Gettin’ Crafty with it: Pocono Arts Council

Outside the Pocono Arts Council on 18 N 7th Street. Photo Credit / Crystal Smith
Outside the Pocono Arts Council on 18 N 7th Street. Photo Credit / Crystal Smith
Outside the Pocono Arts Council on 18 N 7th Street.
Photo Credit / Crystal Smith

By Amy Lukac
SC Staff Writer

The Pocono Arts Council, located on 18 North Seventh Street in Stroudsburg, provides classes for people with skill levels ranging from first-timers to the expertly trained.

The Arts Council provides a variety of classes including a photography class, a session dedicated to the art of musical jamming, and many others.

Oil painting classes are on October 2, 9, 16, and 23. These workshops allow the artists to work with oil mediums alongside instructor John McAllister, a graduate of York Academy of Arts.

These classes will help the attendees learn at their own pace and understand drawing, composition, light and shadow, color, preparation of materials and the application of paint.

Acrylic painting classes will be offered on October 6, 13, 20, and 27. Students will learn to increase their fundamental painting skills, use value and color, gain a basic understanding of the color wheel, and discover how to achieve the desired effect while using the acrylic paints.

The participants will work alongside instructor Jim Smeltz, who has been painting for 35 years. His work has been featured in the Bethlehem Music Fest, Marywood College Contemporary Gallery, Buck Hill Art Association, and the State Theater in Easton.

A one-time event, the MandalaWorkshop, is being offered on October 14 from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM with instructor Jody Cooke. This class will help the artist create his or her own Mandala.

A Mandala is a geometric pattern or chart, typically circular or square, that symbolically represents the cosmos and is used for meditation purposes. They traditionally serve to reveal inner truths about the creator and the world around them. Instructor Jody Cooke has created over 500 Mandalas in black and white and 60 in color.

The Blues Guitar workshop is holding a jam session for one evening on October 7 for anyone interested in playing music in a friendly environment with instructor Spencer Reed. Reed is an instructor at Blair Academy as well as an instructor/mentor at Camp Jazz and has also conducted two jazz seminars at ESU in the past.

“Picture This” will be held on October 1, 8, 15, and 22 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. It is a workshop for anyone interested in the basic understandings of photography. The workshop is designed for amateur photographers and will focus on photo editing techniques and marketing the photos. A camera and laptop are required for the class.

Instructor Jim Chesnick studied at Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey and enjoys all forms of photography.

“Capturing the inner beauty of someone or something is truly amazing,” said Chesnick.

Another workshop coming up for the month of October is “Fun with Hypertufa – a Japanese Lantern Making Workshop.” Instructor Jody Singer, a native of Stroudsburg and a self-taught artist working in several mediums including pen & ink, clay, fiber arts, painting, photography and mixed media, will guide artists in a two-part class on October 20 and 21.

First in this two-part workshop, everyday objects will be used — such as Tupperware containers, plastic bowls and even ceiling light shades — to create the shapes you need to assemble an attractive and functional sculpture.

In the second part, the objects will be released from molds and they will be sanded, scored, and cleaned up to ready them for complete drying.

The classes range from $28 to $110. All information for each class listed above can be found at poconoarts.org. Give your brain a break from the everyday classes and try one of the creative classes at the Pocono Arts.

Email Amy at:
alukac@live.esu.edu