News

The image above was created by our talented speaker for the May monthly meeting on May 3rd at the Lansdale Public Library.  The piece is titled “Above the Water”

As it states on his website http://michael-adams-studio.com , ” Michael Adams is a free-lance illus­tra­tor, design­er and a fine artist. He is well known in the col­lectible indus­try and designs pro­duct lines in a vari­ety of themes and sub­ject mat­ter. He has illus­trat­ed numer­ous children’s books and is a mem­ber of the Soci­ety of Children’s Book Writ­ers and Illus­tra­tors. As a fine artist, he is rec­og­nized for his por­traits of birds and land­scapes in water­col­or, acrylic and sculp­ture. He par­tic­i­pates in local and region­al exhi­bi­tions.

From 1992 – 1998 and 2006 – 2014 Michael taught at the Uni­ver­si­ty of the Arts as a Senior Lec­tor in the Illus­tra­tion pro­gram. His cours­es includ­ed Pic­to­ri­al Foun­da­tion, Medi­ums and Tech­niques and Children’s Book Illus­tra­tion.”

Michael is presenting his Wildlife Art on Wednesday evening and will inform us with his knowledge The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and will end about 8:30 p.m. Join us for a fun and informational evening at the Lansdale Public Library at 301 Vine St., Lansdale, PA.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 215 393 9110 or e-mail at info@northpennarts.org

Our Summer Art Camps at the North Penn High School are fun and instructive. From the week of July 10 to the week of July 24 we offer some fun and instructive art camps.

North Penn Arts Alliance and the Lansdale Parks and Recreation Department will run a PRINTMAKING/ COLLAGE Course for five weeks starting on April 4th . Classes will be held on the following dates: April 4, April 18, May 2, May 16, and May 23 this will be a three hour class on the above dates from 1:00 to 4:00p.m. Class fee is $108.00. Classes will be held at the Lansdale Parks and Recreation building at 660 Lansdale Ave, Lansdale, PA.

Your instructor Barbara Moss Buscher, an award winning artist, will instruct beginners as well as accomplished artists to learn various printmaking techniques. Some of these include monoprint/monotype, collograph, and drypoint etching, using an etching press to create beautiful original artwork suitable for framing or gift giving. Working with color and texture you will combine your prints with a variety of mediums such as torn & cut papers, paint and found objects to create unique works of art on paper or board. Experimentation and using your imagination is encouraged, no prior experience needed. Demos and constructive critiques will be given. Supplies will be discussed in first class. Please bring pencil and paper to class.

 You may register at Lansdale Parks & Recreation by calling them at 215-361-8353.

Join us on February 1st at the Lansdale Public Library where famed Glass Artist, Will Dexter will tell us what it takes to create Art Glass and talk about some of his pieces large and small.

Then join us on February 20th as we take a field trip to where Will Dexter creates these pieces in Boyertown, PA. Details on the field trip will be available at the February 1st meeting.

We the North Penn Arts Alliance offer art classes for the young and young at art through the North Penn School District’s Continuing Education Program.  Registration is now available at http://www.northpenncep.org for 10, 8, or even 5 week sessions and they vary in media and subject.  All classes are held at the North Penn High School. We are listing the classes below but please check our Calendar for the actual dates and times.

For starters we offer children classes on Saturdays for Multi Media, Drawing,  Cartooning, and Oil/Acrylic Painting. The Multi Media class is an introduction to making art using various mediums and techniques that include paints, printmaking, pastels, markers, clay and more. This class is broken into two , one and a half hour sessions, one at 9 and the other at 11 students from grades K to 6 can attend.

We also have two drawing classes available on Saturdays the first session is for those beginning to draw and is geared for grades 2- 5 the class for this group on the Registration is called Drawing. Students will explore basic drawing skills to experience self expression! In this class we will draw with assorted mediums and learn to draw “what you see” in nature. This class will start at 9 a.m. and will be an hour and a half for 8 weeks. Then for those in grades 6 & up we have Drawing for Kids. This class is designed for the motivated art student. Basic as well as advanced skills will be explored using assorted mediums to inspire complete works of art. This class will start at 11 a.m. and finish at 12:30p.m.

For those students interested in Cartooning we have a class titled, Cartooning for Kids. In this class we will explore about penciling, inking, materials, Manga & American character design, action poses, storytelling, drawing & making comics. This class will run for 8 weeks and is available for students ages 6 – 18. The class starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at 10:30 a.m.

Finally for Saturday we have an Oil/Acrylics Painting classes available for ages 10 to Adult. Beginning and skilled artists will learn basic oil painting techniques, color theory, composition and rules of perspective. This class runs for 10 weeks and starts at 11 a.m. and finishes at 1 p.m.

We also have evening classes for ages 15 to Adult on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and they are as follow:

Mondays we have a Adult Multi Media class that runs for 10 weeks and starts at 7 p.m. If you are not sure what medium you are interested in? This class is for you. Working in different mediums, which may include pen and ink, printmaking, watercolor, collage, fabric arts and sculpture, you will create original works of art.

On Tuesday evenings we offer two classes. The first is Watercolor and here you will learn color theory and composition basics. Utilizing a variety of subject matter, including your own photos, still life and your imagination, experiment with various painting techniques.  We are also offering a NEW class titled Sculpture in the class we offer an introductory course to multimedia sculpture and will start with individual projects and ends with collaborative pieces using found objects. No previous experience required. This class will also run for 10 weeks and starts at 7 p.m.

But, if you can’t make any of these we have Thursday. On Thursday we will offer an 8 week session on Ceramics. Introduction into “hand building”: pinch, coil and slab methods. Explore new techniques with both red clay which is native to our area and white clay. Open studio for advanced students. Basic potter’s wheel available for experienced students. All levels welcome. Again the class starts at 7 p.m.

We will also offer two NEW different work shops that will run for 5 weeks each. These too are scheduled for Thursday evenings. The first 5 week workshop  is titled Figure Drawing. In this workshop you will draw a professional model, step by step with an instructor. The first class: artistic anatomy, techniques & supplies. Begin a portfolio. All levels welcome.

When the first 5 weeks are over we also offer a second workshop titled Graphic Novel/Journaling. Topics include sketchbooks, journals, sequential drawing, exotic papers, wet/dry color mediums, pens, photos, collage, paste up, calligraphy & typography. All levels welcome. During the workshop you will Illuminate a book.

Please visit http://www.northpenncep.org and look at Spring 2017 for a list of categories and choose Arts and Crafts for the evening classes or Just for Kids for the Saturday classes. If you have any questions please call us at 215-393-9110 or email at info@northpennarts.org.

Thank you.

Prize winning Artist and Arts mentor, Nancy Schill will be our featured artist for our January meeting. Nancy’s work is seen in galleries and at exhibits throughout the Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Princeton, New Jersey areas. Her 1962 studies with Roy Lichtenstein at Douglass College resulted in a certain POP bent to her unique, mixed-media style. She also studied at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts and at Montclair University. Nancy cites influences as varied as Schwitters, Kandinsky, DeKooning, Matisse, and Picasso.

“Having worked for years in Mixed Media, I now create with Oil and sometimes mix my media as well. Accidental representations often appear in my Abstract Expressionist style. I’m interested in the relationship of color, tone, shape, line, texture, motion and stillness. I want to create something that is compelling and playful. I want to combine uninhibitedness with purposefulness. I studied with Roy Lichtenstein at Douglass College in 1962, resulting in a certain “POP” influence.”

Nancy Shill

Please join us tonight at the Lansdale Public Library located at 301 Vine St. for thei wonderful presentation. The meeting starts at 6:30p.m.

As we come to the end of 2016, we at the North Penn Arts Alliance wish you all an Artful New Year.

 What this means is that Art should be a part of everyone’s life. After all, you see some form of art every day. In a magazine or newspaper you see photographs and advertisements that draw your attention. In books and even on web pages you see illustrations that define what the author is saying.  Even on the streets you see architecture and design that was incorporated a long time ago.

 Art is essential to problem solving, creativity, even the generation of ideas.  Many ideas were brought about by a scribble on a napkin or memo pad. So as we go forward into this New Year, think about the arts and what they mean to you. Art, whether it be as visual as a painting, a mural, a drawing or a sculpture, it draws attention to an area.

Performing arts also draw people to the community. A blending of both visual and performing arts within the same community would draw more people to the community. When this happens, local businesses thrive, restaurants, shops and the many storefronts that abide in the community. All enjoy the profits that the arts bring to the community.

Art provides an outlet for children and adults. It allows them to express themselves and socialize with others that they may not have if there were no arts programs. Art also allows them to learn and in some cases teach what they have learned. Performing arts teach interaction and timing skills.

 So how does one support the arts in these economic times?  Besides the usual means of support of taxes and collections by art groups, there are other ways of supporting the arts in the community. One is by becoming a member of a local arts organization, such as the North Penn Arts Alliance. Most of these organizations are a mix of artists and those that enjoy the arts. Other means of support is a letter writing campaign to the local councils and commissioners in support of community art programs, as suggestions for art based programs, fiscal and expertise contributions, and to generate programs and events such as concerts, contests or anything to expand the art base within the community. 

 We at the North Penn Arts Alliance will do what we have done for these many past years and as we move towards our 30th year anniversary, will continue to encourage art within the community. Members will have art shows in the area either solo or collectively as the group. Our teachers are preparing to teach the Community Education Art Classes at the North Penn High School during the Spring Semester. We also hold a monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at the Lansdale Library, 301 Vine St., Lansdale.  At these meetings we strive to have an artist or someone in the art community make a presentation. Also, the North Penn Arts Alliance have two hour workshops that we call, “Make Art Mondays”, at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 211 S. Main St., North Wales, PA.  

 Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”  We at the North Penn Arts Alliance can help.

We invite you to look at our pages, some of our members art, and join us at a meeting or event, but most of all we wish you “An Artful New Year!”

Join us on Monday, December 19th at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for an evening of fun and merriment as we will be making Luminaires.

Using colorful tissue papers, or your old holiday cards, create beautiful luminaires for your table or walkway. We provide the supplies, but you may bring your own glass containers to decorate if you like.

Cost: $7.00 for 2 Luminaires.

We meet at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 211 S. Main St. in North Wales. We are in the Fellowship Hall and we start at 7:00 p.m. and leave by 9:00p.m.