painting, framing & more
Watercolor Techniques: Wet on wet & dry mixed media, dry brush & always color with Katia Andreeva
Date: Friday & Saturday, October 9 & 10, 2009
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: September 25
Katia Andreeva continues to inspire students at Milan Village Arts School in this two-day class, designed to help beginner or experienced painters practice various techniques of watercolor painting. Students will learn how to make the paint work for them. Katia strongly encourages a good quality watercolor paper for the best results and Russian watercolor paper of the finest quality will be available for purchase. Katia’s classes are always colorful and students will be encouraged and inspired by her painting and teaching skills.
Tuition: member $95 non-member $110
Supplies: List of supplies will be available at mvas@fedteldirect.net
Click here to register.
Read Katia Andreeva's bio.
Picture Framing Workshop: Finishing the Job with Brian Wolf
Class to be held at the Milan School Wizard Room
Date: Friday & Saturday
Class 1: October 23 & 24, 2009
Class 2: 2010 date to be announced
Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. & Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The framing room at the Milan Village Arts School is becoming a complete framing workshop. This class will show you how to use the resources at the school to make wood frames, cut mats, cut glass, hinge artwork and assemble the pieces to give your artwork polish. Certainly there will be tips on design, but the focus of this class will be the mechanics of using these simple tools so that you can have the expertise to solve most any framing problem efficiently.
Tuition: member $80 non-member $95
For questions, contact the Milan Village Arts at 320-734-4807 or mvas@fedteldirect.net.
Click here to register.
Weaving Rugs with Diana Soehren
Date: Friday through Sunday
Class 1: Nov 20, 21 & 22, 2009
Registration deadline: November 6
Class 2: March 19, 20 & 21, 2010
Registration deadline: March 5
Time: Friday, 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., & Sunday, TBD
If you’ve thought about making your own rugs or table coverings but just never had the space to house a loom, here’s an opportunity to get inspired, learn how to start your project and get assistance when you need it most. Diana will help students set up to use the looms in the Loom Room. Students will learn the basics of preparing fabrics, choosing a design, warping and beginning to weave. Those who would like to continue their projects can schedule time with Diana on Saturday and Sunday to work on their projects from beginning to end.
Tuition: member $65 non-member $80
Supplies: $10 or more based on supplies used.
Students should provide their own material.
Click here to register.
Watercolor Wednesday: Instruction & Painting Practice
Dates:
- February 3
- February 10
- February 17
- February 24
- March 3
- March 10
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: One week before each session
Back by popular demand Watercolor Wednesdays provides a welcoming format for experienced and novice painters to enjoy and practice their craft. Each Wednesday one of our areas fine artist/instructors offers a short workshop from 9:00 to noon. Students spend the afternoon practicing what new techniques they learned from the morning session or just spend time practicing their passion for painting. Each Wednesday is treated as a separate class. Local artists Jill Blom and Karen Bell will be teaching as well as new instructors to MVAS.
Tuition for each session: member $20
Supplies: Bring your own projects and paints. To give teachers an opportunity to plan, please register at least one week prior to class by contacting Milan Village Arts School at 320-734-4807 or emailing the school at mvas@fedteldirect.net.
Click here to register.
Read Jill Blom's bio.
Read Karen Bell's bio.
Painting in the Field: Plein Air Painting with Malena Handeen
Date: To be announced
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For those ready to paint nature from a front row seat, this class will be heading into the western Minnesota prairie to learn and practice the basics of landscape painting. Participants will focus on composition and local color mixing. All students should pack a lunch, bring sunscreen, bug repellent and a chair. Students will meet at Milan Village Arts School and proceed to site.
Tuition: member $80 non-member $95
Supplies: Contact Malena at 320-793-6675 or email her.
Click here to register.
Impromptu Screen Printing with Ann Taecker
Date: Saturday, March 20
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 400 p.m.
Registration deadline: March 6
Last minute. Need a t-shirt with a unique birthday graphic or paper decorations for a friend’s wedding, or some ArtCloth with a message? How about screen printed images to personalize your scrapbook? And want just a few? Ann will show students low cost, lowtech ways to screen print images on fabric or paper or just about anything that sits still. These techniques are ideal for 10 to 20 imprints. Just the size of run you need for that party. Throughout the class, you will learn a large number of quick tricks, when it is possible to cheat and when you really have to do things the hard way. After taking this class, you will know enough to be dangerous, and feel confident to personalize everything but the family cat! Wear your best “get messy” clothes and comfortable shoes. Bring along any design ideas you have – think simple – and be ready to have fun!
Tuition: members $50 includes all materials
non-members $65 includes all materials
Click here to register.
Read Ann Taecker's bio.
Handbuilt Clay Boxes & Containers at Earthrise Farm with Laura Hess
Date: Saturday and Sunday, April 10 & 11 & Saturday, April 17
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: April 1
Participants will design and create boxes or other covered containers inspired by an object they bring to class or by an object they find on-site at Earthrise Farm (think vegetables!). In the first weekend, the class will learn various handbuilding techniques including coil building, slab construction and molds. The pieces will then be bisque fired and ready for glazing and decorating the second weekend when we will cover glaze techniques such as the use of underglaze, majolica, and sgraffito. The work will then be fired and ready for pick-up about a week after the last class—ready to take home or give as a gift.
Any levels of clay experience are welcome.
Tuition: member $135 non-member $150
Supplies: $25
Click here to register.
Read Laura Hess' bio.
Calligraphy Workshop with Philip Thompson
Date: Saturday & Sunday, June 12 & 13
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: June 1
Philip Thompson has been teaching and practicing calligraphy for over 30 years. Students in this workshop will be introduced to the basic styles of stroke and some of the tools of the trade. Learn about inks. Make a goose or turkey feather quill pen, or make a writing tool from willow or box elder, reed, felt, or even popsicle sticks. Day two of the workshop will feature ways to look at calligraphy projects; monograms, logo design, animated letters and alphabets. Left handers welcome.
Tuition: member $80 non-member $95
Basic pen sets will be available at cost.
Click here to register.
Read Philip Thompson's bio.
Willow Market Basket with Fred Livesay
Date: Saturday, Sunday & Monday, February 13, & 14
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: January 23
“What a fabulous basket! Where did you get that? Bet it cost you a pretty penny!” she exclaimed. Get the same results when you use the market basket that you made! Participants learn to collect and grade willows in this class and then weave a round market basket of brown willows (bark on). The basket is approximately 14 inches in diameter and 14 inches tall, perfect for those trips to the farmer’s market. Students will leave class with a completed basket with a hoop handle and the skills needed to start up their own cottage industry making willow baskets on their own. Students must sign up three weeks in advance of start date to allow for gathering and preparation of basket materials.
Tuition: member $140 non-member $155
Supplies: $30. Tool list includes: 24-inch straight
ruler, pruning shears, sharp knife, aul or ice pick,
cushion to sit one.
Class includes trip to collect willow on the first day, so dress appropriately. For questions, please contact Fred Livesay at 651-224-2898
Click here to register.
Read Fred Livesay's bio.
Basic Broom Making with Robin Moore
Date: Friday & Saturday, June 25 & 26
Time: Friday 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: June 11
Few things are as satisfying as making your own beautiful tools for daily use. Brooms have been made by hand for centuries. Students in this class will learn a simple way to create a broom from raw materials. The broom you make will last for years and you’ll never buy another at a store again. Students may bring wood for their handle or choose from those provided. However, if you do want to bring your own wood, please contact Robin first. Brooms will be between 12 and 42 inches long according to preference.
Tuition: member $60 non-member $75
Supplies: $25
Call Robin at 320-269-6176 with questions or to discuss broom handles.
Click here to register.
Read Robin Moore's bio.
Introduction to Blacksmith Arts with Gene Sandau
Class to be held in Madison, MN
Date & Time: To be determined by student and instructor
The art of blacksmithing includes many methods of forming iron into art, including electric or gas welding, drilling, grinding, riveting, use of a coal forge, anvil, hammers, chisels, punches, handmade tools and other equipment. Considering all these elements, interested persons should call Gene for details and to choose which skills they would like to learn. Students are encouraged to have a project in mind that they would like to do in class and take home. Classes are not gender biased. A parent or guardian must accompany students under 18. Gene believes that “the equipment and tools are not dangerous, the misuse of them is.” Nevertheless, safety measures and equipment handling will be closely monitored. Please call Gene if you have any questions.
Tuition: $200 for a one student or $300 for two on same day.
Deposit: $100 or $150
Supplies: Students need cotton or leather gloves, high top shoes or boots, cotton work clothes and eye and ear protection.
For questions, please call Gene Sandau at 320-598-7858. Please send your deposit and registration to: Gene Sandau, 308 11th Street West, Madison, MN 56256
Click here to register.
Read Gene Sandau's bio.
Photographing People - Syttende Mai in Milan with Steve Schneider
Date: Friday through Sunday, May 14, 15, & 16
Time: Friday 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: May 1
Have you ever wanted to make a photograph of a complete stranger, someone you just met, or that special person in your family that you could never approach? How do you approach them and what can you say? Steve will discuss approaching people, exposure, film type, film vs. digital, color vs. b&w, and what it means to make a photograph rather than take one. He’ll share the skills he’s learned after more than two decades of photographing people. Steve brings examples of his work, and students will have an opportunity to share their work with the class. Bring a digital camera. Bring a flash if you have one. The class will go out and meet some people and make some photographs. It’ll be fun.
Tuition: member $80 non-member $95
Supplies: contact MVAS to be sure that your photos can download to the MVAS computer for sharing with the class.
Click here to register.
Read Steve Schneider's bio.
Poetry & Pie with Elsa Bross
Date: Thursdays, January through March
January 14, February 11, March 11
Time: starting at 6:30 p.m.
Love, life, loss, landscape: any subject as long as it rhymes (or not). Poets will gather on the third Thursday of the coldest winter months to read their latest effort or share with the group a favorite poem that strikes a chord, says it all, or hosts some profound insight with skillful metaphor. Coffee and tea provided by the Board of MVAS. Bring a sweet (or dessert) to share with fellow poetry lovers. Song and storywriters welcome. Free with donation of a sweet (or dessert). Questions? Email Elsa.