With the threat of rain and wind last Saturday I began my morning with a drive across Van Buren County. I am always amazed with the ever-changing landscape of this scenic river valley. The overcast skies and fog banks offered a contrasting spectrum of color as I drove peacefully from Bonaparte west on J-40 to Keosauqua where David Ostrem of Green Lake, Wisconsin was teaching a folk school class on caricature carving. Upon arrival at the class I went to work snapping photos. The knives were razor sharp and I noticed the protective gloves and the finger wraps. David said he has learned over his 25 years of teaching this art that the need to protect the hands is critical because of the sharpness of the tools you are using. The table and floor were covered with wood chips (and no fingers!) which I took as a sign of a very enthusiastic and productive class. His students were working intently on their projects which were being carved from bass wood that had been previously band sawed to remove some of the larger areas thus facilitating carving the final details of their character. David had placed examples on the table that could be used for an outline for the finished piece. The students were learning the use of the proper knives and David carefully instructed them on how to hold the tool for the exacting cut that was required. This is something I have wanted to pursue for years and hope to excuse myself from behind the camera and take part as a student in one of his upcoming classes. If you want to learn the techniques of proper woodcarving then this is the class for you. David has taught at The Clearing and shared his talent with Boy Scouts and other groups in Wisconsin.
I bid goodbye to David and his class and headed for Ely’s Ford in Lacey Keosauqua State Park where John Preston was teaching a class on Painting the Landscape. Today the landscape was a bit difficult to paint because of the amount of rainfall from the sky. John’s talent certainly would allow him to paint the falling rain but it might be difficult holding it on a soaking wet canvas. By the time I arrived, the class had packed their easels and set off for the shelter in Bentonsport so I followed them across the rolling hills of J-40 and to the shelter near the old covered bridge. Here they would be able to work under the cover of the shelter as they viewed the landscape of the bridge across the Des Moines River. John’s careful placement of light and shadow on the canvas never ceases to amaze me as he can capture so much detail with so few brush strokes. He is truly gifted and his ability to share this with others makes for a great experience in his class on painting the landscape.
John Preston, David Ostrem and many more artists are available to you at the Villages Folk School by going to our website at www.villagesfolkschool.com and registering for one of their classes. The opportunities that exist at the Villages Folk School are for your enjoyment and we hope to see you soon at one of our classes. The class schedule is provided for you online but following is some of our upcoming classes:
Villages Folk School class schedule for remainder of June and July:
Clothing First Aide-Mending Patching
25-Jun-2011 -
Sculpture Portrait in Three Dimension
25-Jun-2011 26-Jun-2011
Barn Quilt Painting
2-Jul-2011 -
Raku Pottery
2-Jul-2011 -
Blacksmithing: Tool Making
9-Jul-2011 -
Landscape Workshop in Pastel & Oil
16-Jul-2011 17-Jul-2011
Carving With David
16-Jul-2011 17-Jul-2011
Portrait Workshop in Pastel & Oil
23-Jul-2011 24-Jul-2011
We invite you to call us at 319-592-3700 and register for the class of your choice. Our classes are geared for your hands-on experience with the artist; making the class one that will allow you to complete a quality work while learning the process in detail. The chance to live the arts here in Van Buren County is available to you here at the Villages Folk School.
Join us soon!
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