Winter art workshops combine creativity and community
Tap into your creativity at the upcoming winter art workshops organized by The Left Bank Shop and Gallery in McGregor. Workshops taught by gallery artists will be held each Saturday from Feb. 7 to March 28. (Times-Register file photo)
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Tap into your creativity at the upcoming winter art workshops organized by The Left Bank Shop and Gallery in McGregor.
Workshops taught by gallery artists will be held each Saturday from Feb. 7 to March 28. A range of classes are offered this year, from acrylic painting, collage and candy making to wet-felting and pine needle basket making.
“I’m always trying to think outside the box. Where can we go? What can we do?” said gallery manager Camille Sweet. “We have things this year that are really different. Then, some favorites, like the felting, they’re the same, but different, if that makes sense. Wet-felting on a balloon, we’ve never done that. We’re making hats with the wet-felting, too. We’ve also never done that.”
Sally Marshall will kick off the workshops Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with acrylic painting on a canvas panel. Marshall will guide the class step by step in creating a colorful autumn scene.
“It’s beginner friendly and easy to follow along with,” Sweet noted.
On Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon, is a Valentine’s Day couples collage class led by artist Sara Whitewater. This hands-on workshop invites pairs to collaborate on a single mixed-media collage using beautifully curated papers and textures. A canvas, frame, premium paper and collage tools will be provided, but duos are encouraged to bring in pieces of their relationship, such as concert tickets, photos, buttons, fabrics and other mementos.
Although on Valentine’s Day, Sweet stressed the workshop isn’t just for romantic couples.
“It could be you and your best friend. It could be mother and daughter, mother and son, grandma and granddaughter. It could be anybody that is a dynamic duo who wants to do a piece together,” she said. “I’m excited because nobody’s is gonna be exactly the same.”
On Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., enjoy making homemade candy with Ted Carpenter, one of The Left Bank’s jewelry artists.
“This one I’m super excited about, and I know a lot of people would never expect it from The Left Bank,” Sweet said.
This cooking-show-style workshop will combine demonstrations with hands-on participation as experienced candy maker Carpenter helps attendees learn how to create brown sugar caramels, chocolate caramels, peanut butter caramels, mock Milk Duds, silky caramel sauce, crunchy peanut brittle and almond toffee.
The best part, said Sweet, is everyone will leave with a pound and a half of assorted candies.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 28, Marshall will return for a second acrylic painting on canvas panel class, this time featuring a dramatic sunrise at Effigy Mounds’ Fire Point lookout over the Mississippi River.
Whitewater will lead an omnium gatherum workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on March 7. This mixed media class encourages attendees to experiment freely as they build unique, layered artwork on canvas.
March 14 and 21 will be wet-felting workshops with DeeAnna Weed. The first will be wet-felting on a balloon and the second making a crazy hat. Each class will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“One is a little bit more advanced and one is more beginner, so you don’t have to be intimidated. You can start with the beginner one, and then go, ‘OK, that one I could do. Let me do the next one, too,’” Sweet said.
Workshops will conclude March 28 with pine needle basket making with Kelli Boylen. From 10 a.m. to noon, participants can make a small pine needle basket with materials provided by Mother Nature.
“We had to make it the very last one because Kelli has to come back from Florida with pine needles. She’s traveling back with all those pine needles to make those baskets for us and to teach us how to do those,” Sweet explained.
Workshops are suitable for teens and adults, and beginners are welcome. Sweet said it’s fun to watch participants learn and grow their confidence as each workshop progresses.
“It is just incredible to see where somebody started to where they finished. People who started going, ‘I’m never gonna be able to get this to look like hers.’ Then, when they ended, they’re like, ‘Look what I made.’ Their smiles at the end are always my favorite,” she shared.
Sweet said the winter art workshops stir creativity and bring like-minded people together.
“It’s a great way to build community, and it’s an amazing, fun thing to do in the dead of winter,” she said. “It’s cold and blustery outside, but it’s warm and cozy in here. We always have snacks and coffee and you get to work with your hands. It’s that community feeling, that cozy feeling, and I think people like that.”
Find more information about each workshop and register online at www.leftbankshopandgallery.org, or stop at The Left Bank Shop and Gallery, located at 158 Main St., in McGregor.
