With just a few months left before Maine’s busy summer season of houseguests, travel and work around the house, it’s a good time to plan ahead and schedule activities to enrich our personal lives. With this in mind, the Maine Art Gallery (MAG) has created a line-up of inspiring half-day classes for artists, would-be artists, and simply curious people.

 

Full descriptions of the classes can be found on the MAG website, www.mainartgallerywiscasset.org. Listed here are brief descriptions to pique your interest.

 

May 14: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Getting to Done with Debra Arter. All abilities and disciplines are invited to join this class, which will focus on ways to resolve, revive and complete work that has been in the "not quite done" category for awhile.

 

June 20: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Simplified Plein Air with Deena Ball. This is an introductory course that caters to all artistic mediums. It is preliminary to an afternoon session of painting. You’ll learn principles in the morning and apply them in the afternoon painting session.

 

June 20: 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.: Plein Air All Media with Deena Ball. This session is a continuation of the morning's lesson. It's designed for those who want to try outdoor painting or seasoned Plein Air painters who were unable to attend the morning session. Students will select a subject, plan their painting using tools discussed in the morning session and then have time to complete a painting.

 

For those interested in plein air painting, both June 20 workshops will provide the best learning experience.

 

June 27: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Plein Air Historic Wiscasset with Deena Ball. This three hour Plein Air class for any medium will concentrate on painting some of the historic houses in Wiscasset. Students should be familiar with their chosen media. The class will concentrate on capturing the atmosphere of the day and the small town feel of Wiscasset. Students will start with plein air sketches at the chosen location to determine their best composition and progress to two hour plein air painting. The session will end with a final critique. There will be a quick demo and plenty of individual assistance. 

July 8, 9, 10: 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (three days): Sketchbook Journaling in Watercolors with Diane Dubriel. In this outdoor workshop students will learn the anatomy of a book. Each participant will make a simple soft cover style and finish with a hard cover version. Each person will also learn how to create three dimensional stars out of paper. No prior experience required. The material fee will cover all supples needed.

July 17: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Simple Pamphlet Stitched Books with Joelle Webber. In this workshop students will learn the anatomy of a book. Each participant will make a simple paper covered style and finish with a hard cover version. Each person will also learn how to created three dimensional stars out of paper. No prior experience required. The material fee will cover all supples needed fort the workshop.

August 5: 4-6 p.m. - Master Class - Intriguing Flowers , a photography workshop with Olga Merrill at Pineland Farms. Olga will help you train your eye to find amazing subtleties in flower photography and take flower photography to the next level with abstract techniques. Participants must understand the full functionality of their camera.

Maine Art Gallery members receive discounts on all classes as well as information about upcoming exhibitions, artist talks, and special events. Individual memberships are just $35. Visit www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org.

The gallery gratefully acknowledges season sponsor Sherri Dunbar, Tim Dunham Realty and Capital Sponsor Islebrook Village at Wiscasset, an Everbrook Senior Living Community. This year’s class sponsors include Ames True Value, Solo Pane, Salt Bay Framers, Cromwell Coastal Realty and Red’s Eats.

The non-profit Maine Art Gallery is dedicated to the advancement and preservation of the visual, fine and applied arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstration and educational programs for children and adults since 1958. More information can be found at www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org and on Facebook at Maine Art Gallery Wiscasset.