Arts & Theater

Learn the steps to paint beautiful mountains receding into the distance in watercolor. No drawing experience is necessary, but you will need to make a simple, light sketch onto proper watercolor paper before painting. Instructor will explain and demonstrate each stage to help you complete this painting. Just a few colors and a few brushes, particularly large flat ones (plus other basic watercolor supplies) are needed to paint this motif, but if you don’t have large brushes, we can share. Material list available upon registration. Bivenne Harvey Staiger is known for her colorful, dramatic watercolors of natural motifs she loves, like birds, other animals and flowers, and is the recipient of many prestigious awards.  Among the most recent is the Silver Medal from the American Watercolor Society’s 152nd International Exhibition (2019).  She is professionally affiliated with many art groups, including but not limited to the Salmagundi Club, American Artists’ Professional League, Academic Artists Association, Connecticut Academy of Fine Artists, Connecticut Watercolor Society, and many others.  Bivenne regularly gives instruction, demonstrations and workshops in watercolor, and in fact has an upcoming weekend workshop, focusing on painting flowers in watercolor, at Yale Peabody Museum in August.  At least two major solo exhibitions […]

In this workshop celebrate with friends and family the mysterious but highly creative Halloween holiday by learning to craft four Halloween cards.  Learn to use paper strips, ink, die cuts and explore card layout and composition.  Take home a detailed instruction workshop sheet, list of supplies, information about the techniques and photos of the card/s. To make more cards at home, you will receive a kit which will include white cardstock, die cut pieces, coordinating colored cardstock and any other supplies needed to make more cards on your own.  All cards made in the workshop include envelopes. Introducing Nancy Souza, a teacher, mixed media artist and crafter. Creating unique cards and paper projects using a variety of techniques, colorful cardstock and card layouts including inks, stencils, collage, upcycled vintage items, and more. Souza is a certified teacher, teaching at the elementary & high school levels and graduate level courses at Sacred Heart University Griswold High School campus, including her 6th Year post graduate level. Twenty-six years ago, a teaching colleague suggested Nancy sign up for a local card making class and the rest is history.  It’s been an interesting and rewarding crafting journey both taking classes, sharing with crafting friends and teaching fellow crafters. Souza […]

Piping plovers are very tiny birds the size of sparrows, and they are protected on our Connecticut sandy beaches. This workshop will show you how to create a beautiful, eye-catching portrait of this sweet little bird, as we will paint it much larger than life-size. You will need to make a pencil contour (outline) drawing of the bird onto proper watercolor paper from a reference provided by the instructor, but otherwise, no other major background details need to be drawn. We will use just a few colors, plus other basic watercolor supplies. Instructor will guide you through each painting stage to complete this portrait. Material list available upon registration. Bivenne Harvey Staiger is known for her colorful, dramatic watercolors of natural motifs she loves, like birds, other animals and flowers, and is the recipient of many prestigious awards.  Among the most recent is the Silver Medal from the American Watercolor Society’s 152nd International Exhibition (2019).  She is professionally affiliated with many art groups, including but not limited to the Salmagundi Club, American Artists’ Professional League, Academic Artists Association, Connecticut Academy of Fine Artists, Connecticut Watercolor Society, and many others.  Bivenne regularly gives instruction, demonstrations and workshops in watercolor, and in […]