Art matters Jan - Feb 2017

Art Matters

Magazine of the Western Colorado Center for the Arts

Volume 2, Issue 1 Jan - Feb 2017

The mission of the Family Health West Foundation is to provide sustainable funding to ensure the organization’s ability to continuously provide comprehensive healthcare services to our community

How to Help

To make a contribution to the Family Health West Foundation or for more information, please contact Stacey Mascarenas, Foundation Director at 970.858.2170 or smascarenas@fhw.org.

Art Matters Contents

President’s Letter

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About The Art Center

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Exhibitions Shepherd and Francese: Persistence Form to Fusion: Artability Exhibits Faces and Voices: Homeless in America

Coming Soon Piano Salon Series Members Exhibition and Critique Night Contemporary 2017 Stories......A Panel Perspective

Education

6-7 8-9 10-11

12 13 14 15

Off-Site Workshops

16 17-19 20-21 22-23 24-27 28-30

News

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All the how-tos you’ll need to enroll in fantastic courses Adult Classes Ceramics Youth and Teen Programs Workshops

On The Cover: Stevan Maxwell, Tom

Art Matters Jan - Feb 2017 gjartcenter.org

WELCOME

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New Executive Director announced We are very excited to announce that Lee Borden has been hired as Executive Director of the Western Colorado Center for the Arts! Lee has been events and communications manager for eight years, and we are pleased that he has accepted this new position.

Robbie Breaux and Lee Borden Mikkel Kelly, our former executive director, came to us from Denver last July. His family was unable to relocate, so for the past year he has split his time between Grand Junction and the Front Range. He accomplished several great things during his tenure (Art Matters magazine launch, strategic plan development, procurement of new customer relations software, beginning of feasibility study for a new art center, to mention a few), but he needed to be with his family.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to offer the executive director position to Lee. He has proven over the past eight years that he loves The Art Center and has a passion for expanding the arts in our community.

Lee graduated from Grand Junction High School and attended Mesa State College. He went on to be a DJ and program director out of state.

He returned to Grand Junction in 2000 to work at The Cabaret Dinner Theatre where he was general manager for part of his time there. He loves acting, but he also understands how much art, both visual and performing, is a part of all of our lives. Art is not just for the elite, but for everyone.

Lee has some great ideas about how to move The Art Center and Grand Junction into a future where art is seen as an integral part of the community. He will be looking for ways to bring art to more places in Grand Junction, and to bring more art to The Art Center. One of the big items on his “list” is what to do about our current facility. This building has provided art to the community in the form of theater, art classes and workshops, exhibits, and lectures for over 40 years. We are currently providing as much art as we can in the space we have. If we want to grow our programs, we will have to expand our facility space.

It’s an exciting time at The Art Center, and we’re thrilled to have Lee leading the charge! Please join me in congratulating Lee on his promotion.

Robbie Breaux President, Board of Trustees

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Board of Trustees

Robbie Breaux (President) Denny Herzog (Vice President) Rob Jenkins Dan Ryan Dean Harris (Secretary) Kelley Burford Jeremy R Franklin Kirk Granum Chris Briardy (Treasurer) Cathy Zippert (Art Center Guild Representative) Kay Ambrose (Art Center Foundation President)

Art Center Staff Lee Borden

Executive Director

Avery Glassman

Programs & Exhibitions Curator

Rachel Egelston

Children's & Special Needs Programming Coordinator

Terry Shepherd

Artist-in-Residence, Director of Ceramics

Nicole Byrnes

Membership & Gift Gallery Coordinator

Maxine Buchholtz Gift Shop

Charity Finnigsmier Gift Shop

Art Center Hours

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Admission $3 (free to members and children under 12) There is no charge to visit the gift gallery Tuesdays are free to everyone thanks to a generous sponsorship by Home Loan & Nationwide Insurance

Operational funding provided in part by

ABOUT US

Our Mission: The Art Center is a community arts organization dedicated to improving quality of life by promoting the enjoyment and understanding of the visual arts and related arts through studio art instruction, educational programs for children and adults, exhibitions, and the acquisition, care and display of a permanent art collection.

EXHIBITIONS

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Persistence

Caressed by Fire, Kissed by Vapor Dec. 2, 2016 – Jan. 21, 2017 Sponsored by Chuck and Patti Shear First Friday reception Dec. 2, 6:30-9pm Each year artist-in-residence Terry Shepherd exhibits new work alongside an artist of his choosing. Watercolorist Frank Francese is the guest artist for 2016.

From 1972 to 1983 Shepherd developed and produced work in El Jebel, Colorado, out of his first studio. He has directed The Art Center’s ceramics studio since 1984. His work is in many private collections nationwide and in a few public collections including the Soldner Center for Art and Innovation (Aspen) and Colorado Mesa University. He is represented by Penryn Gallery (Penryn, California), The Blue Pig Gallery (Palisade), and Ago Gallery (Ouray).

For Shepherd’s part the exhibition includes mainly vessel forms, both functional and sculptural. His interpretation of firing processes is extensive, incorporating stoneware, porcelain, raku, saggar firing and salt-vapored work. Shepherd draws inspiration especially from the Asian and British ceramic traditions, as well as Native American pottery and ceramic practice out of North Carolina.

He partners with the firing process as a primary player in much of his work, deliberately placing pieces in the direct flame path of the kiln to be caressed cont’d next page

7 EXHIBITIONS by fire. The vapors from sodium and metal oxides result in sublime and dramatic embellishments that only the kiln can produce.

The contrasting colors of Shepherd’s over-glazes, combined with his gestural brush strokes, form a counterweight to the energy of his throwing. “I like the work to communicate a personal and visual language of the maker while celebrating the strength of form and lively spirit of clay and its ability to dress up, titillate our senses and embellish life as enhanced by the hand!”

Frank Francese studied art at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, and has worked as a professional artist since 1976. For this exhibition he takes a retrospective approach. Visitors can expect to see nude charcoal drawings from the 1990s and 2000s, watercolors of the Grand Mesa, and even a silverpoint drawing completed in 1978. Silverpoint is an Old Master’s technique using a solid silver wire to sketch the composition. Over time the silver oxidizes and turns a brown color.

International exploration has been a continual source of inspiration for Francese.

In 2010 he served as the American Delegate to the 2nd annual South American Watercolor Symposium in Paraty, Brazil. In 2015 he toured the Guatemalan Highlands with artists from Guatemala, teaching art lessons to children. “I hope everyone will attend the opening and view the work,” Francese says, “as it represents a diary of my travels around the globe teaching watercolor workshops. I am relocating, so this will be my farewell to Grand Junction.” There will also be a sale room with matted and wrapped work from Francese’s travels.

Says Shepherd, “I have known Frank for over 25 years and have followed his career as a budding and now acclaimed painter and workshop teacher. I especially like his expressionistic use of watercolor in a variety of subject matter. Whether it be still life, the figure, street scenes, or landscape views of his extensive travels.

Frank is able to imbue his paintings with a dynamic energy of color and stylized interpretation that excites the senses. I’m honored to show with him.”

EXHIBITIONS

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Form to Fusion: Artability Exhibits Dec. 2, 2016 – Jan. 21, 2017 Sponsored by the Art Center Guild First Friday reception Dec. 2, 6:30-9pm

Staff member Rachel Egelston has run The Art Center’s Artability outreach program since 2009. Initially comprised of one class every other month, the program now consists of four classes each week and serves over 200 students with mental and physical challenges. Egelston leads the classes with a dazzling variety of art projects—from clay handbuilding to acrylic painting to collage.

For the first time ever, The Art Center has devoted an entire exhibition to the work of Artability students. Several group installations and a series of black-andwhite prints fill The Art Center’s Gould gallery. Work was created during class time through activities devised by Egelston and loosely inspired by the work of installation artist Tara Donovan. Donovan works with everyday objects—plastic cups, business cards—to create large-scale, environmental installations with a topography all their own.

The art projects Egelston introduces in her Artability classes may be hands-on, but her teaching approach is decidedly hands-off. She strives to create pathways for students to assert their personal agency. Whether choosing to use charcoal or paint, brushes or fingers, the emphasis is on each student’s individual volition.

Egelston describes Artability as a “safe, nonjudgmental environment” that is less controlled than some of the other options available to those in the Grand Valley with special needs. To the question, “What’s the biggest problem with how we view disability in the U.S.?” Egelston responds, “That we think it’s a disability.

That they can’t ‘do’ and that we need to do it for them.”

Besides being an opportunity for Artability students to showcase their work, the exhibition also seeks to educate the general public on accessibility in the art world. Viewers, curators, and artists alike often take for granted the ease with which able-bodied and able-minded people circulate and take in an exhibition; rarely do galleries have systems in place that cater to art lovers who don’t fit into these categories. The work in this exhibition is installed in ways that aim to do just that; for example, two-dimensional work hung at sitting height. “I’m not knocking any gallery,” says Egelston, “but I see [my wheelchair-bound students] push themselves up to see.” By redefining display standards, or by eliminating them, The Art Center hopes to learn ways to better meet the needs of all its visitors.

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EXHIBITIONS

EXHIBITIONS 10

Nov. 30, 2016 – Jan. 21, 2017 First Friday reception Dec. 2, 6:30-9pm Artist lecture Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11:30am Panel discussion Friday, Jan. 6 at 7pm Nearly half a million people are homeless in America on any given evening*. The reasons behind homelessness are as varied and unique as the people themselves.

Some were born into homelessness, some have made poor choices, some have had bad luck, some have been taken advantage of, and most have suffered from the erosion of America’s safety net that began in the 1980s. The work of photographer Stevan Maxwell brings this social epidemic into sharp focus, and into the context of Mesa County.

Maxwell began interviewing and photographing homeless individuals in Mesa County in the 1990s, and The Art Center first exhibited Faces and Voices in 2011.

The project found a new home in early 2015 with Grand Valley Peace & Justice, a social justice organization whose mission includes advocating for the vulnerable and marginalized in our community. In an effort to honor the human dignity of those individuals and families, Grand Valley Peace & Justice has worked to galvanize and grow the exhibition’s impact in Grand Junction and beyond.

This iteration includes more recent portraits and photographic sculptures. The plain white background and empty frame of the photographs implicate the viewer as much as the subject: there is no special effect or visual metaphor to hide behind as you take in the work. Several portraits are accompanied by interviews of the subject.

It can be a challenging life story to relive, with equal parts grief and resilience made public. Check in with yourself after looking and listening. What does homelessness mean to you now?

Supplementing the exhibition is information explaining the myths and facts of homelessness in the U.S., both nationally and locally. The Art Center is also hosting a goods drive for the duration of the show. Please help to alleviate the struggle of those experiencing homelessness by bringing something from the wish lists of the Joseph Center and HomewardBound, available on our website. It will go a long way toward making their days and nights more bearable.

Funded in part by The Quimby Family Fund, Western Colorado Community Foundation, and

*U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

EXHIBITIONS

Faces and Voices: Homeless in America

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COMING SOON

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Coming Soon 2017 Piano Salon Series This winter and spring, come enjoy a different genre of turn-of-thecentury American music every month. The intimate atmosphere of salon piano came into being as early as the 18th century, before economic entities demanded that music venues grow to the volume and scale of today’s arenas. Pianist Frank French will provide historical background and perform at close range, along with projected images of time, place, and conditions.

Piano music in the U.S. evolved through Danzas, Habaneras, Ragtime, and early Jazz. These styles remain available through printed musical scores that yield a road map to performance practices. The rich musical traditions of Europe and Africa mingled in places like the southern United States, Brazil, and Cuba to form the basis for a hybrid tradition.

Frank French has enjoyed a long career in music, first as a student and later as a performer, composer, festival promoter, piano technician, instrument builder, and teacher. He has produced numerous recordings and performed throughout the world. French formerly served as the director of the Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival and lives in Grand Junction.

Saturdays at 2pm Jan. 28: The Ragtime Legacy of Scott Joplin Feb. 11: Black Composers in America March 11: Romantic Traditions April 8: The Latin Tinge Single tickets: $15; Series tickets (all four performances): $40 Tickets can be purchased over the phone (970-243-7337 x. 2) or inperson, in advance or at the door

13 COMING SOON

2017 Members Exhibition Don’t forget to be a part of our annual Members Exhibition! The prospectus is available at The Art Center and on our website. The entry fee is $5 per artwork.

Artwork Drop-off: Jan. 27 & 28, 10am – 1pm Artwork Pick-up: Feb. 26, 10am – 4pm Sponsored by Chuck & Kendra McDaniel and Ron Beckman

Critique Night Friday, April 7, 2017 7-9pm

An opportunity for local artists to gain constructive critique from two Colorado arts professionals. Grab a drink, take a seat, and enjoy the conversation! Artwork selection is limited in an effort to allow adequate discussion time for each piece. Interested artists should email .jpeg files of artwork to submissions@gjartcenter.org with “critique night” in the subject line for consideration. More information coming soon.

COMING SOON

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Contemporary 2017: Retellings Gabriela Martinez, Juror

May 13 – June 24 Deadline for submissions Feb. 1, 2017 This national, juried biennial features artists from all over the country, including local artists, May through June of every odd year. The prospectus is available at The Art Center and on our website. There are no restrictions on media in 2017. Instead the theme, “Retellings,” focuses on artists who utilize traditional materials, processes, and/or narratives in new and innovative ways. It looks for work that engages histories, memories, or media which may at one point have been dismissed or ignored. Now more than ever artists have the opportunity and the obligation to reshape the stories and practices we have all come to ‘know’. The juror in 2015 was Gregory Botts.

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January First Friday Stories……A Panel Perspective Friday, January 6, 2017 at 7pm Free and open to the public

Faces and Voices: Homeless in America is a multimedia exhibition designed to educate the public and catalyze empathy for the day-to-day experience of the homeless.

While we can go online to see the data on homelessness and poverty in America, rarely do we choose to speak to a homeless person to get to know them. Instead, we may construct a story in our minds as we drive by or cross the street to avoid contact. Given this approach, how then can we understand that a homeless person is a sister or brother, mother or father, a human being like anyone else, deserving of dignity and respect? The exhibition addresses this question through the work of photographer Stevan Maxwell. It offers viewers a personalized representation of the lives of those homeless in America, and in particular here in the Grand Valley, while creating a safe opportunity for the subjects of the work to tell their stories without being judged or dismissed.

At this event you will have the opportunity to hear a variety of people share stories live rather than via audio interview. The panel will be facilitated by Sherry Cole, program coordinator for Grand Valley Peace & Justice. Each guest speaker comes with a unique perspective on homelessness, shaped by direct or indirect experience. One will read a story he wrote about an incident in his life that “changed everything.” Local author Charlie Quimby will share from his novel Inhabited. A longtime volunteer at Catholic Outreach’s Day Center, Charlie can speak to his interactions with homeless individuals over a period of time. Come explore the lived realities of these panel members and discover similarities, differences, and your own point of view. Please bring an item from the wish lists provided by HomewardBound of the Grand Valley and the Joseph Center to bolster the lives of those in need in our community this winter.

EDUCATION

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The Nitty Gritty Winter registration opens Tuesday, Dec. 6. Classes start as early as Jan. 9! Students must register three days before the start of a class to secure a spot.

Registration and payment: Registration can be completed online at gjartcenter.org, over the phone, or inperson at The Art Center. For phone registration, call 970-243-7337, x. 2.

To register in person, stop by during gallery hours, Tuesday-Saturday 9am to 4pm.

Payment can be made by American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, check, or cash. Class space will not be reserved without full payment.

Please be aware that classes require a minimum number of students and are subject to cancellation. The best way to ensure that the class you are interested in does not get canceled is to register early, and don’t forget to urge a friend to sign up!

Cancellation Policy: To cancel a class or workshop registration, notify The Art Center at least 14 days before the start of the class or workshop. If given the required 14-day notice, The Art Center will issue class credit in full or will refund your payment less the registration fee ($15 for adults and $5 for children). No refunds or class credit will be issued for cancellations made

within 14 days of the start of the class or workshop. If you register for a class or workshop within the 14-day period, you will receive no refund or class credit for cancellation.

Sorry, no refunds or class credits for no-shows. This registration policy helps instructors plan and prepare for upcoming classes, ensuring you receive ample notice if a class has insufficient registration.

Art Supplies: Supply lists for each class are available on our website. Unless otherwise specified, the student is responsible for purchasing art supplies.

Some supplies are available at The Art Center Gift Gallery.

Tuition for ceramics classes includes a $30 fee covering one bag of clay, firing and glazing. Ceramics students will need a pottery tool kit, not covered by tuition and available from The Art Center Gift Gallery for $19 plus tax.

Need-based scholarships are available.

Visit our website’s scholarships page for more information!

We love early registration!

Gayle Gerson

Mondays 1-4pm, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27 $140 member / $180 non-member Supply list available This class will explore experimental techniques for making mixed media art, such as collage, painting, and transfer. Students of all skill levels will be able to devote plenty of time to 4 or 5 projects in order to create a work of art that releases the sparkle of the artist’s personality. Mini-workshops and art journaling and drawing sessions will also be part of this dynamic class.

Instructor email: gaylestarr48@gmail.com

Introduction to Tai Chi Mark Posey

Mondays 1-2pm, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27 $110 member / $150 non-member Wear clothing that is comfortable to move in.

This class is intended for all levels of fitness and body awareness. Tai Chi is a system of movement designed to reduce your stress level, boost your immune system, and promote optimal functioning of your body and mind. Learn valuable methods for aiding in relaxation so that you can enjoy the season, and your life, more. The movements of Tai Chi improve your balance, joint function, and range of motion. They make it easier to move, help prevent and heal injuries, and generally help you to stay active longer and with more comfort and energy. Instructor Mark Posey has been teaching Tai Chi for over twenty years.

Instructor email: info@coloradotaichi.com

All Levels Oil and Acrylic Painting Susan Claffey

Tuesdays 6:30-9:30pm, Jan. 10 – Feb. 28 $150 member / $190 non-member Supply list available This painting class is open to all levels of experience, from basic to advanced.

Students may work in oil, acrylic, or both. Emphasis for all levels will be on the formal elements of composition, particularly shape, value, and color. We will be working in three directions: photographs, still life, and figurative with a live model. Students will follow master artists from Impressionism up to the early 1920s, and advanced students may try implementing the style of a master in one of their own compositions. Susan, who received her MFA from the University of Denver, taught at Colorado Mesa University for over 20 years. cont’d next page

ADULT CLASSES

Adventures in Mixed Media

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ADULT CLASSES

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For the first class students should bring a canvas, an image of a painting by a well-known artist from between 1865 and 1925, and painting supplies. Canvases should be pre-stretched and gessoed, with sizes no larger than 30” x 40” and no smaller than 24” x 30”.

Instructor email: claffey_susan@hotmail.com

Linoleum Cut Printmaking Lauren Stern

Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm, Jan. 11 –March 1 $150 member / $190 non-member Most materials provided; supply list available This class will explore the basics of relief carving on linoleum. Students of all skill levels will be able to explore and create a composition using basic structure of line and shape using tools to carve away linoleum to create an image. This course will involve the steps of printmaking from creating a design to printing the created image in a cooperative environment.

Instructor email: lsternart@gmail.com

(guided by a facilitator)

All levels and all media welcome. The open studio is a relaxed and light-hearted space where artists work with live models to hone their skills and understanding of elements such as line, form, shape, value, and proportion, as well as gain insight into the principles of the medium they choose to work in that week.

Nude Figure (ages 18 and up) Mondays 6-9pm, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27 $80 member / $120 non-member

Portraiture (clothed model)

Wednesdays 9am – 12pm, Jan. 11 – March 8, skipping March 1 $80 member / $120 non-member

New: Dynamic Figure Drawing (ages 18 and up) Thursdays 6-8:30pm, Jan. 12 – March 9, skipping March 2 $40 member / $60 non-member

Artists develop foundation skills for figure drawing (gesture, line quality, directional strokes and an eye for proportion) by practicing short poses. This open studio offers artists of all genres an opportunity to capture dynamic poses by live models.

The poses will progress from one minute in length to a final 20-minute pose. All sessions are guided by a facilitator; artists new to figure drawing are welcome to come early for an orientation.

ADULT CLASSES

Live Model Open Studios

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CERAMICS

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Fundamentals in Clay

Designed for beginners and intermediates alike, this class will cover the fundamentals of wheel-throwing, hand-building, glaze and slip decoration, clay body, slip formulation, and raw materials. Independence is a primary component of this class, with students encouraged to develop their own projects and take initiative toward their creative learning during open studio hours.

Robbie Breaux

Mondays 6:30-9:30pm, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27 $195 member / $235 non-member Tuesdays 1-4pm, Jan. 10 – Feb. 28 $195 member / $235 non-member

Gary Andrews

Tuesdays 6:30-9:30pm, Jan. 10 – Feb. 28 $195 member / $235 non-member

Terry Shepherd

Thursdays 1-4pm, Jan. 12 – March 2 $195 member / $235 non-member

Dan Patten

Thursdays 6:30-9:30pm, Jan. 12 – March 2 $195 member / $235 non-member

Intermediate/Advanced Ceramics Terry Shepherd

Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. or 6:30-9:30 p.m., Jan. 11 – March 1 $195 member / $235 non-member This class is a continuation of Fundamentals in Clay. Students will acquire skills, techniques, and study of form and function that include throwing, handbuilding, and altered throwing techniques. Further study of cone 10 stoneware, porcelain clay, multiple glazes and alternative firing processes will be introduced.

All Levels Handbuilding Nina Williams

Mondays 1-4pm, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27 $195 member / $235 non-member Not all beautiful ceramic work is thrown on a wheel! We will join slabs of clay into beautiful works of art using a variety of techniques and surface patterns.

We will focus primarily on decorative and ornamental work this session. In addition to slab-built work, there will also be coiling and extrusion projects throughout the class.

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CERAMICS

YOUTH & TEEN

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Teen Wheel-Throwing Ashtonn Means Wednesdays 4-6pm, Jan. 11 –March 1 $140 member / $180 non-member Ages 14-18

Whether you’ve never touched clay before or have experience throwing, this is the class for all teens 14–18! Students will learn the skills behind wheel-throwing, glaze application and a basic understanding of Cone 10 materials and firing, as well as design principles for functional pottery, fundamentals of form and aesthetic design techniques. Every class will have demonstrations, hands-on projects, and one-onone guidance on the wheel-throwing process.

Included in every ceramics tuition is one, 25-pound bag of clay.

Ages 5-13, all materials provided Rachel Egelston Fridays 4:30-6pm $55 member / $70 non-member per session (need-based scholarships available) This class focuses on a process-oriented art experience, nurturing the developmental and artistic growth of students through creative expression and learning. We encourage experimentation and discovery in a supportive, fun environment. This class is a place filled with possibilities where children can collaborate, explore, and grow. This class introduces a wide range of art materials to students.

Session 1: Jan. 6 – Jan. 27: Working with clay, batik bandanas and how to use markers.

Session 2: Feb. 3 – Feb.24: Papier-mache sculpture, drawing and sailor valentines (made with seashells).

Home School: Art Explorers

Ages 5-13, all materials provided Rachel Egelston Thursdays 1-2:30pm Jan. 5 – Feb. 23 $105 member / $155 non-member (need-based scholarships available) Join us for an exciting class where your child will create wonderful pieces of art. Each lesson focuses on a different medium allowing students to learn new, creative techniques, explore art history and fine art terminology. Mediums that will be used in this class include pencil, watercolor, mixed-media, acrylic, charcoal, clay and found objects. Students will also learn about the many ways to use their creativity and artistic abilities in the future.

Family Art Classes Ages 5-13, all materials provided $5.00 member / $10 non-member per session (per attendance) Family art classes are perfect for children, parents, and grandparents or others to learn about and make art together. Intergenerational classes provide an opportunity for students who are age 5 and up to learn about art and explore the galleries of The Art Center with their partner.

Saturday, Jan. 6, 10-11:30am: How to build a painting Saturday, Feb. 11, 1-2:30pm: Celebrate Valentine’s Day with crafts All youth classes address the Colorado Model Content Standard for visual arts. The write-ups for these content standards used in class will be provided upon request. Students and parents are assured of a unique classroom and experience, whether it be in fall, holiday, winter, spring or summer sessions. Classes are designed for students to be able to work at their own ability and development level.

YOUTH & TEEN

Afterschool Program: Art Sampler

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WORKSHOPS

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Courage in Creativity Paula Jo Miller

Saturday – Sunday, Jan. 28-29, 1-4pm $90 member / $130 non-member All Materials provided; $12 paid to instructor on first day Painting abstract art is about play. And instinct. And the courage to let go. It’s about trusting the undefined, trying unfamiliar things, and the thrill of the journey.

It’s about believing that whatever you paint is meant to be, exploring the unknown without a roadmap. There are no mistakes. Best of all, painting abstract art is about playing with fabulous colors, quirky brushes, and gooey textures! Sound fun? Then join us for a “Courage in Creativity” workshop!

Paula Jo Miller lives in Pagosa Springs, CO and teaches at the Gainstorming Innovation Center there. She began painting in 2003 and never stopped.

Saturday, June 3 Kids: 10am-12pm, $20 member / $25 non-member Adults: 1-5pm, $65 member / $85 non-member Join printmaker and Contemporary 2017 juror, Gabriela Martinez, to draw, cut, and print your own Lotería playing cards! A popular game of chance in Mexico, Lotería uses cards rich in design that often depict religious symbols or flora and fauna specific to a region. Prints designed in this workshop will incorporate aspects of local culture. Who are the saints of the Western Slope? What are our native bird species? What do Grand Junctioners do in their spare time?

Hometown quirks makeup the iconography of this Lotería.

Gabriela is the Curator of Education at the Latin American Museum of Art in Los Angeles, where she oversees the curatorial programming of the Port to Learning, an interactive educational space that provides work experience to emerging artists and museum professionals. Her work has been exhibited at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in China, the Modern Art Museum at Hong-Ik University in South Korea, La Passarelle Institute in Normandy, France, and at galleries and educational institutions throughout the United States.

WORKSHOPS

Linocut Lotería

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WORKSHOPS

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Up Your Game Terry Shepherd

Sunday, Feb. 19, 1-4pm $30 member / $45 non-member This is a hands-on workshop devoted to glaze application and the different approaches ceramicists use when glazing both two- and three-dimensional pieces. The three-hour format will provide an overview to such techniques as under/overglazing, brushwork, and spraying. Students should bring two bisquefired pieces. Glaze firing included in tuition.

Ink Painting Techniques Gary Clapp

Saturday – Sunday, Feb. 25-26, 10am-4pm $70 member / $110 non-member Supply list available This workshop will delve into the tools, materials and techniques of Japanese and Chinese brush and ink painting, including the use of ink painting techniques in sketches, detailed renderings, and abstraction. Students will learn how to adapt these techniques to personally selected subject matter and media such as watercolor.

Gary Clapp moved to the Grand Valley from New Hampshire. He has worked in watercolor for 20+ years and in the Eastern tradition for 15 years. Gary has taught sumi-e (Japanese brush painting) and Chinese painting classes and workshops, has taught how to adapt Japanese and Chinese painting techniques to subject matter such as western landscapes. He has demonstrated these painting methods on community television. Gary is represented by the Blue Pig in Palisade.

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WORKSHOPS

BLUE PIG

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Off-site Workshops The Art Center is excited to co-offer winter workshops with the Blue Pig Gallery in beautiful Palisade. Workshops will be held upstairs at the Blue Pig in over 2,000 square feet of open space, incredibly lit by eight large windows and seven artist workshop sinks to live for. Start your workshop day with a pastry from Slice of Life bakery and join us for lunch in one of our local cafés.

Beginning January 11th, 2017, every Wednesday is a WCCA/Blue Pig workshop day as well as selected Saturdays. Please visit our website for complete descriptions.

Registration is through the Blue Pig: 970-464-4819 (open Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-5pm)

Batik for Beginners Susan Metzger

Session 1: Saturday, Jan. 14, 9:30am-4:30pm Session 2: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 9:30am-4:30pm $90/session. All materials provided; $15 paid to instructor on day of Learn to use batik, an ancient technique of waxing and dyeing on fabric.

Students will be guided through the process of blocking out images and using primary colors to create an extensive palette of hues, tints and shades. Students will leave the workshop with two finished batiks.

Batik Plus

Susan Metzger

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 9:30am-4:30pm $90. All materials provided; $20 paid to instructor on day of Continue exploring the resist technique of Batik. Using your own designs and images to create your compositions, this is a guided open studio experience for students with prior batik knowledge. Instructor Susan Metzger will help students resolve technical problems and expand their color palette with the introduction of discharge, specialized tools, and resists.

Intro to Cyanotype Gary Hauschulz

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 10am-3pm $60. Materials sponsored by Atlasta Solar Center The art of the cyanotype was first invented by Sir John Herschel, who coined the term “photography”. Today it is used in a variety of media and substrates, from paper to cloth. Students will learn to use safe chemicals that are exposed to light to create a variety of images on rice and watercolor paper. Students will leave with at least two ready-to-frame images.

Gary Hauschulz

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 10am-3pm $65. Materials sponsored by Atlasta Solar Center Bring in two of your own photos and learn to turn your digital images into cyanotypes under the expert guidance of artist and sculptor Gary Hauschulz.

Final cyanotype images are on rice paper, watercolor paper, and fabric, which all lend themselves to hand-coloring with pastels, watercolor, markers, acrylics, etc.

BLUE PIG

More Cyanotype Plus Digital

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BLUE PIG

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Three Little Pigs – Expose yourself to three media in one workshop.

Instructors vary

10am-1pm Jan. 11, Feb. 1, 4, 15, 25 $48/session. Materials sponsored by Atlasta Solar Center Like the nursery rhyme, only you’re the art wolf going to three different stations, each station a different media taught by a different instructor. No worries; there will be some huffing and puffing and spills, but the three little pig instructors and you the wolf will live. Only art materials are consumed and they will be provided by each little pig. Every workshop will feature three professional instructors using three different media including but not limited to: alcohol inks, batik, cyanotype, fabric dyeing, felting, painting with coffee and espresso, painting with wine (not drinking!), Ukranian Eggs. You will leave this workshop with three completed art projects that you can frame or give as gifts.

Spontaneous Color, Spontaneous Rhythm: Where Alcohol Inks and Poetry Meet Wendy Videlock

Saturday, Feb. 11, 1-5pm $65. Materials provided; $15 paid to instructor on day of Come learn the art of alcohol inks and intuitive, right-brain haiku and tanka. In this class, you will learn to surrender to the right brain and allow the materials and our own intuition guide our paintings and poems. Great for beginners or intermediate-level students, and artists or writers wishing to loosen up their work. Bring a notebook, a pen, and an open mind.

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Auction prospectus is out now! The event is the largest annual fundraiser for Art Center. Artists can pick up an auction entry form at The Art Center or go onto our website at gjartcenter.org. Deadline for auction entries is Feb. 24. Artist notification is March 14. Artists and collectors interested in donating their artwork at 100 percent please call Lee Borden 970-243-7337, x. 5.

First Fridays at The Art Center are free to the public thanks to

Art Matters Jan - Feb 2017 gjartcenter.org

NEWS

USBANK Fine Art Auction Gearing Up

1803 Nor th 7th Street Grand Junction, CO 81501 tel 970 - 243 - 7337 fax 970 - 243 - 2482 w w w. g j a r t c e n t e r . o r g

Volume 2, Issue 1 Jan - Feb 2017 NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PA I D GRAND JCT, CO PERMIT 162