SAXTONS RIVER — Main Street Arts is adding the art of photography to its fall line up of classes and workshops with three special offerings for the digital photographer.
Mark Thiel will offer Introduction to Photo Editing in a daytime class Wednesdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in two six-week sessions. The emphasis will be on editing and enhancing photos to make them pop. The fee per session is $55 for members and $70 for non-members.
A workshop Introduction to Digital Photography will meet Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2 and 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with photographer Bill Sumner. Basic concepts of photography, including lighting, will be practiced by taking photos around the village and exploring software available to manipulate images. A digital camera is required.
Sumner has had a long career in professional photography, serving clients in the leisure, corporate and advertising fields. Examples of his work can be seen at www.billsumner.com.
Sonya Vickers will lead another workshop co-sponsored by the Nature Museum at Grafton Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme will be Digital Macro Photography, exploring the close-up world revealed by the camera such as the interior of flowers or the faces of insects.
The fee for either workshop is $72 for members and $96 for non-members.
Most classes at the community arts center begin the week of Sept. 13. A new offering this session is Iyengar Yoga led by Chris Beach. The 15-week class will meet Tuesdays from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. for a fee of $90 for members and $120 for non-members. It joins the line up of Tai Chi, Strength Training and Zumba that exercise the mind and the body. Tai Chi meets Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. with Betsy Eldredge ($90 for members, $120 non-members) and Strength Training is offered Tuesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and Friday from 9 to 10 a.m. by donation.
The Latin-dance-based Zumba is so popular that there are two options: Mondays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with Amanda Gilbert-Hodgson ($90 members, $120 non-members) for 15 weeks and the same hour Thursdays with Rachael Shaw ($78 members, $104 non-members) for 13 weeks. Drop-ins are welcome for a small fee.
New this year is a Bollywood Dance workshop with Gretchen Abendschein on Friday, Nov. 12 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. for a fee of $9 for members and $12 for non-members. It will be a fusion of westernized contemporary funk with semi-classical folk dance of India.
String Band will continue to meet Wednesdays from 5 to 6:15 p.m. under the direction of Jill Newton. The fee is $78 for members and $104 for non-members for the 13-week session.
In addition to photography, MSA is offering several workshops for adults and teens:
• Making Herbal Salves - Sunday, Oct. 3, 1 to 4 p.m. with Laura Senes. $28 members, $34 non-members;
• Botanicals on Glass – Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 to 4 p.m. with Sloan Dawson. $16 members, $20 non-members; and
• Memory Writing: Gateways to Creativity – Saturday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. -12:30 p.m. with Elayne Clift. $15 members, $20 non-members.
• Families are invited to participate in Decorating Holiday Ornaments, Saturday, Dec. 4, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. ($24 members, $27 non-members).
Details on these and other classes are available on the MSA website at www.MainStreetArts.org. Generous scholarship assistance is available for all classes and workshops.
MSA continues its commitment to exposing children to the arts from an early age by offering Music and Art for ages 2 -5 Mondays from 10 to 10:45 a.m. with Mary Hepburn ($35 members, $50 non-members) and the Children's Chorus for ages 6 and older Sunday, Nov. 21, 28 and Dec. 5 from 3 to 4:30 p.m., with performances Dec. 10 and 11 as part of MSA's annual offering “Songs for a Winter's Eve.” This program is led by Valerie Kosednar and is free.
Singing, Games, Music and Movement for ages 6 and older Thursdays from Oct. 14 to Nov. 18 from 4 to 5 p.m. under the direction of Kosednar ($24 members, $32 non-members) and Papier Mâché Thursdays, Dec. 2, 9, and 16 from 4 to 5 p.m. with Wilma Skovinski for ages 7 and older ($18 members, $24 non-members) are offering in conjunction with the Creative Arts Program (CAP), but are also open to others.
CAP is an arts enrichment program in its second year for ages 6 and older that meets Mondays and/or Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. throughout the school year, with children escorted to MSA from the local elementary school. Reservation and pricing information is available by calling MSA at 802-869-2960 or e-mailing [email protected].
MSA will also continue its series of monthly foreign language potlucks Sundays at 6 p.m. from September through November.
Now in its 23rd year, Main Street Arts is a non-profit arts center dedicated to serving the creative needs of the greater community by encouraging creative exploration and expression through a wide range of experiences.