Visual Arts   

We will explore how to use the camera on your iPhone. We will cover basic operations, editing and sharing. Prerequisites: As course material is progressive, participants should plan to attend all classes. Materials: Apple iPhone; participants must bring their iPhone to class and know their Apple ID and the associated password.

We will explore how to use the camera on your iPhone. We will cover basic operations, editing and sharing. Prerequisites: As course material is progressive, participants should plan to attend all classes. Materials: Apple iPhone; participants must bring their iPhone to class and know their Apple ID and the associated password.

Filmmaker David Lynch said that we do not create ideas; we catch them, like fish. But how does that happen exactly? What is the nature of inspiration, and how do artists of all kinds catch their ideas and transform them into art? Each week, we will hear from and engage in conversation with artists in various media—such as actors, composers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists and writers—to learn more about inspiration and the act of creation. Recommended textbook: The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (2023), ISBN: 978-0593652886.

We will survey European architecture of the 16th through 19th centuries including the Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, the Rococo and pre-modern technological developments. Key sites and buildings will be examined not only as architectural objects but also as expressions of artistic thought and theory that reflect the societies that created them.

For millennia, humans have expressed themselves by drawing and painting on walls. Art in public spaces can inspire, engage, provoke and entertain us. Each week we will visit a different neighborhood to view and discuss some of the public murals the Asheville area has to offer. Prerequisites: Participants should be able to walk and stand on uneven surfaces including gravel, pavement, sidewalks and parking lots for up to two hours. Note: Personal listening devices will be provided to assist with hearing in the urban environment. Travel not included in class time; one class will take place in Hendersonville. Materials fee (payable to hosts): $10-20 for host donations.

We will survey artworks by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) and learn more about his life, the time in which he lived and turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna. We will also explore how the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which Klimt was a citizen, influenced the artist’s extraordinary talents. Note: Participants may choose to attend each week either in-person or online.

Can a book be judged by its cover? Maybe not, but by the late 1800s, book covers became the canvas for beautiful decorative designs. We will look at examples of book covers and dust jackets by American and British artists such as Margaret Armstrong, Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth, and consider how their designs influenced magazine covers, illustrations and classical children’s books.

What do you do with outdated books, especially textbooks, that are out-of-date, have not been used for ages and will not be read again? We will turn them into art, both functional and decorative, and enjoy them anew. Prerequisites: Participants should be willing to cut and tear books apart, and able to handle scissors, cutting tools and glue gun. Materials: 10-12 books of various sizes, paper, scissors, ruler, precision knife and blades, glue gun and sticks, and other miscellaneous crafting supplies. Materials fee (payable to instructor): $7 for shared materials.

We will learn skills needed to photograph people in their everyday lives: uncensored, unposed and unprepared. We will examine the broad range of artistry of photography and practice formally evaluating and critiquing visual art. Prerequisites: Participants must be able to safely navigate public spaces with their cameras. Note: Participants will submit their work to the instructor via email each week for group discussion. Materials: Digital camera.