Programs for Adults
(16+ years)

At A Glance

FALL 2021

​Botanical Art in Autumn
Susan Sawyer
Sundays:  Sept. 19; 26; Oct. 3 & 10

Introduction to Drawing
Robert W. Brunelle Jr.
Fri, Oct. 1

​Studies in Composition
Mary Reardon
Sat., Oct. 2

​Color Pencil from
Basic to Brilliant
Mary Reardon
Weds:  Oct. 6; 13; 20 & 27

Photography with
Cell Phones
Orah Moore
Fri., Oct. 15
(Postponed to Spring, 2022 - Hold your Place)

​Pop-Up Basics:
The Movable Book
Elissa Campbell
Sat., Oct. 16
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Creating Dynamic Pastels
Aline Ordman
Thurs., Oct. 21

Drawing the Portrait:  Capturing a Likeness
August Burns
Sat:  Oct. 23 (NEW DATE)

Botanical Knitting
Leslie Roth
Weds:  Nov. 3, 10, 17

Responding to the Moment
through Landscape
and Still Life
2-Day Pastel Intensive Workshop
Tom Driscoll
Thurs & Fri., Nov. 11 & 12

CARD-O-RAMA!
Elissa Campbell
Sat., Nov. 13

Paste Paper Gift Wrap
Elissa Campbell
Mon & Tues: Nov. 15 & 16

​Creative Cartooning: 
​A 1-Day Intensive
Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr.
Sat., Oct. 20 (NEW DATE)



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Class Information - Fall 2021

We are pleased to offer classes and workshops for adults during the fall season. - it's an especially inspiring time to be in Vermont!

Help Keep our Art Classes Healthy!
Students and instructors are working in proximity in our Classroom and we want to keep everyone in good health. 

• For that reason, we require immunization against COVID by those in our educational programs, including instructors, and ask that participants bring and wear masks for physically close working situations. 
• Please bring your vaccination card to the first class.
• Additionally, we ask participants to stay home if they are not feeling well; payment for the class will be refunded or held for a future class.

Please call us at 479-7069 to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have.

We look forward to seeing you at SPA!
 
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Botanical Art in Autumn
Susan Sawyer
Sundays:  Sept. 19; 26; Oct. 3 & 10
1-4PM
CLASS IS FULL
 
Our subjects will be the varied fall plant phenomena:  Green leaves, turning leaves, last flowers, going to seed.  Participants will build skills in drawing and painting plants with pencil and watercolor, including a major focus on observation, composition, color mixing and steps to painting in an expressive and realistic style.  All levels are welcome, but some drawing experience helpful.  A suggested materials list is provided (with some basics provided by Susan for $15); please contact SPA.
 
Members:  $120/Non-Members:  $140
 
Susan Sawyer is an artist-naturalist from South Woodbury with many years of experience teaching, mostly adults in college and non-formal settings. After starting life as a printmaker and decades of making art quilts, her current practice consists of drawing, painting, and biological illustration, in graphite, ink, watercolor, and silverpoint. She believes in an experimental and experiential approach to all kinds of education, as well as careful observation of worlds without and within.
 
 
Introduction to Drawing
Robert W. Brunelle Jr.
Fri, Oct. 1
9:30AM – 4PM (½ hr break for lunch)

In this one-day class students will learn the basics of drawing:  How to use 1-point and 2-point perspective techniques to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface, how to use shadows and shading to create dimensional effects and textured surfaces, how to compose a drawing to maximize viewer interest, how to create movement in a drawing, how to correctly draw the human face and figure, and how to exaggerate those faces and figures to create caricatures or cartoons.  A materials list will be provided to students prior to the class.  If you have any questions, feel free to email Robert Waldo Brunelle Jr at brunelles3@aol.com. Comprehensive handout provided.

Members $50/Non-Members $60

Robert Waldo Brunelle is a painter, book illustrator, retired art teacher and political cartoonist.   He taught cartooning and computer animation techniques at the Browns River Middle School for 31 years, and has taught cartooning workshops for adults at the Fletcher Farm School for Arts and Crafts.  In 2007 he was one of the Vermont cartoonists featured in the "Drawn Here" series produced by WCAX Channel 3 T.V.  His political cartoon strip "Mr. Brunelle Explains It All" appears monthly in the humor magazine "Funny Times", and weekly on the website of the humor magazine "Humor Times", at [www.humortimes.com].  To see more of Mr. Brunelle's art and cartoons, visit his website at [www.mrbrunelle.com], or email him at [brunelles3@aol.com]
 
 
Studies in Composition
Mary Reardon
Sat., Oct. 2
9:30AM-4:30PM (with ½ hr break for lunch/snack)
 
What is composition?  What are its elements? What makes a painting, drawing or sculpture so compelling that we are drawn to it throughout the centuries?  In this class we will explore and answer these questions. Examining images of masterful artwork, students will work from still life arrangements and/or from images or photos of their own choosing. This is a great intermediate level course for students.  Students bring a pencil & sketchpad, and any other media they choose to work with (oils, pastels, charcoal, etc.).
 
Members $60/Non-Members $70
 
Mary Reardon is a native Vermonter who became an artist because everyone in the second grade said she would. She attended the Art Institute of Boston before the school was swallowed up by Lesley University, and earned her teaching degree from Johnson State College. She just finished her 20th year teaching high school art, and contrary to her elementary school classmates, firmly believes that drawing, or any art form, is a learnable skill--not a gift magically bestowed at birth to a chosen few. When not teaching, eating, sleeping, etc. she occasionally finds time to make art herself and has exhibited around the state. If you take her class, she apologizes in advance for her warped sense of humor.
 

Color Pencil from Basic to Brilliant
Mary Reardon
4 Weds:  Oct. 6; 13; 20 & 27
4:30-6:30PM
 
The unassuming low-tech color pencil is well suited for a range of applications from quick, rough sketches, to eye-popping photorealism. Participants will learn simple tricks for solid coverage, beyond-the-basics color theory for more accurate color mixing, and a variety of techniques from working on colored papers to creating burnished color layers useful for photorealistic effects. A materials list will be provided prior to the class.
 
Members $80/Non-Members $90
 
Mary Reardon is a native Vermonter who became an artist because everyone in the second grade said she would. She attended the Art Institute of Boston before the school was swallowed up by Lesley University, and earned her teaching degree from Johnson State College. She just finished her 20th year teaching high school art, and contrary to her elementary school classmates, firmly believes that drawing, or any art form, is a learnable skill--not a gift magically bestowed at birth to a chosen few. When not teaching, eating, sleeping, etc. she occasionally finds time to make art herself and has exhibited around the state. If you take her class, she apologizes in advance for her warped sense of humor.
 
 
Photography with Cell Phones
(ages 14 to adult)
Orah Moore
Fri., Oct. 15 (Postponed to Spring, 2022 - Hold your Place)
10AM-4PM
 
This class will cover basic photo composition and light awareness.  Instructor Orah Moore views cell phone photography as very fun, freeing and spontaneous.  We may not all have the same features on our cell phones, but most participants will have a regular option and a close-up feature.  In addition, most will be able to turn the image into black and white.
 
First, we will go over straight photography vs. manipulating photo imagery.  Orah will have a few assignments and even a photo treasure hunt to be completed before the end of the class.  Her hope is that participants will create a personal gallery presentation by the end of the class.
 
What to bring:

• A cell phone fully charged that has photo capability, a charger for later in the day, a laptop and cables for downloading cell phone photos to your laptop.  (Don’t have a laptop?  You can share with me or others who do.)  Bring a thumb drive.  Be familiar with the workings of your phone camera before the class.

 

• Bring a lunch so we can be in the field!  We will take a break both morning and PM sessions to return to SPA for restroom and downloading.

 
If you have a favorite editing ap, Orah would like to know it ahead.  (Please send information in an email to SPA in advance.)   Orah will compile a list to share with everyone in the workshop.
 
Members $50/Non-Members $60
 
Orah Moore, life-long art and commercial photographer, MA, Cal State Fullerton, CA, owner of Orah Moore Photography since 1977, Haymaker Press, since 1987, publishing her work as cards and books.  Studied with Ansel Adams and Ruth Bernhard.  Producing and showing in galleries over 40 years.  www.orahmooreartist.com
 
 
Pop-Up Basics: The Movable Book
Elissa Campbell
Sat., Oct. 16
10AM-4PM
​CLASS IS FULL

Creating pop-up paper tricks - or paper engineering - offers a set of skills that may be used for artist books and memorable greeting cards.  Using cut paper and folds, you'll learn the basics of pop-up construction, including box supports, props, and platforms. Come and see the magic behind the motion!
 
In this workshop, each participant will leave class with a set of pop-up cards to keep as a reference for each mechanism. You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use. No previous experience is required – this is a great class for a beginner. You'll feel more comfortable in the workshop if you have experience using an X-Acto knife.
 
All materials are included in the materials fee, but feel free to bring materials for use in creating your cards. Several ideas are:

• Collage materials (paper)
• Photographs
• Rubber stamps and pads
• Markers, pens, colored pencils, etc.
• Decorative scissors/punches

 
Supplies: Bone folder, ruler, X-Acto knife, cutting mat, scissors, pencil.  Note: Bring the supplies if you have them – don’t feel obligated to buy anything. I'll have extras available.
 
Materials Fee to the instructor:  $10
 
Members $50/Non-Members $60
 
Elissa Campbell has been making books for the past 26 years and sells her work professionally under the business name of Blue Roof Designs. She is a big believer in the power of using books for self-expression. Elissa is currently chair of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont, is on the board of the Vermont Crafts Council, and is on the Vermont Arts Council's Teaching Artist Roster.  
 

 Creating Dynamic Pastels
Aline Ordman
Thurs., Oct. 21
9:30AM-4:30PM
CLASS IS FULL
 
Painting is learning to see.  Often, we paint what we think we see because we all have pre-conceived notions of what something looks like.  However, to really paint what you see, you must break down everything you are looking at into just abstract shapes.  Don’t see a “house”, see a series of interlocking shapes.
 
Working from their own photo references, students will transform these into pastel paintings using the principles of color and design.  Along with daily painting demonstrations, Aline will emphasize the understanding of color in terms of temperature, intensity and value while translating those ideas using pastel technique.  Individual attention and group critiques will serve to help students in their efforts.
All levels welcome.
 
Members $90/Non-Members $100
 
Aline received her BFA at Cornell University and continued her training the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, earning a degree in illustration.  Aline is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society, a Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America and a Master Circle Pastelist with the International Assn. of Pastel Societies.  She has juried the Pastel Society of America’s National Juried Show; The Pastel Journal’s top 100 Animal and Wildlife Competition, the Pastel Society of New Mexico’s Annual Juried Show and the Adirondack Plein Air Festival Awards.  For more information, https://www.alineordman.com/
 

Drawing the Portrait:  Capturing a Likeness
August Burns
Sat:  Oct. 23 (NEW DATE)
9:30AM – 4PM (bring a lunch/snack)
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Drawing the Portrait, Capturing a Likeness.  In this one-day class we will study such details as the proportion of the head, the placement of facial features, and how to render them in convincing ways.  However, we will explore the idea that restraint in detail may say more in the pursuit of capturing personality or attitude than rendered exactness.  Students will be using charcoal and chalk with toned and untoned papers, and work from sitting models. 
 
Members $100/Non-Members $120 (includes fee for model)

August Burns is an award-winning figurative painter who seeks to capture the character and essence of her subjects through her art. She was selected to paint the official portrait of Governor Peter Shumlin, which now hangs in the Vermont State House in Montpelier.  August works out of her studio in Middlesex, Vermont.  For info:  www.augustburns.com
 

Botanical Knitting
Leslie Roth
Weds:  Nov. 3, 10, 17
5:30-7:30 PM
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In this class, students will take a deeper dive into shaping a knitted form. They will design a flower, realistic or fantastical, and translate their vision into a small piece of wearable art or sculpture. The class will focus on skills, design, use of materials.
 
Class 1: design basics, shaping (learn multiple increases/decreases and how to place them) Class 2: finalize design, work on project, troubleshoot issues Class 3: finish up project, mount botanicals on base/pin/etc. and photograph
 
Materials: Size 5 knitting needles (straight and DPNs) and any yarn (worsted or dk weight). The instructor will bring a large selection of yarns to augment students’ palette.
 
Members: $50 Non-members: $60
 
Leslie Roth is a knitter and sculptor. She has lived throughout the US and Canada, worked for a variety of non-profit organizations, and co-owned a yarn store. She began knitting less functional items when her children were young, making toys and costumes for them. As the costumes became more elaborate, like a chimera with three heads, she ventured into sculptural knitting. She has since included other materials and techniques into her work. She exhibits throughout Vermont and has a studio at Studio Place Arts in Barre. In addition to her art practice, she designs knitwear, writes knitting patterns and teaches handcrafts. Her patterns have been featured in various publications including 60 Quick Knits from America's Yarn Shops. She lives in Montpelier, Vermont with her husband, children and dogs. 


Responding to the Moment
Through Landscape and Still Life
2-Day Pastel Intensive Workshop
Tom Driscoll
Thurs & Fri., Nov. 11 & 12
9:30AM-4:30PM
 
As artists we are sensitive toward and responsive to changes in season in both the landscape and in the objects with which we surround ourselves. Fall evolves from the blazing colors of September to the clarity and mood of “stick season”. Autumn light tends to be more crisp and clear vs. the hazy light brought about by humid summer days. Likewise, as the seasons change we are surrounded by and surround ourselves with a range of different objects - food, clothing etc. Preparation for this workshop may be a time for self-reflection as to what kind of moods you would like to explore through landscape and still life choices.
 
Discussions and demonstrations will focus on a related topic: color temperature and qualities of light: how are color and light affected by interior/artificial (in all of its varieties)/natural light vs. exterior/natural light depictions? Weather, time of day, types of interior spaces and expressive intentions are all factors to consider for light/color choices in landscape and still life drawings. There will also be a demonstration on preparing your own surfaces using acrylic pumice ground.
 
On day one we will create landscape drawings from photos you have found or have taken. On day two we will address the same autumn theme through still life. Participants can bring still life photos to work from or objects to set up and draw from directly. You can choose to work representationally or abstractly. Aside from demonstrations, instruction will be primarily individualized, so you are encouraged to bring one or more finished drawings on day one so that I can get a sense of your work. This will be a fun and exciting workshop in a relaxed atmosphere.
 
Please contact SPA for a suggested materials list.
 
Members $170/Non-Members $190
 
Tom Driscoll received his BFA from Plymouth State College, Plymouth NH and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI.  He has taught at Plymouth State University for 31 years, coordinating the painting program and teaching courses in painting, drawing, printmaking and 2D design.  He has exhibited his work regionally and nationally and has juried and curated many exhibits.
 

CARD-O-RAMA!
Elissa Campbell
Sat., Nov. 13
1-4PM
 
Surprise your loved ones this holiday season with one-of-kind greeting cards!  (Also, aren’t there some special birthdays and anniversaries that you would like to honor in the coming months?)  This mixed media card workshop celebrates the art of the handmade greeting!
 
Different materials and methods will be demonstrated to guide you as you create your own personalized cards – mixed media techniques include collage, carved block stamps, image transfer, and pop-up techniques.  We’ll also be greeting up our earth by using recycled materials.  The knowledge you will gain from this workshop can be applied to many other art forms.
 
Participants are encouraged to bring materials (e.g., photographs) and tools for use in making their cards.  Additional materials will be available for use during the class.  In this intensive workshop, each participant will leave the class with 10 – 15 completed cards.  You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use.  No previous experience is required – this is a great class for a beginner, and it's a fun class to do with friends and family!
 
Materials fee: $15
 
Members $25/Non-Members $35
 
Elissa Campbell has been making books for the past 26 years and sells her work professionally under the business name of Blue Roof Designs. She is a big believer in the power of using books for self-expression. Elissa is currently chair of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont, is on the board of the Vermont Crafts Council, and is on the Vermont Arts Council's Teaching Artist Roster
 
 
Paste Paper Gift Wrap
Elissa Campbell
Mon & Tues: Nov. 15 & 16
6:30 – 8:30PM
 
Tired of the same old gift wrap?  Then this class is for you!  Paste papers are made by applying a mixture of paint and pigment to damp paper and then using tools to create pattern and texture on the surface.  Different methods will be demonstrated to guide you as you create your own paste papers with vibrant colors.  We’ll use methyl cellulose in a paste recipe that’s easy to recreate on your own.  We’ll be working with acid-free paper, so you can even use the papers in your bookmaking or other craft projects.

Each participant will leave class with a collection of paste papers and a basic knowledge of paste paper technique.  You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use.  No previous experience is required – this is a great class for a beginner. 

Supplies:  Apron, old credit cards or gift cards that can be cut into and used as design tools, plastic utensils, wood grain or other tools to create marks.  NOTE:  Bring the supplies if you have them – don’t feel obligated to buy anything.  Materials fee to the instructor: $15.
 
Members $40/Non-Members $50
 
Elissa Campbell has been making books for the past 26 years and sells her work professionally under the business name of Blue Roof Designs. She is a big believer in the power of using books for self-expression. Elissa is currently chair of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont, is on the board of the Vermont Crafts Council, and is on the Vermont Arts Council's Teaching Artist Roster
 

​Creative Cartooning:  A 1-Day Intensive
Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr.
Sat., Oct. 20 (NEW DATE)
10AM – 4PM (with ½ hr break for lunch/snack)

In this 1-day workshop, students would learn:  (1) How to design a character, and draw it various poses; (2) How to set up a page or comic strip using panels; (3) Writing and designing speech balloons, narration boxes and sound effect words; (4) Hints on how to write a story, or set up a gag with a punch line; (5) A brief overview of the history of cartoons and comics; (6) Tips on drawing faces correctly; and (7) How to use 1-point and 2-point perspective to create the illusion of 3D. 
 
For your inspiration:  Brunelle is exhibiting a group of his political cartoons in the Quick Change Gallery at SPA starting in mid-October.

Students will provide their own materials:  drawing paper, pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, and color media of their choice (colored pencils, markers, watercolors, etc.)  Comprehensive handout provided.
 
Members $50/Non-Members $60
 
Robert Waldo Brunelle is a painter, book illustrator, retired art teacher and political cartoonist.   He taught cartooning and computer animation techniques at the Browns River Middle School for 31 years, and has taught cartooning workshops for adults at the Fletcher Farm School for Arts and Crafts.  In 2007 he was one of the Vermont cartoonists featured in the "Drawn Here" series produced by WCAX Channel 3 T.V.  His political cartoon strip "Mr. Brunelle Explains It All" appears monthly in the humor magazine "Funny Times", and weekly on the website of the humor magazine "Humor Times", at [www.humortimes.com].  To see more of Mr. Brunelle's art and cartoons, visit his website at [www.mrbrunelle.com], or email him at [brunelles3@aol.com]


SPA REFUND POLICY:

• Cancellations at least 9 days before first class:  Refund for full paid amount minus $10 registration fee OR 100% credit towards a future class.
• Cancellations that occur within 8 days before the first class:  50% refund minus $10 registration fee OR 50% credit towards a future class.
• Cancellations after the first class, but before second class:  50% refund of remaining class tuition OR 75% credit towards future class.
• Full refund if SPA cancels.  Credits towards future classes must be used within 12 months of date of cancellation. 

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REGISTER ONLINE:

Send us an email with the participant's name, address and phone number.
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