Nationally-recognized award-winning artist Morris Mitchell will lead a master class for advanced painters this fall at Art Creations’ new Hamilton Place location, where an inaugural lineup of art education classes began earlier this month.
Mr. Mitchell will launch his new master class on Monday, Oct. 31. The class is designed for experienced adult painters who want to be challenged to grow technically and aesthetically.
Maximum enrollment is 12 students and classes will take place from 5-7:30 p.m. on Mondays on Oct. 31, Nov. 7 and 14, Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and 12. The fee for the class is $225.
Registration is now available online at http://www.art-creations.com and at Art Creations' new Hamilton Place store at 7351 Commons Blvd.
“We’re overjoyed that Moe Mitchell has decided to bring his spectacular talent and awesome teaching skills to our new program,” said Sandra Paynter Washburn, a noted Chattanooga artist herself, who organized and directs the new art education program at Art Creations. He’s nothing short of a modern master and we’re proud he chose our program to teach a master class. I was the first to sign up!”
Mr. Mitchell’s class is designed to appeal to experienced artists who are seeking an open studio environment with an emphasis on personal growth. Students may choose to work from a syllabus provided by Mr. Mitchell or choose their own projects. They may also choose their own paint medium, be it acrylic, oil or even watercolor.
Students may work in a representational or a contemporary manner. Personal attention will be given to each student to help them determine their artistic goals and to hone their artistic skills. Students should expect to be challenged to heighten their visual awareness and to push themselves beyond their typical expressive limitations.
Mr. Mitchell is a modern master and a living legend. His list of past and present colleagues and acquaintances reads like a “Who’s Who of Contemporary American Artists.”
For 40 years, he was an art educator at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. For nine of those years, he was chairman of the school’s fine arts department. He was honored with the college’s first-ever Outstanding Service Award in 2007 for his years of commitment to excellence in teaching art.
As a professional artist for more than four decades, Mr. Mitchell has exhibited in one-man and group exhibitions at many of America’s finest galleries, received numerous awards and grants for his art and his teaching, and has served as juror, critic and lecturer for art associations nationwide.
Numerous articles about his working methods, his philosophy of making art and his body of work have been published in books and periodicals.
In Chattanooga, Mr. Mitchell has given private art lessons in his studio and at the Hunter Museum of American Art. The guiding philosophy of his classes, he said, is to “encourage, excite, nurture, and applaud” the individuality of each student. He said he accomplishes this by encouraging students to verbalize their creative ideas, using art history to help clarify and define aesthetic intent, and by leading them in the process of self- and group critiques.
Through lectures and demonstrations, he helps his students to understand the inter-relatedness of drawing, design, color, paint quality, and experimentation, and to assimilate these into the congruent whole that is art.
Mr. Mitchell is now one of 10 Chattanooga artist-educators who form the faculty of the new art education classes at Art Creations Hamilton Place. The instructors teach a variety of classes across a broad spectrum of mediums aimed for both the novice and advanced artist, as well as special programs for children.
The classes began in October at the new location, which opened in September and is an expansion of the original Art Creations, founded by owner-artist Tony Mines in 1972 and still located at 201 Frazier Ave. The economical classes take place in two studio classrooms in the renovated building, which also offers materials and supplies tailored for each class.
“We’re excited to bring this level of talent to aspiring and advanced artists in Chattanooga for these prices,” said Ms. Washburn. “Art Creations is a local institution and the artist’s supply store in Chattanooga, so it was a natural extension to offer classes in our huge new space.”
A full schedule of classes, schedules, fees and instructor biographies can be found at http://www.art-creations.com. Students may also register at the Hamilton Place location.