Great Lakes Bay Region arts organization continues with online classes, workshops, and discussions

It’s been only a few weeks since Studio 23 held its first-ever online chalk art competition. The event brimmed with positivity, with images of the sun shining on blooming flowers and swimming flamingos, and messages of hope covering the pavement.

The contest, which encouraged residents to get out of the house and decorate their sidewalks and driveways, served as a creative morale booster during the COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders and shutdowns.

At the time, the arts organization’s executive director Tara Welch said of the program: “Events like this are so important because I feel like we spend so much time worrying about the next step, about what’s happening tomorrow. When you’re being creative you get that little break.”

The organization has taken that idea and held true to it. The next few weeks are chock full of creative programs and workshops to help pass the time in a more constructive manner, and all of them accessible from home.

Some highlights include:

• Thursday, May 14 Free Zoom Info Session for Paint Your Neighborhood with Ruth Howell. Learn about the virtual Paint Your Neighborhood plein air class scheduled for June
• Friday, May 15 Facebook Live Art Talk and Art Project featuring Julie Tyslicky, a colored pencil artist whose work appears in the Art Around the City Project
• Friday, May 15 Craft Bar on the Go! Craft packets available for pick-up from 1 to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 19 He Said, She Said online critique workshop, a virtual discussion of artists’ own work
• Wednesdays, June 3, 10 & 17 Virtual Plein Air Painting Class with Artist/Instructor Ruth Howell, classes held via Zoom for painting outdoor scenes in plein air

Visit the arts organization online for more information about Studio 23 and their online events and classes.

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