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Arts Council of Princeton Presents Spring 2011 Classes & Workshops for Adults, Teens, Tweens, and Children

Registration for the Arts Council of Princeton’s Spring Classes at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts is now open. Classes for children, teens, and adults in the visual, literary, and performing arts begin April 25, 2011.  Registration is open to the general public, with special discounts available for Arts Council members.

There is no better way to experience the dynamic and distinctive Paul Robeson Center for the Arts than to enroll in an Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) class. Students of all ages and skill levels who are interested in developing their artistic ability, as well as their creative thinking skills, will find a wide selection of courses to choose from with offerings in Ceramics and Sculpture, Digital Arts and Darkroom Photography,Painting, Drawing, Writing, Dance, and Theater Arts, to name a few. 
 
The Arts Council is pleased to welcome new instructors in the spring semester, in addition to the esteemed professional faculty members returning to the ACP. The spring semester will also feature over 50 new classes and workshops! The ACP’s wide selection of art classes offers something for everyone and is a great way to kick off the spring season.  
 
Select highlights in the Spring Classes schedule for adults include Garden Art & Plant Swap, Architectural Illustration, Drawing What the Eye Sees, Japanese Flower Arranging, Mixed Media: Visual Poems, The Photographic Essay, and Creating Original Cloth. Teens & Tweens offerings include Tween Ceramics, Fashion Illustration, Bollywood 101, and Graphic Design. Children can try A Show Of Your Own, Fun with Art, The Art of Puppetry, or Kids on Canvas! For those who are unable to commit to a full semester, the ACP also offers Workshops such as Revision Workshop and will introduce a series of 3-hour digital classes including CGI: Visual FX and Game Design with Flash. Also, David Shevlino will return in June to offer the 2-day workshop Creative Composition in Painting.
 
Classes begin on April 25, 2011. Full descriptions of courses are on the ACP’s website at www.artscouncilofprinceton.org. Students may register for classes online, in person, or by phone. Class registration is open to the general public. Students do not have to be Princeton residents to take classes and membership is not required to enroll, but ACP members receive benefits such as discounts on registration fees. Full information about membership is available on the ACP website.
 
Classes take place in the Paul Robeson Center, which includes a renovated Ceramics Studio with ten throwing wheels and three kilns, digital arts studio, dance studio, darkroom, and studio art space. Arts Council classes are led by experienced professional instructors teaching beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes consisting of small groups of students in a comfortable and supportive atmosphere.  New classes will be added to our website, so please check regularly for updates. Highlights of select spring classes are:
 
ADULTS (select classes are also open to Teens)
Architectural Illustration - In this class we will work from photographs to illustrate buildings, whether they are personal or public, using pen & ink and/or pencil and watercolor. This is a class in illustration and caricature, not architecture. Finished illustrations can be reproduced for notecards, stationary, and logos.
 
Ikebana: Fine Art of Traditional Japanese Flower Arranging - This new course will teach students how to create beautiful floral arrangements according to the Sogetsu-style of Ikebana. Demonstrations of a variety of techniques and structures will be supplemented by an introduction to the basic underlying spiritual concepts. These will be followed by an active hands-on approach resulting in individualized arrangements for participants to take home each session.
 
Mixed Media: Visual Poems - This class will explore how to create works of art on paper, or "visual poems", using a combination of various materials. The class will address how formal principles like scale, juxtaposition and manipulation work in a collage piece.  
 
The Photographic Essay - This new course will guide students through the process of creating a visual narrative using a suite of images to tell a story. Participants will choose a theme and develop it over the course of the term. Weekly sessions will include evaluation, critique, and discussion. Analogue or digital camera (any format) required.
 
TWEENS & TEENS
Tween Ceramics - This introductory section will address skills required for subsequent ceramics classes in hand building and decorative elements of clay.
 
Bollywood 101 - Get a glimpse into the shimmering magic of Bollywood with this new 3-hour introduction.  Participants will learn the basic moves and grooves of Bollywood dancing.  The celebration culminates in a group dance performance to the tune of "Jai Ho".
 
Graphic Design - Explore the exciting world of Graphic Design which encompasses mathematics, history, language, and creativity. This new series of classes will teach students how to communicate visually using typography and images. Students will learn basic principles of graphic design, such as contrast, repetition, scale, balance, proximity/unity, and use of white space.
 
CHILDREN
A Show of Your Own - A journey to Imagine, Think and Create your own show. A place where children can be the characters they dreamed of – a pirate, a wizard, a superhuman, a fairy…. and learn to develop them, generate a storyline together, contribute to the script, design costumes and sets, and produce a play, all their own.
 
The Art of Puppetry - Students are invited to explore the art of puppetry utilizing numerous media. Students will make finger puppets, wooden spoon puppets, folk-art apple puppets, Mexican masks, and papier-mache self-portrait puppets. The exciting culmination of the session will be the creation of individualized toy theaters.
 
Kids on Canvas - Students will paint on canvas using themselves as the subject. Projects will include individualized life-size paintings and other expressive works of art. Young artists will further develop their artistic skills, while discovering their own unique personal style as their works "come to life"!
 
WORKSHOPS
Creative Composition in Painting - The emphasis for this new two-day workshop led by David Shevlino will be on how to create an exciting and interesting composition by broadening the scope of what students choose for subject matter. After a painting demonstration, students will be encouraged to be imaginative and to work from any number of sources of subject matter.
 
Revision Workshop - Are you ready to publish your short stories, non-fiction or poetry? This workshop will include a general discussion about the publishing process (including strategies and helpful hints) as well as an opportunity to workshop one of your creative pieces with a group of your peers. Open to all levels of writers.
 
For full descriptions and a complete list of classes, visit www.artscouncilofprinceton.org. The website is updated regularly, so always check for new additions! For more information, contact Liz Murray, Education Director at emurray@artscouncilofprinceton.org.