HIT THE ROAD TO LEARN: Including how to draw at ESSA.
From The Arkansas Times, November 1, 2018
Eureka Springs School of the Arts
Eureka Springs
For two decades, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, now located on 55 acres northwest of Eureka off U.S. Highway 62, has been an arm of the arts scene that defines the quirky mountain town. It offers dozens of different workshops that run from one to five days year-round, including many weekend classes.
A taste of what you can get during an ESSA weekend: In October alone, two-day workshops in felting fibers, silver ring-making, tool sharpening, beginning blacksmithing and plein air watercolor painting were offered (plus a four-day workshop in enamel and fold-forming copper). In November and December, there will be classes in watercolor technique, watercolor greeting cards, beginning stone carving, ceramics and digital photography.
Some instructors, like metal artist Sarah Doremus of Deer Isle, Maine; cowboy boot-maker Lisa Sorrell of Guthrie, Okla.; and steel sculptor Victoria Patti of Arvada, Colo., travel to ESSA to teach. Others, of course, come from Eureka, such as woodworker Doug Stowe, who was a co-founder of ESSA and was named the 2009 Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Arts Council, and weaver and beader Eleanor Lux, another co-founder and Arkansas Living Treasure.
The myriad metalworking workshops — including beginning blacksmithing, welding and bladesmith classes — fill quickly. ESSA’s woodshop, which includes three rooms, recently hosted a “rendezvous” for 48 woodworkers from across the nation, Faith Cleveland of ESSA said.
Cleveland said classes appeal to both career artists and people who just want to try their hand at basketmaking or calligraphy or stained glass or paper mache. She suggested that interested folks sign up early, though it’s sometimes possible to get a seat on a day’s notice for the impulsive vacationer; class size varies according to medium and instructor. Prices also vary according to medium, from (for example, from previous offerings) $75 for a Saturday tool sharpening class to $130 for a Saturday-Sunday watercolor class to $370 for a Friday-Sunday class in stone carving. You can sign up for classes online at www.essa-art.org; a 2019 course catalog is due out at the end of November.
