OFFERINGS & OPENINGS
Words from Diane Giardi, Director of Learning at the Cultural Center…..
DIANE GIARDI
Joni Mitchell’s “River” plays in the background, scents of fennel and seafood sautéing come from Chef Cizynski in the Culinary Arts Center, students practice French in the Owl Hall, a yoga student stretches out after an early morning session, a clay student trims a mug, and a woodworking student turns a small sculpture in the makerspace. Upstairs, one of our resident artists has a conversation about painting with a first-time visitor while a new piano student warms up in the Village Music studio.. And, throughout the day, visitors make their way through five unique art-filled galleries in a building rich with character and architectural details.
This is a picture of the creative environment I stepped into last week as Director of Learning at the Cultural Center. As an artist, arts educator, and arts administrator, I have dedicated my career to creating arts curriculum and programming, experiences in and out of the classroom for all ages, aimed to innovate and inspire. Public and private school, college, university, and museums and non-profit arts centers have been venues to which my professional life has taken me. A young art student creating a bowl for an empty bowls project, a high school music student singing by the bedside of a palliative care patient, adults in their senior years discovering the joys of plein air painting: these are among the everyday joys and important creative experiences that the arts facilitate.
I strongly believe in the benefits of arts for a community: socially, individually, artistically, and for mind, body, and soul. Engaging with the arts and with each other makes a community stronger in a multitude of ways.
My goal is to provide, along with our team, openings and offerings for new creative experiences at the Cultural Center. I look forward to meeting you—our visitors, members, and students—to find out your interests and passions. I hope you will stop by anytime for a conversation.
HAPPENING
Five Tuesdays, beginning October 26
From 2-4:30pm
Creative Color – the Painting Big Challenge
With Betsy Payne Cook
Weeks 1, 4 & 5 will be online on Zoom, focusing on demonstration and class exercises.
Week 2 & 3 will be hybrid—live at the Cultural Center but with an option to Zoom.
The focus will be on the steps needed to accommodate a larger format painting.
You’ll review what happens when they “go big,” with tips on how to expand the composition, set proportions for a larger format, and plan color options.
Working large will be relative to each artist’s usual size preferences.
$125 – Member, $140 – Non-Member
