Community Art Classes Spring Up at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 28, 2010) − The University of Kentucky Department of Art will again offer spring noncredit art classes presented through the Fine Arts Institute. The institute will present previous favorites like ceramics, woodworking, jewelry making and Photoshop. Additionally, a new class in embroidery will make its debut between the spring and summer sessions. 

The Fine Arts Institute's eight spring courses and their corresponding instructors are:

- digital photography and Photoshop with local photographer Morgan Siler-Cecil;

- guerilla jewelry I with alumnus Dwayne Cobb, a regional jewelry artist;

- mixed media drawing and collage with alumna Christine Kuhn, a professional artist and educator;

- beginning metal working with Jeremy Colbert, the sculpture and ceramics technician at UK Department of Art;

- watercolor painting with professional artist and educator Helena Pappas;

- ceramics with alumna Jill Stofer, a professional clay artist and owner of Main Cross Gallery;

- creative drawing and painting, also with Kuhn; and

- woodworking with Lynn Sweet, head of the UK's woodworking program.

Most spring classes presented by the UK Fine Arts Institute will be held in UK Department of Art facilities, including the Reynolds Buildings on South Broadway, the Fine Arts Building on Rose Street, and the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library. The guerilla jewelry course will not meet on campus, and instead will be presented at the artist's studios at Dancin' Dog Designs, located at 100B Main St., in Midway, Ky.
 
The Spring 2010 Session for the UK Fine Arts Institute will begin Feb. 8 and continue through April 16. Classes meet two to three hours once a week in the evening or on Saturday mornings. Fees vary according to the class. To register for a course this session contact the institute by the beginning of the session on Feb. 8.

In conjunction with the institute's spring courses, open drawing sessions will again be offered with Anthony Roccanova, associate professor of architecture at the UK School of Architecture. These sessions are not formally a part of the Fine Arts Institute. The sessions are informal; no instruction is offered.

Additionally, national artist Elizabeth Robbins, formerly Pruitt, will return this spring to host a separate painting workshop for individuals looking for a more condensed format. This three-day intermediate painting workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 16-18, 2010.

Robbins, whose work can be found in private collections throughout the nation, is represented by several galleries, including Mountain Trails Gallery, in Park City, Utah, and Palm Desert, Calif.; Journeys West Gallery, in Solana Beach, Calif.; Legacy Gallery, in Jackson Hole, Wy., and Scottsdale, Ariz.; Tierney Fine Art, in Bozeman, Mont.; Highlands Art Gallery, in Chester, N.J.; and Manchester Vermont Fine Art Gallery, in Manchester, Vt. She is a member of the Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, the Kansas City Art League, and a signature member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painter's Society.

Between the spring and summer session, the UK Fine Arts Institute will also offer a special class in embroidery. The French couture embroidery master-class will be taught by Robert Haven, a costume technician at the UK Department of Theatre. This embroidery course will be offered in two sessions; the first session will be June 2-5 and the second, June 9-12. For complete details on the embroidery course, visit: http://web.me.com/rwhaven/French_Embroidery/Welcome.html

For more information on the UK Fine Arts Institute's spring session, the painting workshop with Elizabeth Robbins, or the master-class in embroidery with Robert Haven, contact Jane Andrus at (859) 257-8151 or by e-mail to jane.andrus@uky.edu.