The Arts Center

Cheese Tasting Workshop with Gustav Ericson

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:31:08 +0000

Join Gustav and Drue from The Honest Weight Food Co-op for a unique culinary workshop that will introduce foodies of all levels to a wide variety of fine cheeses. You’ll learn to taste the difference between cow’s milk cheeses, to sheep and goat, raw milk cheeses, and more. This workshop will also cover suggested wine and food pairings, as well as the different regions all over the world where some of the finest cheeses come from. Best of all, you’ll get to try everything! Be sure to bring a notebook, you’ll want to jot down your favorites so you can pick them up at Honest Weight!

Precious Metal Clay Exploration

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:05:15 +0000

Explore the many ways that you can use fine silver Precious Metal Clay to create jewelry designs of your own. Precious Metal Clay can be shaped like clay to produce uniquely textured surfaces, and once it is fired in the kiln, it results in shiny, durable, and beautiful silver jewelry. Students will have the opportunity to make pendants, earrings, beads, charms and rings. The class will also cover techniques for setting and firing stones. Each student will leave with at least three fully finished pieces of jewelry. Students at all levels of experience are welcome to join in the fun. Students will pay a studio fee of $75 directly to the instructor at the start of class. Please note that this price is subject to increase or decrease based on the market price of silver at the time.

Spring has Sprung

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:06:52 +0000

Spring has sprung here at The Arts Center! This week we will discover the new season through an assortment of projects and learning experiences, drawing from artists and nature. We’ll walk trough The Arts Center’s galleries to get inspiration for imaginative drawings, view the artwork of Georgia O’Keefe to make our own watercolor flower paintings. We’ll make prints with plant life, and build gigantic bug sculptures with found objects. Join us as we welcome in the warm weather with a week full of art!

Ensemble Congeros: ‘Chasing The Rhythms’ DVD Release Party

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:15:22 +0000

Congeros are known for their commitment to rhythm and the drum as the medium for communication. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Eddie Ade Knowles, Ensemble Congeros, is an outgrowth of the interest and passion of Rensselaer students who successfully completed Dr. Knowles’ course, “Introduction to Afro-Cuban Percussion” and wanted to continue “chasing the rhythms.” The group, dedicated to the study of Afro-Cuban, African and New World percussion has thrilled audiences throughout the Capital Region, and has become a favorite guest at the Arts Center. Please join us as we celebrate the release of their first DVD, “Ensemble Congeros: Chasing the Rhythms” a compilation of dynamic live performances.

Rock & Roll for Grown-ups

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:13:31 +0000

featuring The Rob Skane 3 and Special Guest the Sandy McKnight Fiasco

Rob Skane grew up in Central New York with one ear on the radio and one hand on his guitar case. “Phantom Power Trip” is a breakthrough album for this career artist, featuring 11 smart hook-filled tunes from left of the dial. “It’s A Great Day,” isn’t kid stuff. You can’t sing it with a smirk. But you can sing it with a hook that goes on for days, your left hand wrapped around the neck of your guitar on one of those impossible British D chords. And “Ballad Of A Small Man” is not one of those songs penned by a whip smart college kid with daddy’s keys in his pocket. It’s the stuff of an actual father making his way through this wicked world, looking for harmony while wrestling bills, memories and a really rock and roller’s lack of marketable social skills. “Phantom Power Trip.” Take it. It’s Skane’s trip, but it’s yours too.

Master Class with Kristen Kieffer | Elegant & Ornate: Form & Surface

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:17:27 +0000

Don’t miss this special opportunity to work with renowned ceramic artist, Kristen Kieffer in this weekend master class. This demo-based workshop will focus on altering wheel-thrown (or hand-built) forms. Students will observe the artist as she embellishes these forms with an array of decoration techniques. The result can be functional or sculptural, minimal or extravagant. You will leave the workshop with a collection of new skills and the confidence to play and draw from your own influences. Demonstrations include throwing, altering and building off the wheel, darting, and a variety of decoration techniques including: stamp-making and stamping, slip-trailing, slip-sponging and paper resist. We will discuss aesthetics and proportion, timing in clay, idea-generation, and progressing one’s own work with learned techniques. Come and be inspired to play!

Kristen Kieffer is a a full-time studio potter, workshop leader and ceramics instructor working in north central Massachusetts. She received her MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University, and has exhibited her work internationally in juried and invitational exhibitions, as well as taught workshops around North America at craft centers and universities. Kristen’s work is in numerous private and public collections in the United States and abroad.

Farmer’s Market Yoga

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:15:49 +0000

Before your weekly trip to the farmer’s market, stop into The Arts Center for an all-levels, welcoming, community-minded yoga class. This “yoga fusion” class has an upbeat, energetic vibe supported by eclectic music that will suit yogis of all levels. Om style yoga is a blended practice of flowing yoga asanas informed by precise attention to alignment and supported by the relaxed wakefulness of Buddhist mindfulness meditation. What a great way to begin your weekend! Sign up for a six-session course, or simply drop in.

Cheese Tasting Workshop with Gustav Ericson

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:02:09 +0000

The Art and Construction of Homemade Sausage

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:09:35 +0000

In this class, you’ll review the techniques required for traditional sausage making. You’ll then learn how to grind, season and case the meat into sausage. The group will use these techniques to create a basic pork sausage and then more complex sausages, such as chorizo, andouille and bratwurst. The class will also discuss various ways to prepare sausage, from classic preparations to cold and hot smoking.

Art Around the World

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:10:57 +0000

Get ready to travel the world at lightning speed. This week you will experience the magic and meaning of the art of different countries. Learn about the art of Russia, craft Egyptian mummies and African masks; create Chinese fans and dragons; make paper come to life by mastering traditional Asian paper folding, origami; and so much more! While you explore these and other artforms from a variety of cultures you will also have the opportunity to tell your own cultural story through such projects as the creation of a family crest based in Celtic design and symbols, a book about your heritage and a portrait that depicts your family and cultural traditions.