Whether you would like to learn a new hobby or enhance your artistic skills, The Artisans Village Art Gallery in Eatonton offers art classes that may be just the right fit.
"We offer a wide variety of classes,” Artisans Village Vice President Gail Vail said. “There are so many people who, particularly after being cooped up with COVID, are ready to get out and do something. And I think the other angle of it is that one of the factors to prevent dementia and aging is to keep learning.”
Each class currently costs $45, with some classes requiring an additional supply fee.
Vail said the cost will increase slightly to $50 in January. Class participants must be over 16 unless otherwise noted.
“We do not teach the children because The Plaza Arts Center teaches the children’s classes,” Vail explained. “I’ve had two men-and-wife pairs that were in my Beginning Oil Painting (class). I had one who had an elderly relative visiting, and they brought that person. For most of these classes, we provide the supplies, or we specify what the students need to bring.”
According to Marketing Consultant Melanie Schneider, Artisans Village classes are designed to accommodate people of all skill levels, from brand-new to established artists.
“A lot of our classes are geared toward people who are just learning, who want to learn a new hobby, so you don’t have to have previous knowledge or skills,” she said.
Classes are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on most Saturdays and usually consist of five or six students.
Most classes take place in the back room of the Artisans Village Art Gallery (110 W. Marion St.), with some larger classes held next door in the back room of the Eatonton Chamber of Commerce.
All instructors are accomplished artists and members of The Artisans Village Guild, a membership-based subsidiary of The Artisans Village.
“We’ve had Beginning Acrylic, Acrylic II, Beginning Oil, a class on drawing perspectives a couple of times because drawing skills are critical to different kinds of painting,” Vail said. “We have had very popular basket classes. The instructor teaches tobacco baskets as well as the eight-point stars.”
After attending an eight-point star weaving class with instructor Debbie Cornelia, student artist Debra Kieffer Casebere posted to the Artisans Village Art Gallery Facebook page: “This class was so much fun and really stretched my creativity. I look forward to more classes with Debbie. She was very patient and clear throughout the class.”
Another popular offering is Zentangle, “a black-and-white way of projecting ideas,” according to Vail.
“So many people are into adult coloring, but this is more creative. It lets the person create the design,” she said.
“We have Scratchboard classes, where the instructor starts with a black, flat board, and then they use different tools to scratch in the design. They have been very popular. And we have Beginning Jewelry. I attended two of those and made two beautiful necklaces that I wear,” Vail continued. “We did some yard art using sand and kind of a pottery mix and big leaves that made imprints in them. That was fun. I was a participant, not an instructor on that one, but I made two beautiful pieces of yard art that I gave to my adult granddaughter, and she’s got it out in her garden.”
Some classes in the past included calligraphy and paper mosaics.
Talking about upcoming classes, Vail mentioned a class on acrylic painting based on the old masters. The first class is going to be about Monet, talking about his style and what made him famous and then copying his painting techniques.
“And so it is with different artists,” she said. “This class is a little bit different because it incorporates the history of art into the actual hands-on painting.”
Coming up on Sept. 15, The Artisans Village will also welcome art lovers to one of its largest annual events, Dual Vision: Art Through Different Eyes, a collaboration between The Artisans Village Guild and Associated Photographers of Lake Oconee.
Dual Vision will be hosted at Barrel 118, a 9,300-square-foot warehouse that has been renovated into a unique event venue in Eatonton’s downtown historic district.