painting & photography classes
Watercolor Techniques – Wet on Wet with Katia Andreeva
The privilege of being a student of Katia’s will bring any painter to new heights regardless of experience. In this two-day class, students will learn and practice the technique of wet on wet watercolor painting and 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.
Date: Saturday & Sunday, September 13 & 14
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: September 1
Tuition: member-$95 non-member-$105.00
Deposit: $50
Supplies: Contact MVAS for a list of supplies.
Click here to register.
Capturing the Beauty of Flowers on Canvas with Katia Andreeva
Delight in painting the beauty of flowers by stepping out into your own garden and gathering a bouquet or enjoying the beauty of the flowers Katia brings to the classroom. Students may choose to use watercolor or acrylics. Katia will have her Russian watercolor paper available for purchase. Students of all levels are welcome and will benefit from Katia’s guidance in working with color, form, depth, and technique.
Date: Wednesday & Thursday, August 13 & 14
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration deadline: August 6
Tuition: member-$95 non-member-$105
Deposit: $50
Supplies: Contact MVAS for a list of supplies
Click here to register.
Painting in the Field: Plein Air Painting with Malena Handeen
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.
Date: Saturday and Sunday, May 24 & 25
OR Saturday and Sunday, August 23 & 24
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: May 15 OR August 1
Tuition: member-$80 non-member-$95
Deposit: $40
Supplies: Contact Malena at 320-793-6675 or e-mail at mistermeowy@hotmail.com
Click here to register.
Revolutionary Watercolor with Calvin Deruyter
There is nothing traditional about deRuyter’s method of watercolor. Learn to paint directly from the watercolor tube, mixing your pigments on the surface of the paper to achieve the affect you want - watery, glazed, opaque, textured, scrubbed, or with a “pastel” effect. deRuyter delights in breaking all of the “rules” of watercolor, with the belief that “process may make great craft”, but “exploration and creativity make great art.” Students will be encouraged to work large (at least 11x14 or larger). Some of the basics of design and color theory will be included as well as individual help and at least one class critique. Some painting experience is desirable, but not necessary.
Contact MVAS for the suggested materials list. This method does not work with “cake” watercolors, so it is necessary to have watercolors in a tube. A limited number of brushes will be available for sale at the class, as will individual sheets (22x30) of watercolor paper.
Date: Wednesday & Thursday, June 4 & 5
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: May 15
Tuition: member-$160.00 non-member-$175
Deposit: $80
Supplies: $25 or more depending on student: contact MVAS
Click here to register.
Matting 101 with Brian Wolf
Class to be held at the Milan School Wizard Room
Friday’s 3-hour class will cover the rules of matting. Proper proportions, color, size, and design are very important in a successful matting project. In Saturday’s full-day class, students will complete a project from beginning to end. Brian Wolf, the Director of Standards and Training at Wizard International for the last 5 years has been working as a framer for the last 30 years. He will provide expert guidance and you will go away from this class with the understanding of what it takes to have a piece of art properly displayed. Date to be determined in early spring. Sign up for this class and you will be notified of the date and supplies needed.
Date: To be determined, spring 2008
Time: Friday 6:00 to 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 to 4:00 pm
Tuition for 10 hours of class: member-$80 non-member-$90 Deposit: $40 Tuition for 3 hours of class: member-$25 non-member-$30 Deposit: $10
For questions contatct the Milan Village Arts at 320-734-4807 or mvas@fedteldirect.net.
Click here to register.
Watercolor Wednesdays
Watercolor Wednesdays presents a new format for local painters who would like to benefit from short workshops with three of our region’s accomplished watercolor artists, and then have time to practice what they’ve learned. Each Wednesday is treated as a separate class, with instruction with a watercolor artist from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, a lunch break, and than an afternoon work session for the participants to practice and discuss what they’ve learned. Instructors and topics include: January 23 and 30, Deb Connolly – Using Watercolors and Pastels; February 6 and 13, Jill Blom – Painting Still Lifes; February 20 and 27, Karen Bell – Playing with Paint and Working with Old Watercolor Paintings.
Date: January 23 & January 30-Deb Connolly
February 6 & February 13-Jill Blom
February 20 & February 27-Karen Bell
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: One week before each session
Tuition: member-$20 non-member-$22.50
Supplies: Bring own watercolor supplies. Supplies for pastel classes: Old oil painting paint brushes, hard pastels (Nupastel square sticks), soft pastels – optional, Wallis paper, photos and/or still life material to paint from.
For questions or to discuss supplies, contact Milan Village Arts School at 320-734-4807 or mvas@fedteldirect.net.
Click here to register.
Painting Norwegian Nisser, Swedish Tomte or American Gnomes with Karen Jenson
Norwegian folklore is filled with supernatural beings. The “nisser” in Norway or the “tomte” in Sweden, is a supernatural being living close to people. Often imagined to be a small, elderly man with a full beard and dressed in everyday clothing, if he is not treated well, he becomes evil and can harm people and animals. Sometimes a bowl of porridge was left to keep the nisser happy on Christmas night. If he wasn’t given his payment, he would engage in mischief such as tying the cows’ tails together in the barn, turning objects upside-down, and breaking things. Karen has been incorporating these charming fellows in her rosemaling scenes and will share with her students techniques to capture them in paint in traditional Scandinavian style. This is an intermediate class and students should be familiar with basic elements of rosemaling.
Students should bring wooden sanded smooth board about the size of the desired gnome or bring five backgrounded canvas or boards painted in traditional colors or sign-up for the lasuring workshop to prepare materials for this class.
Date: Monday & Tuesday, April 21 & 22
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: April 1
Tuition: member-$150 non-member-$165
Deposit: $75
Supplies: Call Karen to discuss supplies at 320-734-4715
Click here to register.
Lasuring Backgrounds Workshop with Karen Jenson
Lasuring is the process of laying a faux finish on top of an existing background paint that can resemble roping, draping, wood, stone, or a stippled effect. Lasuring is a traditional Norwegian technique found on many Norwegian trunks and cupboards and can be done on many different surfaces. Students will discuss color combinations as well as learn different techniques and their varying effects. Students may bring a wooden surface or other flat surface.
Date: Saturday & Sunday, April 19 & 20
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: April 1
Tuition: member-$150 non-member-$160
Deposit: $75
Supplies: Call Karen to discuss -supplies at 320-734-4715
Click here to register.
Just Flowers Workshop with Karen Jenson
It’s fundamental to the art of rosemaling: drawing spaces and filling the space with flowers. Karen Jenson teaches this drawing class where flowers are made to fill a particular space and the shape of the flowers are determined by the shape of the space. Confused? Don’t be. It’s fun and with Karen’s help, students will learn and practice drawing flowers using the traditional “C” and “S” strokes with a fine liner brush. This can be a drawing class or if students want to add color, they should bring their acrylic paint supplies to class. Appropriate for beginning rosemalers as well as those wanting to fine-tune their skills.
Date: Saturday & Sunday, April 26 & 27
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: April 1
Tuition: member-$150 non-member-$165
Deposit: $75
Supplies: Call Karen to discuss supplies at 320-734-4715
Click here to register.
Photographing People: Syttende Mai in Milan with Steve Schneider
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 camera, 35 mm, digital or film. Bring a flash if you have one. The class will go out and meet some people and make some photographs. It’ll be fun.
Date: Friday through Sunday, May 16, 17, & 18
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
Tuition: member-$80 non-member-$95
Deposit: $40
Supplies: contact MVAS
Click here to register.
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