Photo exhibit opens October 2

By Hope Wallace

The 39^th Annual Photography Exhibit is off and running. Photographers will have received their results by today. We received over 400 entries by 42 photographers! That is an incredible turnout, so thank you for your participation. Youth, adults, professionals and amateurs were encouraged to submit their photographs. The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on October 2 from 1–5 p.m. Photographers will be notified but will not receive their awards until after the award presentation. We’ll have free snacks, live music by Orlando Finelli on guitar and cash bar. For more information please see our website or give us a call. This exhibit will be on view until October 23.

Artists and Photographers the next exhibit to prepare for will be the Wassenberg Artist Member Exhibit & Sale just in time for holiday shopping season! This is an all out make stuff type of sale and all work is accepted, all you have to do is be an existing Wassenberg Art Center member or join at the time of submission. We have a juror determine awards. Art check-in is scheduled for Friday, November 11, 12, and 13 from 1–5 p.m. An entry form with complete details will be mailed to members shortly and will be available on our website soon as well. We hope to see you and your work for this fun annual tradition.

Art Classes:

Watercolor Techniques: is held on Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. – noon. On-going. $40 art center member price/$45 regular price. Instructor: Pat Rayman. Materials required. Online sign up available.

ArtNight: Free. Thursdays 6-9 p.m. Ongoing. Cash bar. This week…maybe we’ll make some disembodied hands for our upcoming Mausoleum Masquerade. Halloween decoration will go into full throttle on September 29. Join in on the party!

ArtReach (ages 7–11 and 12–15) Ongoing: Sign up whenever you want. We still have space available in our popular ArtReach after school art program! Ages 7-11 meet on Tuesdays and ages 12 and up meet on Thursdays. This after-school art program continues for the duration of the school year. Students receive a snack and then get down to creating!

Parents can drop off their youngsters after school and pick them up at 5 p.m. Our program provides students with a much needed boost in visual art instruction, which has been proven to boost critical thinking, math skills and many other academic and social benefits. ArtReach instructor Diane Bendele earned her bachelors degree in art education from Bowling Green State University and her Masters degree in education from Ohio State. As an art educator for 35 years, she has worked with students of all ages in the traditional classroom setting as well as the online classroom. She has organized student art exhibits, and served as judge for art shows. Cost for the program is charged monthly and is $40 for Wassenberg Art Center members and $45 for regular price during the regular school year. Most supplies will be provided. All holidays and cancellations will follow Van Wert City School schedules. An online registration is also available on our website. Need-based scholarships are also available on a limited basis and go quickly. Please contact the Wassenberg Art Center for more information.

Drawing Basic Anatomy: November 9, 16, 21, 29 from 6 – 8 p.m. Recommended ages: 15 and up. Instructor: Matt Temple. Matt holds a degree in computer animation and multimedia from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Defiance College. He has been a frequent instructor at the Wassenberg Art Center and also serves as the office manager there. Matt’s work has been selected consistently in many area exhibits and competitions and he has a strong command of rendering human anatomy. Persons with any skill level will feel at home in this class. Costs are WAC members: $40 and regular price is $45.

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.