May 16th, 2020
SAINT PETER – With a focus on basic skills and building community, the Arts Center of Saint Peter will offer small-group online classes in weaving, embroidery, poetry, and the craft of Herman Melville beginning June 3.
“So many people have stories to tell right now, or they’re craving new ways to express themselves,” says Executive Director Ann Rosenquist Fee. Among the new offerings is a drop-in online support group for artists every Wednesday, June 3 through August 12, facilitated by Fee.
Classes in knitting, embroidery, and weaving will focus on mastery of fundamental skills and making the most of online environments to build a creative community. Class size is limited, and the Arts Center will provide registered students with tools and materials in advance via no-contact pickup or delivery.
Two poetry classes, The Rights of Writing with Jenn Wartman and Sylvia Plath’s Ariel with Ronda Redmond, include reading, writing, and visual art exercises designed to stimulate creativity at all levels. Writing Like A Reader: A 12-Week Course in Herman Melville taps into instructor Nate LaBoutillier’s interest in Melville’s life and work.
“I appreciate the life Melville led as an adventurer, whaler, deserter, and mutineer,” LaBoutillier says. “I’m not saying Moby Dick, or Melville, is flawless. In fact, I find them quite flawed. But I love those flaws. You can marvel at the greatness and the magic in-between the flaws.”
Maximum enrollment in most Arts Center classes is eight participants. Course descriptions and registration details are online at artscentersp.org.
These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund