VISUAL ART & MUSEUMS

The Community Education department of Watkins College of Art, Design & Film will host an Open House with free hands-on activities and demonstrations by faculty instructors in clay, book making, cartooning, watercolor painting and more, providing a preview to Community Education’s “Summer of the Arts” 2012 session. In conjunction with the Open House, the Watkins YART Sale will also be held from 1:00-4:00 p.m., featuring original art at yard sale prices.

More than 60 Community Education classes and workshops for youth, teens and adults will be offered June through August, in drawing and painting, metal and outdoor environmental sculpture, ceramics, film production, creative writing, papermaking, felting, website design, graphic design, Photoshop, interior design, photography, printmaking, artists’ books, cartooning and glass fusing.

Among the new class topics will be a one-week color photography digital darkroom intensive; a 5-week “crash course” in digital photography; 9-week courses in found assemblage, outdoor environmental sculpture, and darkroom photography; 4-week courses addressing composition strategies, the history of science fiction film, and batiking; and one- and two-day workshops covering sustainable materials for your home, glass fusing, felting and cartooning.

A special offering is the June 15-16 “Don’t Be Square” workshop, led by San Francisco-based artist Ben Venom and presented in partnership with the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Venom creates quilts out of his own worn-out heavy metal t-shirts, and his work has been exhibited in fine art organizations both nationally and internationally. “Don’t Be Square” participants will explore quilt design and construction and the notion that quilting is not just in the domain of folk art. This workshop is being held in conjunction with the Frist Center’s exhibition "Creation Story: Gee’s Bend and the Art of Thornton Dial," which elevates quilting as an art form. The exhibition will be on view May 25 through September 3.

The Watkins Community Education Summer 2012 catalog will be available online beginning April 1 and in print form at the Open House. Registration deadline for adult classes is May 21; deadline for adult workshops and youth and teen programs is two weeks prior to start of class. For information on the April 14 Open House, course schedules and registration, visit Watkins.edu/ Community.

One of the visual arts college’s most popular community events, the YART Sale will feature original artwork from students, faculty and staff at yard sale prices. One-of-a-kind items will include paintings, ceramics, jewelry, graphic art, home accessories and more, with most items in the $5 to $100 range.

All proceeds will benefit participating student artists and the student government association. Cash, check and credit cards will be accepted.