Art is in the Air

With the number of classes offered, the amount of supplies available and the flourish of activity filling the space, the art studio at Masonic Village at Sewickley feels like a renowned art school. The artwork adorning the walls rivals that of a museum.

Residents can take advantage of open studio time and hone their skills through more than a dozen courses offered quarterly. The fall class schedule includes acrylics, basic drawing, ceramics, pastel passion, paper making, beginner watercolor, sand painting, colored pencils and finger painting. Instructors are Masonic Village residents and teachers from the nearby Sweetwater Center for the Arts.

“I don’t think you can get enough of art, and you should never just go with one medium,” resident and instructor Susan Bikowski said. “Try them all. Eventually, you’ll find your niche. It might be watercolors or acrylics or pastels or whatever. You’ll find one that you really enjoy.”

After a career in computer tech and healthcare management, Susan turned her focus to art. She has spent the last 10 years developing her skills, and for two years, mentored one-on-one with Christine Swann, one of only 25 artists in the world designated as an Eminent Pastellist by the International Association of Pastel Societies.

“It was learning pastels by fire. It’s the hardest thing to do,” she said. “I’m always surprised at what comes out. Every painting goes through a stage where you’re not sure whether to throw it in the trash can or try and keep pushing through it. But if you do push through, it all comes together. Art is my happy place!”

Susan teaches pastels and acrylics at Masonic Village and finds she gains as much teaching as her students do learning.

“I like to paint, and I love to share what I know,” she said. “Hopefully, others pick it up, and oftentimes I find they take off and pass right by me. The greatest joy of all is to watch them realize they can do it. They’re very good. They just let themselves go, and the art takes over.”

Karen Campbell (shown above) taught art for over 35 years. Her preferred media is watercolor pencil and colored pencil. Her current works are photo realistic and whimsical animals.

Sibyl McNulty is a teacher, lawyer and writer. In the art studio, she leads classes in Zentangle, which is scribbling or a collection of abstract patterns on small cards, and Etegami, which is a combination of the Japanese words for ‘picture’ and ‘painting’ and is based on imperfection. She also teaches collage, which is “the idea that you’re borrowing other people’s art and rearranging it,” she said.

“I was teaching a course called Art for the Rest of Us because I’ve never considered myself an artist, and I’ve always been intimidated by art,” she said. “So I sort of teach junk art that you can’t go wrong with.”

Sibyl has taken many classes at the studio, including watercolor, face drawing, pastels and acrylics.

“I create for the fun of it,” she said. “I believe the pleasure is in the journey. I was watching a Bob Ross video, and he talks about happy little trees and happy little accidents. I was going along, when I realized I sprayed happy little dots all over the floor, the table and the wall, which I cleaned up. They still let me come back [to the studio].”

Judy Wenning (above, right, with Cordelia Jacobs) has taught a few classes on alcohol painting. The medium consists of putting alcohol on tiles and dropping in different colors. The colors mingle and dry and are topped off with finishing spray. During one class, they made coasters.

“I’ve loved doing art since I was 50,” Judy said, “and that was a few years ago now. The people here are wonderful, and we have a good time.”

Donna Billings is a former educator, professional executive coach and author. Her personal coach encouraged her to take watercolor lessons in her early 70s, and she’s since embraced the medium. Her instructors included well-known artists and an art therapist.

“I love working with residents who ‘think’ they cannot paint,” Donna said.

The art studio is open Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m., with Friday hours posted periodically.

“The art studio is a great place to go, just to relax and to learn or try something new,” Susan said. “It gets people out and about to socialize with others who may or may not have had an interest in doing art. They take the risk of trying something new. We encourage them to keep going because eventually they do win.”

“What I love about this place is it’s all available to everyone. Anybody can come down here and mess around with anything,” Sibyl said. “I just love it.”