Annual photo show opens on Oct. 2

By Hope Wallace

Forty-four photographers have submitted over 400 entries in this year’s 39^th Annual Photography Exhibit! Wowzers. Thank you so much to the participating regional photographers for sharing their creative impulses. We are super excited. Our juror, Mark Lanning Jr. from Sacremento, Calif., selected approximately 150 photos out of the 400-plus entries to be included in this exhibit. It will be a full house and the walls will be bursting with color. The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on October 2 from 1–5 p.m. We’ll have free snacks, live music by Orlando Finelli on guitar and cash bar. For more information please see our website or give us a call. This exhibit will be on view until October 23.

It’s almost October…you know what that means, don’t you? Dr. Wassenstein is planning his ghoulish celebration. Watch your mailbox, watch social media and our website for more details on “Mausoleum Masquerade,” the 2016 Halloween extravaganza. Vourteque is returning and bringing friends; joining him will be Pyroscope and a new friend from Dayton convening to celebrate the undead. Judged costume contest, freakish food, cash bar, music dancing, raffles, door prizes and all around bizarre good times. October 29, 7 p.m.–midnight. We’ll be waiting for you. Tickets on sale September 29.

Artists and Photographers — the next exhibit to prepare for will be the Wassenberg Artist Member Exhibit & Sale, just in time for holiday shopping season! This is an all-out make-stuff type of sale and all work is accepted; all you have to do is join the Wassenberg Art Center (if you haven’t already). A judge will determine awards. Art check-in is scheduled for Friday, November 11, 12, and 13, from 1-5 p.m. An entry form with complete details will be mailed to members shortly and will be available on our website soon as well. We hope to see you and your work for this fun annual tradition.

Art Classes:

Watercolor Techniques for adults is held on Tuesdays, from 10 a.m.-noon. Ongoing. $40 art center member price/$45 regular price. Instructor: Pat Rayman. Materials required. Online sign up available.

ArtNight: Free. Thursdays 6-9 p.m. Ongoing. Cash bar. This week…maybe we’ll make some disembodied hands for our upcoming Mausoleum Masquerade. Halloween decoration will go into full throttle on September 29. Join in on the party!

ArtReach (ages 7–11 and 12–15) Ongoing: Sign up whenever you want. We still have space available in our popular ArtReach after school art program! Ages 7-11 meet on Tuesdays and ages 12 and up meet on Thursdays. This after-school art program continues for the duration of the school year. Students receive a snack and then get down to creating! Parents can drop off their youngsters after school and pick them up at 5 p.m. Our program provides students with a much needed boost in visual art instruction, which has been proven to boost critical thinking, math skills and many other academic and social benefits. ArtReach instructor Diane Bendele earned her bachelors degree in art education from Bowling Green State University and her Masters degree in education from Ohio State. As an art educator for 35 years, she has worked with students of all ages in the traditional classroom setting as well as the online classroom. She has organized student art exhibits, and served as judge for art shows. Cost for the program is charged monthly and is $40 for Wassenberg Art Center members and $45 for regular price during the regular school year. Most supplies will be provided. All holidays and cancellations will follow Van Wert City School schedules. An online registration is also available on our website. Need-based scholarships are also available on a limited basis and go quickly. Please contact the Wassenberg Art Center for more information.

NEW! Drawing Basic Anatomy: November 9, 16, 21, 29 from 6-8 p.m. Recommended ages: 15 and up. Instructor: Matt Temple. Matt holds a degree in computer animation and multimedia from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Defiance College. He has been a frequent instructor at the Wassenberg Art Center and also serves as the office manager there. Matt’s work has been selected consistently in many area exhibits and competitions and he has a strong command of rendering human anatomy. Persons with any skill level will feel at home in this class. Costs are WAC members: $40 and regular price is $45.

For more information on exhibits or to sign up for classes and events visit: wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 214 S. Washington St. (former Van Wert Armory). We can also be reached by telephone at: 419.238.6837, email: info@wassenbergartcenter.org and our website is: wassenbergartcenter.org.