draw,” Hertert said. “I don’t either, but I’ll show you ways to get the design onto the fabric so you can have what you want.”

On the second day of the workshop, participants will learn how to make shibori – a Japanese style of clothing design that uses clamps, forms, wraps and stitches to create shapes and patterns.

“Imagine a much more elaborate version of tie-dye,” Hertert said.

If you’re curious about clay, potter Barb Gregoire of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will teach you the basics about handmade ceramics during a two-week workshop in mid- to late-February. The workshops are open to both beginners and experts, and Gregoire said they will be tailored to each student’s needs.

Among other things, Gregoire will show students how to make foam-pressed trays, “coiled-within” bowls and vases, wind chimes, jewelry and rattles. At the end of the two weeks, participants can learn about the Raku firing process – an American spin on a Japanese process that creates random and unique effects.

Later on this winter, Shirley O’Kelly will lead a by-donation coloring class on Monday, Feb. 29, and Wednesday, March 2.

“Just show up, let your fingers play and your mind relax,” she said.

O’Kelly will return on Saturday, March 5 to teach up to six students how to make their own heritage jewelry during a three-hour workshop. Students will be using time-honored techniques to create necklaces with fine silk thread and their choice of beads, according to a course description.

Although winter officially ends before March 25, Lund will be back that day to teach “The Creative Tornado,” a three-day spring workshop that focuses on sketching and journal writing. The class will begin indoors, and then move outside for two days of drawing, painting and writing.

“It will be somewhere pretty and close to town, so people don’t have to drive a long way,” she said.

Courses run the gamut from drawing to pottery- and jewelry-making

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to draw … I don’t either, but I’ll show you ways to get the design onto the fabric so you can have what you want.

What: Winter Art Classes at the MARC

When: Monday, Jan. 11, through Sunday, March 27

Where: Moab Arts and Recreation Center, 111 E. 100 North

Cost: Varies from donation-only to $150 workshops; partial scholarships are available

Info: 435-259-6272

Author: Rudy Herndon

View all posts