Boston Public Library
South End Branch Writing in the World: A Creative Writing Workshop for Adults Writing in the World: A Creative Writing Workshop for Adults is aimed at developing and improving writing skills. Through lectures and reading examples aloud, participants will learn to write poetry and fiction. During this ten week workshop, taught by writer, poet, and teacher Debka Colson, students will develop and improve their writings skills through weekly exercises, peer reviews, and a public reading. February – April 2013 Teaching Artist: Debka Colson Jamaica Plain Branch Singing for Seniors In this ten week workshop, participants will come together as a chorus. They will learn to sing comfortably with a group of singers, learn breathing exercises, learn harmonization, and improve vocal tone, range, and stamina. By engaging in a rich community involvement, Singing for Seniors provides the opportunity to enhance the participant’s personal well-being through song and social stimulation. March – April 2013 Teaching Artist: Liz Anker Brighton Branch Abstract Painting In this beginning-level painting course, participants will explore the exciting and enriching artistic genre of abstract painting. Through working from imagination and still life, students will create vivid and innovative imagery. Students will learn about color, line, form, space, light, composition, and works by well-known abstract artists to understand the various techniques they employed. March – April 2013 Teaching Artist: Marlena Bocian Hewitt Grove Hall Branch Dancing on the Balcony: Education in Dance at the Grove Hall Library This workshop presents the opportunity to study dance and create a dance performance. Professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Joan Green, will teach the participants a variety of dance skills, including warm-ups, activities to do at home to maintain mobility and balance, loco-motor phrases, creating choreography as a group, and performance skills. Sessions will include training in the basic elements of dance: space, time, force, and body, followed by a public performance. March – May 2013 Teaching Artist: Joan Green Central Library Drawing for Life: A Realistic Drawing Course Designed for Older Adults Drawing for Life is a nine week interactive drawing class focused on drawing from observation. In addition to weekly featured artist discussions, students will be given the skills to master drawing realistically from observation. Projects include: drawing still lives, self-portraits, a fully clothed model, and the architecture and scenes within the library. April – May 2013 Teaching Artist: Kate Ledogar Adams Street Branch Introduction to Watercolor, Drawing, and Creative Problem Solving Through this workshop participants will learn to see the world in a different way, to express their creativity through the medium of water color, and to develop their technical understanding of the artistic process. Participants in the workshop will learn about watercolor materials, techniques, the principles of art and design, and how to utilize them to compose works of art. Simultaneously, the workshop participants will engage with each other through constructive criticism and learn to respect both the process of expressing oneself through art and to see their community members in a new light. April- June 2013 Teaching Artist: Susan Krause Lower Mills Branch Mosaic Quilt Project In this mosaic workshop, participants will create individual and collaborative mosaic artworks. After developing the basic skills to create a mosaic, participants will work together on a collaborative mosaic work of art. Through discussion of the history of mosaics and current trends in the art form, students will learn perspective and knowledge to develop their artistic practice. April – June 2013 Teaching Artist: Betsy Rodmantop
Dallas Public Library
Highland Hills Branch The Family Folktale Project Passed along by parents and others, folktales are parables that teach heritage, culture, and codes of behavior. Over this eight week workshop, participants will create a folktale that represents the most compelling familial aspect, individual family member, triumph, service, or community dynamic from their family’s story December 2012 – February 2013 Teaching Artist: Jas. Mardis Pleasant Grove Branch A Dancing Autobiography In this ten week workshop, participants will explore the elements of dance in relation to its formal elements of body shape, action, time, space, and energy. Students will learn to combine various dance elements and will discover that movement can be shaped to share feelings, ideas, and thoughts. Throughout the workshop, participants will examine choreographers like Martha Graham and Jose Limon, and they will create choreography and dances that will lead to a final culminating event titled “A Dancing Autobiography.” Februay – May 2013 Teaching Artist: Koreyci Cristal Barreto Renner Frankford Branch Telling Our Stories – Art as Autobiography The program will engage students in painting and mixed media art projects with themes depicting key moments from their lives, from childhood to adulthood. Over the course of the eight sessions, the students will develop their skills by learning and incorporating progressively complex art techniques into their works, and utilizing a variety of materials. April-May 2013 Teaching Artist: Kay Dalton Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Voices from the Soul Voices from the Soul will engage community members in the study and performance of the Negro spiritual as it relates to its place in the history of African Americans. Participants will learn historical milestones in the evolution of the Negro spiritual from the “cotton fields” to the “concert hall.” In addition, participants will learn tone levels and build skills such as breathe control, diaphragmatic strengthening, vocal projection, and posture. March 2013 Teaching Artist: Jowanda Jordan Skillman Southwestern Branch Exploring Shakespeare Exploring Shakespeare is a nine session long exploration of and engagement in Shakespeare’s timeless literary works. Participants will build vocal skills, explore Shakespeare’s language, and build towards a performance of their own. Skills learned in this workshop include: vocal projection, analysis of text, clear communication, empathy, and team building. January- February 2013 Teaching Artist: Hassan El-Amin Hampton/Illinois Branch Cultural Dance Project Through the Cultural Dance Project, participants will learn the history of and perform Afro-Caribbean and African dance forms. Through this workshop, a deeper appreciation of these cultural dance styles will be instilled. Participants will gain an understanding of each genre’s background and create new dance pieces, synthesized through the principles discussed in the sessions. March- May 2013 Teaching Artist: Consuela Buckleytop
