Arts Center offers creative outlets for all this spring

Staff Reports

Celebrate spring with opportunities to grow creatively at the Arts Center of Yates County.

Area youth are invited to stop by ACYC Friday, May 6 from 5-7 p.m. to create colorful Mother’s Day scarves as part of downtown Penn Yan’s “First Friday” activities.

The Arts Center celebrates its 10th year on Penn Yan’s Main Street with a gala fundraiser Thursday, May 19 at the Seasons on Keuka

PENN YAN — The Arts Center of Yates County offers a wide range of creative workshops for all interests and all levels of experience throughout the year. Spring classes this year include both on-line and in-person painting classes with popular Canadian artist (and former Geneva resident) Grant Lounsbury, tapestry weaving, stained glass creation, the “doodling on steroids” art of Zentangles, and an opportunity to be inspired by the impact of spring in the Finger Lakes in a Plein Air class with Batavia’s Kevin Feary.

Area youth are invited to stop by ACYC Friday, May 6 from 5-7 p.m. to create colorful Mother’s Day scarves as part of downtown Penn Yan’s “First Friday” activities.

In addition to offering spring workshops, the Arts Center;

celebrates its 10th year on Penn Yan’s Main Street with a gala fundraiser Thursday, May 19 at the Seasons on Keuka
hosts work by area middle and high school students in the return of the annual Yates County Student Exhibit from May 9 to 20
invites the public to work with artist Bob Gillespie on a public art chalk mural to be created in the parking lot of the Penn Yan Presbyterian church on Saturday, May 21
highlights the art of spring in a new “Seeing the Light” exhibit opening May 27
opens summer activities at its seasonal Keuka Lake facility, Sunny Point, with a pig roast on June 5
is in the final stages of planning this year’s Keuka Arts Festival on June 11 and 12 along the Outlet Trail in Penn Yan.

For information on these and other activities, stop by the Arts Center at 127 Main Street in Penn Yan, call 315-536-8226 or check our website at www.artscenteryatescounty.org.

Spring Workshops

PAINTING WITH GRANT LOUNSBURY

Tuesday, May 3 from 9 a.m. - noon

Painters at every level and working in any medium can improve their technique, composition and perspective working with popular Canadian artist Grant Lounsbury. This is a Zoom class – participate from home or in person at the Arts Center with others in the class! Cost: $30 members, $36 not-yet-members

INTRO TO SOFT PASTELS

Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. with Pat Jackson

Try soft pastels. This introductory class will cover the basics – techniques, grounds, blending colors and more and you’ll have an opportunity to create a still life pastel painting. Cost: $50 members, $60 not-yet-members

BEGINNING TAPESTRY WEAVING

Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. with Craig Sandberg

Join us to learn some basics of tapestry weaving on a simple lap loom. Tapestry is a technique that allows creation of woven images and can include other techniques to add texture instead of weaving on a traditional loom, where design is based on loom set up. Cost: $40 members, $48 not-yet-members

ZENTANGLES

Thursday, May 26 from 1-3 p.m. with Toni Johnson

Zentangle is often referred to as “doodling on steroids.” Learning to draw “tangles” (patterns) and combining the different tangles produces beautiful artworks. If you can print the letters C, I, O, and S you can learn to Zentangle. Attend class at the Arts Center or via Zoom! Cost: $20 members, $24 not-yet-members

SPRING PLEIN AIR WITH KEVIN FEARY

Friday & Saturday, May 27 and 28 from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Are you ready to spring into plein air painting? The colors of spring are popping up everywhere! In this two-day workshop, we will enjoy the spring weather while we paint outdoors, looking for opportunities to exploit all the new colors that have been absent during winter. We will explore all aspects of plein air painting through demonstrations, hands on work and plenty of individual attention. Cost: $150 members, $175 not-yet-members

PAINTING ANIMALS & WILDLIFE

Wednesday, June 1 from 9 a.m. - noon with Grant Lounsbury

Want to include animals in your creative work? Come learn how to combine the use of basic shapes with a little understanding of animal anatomy to create beautiful paintings of animals or wildlife. Whether you want to capture your pet’s furry face, a cow grazing in a pasture or a bird singing on a branch, this class will help get you started. Cost: $30 members, $36 not-yet-members

PAINTING ANIMALS & WILDLIFE

Friday, June 3 from 9 a.m. - noon with Grant Lounsbury

BEGINNING STAINED GLASS

Sunday, June 5 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. with Jeanette Kuehner

Learn the basics of Tiffany-style foil glass assembly. We’ll do a simple suncatcher project using pre-cut glass. Practice simple glass cutting and explore tools used in creating stained glass pieces. Cost: $40 members, $48 not-yet-members, $7 materials fee

LANDSCAPES - DRAWING INTO PAINTING

Monday, June 6 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with Grant Lounsbury

Whether you are creating still-life paintings or landscape panoramas, improved drawing skills can take your paintings to the next level. This class is a creative mix of drawing essentials and fundaments of painting, focusing on scale and proportion, creating perspective, using form and value, designing effective composition and more to create your unique work. Cost: $60 members, $72 not-yet-members

FUNDAMENTALS OF SLAB CREATION (3 sessions)

Monday-Wednesday, June 6-8 from 9 a.m. – noon with Tim Williams

See all the amazing things you can hand build using slabs of clay from geometric (boxes) to “organic” bowls and more. (Pottery is a multi-stage art form. Participants will need to return the following week to glaze their pieces, which will not be ready until after a final firing). Materials fee. Cost: $100 members, $120 not-yet-members

LANDSCAPES - DRAWING INTO PAINTING

Wednesday, June 8 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with Grant Lounsbury

CARTOONING FOR KIDS

Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. – noon with Grant Lounsbury

This class is geared for artists aged 8-14 who have ever wondered how cartoon character take shape. Come explore some drawing basics that are the key to character design and put characters from your own imagination onto the page. Cost: $20/student

Spring Events

FIRST FRIDAY AT THE ARTS CENTER

Friday, May 6 from 5-7 p.m.

Kids of any age are invited to create unique silk scarves (perfect for Mother’s Day!) using permanent markers and rubbing alcohol. Sign up with Elevate Youth at the Yates Community Center or drop in.

YATES COUNTY STUDENT ART EXHIBIT

Opening Friday, May 13 from 6-8 p.m. Featuring work from students in Penn Yan, Dundee and Marcus Whitman Middle Schools, Penn Yan Academy, Dundee High School and Marcus Whitman High School. The exhibit runs from Tuesday, May 10 to Saturday, May 21.

THE MAIN EVENT

Arts Center 10th Anniversary on Main Street Gala, Thursday, May 19 from 6-9 p.m. at the Seasons on Keuka. Live music, food, raffles, wine pull and more. Tickets are $50/person

COMMUNITY ART PROJECT

Saturday, May 21 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Create a giant chalk mural with Bob Gillespie in the parking lot of Penn Yan Presbyterian Church. Call the Arts Center to schedule a time to help!

SEEING THE LIGHT EXHIBIT

Opening Friday, May 27 from 5-7 p.m. Featuring work by Barbara Blumer of Corning and Barbara Doyle of Rushville. The exhibit runs from Tuesday, May 24 to Saturday, July 2.

SUNNY POINT OPENING PIG ROAST

Sunday, June 5 from 1-4 p.m. at Sunny Point – 868 East Lake Road, Dundee.

Tickets are $25 each for pork, baked beans, coleslaw and roll. Eat in or take out. Free beer and wine tasting. Live music.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 2022 KEUKA ARTS FESTIVAL

Saturday and Sunday, June 11-12 on the Outlet Trail in Penn Yan

More than 70 artists and vendors, live musical performances, food and activities. Admission is free. For more information go to www.keukaartsfestival.com

The Arts Center of Yates County is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 7 p.m. on First Fridays. Admission is free. For more information call the Arts Center at 315-536-8226 or email artscenteryates@gmail.com