Ah Haa: February, Fun-Filled & Action-Packed

31 Jan Ah Haa: February, Fun-Filled & Action-Packed

Follow your heart and get creative in February. Try something new at Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts. For full class descriptions, tuition assistance and registration, go to www.ahhaa.org. You may also call the school directly at 970-728-3886. 

Looking for the perfect Valentine for your loved one (or for yourself)? Get creative this February at the Ah Haa School, which has stacked its schedule with classes aimed at locals and visitors alike.

February at Ah Haa kicks off with Creating Illustrations with Chandler Thayer, Feb. 2 and 3, 1-5 p.m. Explore how to develop narrative and a pictorial complement to your creative practice in this fun and fast weekend workshop.

Next up, nationally renowned visiting artist Jill Carver will run a three-day intensive, Principles to Improve your Landscape Painting, Feb. 4 – 6, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Each day, Carver will focus on a specific idea that will help students greatly improve their approach to landscapes.

For a fun, hands-on evening activity, check out Locals Love Art: Resin Cast Jewelry, February 5, 5 – 7 p.m. Students will learn how to encapsulate special items like photographs and botanicals in clear resin to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.

On Tuesdays beginning Feb. 5 (5:30 – 7:30 p.m.), develop and refine your skills at rendering the human figure during Ah Haa’s Open Figure Studio sessions. With two instructed classes and two free-draw evenings, this is a great chance to practice drawing with a live model.

Add a little color to your winter with Kathy Green’s Basic Batik and Shibori class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, February 5 – 15, 6 – 9 p.m. Discover the magical, colorful world of silk dyeing and wax resist in these playful sessions. A second session of this class runs on Feb. 19 – 27, and both sessions include weekend open studio time.

Kathy Green’s fantasy flowers on gold sarong batik on silk, Photo by Joe Skalsky

Nervous about giving that wedding toast or Town Council commentary? Join Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for Intro to Public Speaking: Getting More Comfortable in Front of a Crowd, Wednesdays, Feb. 6 – 27, 12 -2 p.m., and embrace your inner extrovert.

Word Woman Rosemerry Trommer, courtesy reallife photographs.

On Thursday evenings, Feb. 7 – 28 (5:30 – 7:30 p.m.), Kody Gerkin teaches Beginning Spanish. Whether you’re looking to refresh your memory of Spanish learned years before or want to start fresh, this class will have you thinking in Spanish in no hay tiempo!

Visting artist Diane Meyer invites you to learn the Language of Watercolor and Explore Your Own Creative Narrative, Feb. 8 – 10, 1 – 5 p.m. Students will learn how to create movement, delicacy and boldness in their watercolor paintings.

Or, learn the language of the lens in Tara Carter’s How to Photograph Your Work class, Feb. 12, 5:30 – 7 p.m. Any artist who would like to market and sell their work will benefit from some pointers on capturing their artwork in the best light. The very next day, students can take advantage of Handmade Frames and Photo Portraits, a Pinhead/Ah Haa partnership where participants can shoot portraits and then design a laser-cut frame to go with it.

Popular instructor Paula Jo Miller returns to Ah Haa for two separate sessions of Courage in Creativity on Feb. 15. This three-hour mixed-media workshop allows students to play with layering and excavating to create greater texture and depth in their paintings. A class for never-evers takes place 9 a.m.-noon, while those who worked with Miller last year can continue their studies with a class from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Looking for something new and different to do in the evening? Invite a friend or partner to Date Night: Try the Wheel, Feb. 15, 6- 8 p.m. No work will be saved, so there’s no pressure to produce a clay masterpiece.

Another quick and informative class is John Clark’s iPhone Photography class, Feb. 16, noon-4 p.m.

Another hands-on, no-experience necessary class is Riveting Metal: A Jewelry Workshop with Tony Finocchio, Feb. 16 -17, 2- 5 p.m. Explore the elements of jewelry design while learning how to cut, pierce, rivet, layer and fuse both copper and brass to design and create unique metal pendants.

If you’re starting your new year with a new enterprise, check out Build Your Business: Creative Entrepreneurship, Tuesdays, Feb. 19-26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Whether you are dipping your toe or sinking your teeth into a new career, this class is for you.

Meanwhile, it’s never a bad idea to take measures to fight the flu. Join Julie Peterson for Essential Ayurvedic Herbal Remedies for Greater Wellbeing and Longevity, Feb. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m., and learn how to create your own preventative and rejuvenating practices.

For a fascinating (and free!) peek into the mind of philosopher/art historian Paul Evans, join Ah Haa for Drinks and Discourse: A (FUN) Lecture Series. Come have a pre-dinner drink and nibbles and hear what Evans has to share about the 20s to the 20s: Tracing the Beginnings of Major Cultural Forms from the 1920s to Today, Feb. 20-22, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Each evening features a different topic: “We’ll Always Have Paris” on Wednesday; “Politics (Is this A Dirty Word?)” on Thursday; and “Awake! From the Yogi to Yogalates” on Friday. Curios yet? Don’t miss out.

Finally, the Ah Haa’s month of creative learning opportunities wraps up with visiting artist Laura Raborn’s Mixed Media Methods: Collage Combinations, Feb. 27 – March 1, 1 -6 p.m. Students will learn collage and painting techniques to create multi-layered masterpieces.