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Photo of a shape etched for printmaking on wood.

Berkeley Arts Council excited for fall session, return of in-person classes

MARTINSBURG — While creativity is in the spirit of 116 N. Queen St., the artistic flair is returning to Berkeley Art Works in a sense as the Berkeley Arts Council returns to in-person classes this month.

Most classes will be held in person with a Zoom option as well. The fall session begins on Sept. 7 as the council offers numerous opportunities for creative outlets in various mediums.

This session's classes include acrylic paint and palette knife technique, The Creative You!, creative landscape painting, making Clay tiles (Tessellations), printmaking with mixed media and become a color pro.

The return of in-person meetings brings a renewed excitement to the council as members weighed all sides of the decision.

"We're really hesitant about doing this with the numbers right now," Anna Howard, president of the council said. "When we were looking back in June, it was like, 'Definitely! Maybe we won't do Zoom classes at all!' It's been a difficult decision.

"The virus is going to be around a while, and we’re going to have to learn how to work around it and with it safely. That’s this step out. I really think for everybody’s mental health, we’ve got to start doing this kind of stuff in the best and safest way we can and go from there."

The programs will require face coverings and proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for participation. Classes will also be formatted in a way to promote physical distancing.

With two new classes and instructors to supplement an already diverse schedule, the fall session offers opportunities for just about every type of artist. That plays into the goal of the Arts Council: providing space to all types of art with a high-level of instruction.

The Arts Council has offered classes since 2012.

"The important thing for the Art Council, in their education programming, has always been that we don’t just present classes, that we present classes that are professional levels," Howard said. "All of our teachers have not necessarily certification but they have serious credentials in art of some form."

 

One of the new classes is The Creative You!, which is the first in a series that will be led by Joe Santoro. The program is about loosening up and shedding in preconceived confines within art, finding outlets that suit each artist.

"I make clocks out of found objects, so that assemblage art isn’t mainstream," Howard said. "That’s really where Joe is going as far letting people who have that kind of art instinct, showing them it’s OK and that it’s an acceptable art form."

Santoro brings a level of whimsy to art that reinvigorates a love within many, transferring his energy that comes with outlets like Wonderment Puppet Theater or Hedgesville Elementary art classes to an older set of students.

 

"He brings an attitude toward art that I don’t know how to put," Howard paused. "It’s childlike yet adult. He transfers for his enthusiasm that he uses with children, and adults don’t feel uncomfortable being childlike."

 

The other new class focuses on clay tiles and tessellations, which is creating bigger patterns by aligning smaller patters. Howard explained it with the visual of Mexican and Italian tiles that each have their own design but can be displayed beside one another to create a larger picture.

 

Howard said the classes are designed for students to drop in as possible or to build from session to session, whichever best fits an individuals schedule. 

 

Artists of all ages, experience and backgrounds are welcome as are new ideas and interested instructors. For more information or to register, visit www.berkeleyartswv.org.

 

Pre-registration is required for all classes and space is limited.  Direct questions can be sent via e-mail to instruction@berkeleyartswv.org or called to 304-620-7277 during business hours, Wednesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

For the Berkeley Arts Council fall session schedule, visit this story on journal-news.net.

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