It is with a mix of sadness and gratitude that the Board of Directors announces the departure of Vince Fazio as Executive Director of the Sedona Arts Center. We have been fortunate to have a leader with passion, creative vision and strong business acumen to be at the helm of our organization the past three years. Under his leadership we have experienced growth across the full spectrum of the Arts Center’s many dimensions, including the Fine Art Gallery, School and Special Events.
Vince spent 17 years as the Director of our School of the Arts, many years as chair of our Sedona Plein Air Festival and was Director of all Programing and Operations prior to assuming the role of Executive Director three years ago.
Vince’s last day in the office will be July 17th but he will continue to serve as ED remotely, after relocating to Florida to spend time with his father, until his replacement is hired. To say that Vince embodies the spirit and soul of our organization is an understatement and we wish him well as he journeys to his next adventure.
Over the next few months we will be conducting a search to find a new leader. Along with my board colleagues, I am excited about the leadership the right candidate will bring to the Arts Center and the opportunities for the organization and for our community. A link to the job description is on our homepage at www.sedonaartscenter.org. We welcome your help in identifying potential candidates.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly at holliploog0@gmail.com.
Holli Ploog, President, Board of Directors, Sedona Arts Center.
Coming up in the Ceramics Studio
Ceramics For All Levels with Dennis Ott Beginning July 13, 2020
The Sedona Arts Center’s ceramic department operates free from the constraints of grades and benefits from the talents of its ceramic faculty and assistants as well as nationally recognized guest instructors. This combination allows our department to offer flexible and diverse programming in both traditional and contemporary techniques.
Through demonstration and one-on-one instruction, students will learn to throw a variety of forms on the potter’s wheel or techniques to create hand-built works. Slab roller, extruder and forms are also available to create functional and decorative pieces. Tuition includes the first 25-pound bag of clay, firings and glazes, and one open studio session per week.
6 Instructor-Led Class Sessions + 6 Open Studio Practice Sessions:
Handbuilding Ceramics with Neil Kennedy July 14 — August 18, 2020
Tuesdays | 1 – 4pm
6 Instructor–Led Class Sessions + 6 Open Studio Practice Sessions
Play in the clay! Tap into your creative self and experience various hand-building techniques. Make bowls, boxes, sculptures, and tiles, using slabs, molds, and textures. The possibilities are endless. Open to all levels, beginners welcome!The Sedona Arts Center’s ceramic department operates free from the constraints of grades and benefits from the talents of its ceramic faculty and assistants as well as nationally recognized guest instructors. This combination allows our department to offer flexible and diverse programming in both traditional and contemporary techniques.
Pottery Wheel For Beginners with Neil Kennedy July 18 — August 22, 2020
Saturdays | 9am-12pm
6 Instructor-Led Class Sessions + 6 Open Studio Practice Sessions
This six-week course is designed exclusively for those who are new to wheel work and is open for ages 12 through adult. Have fun while gaining confidence on the potters wheel. Small class size ensures that each student receives personalized, one-on-one instruction and encouragement for a fascinating hands-on experience that will bring out the potter in you.
The Sedona Arts Center’s ceramic department operates free from the constraints of grades and benefits from the talents of its ceramic faculty and assistants as well as nationally recognized guest instructors. This combination allows our department to offer flexible and diverse programming in both traditional and contemporary techniques.
iPhoneography Online Crash Course with Kelli Klymenko July 18, 2020 9am Arizona Time 9am Arizona Time, 12pm ET, 11am CT, 9amPTIn today’s technological world, even professional photographers and artists are recognizing the iPhone as a useful (and even practical) photographic tool. Join photographer artist, Kelli Klymenko in his one-day workshops for beginner and advanced students and you’ll go beyond the basics and learn to shoot professional quality photographs with your iPhone.
In this 1-day workshop you will learn how to shoot, edit and share remarkable landscapes, portraits and the macro world around you using only your iPhone. Kelli will guide you through simple tips and tricks that will take your photography to the next level. Discover how to capture the essence of a place and your subjects rather than just taking a picture. You will also learn basic video and video editing techniques for use with apps such as Facebook and Instagram.
Re-Framing the Ordinary An Online Workshop with Stuart Shils July 24 – 26, 2020 FREE INTRO NIGHT Note: The first meeting is an evening orientation talk with Stuart Shils that will be open to the public:WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I NOTICE JACK NICHOLSON?
Thursday, July 23, 4:30 – 6:00 pm (Arizona time)
The workshop itself will be three lively mornings exploring the relationship between drawing and observation, examining how close and clarified observation can hone our visually analytical minds, regardless of what it is we are looking at. Each day will begin with either a slide talk or a guided conversation exploring issues like:
-visual confidence
-the meaning of simplification
-the shaping and reshaping expectations
-where to begin and how to begin
-what matters on paper
Followed by a sequence of guided exercises intended as tools for carrying back to your workaday studio lives. This is not about recipes nor techniques but rather, addressing the evolution and structure of your own visual literacy. Materials will be pencils and paper and a few other materials for collage.
July 23, 4:30 – 6:00 Intro Talk Free to the Public
Workshop dates July 24 – 26, 2020 | Maximum enrollment 12.
July 24 9:00am – 12:30pm (3.5 hours) (Arizona Time
July 25 & 26 9:00 – 11:30am (2.5 hours a day with a follow-up meeting of 30 minutes arranged with each student individually after the workshop. Maximum enrollment 12.
Creating the Abstract Landscape An Online Workshop with Amanda Hawkins August 13 – 15, 2020
There is a sweet spot of overlap between the traditions of abstraction and contemporary landscape painting where mark-making and the implications of planar structure combine with color and light to create a magical realm of newly discovered space.
This 3-day online painting retreat explores abstraction, color and mark through the lens of landscape painting. Abstraction is explored in a structured and intuitive way, meant to give students the tools and confidence to take risks and make informed decisions on the canvas. This workshop will explore unconventional color palettes, investigate one’s own unique mark, pay careful attention to color as value, and most importantly transform reference imagery into rich, energetic, abstract paintings.
Each morning the class will meet remotely via Zoom to engage in discussion and complete a few relevant yet experimental warm-up exercises. Each afternoon will be spent working on larger, and more involved paintings in the comfort of your home studio. Expect demonstration videos for each exercise and at least 1-hour of live painting per day by the instructor.
Despite distance, there will be ample individual attention consisting of daily 1:1 personal meetings. At the conclusion of each day, students have the option to tune into 1-hour of Q&A with the instructor, talk to their cohorts, and share painting updates.
Paper Paintings Online: Female Fashion Portraits An Online Workshop with Elizabeth St Hilaire October 17 – 23, 2020 Celebrate the year of the woman!
This is a comprehensive four-day workshop using the easy ZOOM online interface that will take you through the mixed media portrait process step-by-step, utilizing live online demos, video lessons, pdf printouts, classroom lecture, and opportunities to share your work one-on-one with the instructor. You’ll learn to create your own hand-painted collage papers and experiment with gel printing, stamping, and patterning paper through a multitude of techniques. Rip and glue and apply your papers in a painterly manner over the top of a female portrait made with charcoal drawing and painting. Classroom lecture and demos will be incorporated for all steps of the process.
Most of this online workshop will be via Zoom, LIVE from the Sedona Arts Center! However the first session will be in advance and broadcast live from Elizabeth’s Northern California based studio. At the end of this four-day Workshop, you will have a new set of skills and new confidence having created a mixed media fashion illustration–your very own Year of the Woman paper portrait! Elizabeth has taught collage workshops in person for over eleven years, it is that extensive experience that has helped her to create this comprehensive, easy to understand online format.
