Moabites can learn something new this winter, or perfect their skills, at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center’s winter class series run by local artists.
“We’re excited to grow the art community in Moab by offering classes and workshops in our space,” said Melisa Morgan, assistant director of the MARC. “We hope to give folks a fun, safe, and creative opportunity to connect with each other and learn new things.”
There’s something for everyone: class topics include landscape painting, recycled paper making, indigo vat dyeing, resin art and jewelry, linocut and woodcut printmaking, embroidery, bookbinding, oil painting, tea blending, basket weaving, cyanotype photograph prints and painting with alcohol ink. Classes will run from late January to early March.
The MARC put out the call for instructors a few months ago. Many of the instructors are artists and makers the center has worked with previously through events like the Market on Center or in exhibition spaces, Morgan said.
“We were able to accommodate nearly everyone who reached out and expressed interest in teaching a class with us this winter, though we did have to narrow down our class offerings,” they said. “We chose classes based on informal feedback we received from the community about their interests, as well as by paying attention to larger trends in the art and craft community.”
Local artist Riley Lubich is teaching two landscape painting classes, which will cover painting principles, composition and specific landscape techniques. Lubich has been painting ever since she was a child growing up in Colorado and is a self-taught landscape painter.
“I like that in landscape painting, you can paint something from a picture or from real life but it doesn’t have to look exactly like the thing,” she said. This will be the first painting class Lubich has taught, though she has teaching experience—she currently works as a preschool teacher.
“I’ve been trying to expand my horizons with my art career, and I thought this would be fun,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to do more to give back to the community too, and I thought this would be a cool opportunity to do that.”
Lubich said her offerings of both the four-week workshop and the hour and a half class on March 7 will teach a balance of introduction to basics and developing skills.
“My main objective with the class is just practice, giving people the opportunity to practice with somebody there who can help them,” she said.
Summer Ester Orr, a multimedia artist who lives in Green River, will teach a paper-making class on Jan. 29. Papermaking is “very approachable,” she said—anyone can do it, regardless of their background in art. Plus, the materials to make paper are readily available.
“I’m really interested in the MARC as a space to share resources and information,” she said, “and the ability to collaborate with a different community to see how these skills could be shared within the Moab area.”
Orr has been teaching art workshops for five years, she said. She first started teaching at a ceramic studio in Reno, Nevada.
“For me personally, I like teaching because you can develop a relationship with the people in your community really easily,” she said. “I think it’s a good way to meet people and also just talk to other people about what they enjoy doing with the arts. It’s really interesting to be in a room with other people who are creative, and you can get to know their story.”
Students always have a different way of approaching new mediums too, she said, so she sees classes as an opportunity for her to learn something too.
Scholarships for the classes will be available. The classes range in cost, from $15 to $120, to cover the cost of materials and to pay instructors. The MARC will offer scholarships that can cover 20, 50, or 80 percent of the class cost based on financial need, Morgan said.
“It’s really important to us to keep our classes as affordable as possible, and we encourage anyone hesitant to sign up for a class due to a financial strain to reach out to us for assistance,” they said. To request a scholarship, email marcadmin@moabcity.org.
Classes are limited to 10 people and face masks are required. The full schedule of classes and registration information can be found on the MARC’s website at www.moabarts.org.
