Thank goodness it's passed and we have survived Blue Monday. You haven't heard about Blue Monday? It fell on January 23 of this year. According to a non-too-scientific study, it was the most depressing day of the year. Seriously, a guy named Dr. Cliff Arnall devised a formula that factored in holiday debts, the hour of sundown, cold grey (surprisingly he didn't include wet) weather, the amount of time since Christmas had passed and despondence over failing to keep New Year's resolutions. And there you have it. So the good news is that from here on things are only going to get brighter. At the Bowen Island Arts Council (BIAC) we firmly believe a sure fire way to ensure that's the case is to jump into a class that will stimulate creativity, enhance the brain and inspire the mind (and chase those blues away).
Did you ever want to try your hand at painting? Janet Esseiva will lead a class for beginners in February. All ages are welcome to take this step-by-step program, using acrylic paints, creating a glowing palette and compositional sketch, with the final result of creating a vibrant landscape on canvas. Janet is a talented artist and skilled, kind teacher. Her students in her continuing class also working with acrylics and focusing on landscape will readily attest to that. Introduction to Acrylic painting runs for four Monday mornings, beginning February 6. The cost for the class, for 10 hours of instruction is $95. Janet's Painting Snowscapes class, held on Wednesday evenings for four weeks beginning on February 1, is also $95.
Relative newcomer to Bowen, Mary Kastle knows how to scare away negative emotions. She'll share her secrets in her Songwriting classes, one for adults and one for youth, beginning Thursday, February 2, running for three sessions. With Mary's help, you'll be able to create music that captures the ears and heart with just the right tune and words. The program will hone skills in lyric and melody writing, chord progressions, arranging and more. Work individually and in teams, sharing work-in-progress in a supportive environment among your peers. The youth class runs from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. and costs $75, while the fee for the adult version is $125, and the class is set go from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
If you don't have time to sign up for classes, why not consider a workshop?
Artist and art therapist, Tamara Pearl is inviting participants to explore Art As Expression on Sunday, February 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. During this three hour session, students will let go of trying to draw or paint something representation. Rather, they'll tap into the natural, universal expressive abilities through a series of exercises to generate "mark making" from inside and to revitalize spontaneity. The workshop will also teach a technique to use art as a creative decision-making tool. How cool is that? The cost for the workshop is $30.
All of the above courses will be held at the Gallery at Artisan Square. Please register through the Community Recreation Office.
A very exciting workshop for artists is set to go Saturday, February 4. Chris Tyrell from Opus will be visiting Bowen to help with the hardest part of art marketing it! Author of a number of books on the subject, Chris will be presenting tips and advice on promotion and sales that highlight the business aspect of being an artist. The full day workshop, held at the Rob Wall Gallery at Artisan Square is $149, with 10 per cent off for members of the BIAC. Register through Marc Baur, via email at [email protected].
For more information about arts and cultural programming, including our classical concerts and other events, please visit our website at www.biac.ca.
