Meredith Art Galleries Offer ‘Artists as Teachers’ Summer Program

Michael Milburn teaching a Koi workshop

This summer, many of the art galleries in Meredith will be offering a very special program of classes and workshops to bring a variety of hands-on lessons to the guests and residents of this picturesque and inspiring lakeside NH village. The Artists as Teachers program, a joint effort by Gallery 51, the lakes gallery at chi-lin, Vynn Art Gallery, and Kairos Art Space, was created to encourage people to come to Meredith to not only find great art, but to be able to study it with the artists themselves.

The Artists as Teachers program will be held throughout July and August at each of the participating galleries, with a diverse schedule of classes taught by respected and accomplished artists from across New England.  On Thursday, June 28^th, the galleries will hold opening receptions for the new program, in a setting where guests can view the artists’ exhibits, learn all about the classes being offered, and have the first chance to sign up for one or several workshops.

At the lakes gallery at chi-lin, many Asian brush-painting workshops will be available, including several focused classes by Portsmouth artist Bruce Iverson, Boston artist Michael Milburn, and Sue Yang, prominent Asian artist and teacher at the MFA in Boston. The lakes gallery at chi-lin will also offer letter-arts workshops such as manuscript gilding by Maryanne Grebenstein, teacher at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, and Italic calligraphy sessions led by Suzanne Lee. For flower lovers there will be a Japanese flower arranging workshop by Antoinette Drouart of Ikebana Flower in Nashua, and for those wishing to hone their drawing skills, the gallery is offering two sessions by Moultonboro artist Estelle Smith.

At Vynn Art, Vynnie will be teaching classes in his popular Sculpey Clay for kids and adults. He will also be sharing his special talent, cartooning, this summer. The opening reception at Vynn Art will feature work by local artists who will be offering their own workshops over the summer in many media.

Local Meredith artist Christina Hodecker-George will continue her well-known lessons in oil, watercolor, and pastel at Gallery 51, and at Kairos Art Space, Italian sculptor Carmelo Midili is offering Drawing and Painting from Life, a concentrated, two-day workshop offering the absolute basics for getting started in drawing and painting.

Although there is no dedicated art center in Meredith, the local galleries wish to offer art to everyone, and to provide an outlet for folks to express and practice their creativity. Please visit the galleries next Thursday and find out what a rich and diverse art community the Lakes Region has!

Carrie Reed
The Mill Falls Blogging Team