Annual June Art Exhibit opening this Saturday

By Hope Wallace

Our 60^th Annual June Art Exhibit will be opening this Saturday! We have great art and since we are turning 60 years old this year we are planning a great birthday party.  In addition to great artwork will be featuring returning musicians T.O.E.S! (The One Eyed Show). Come jam, eat, dance and buy art with us on June 11, 6–9 p.m. Artists will be recognized with awards at 7 p.m. Free entry, great food, birthday cupcakes and cash bar.

We have added an additional 4-day camp for young people. Animal Art Camp! This workshop-style camp is open to young people ages: 7–18 and will be held on June 28, 29, 30 and July 1, from 3–5 p.m. Four solid days of intensive animal art creation. Instructor Diane Bendele will instruct projects consisting of foam tray printing, paper maché snakes, design your own art work-aprons, fresco tiles and more. Cost is $35 Wassenberg Art Center members and $40 regular. Materials included. Optional online sign up is available here: http://www.wassenbergartcenter.org/announcements/animal-art-camp

We have limited spaces left in our expanded Summer Youth Art Program to 8 weeks for 2016! Eight weeks of great art projects designed specifically for ages 6-18 by our program coordinator Megan Thomas and instructor, Maria Coward. Classes meet Wednesday (ages 6-9 years) and Thursday (ages 10-18) 10 a.m. to noon. All materials supplied. Cost for a 4-week session is $30 members and $35 regular price. Interested parties may call the art center or sign up online at: http://www.wassenbergartcenter.org/announcements/summer-art-program

Thanks to those of you who have purchased your duck adoptions for Town Creek Live (Formerly Eats on the Streets)! Adopt your duck now for a chance to win $1000 and other prizes! Mark your calendars for July 9, 3 p.m. – midnight. We will have 11 gourmet food trucks, more ducks and not one, but two outdoor bands this year! Fire-performers Pyroscope will be here and have been rehearsing new acts. Sam Dell of Bryan will be joining us earlier in the day inside the gallery for live entertainment and we are welcoming the pipes of Aubrey Gebert, one of Van Wert’s youngest up and coming musicians! Dan Smythe Band (6-piece) of Fort Wayne begins at 5 p.m. and will be followed by the Holbrook Brother’s Band of Montpelier. This is an outrageous combo Van Wert’s own Real Human Robot will return to keep things lively. Ducks will go on sale shortly and this year’s recipient of our donation will be The Recking Crew! Ducks will be $5 each or $25 for a 6-piece quack pack. Buy a quack-pack and get some free flair, a “My duck is faster than yours” commemorative button!

Art Classes:

Watercolor Techniques: Tuesday 10 a.m.-noon. Ongoing. $35 art center member price/$40 regular price. Instructor: Pat Rayman. Materials required. Online sign up available. Note: The class will take a break during July and will resume the following month. Contact the art center for exact dates.

Evening Pottery: Wednesday 6-8 p.m. Ongoing, six-week sessions. Instructor: Megan Thomas. $70 members/$75 regular. Some materials required. Twenty-five lbs. of clay is included.

ArtNight: Free. Thursdays 6-9 p.m. Ongoing. Cash bar.

Acrylic Painting: Instructor: Pat Rayman, $40 art center member price, $45 regular price. Want to learn how to master one of our favorite mediums? Acrylic painting taught by Pat Rayman will commence on Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m.  Call the art center for more information on the number of Fridays the class will run. Cost of the class will be $40 art center members/$45 regular. Materials required: 8″x10″ canvas paper pad, canvas boards, stretched canvas or artist panel boards (one per class) at least (5) tubes acrylic paint, white, black, red, blue and yellow, a drawing pencil, palette (we use foam or paper plates), kneaded eraser. Online sign-up available.

Daytime Drawing Class: A morning drawing class to be held on Fridays, beginning on Sept. 9 and running through Sept. 16, 23, and 30  from 10 a.m. until noon for ages 14 and up. Instructor Pat Rayman will demonstrate new ways to improve drawing skill to produce more dramatic results. Materials needed are: a sketchbook or drawing paper, drawing pencils, HB and 2B a black pen (fine or medium point) and colored pencils. 
Materials needed are: a sketchbook or drawing paper, drawing pencils, HB and 2B a black pen (fine or medium point) and colored pencils. Online sign-up available.

For more information on exhibits or to sign up for classes and events visit: wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 214 S. Washington St. (former Van Wert Armory). We can also be reached by telephone at: 419.238.6837, email: info@wassenbergartcenter.org and our website is: wassenbergartcenter.org.