Sawdust Announces 2012 "Spring Into Art" Workshops

February 10, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAWDUST ANNOUNCES 2012 “SPRING INTO ART” WORKSHOPS

(Spring Into Art takes place weekends April 14-29 from 9 am – 4 pm)

Laguna Beach, CA – Sawdust Art Festival is proud to announce its all-new 2012 Spring Into Art class schedule. These popular two-day weekend art workshops offer students one-on-one instruction with Sawdust artists covering a wide range of hands-on art classes in many exciting art mediums including ceramics, glassblowing, jewelry, painting, textiles and much more. Workshops are held during the final three weekends in April and fees include most materials, tools and instruction. Students can call in or register online. Schedule of classes and descriptions can be found online at www.sawdustartfestival.org/spring-into-art and also below:

Ceramics

"Pottery Wheel" with Nadine Nordstrom 

April 21 from 9 am – 12 pm, $90
Learn how to throw a pot at the potter's wheel with Sawdust ceramicist Nadine Nordstrom. This three-hour class will teach students the basics in how to work with clay. A follow-up glazing class will be offered the following Saturday. Take advantage of this exciting fun medium and register for the class now!

"Quick & Easy Handbuilding Techniques" with Walter Reiss

April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, $100 per day or $150 for both days
Ceramicist Walter Reiss will demonstrate spontaneous soft slab techniques, impressing and deforming textures by stretching, twisting and tearing. Reiss will instruct students on how to create unique whimsical teapots and wall pieces with many ideas to take home. This is a hands-on workshop, so wear clay clothes.

Glassblowing

"Glassblowing” with Sawdust Glassblowers 

April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, with Christopher Jeffries, $265
April 21 & 22 from 9 am – 4 pm, with Gavin Heath and Muffin Spencer-Devlin, $265
April 28 & 29 from 9 am – 4 pm, with Jason McQuaid, $265
Learn to gather glass from the furnace and shape it into paper weights, shapes, vases, cups and more. With over 20 years experience, our professional glassblowers will teach students how to blow glass and experience the process of turning molten glass into awesome works of art. Hands-on basic and intermediate skills in glassblowing. At the end of the weekend students will leave with artwork they have personally created.

Jewelry

"Forging a Silver Bracelet" with Mike Heintz
April 28 & 29 from 9 am – 4 pm, $275
In this two-day class, students will be introduced to tools and techniques of a basic jewelry workshop, including sawing, soldering, sanding, anvil forging, filing and finishing. Students will walk away with something they will treasure for a lifetime, while acquiring information that instructor Mike Heintz developed over decades. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from Master Jeweler Mike Heintz. This rare class is limited to four students.

"An Introduction to Jewelry Fabrication and Stone Setting" with Lorraine Hornby

April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, $195
Transform sheet metal and wire into a unique piece of jewelry. Incorporate gems in your design with a bezel setting. This exciting class will introduce students to the fundamentals of jewelry fabrication through sawing, soldering and stone-setting. A materials fee for silver and gemstones may apply. 

"Jewelry Fabrication" with David Nelson

April 21 & 22 from 9 am – 4 pm, $195
In this class you will learn basic and advanced jewelry design and fabrication using sheet metal and wire. Incorporate gemstones in your design using bezel setting, overlay construction and piercing with the jeweler's saw and other fabrication methods. Students will also learn soldering with acetylene, as well as buffing and polishing techniques.

Painting

"Oil Painting Workshop" with John Eagle
April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, $150
April 21 & 22 from 9 am – 4 pm, $150
April 28 & 29 from 9 am – 4 pm, $150
Come paint a colorful seascape and landscape in oils with Laguna artist John Eagle. Learn about design values. Color mixing will be emphasized. Beginning to intermediate artists are welcome. 

"Acrylic and Oil Impressionism" with Charleine Guy
April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, $165
Flowers and seascapes for beginners to experienced painters. Charleine’s motto is “keep it simple, have fun and let’s paint!” In this class, students will be studying composition, limited palette, focal point, brush strokes and lost and found edges. Students will have their own original art to take home each day.

"Secrets of Painting Portraits" with Jim Stanaland
April 28 & 29 from 9 am – 1 pm, $165
Learn the tricks of painting portraits and have fun doing it. You will learn all the tips you need to produce spectacular portraits, from mapping out your drawings to the subtleties of bringing them to life with paints. The class will run Saturday through Sunday, four hours each day. Students will paint a portrait in oil with a subject of their choosing; the instructor will also have a selection of subjects to choose from. The class fee is only $150 per person with a $15 materials fee. Instructor will provide all materials. Acrylics and water-mixable oils are welcome.

"Capturing the Details of the Natural World" with Karen Talbot
April 28 & 29 from 9 am – 4 pm, $165
This two-day workshop introduces students to the basics of creating a realistic and accurate watercolor painting of a natural history subject, such as a bird or a botanical. Day one will begin with fieldwork where students will gain an understanding of how to document specimens in the field in order to be able to accurately depict details of color and form once back in the studio. During the remainder of the workshop, students will work from an instructor-selected photograph to create a watercolor painting incorporating a variety of techniques from applying a graded wash to doing tight drybrush detail work.

Photography

“Enjoying Your Digital Camera” with Mary Hurlbut
April 14 from 1-4 pm, $85
April 15 from 1-4 pm, $85
This is a three-hour class on Digital Photography for Beginners. Learn the Art of Seeing Light, while also having those pesky technical questions answered in plain English! Please bring your digital camera, the manual it came with, and, if you have one, a laptop. Wear shoes for walking. We will spend time in the classroom covering the basics for using your digital camera and some of the "art" of photography. You will also receive a handout to take home with you to help remember all we cover. Then we’ll get outside and practice what you’ve learned, before returning to the class and uploading the images to a computer for viewing and discussion. Please feel free to make a list of any questions you have about digital photography and email them to Mary, one week prior to the class: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You may also check out her work at windswept.smugmug.com.

Textiles

"Dye-Painting on Silk" with Olivia Batchelder
April 14 & 15 from 9 am – 4 pm, $195
Make luminous paintings using vibrant dyes as a watercolor medium on treated silk. Master silk painter Olivia Batchelder will guide you through the process. You will go home with a finished silk botanical painting stretched like a canvas. 

"Batik Hemp Linen Pillow & Batik Peace Flags" with Michelle Holt
April 21 from 9 am – 4 pm, Batik Pillow, $125
April 22 from 9 am – 4 pm, Batik Flags, $75
Class #1: Batik Hemp Linen Pillow
Learn the ancient art of batik and dye. Students will learn how to transfer images to fabric, batik with wax, painting with dye, and sewing construction. Participants will leave with their own hemp linen pillow.
Class #2: Batik Peace Flags
Batik peace flags, or flags of intention, have been used for centuries to deliver thoughts and prayers to the universe. Learn the ancient art of batik and dye during this class. Students will learn how to transfer images to fabric, batik with wax, painting with dye, and sewing construction. Participants will leave with their own string of peace flags made of hemp linen to fly prayers and intentions to the universe.

Spring Into Art class space is limited. Class fees include most materials, supplies and instruction. Students will be told if there are additional materials fees. A continental breakfast will be provided during morning check-ins. Students should bring their own sack lunch or check with their instructors to find out if there will be time to visit one of Laguna’s fine restaurants for a snack. To register or for more information on the Sawdust Art Festival’s 2012 Spring Into Art weekend workshops, please visit www.sawdustartfestival.org/spring-into-art or call 949-494-3030. The Sawdust Art Festival is located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

The Sawdust Art Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public 
and promoting the art created in Laguna Beach.

###