Ageless Art in St. Albert: Creativity can strike at any age

A new school year has begun. The kids have slowly, if not reluctantly, settled back into the education routine, and life seems pretty much back to normal. However, you start thinking why should kids have all the fun in learning new things? Learning a new language or upgrading your computer skills—though useful—aren’t arresting your interest. You want something creative, something your hands can create, something with a tangible item at the end of your class. Luckily for your, St. Albert is a great outlet for your artistic endeavours.

The Arts and Heritage St. Albert (AHSA), which encompasses the Art Gallery of St. Albert and Musée Héritage Museum, is always offering art programs and classes to fit any style, medium and type of art you want for any skill level. Ageless Art is just one of the many programs that the Gallery offers. As Tamara Carlson from AHSA’s marketing and communications explains, “The Gallery delivers Ageless Art classes to help adults develop and explore visual literacy with confidence. There’s a variety of classes for a variety of participants from the ‘scared stiff’ to the ‘happily creative.’”

Ageless Art’s main focus is to get adults more engaged with the gallery’s exhibits. In a social, non-threatening setting, you receive a guided tour of the current exhibit then head down to the studio to try your hand at recreating it under the guidance of a professional and with artist-grade materials. These monthly classes help you see artists’ work from a more informed perspective.

If moulding clay has always tempted you, you might be interested in one of the pottery classes. From throwing to firing, you’ll get professional instruction and artist-grade Alberta clay. If you’re unsure what type of art is calling to you, as so many seem to pique your interest, then try out the Sampler Series consisting of four classes—you can take one or all four. You can try collage work, drawing, printmaking and Suminagashi, which is a Japanese paper marbling. Not only will you gain a bit of knowledge in a variety of art, you’ll also meet artists who are in the same I-want-to-try-it-all frame of mind.

Collaging with mixed media, making wrapping paper, using a printing press, painting with non-brush objects—it’s all there for you to learn. Tamara explains, “Many adults are exploring art for the first time after their children have grown or are in the early stages of retirement and are seeking a way to cultivate their creative side.” So it doesn’t matter if you’ve never squished clay in your hands or smeared paint across a canvas; if you know you want to create something with your hands as your imagination guides you, there’s nothing stopping you.

Things to Consider

• Ageless Art is for adults 18 years or older. Most art programs offered by the Gallery or through AHSA will have an age restriction due to what types of materials or methods are used.
• This month you can try image transferring, which is inspired by the Gallery`s current exhibit Reconstructions by Brenda Danbrook. Next month, the class will be exploring the use of positive and negative spaces to create a dynamic composition—think light and shadow.
• Prices for classes range anywhere from $18 to over $200. If you’re a member of AHSA, you may be entitled to a discount.
• Wear old clothes that you don’t mind if they get paint, clay, glue or ink splattered.
• Ageless Art is very much a social setting, where meeting new people is just as much fun as learning a new type of art.

For more information click here