Learn the foundational skills of watercolor at Beginning Watercolor from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays, Aug. 5, 12, 19 and 26 in The Studio. Instructor and former art educator Sally Walsh will walk participants through new techniques each week to create paintings focusing on landscapes, flowers, fruit, glass and special effects.

Pencils, erasers, clear plastic rulers, paper towels and spray bottles will be provided.

Participants should bring the following supplies:
— Basic pallet of cake watercolors (can be made available on request)
— Tube or cake watercolors
— Watercolor brushes of varying sizes
— Personal sketchbook or journal with paper suitable for watercolor (spiral bound is best)

$65/person. Register by July 29. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Sally Walsh is a retired art teacher from Richland Community College in Decatur. She has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has led previous art classes at Allerton.

Learn the foundational skills of watercolor at Beginning Watercolor from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays, Aug. 5, 12, 19 and 26 in The Studio. Instructor and former art educator Sally Walsh will walk participants through new techniques each week to create paintings focusing on landscapes, flowers, fruit, glass and special effects.

Pencils, erasers, clear plastic rulers, paper towels and spray bottles will be provided.

Participants should bring the following supplies:
— Basic pallet of cake watercolors (can be made available on request)
— Tube or cake watercolors
— Watercolor brushes of varying sizes
— Personal sketchbook or journal with paper suitable for watercolor (spiral bound is best)

$65/person. Register by July 29. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Sally Walsh is a retired art teacher from Richland Community College in Decatur. She has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has led previous art classes at Allerton.

Figure Drawing Open Studio

Artists of all levels and abilities are invited to experience drawing a live model at Figure Drawing Open Studio on Mondays, May 20, June 3 & 17, July 1 & 15 and Aug. 5 & 19 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Classes will be held in the Mansion Library (May-July) and in the Greenhouse Auditorium (August).

The open studio format will allow students to work independently, with minimal guidance from facilitator (instead of instructor?) Vivian Krishnan. Students should bring their own supplies, including pencils, charcoal and other medium as well as an easel or sawhorse to draw on. Classes will focus on quick gestures, long poses, and both costumed and nude models.

A cash bar will be available.

$35/class*. Register at least two days before each class. All sales are final.

Individual class links:

— May 20

— June 3

— June 17

— July 1

— July 15

— August 5

— August 19

*Use the discount code “Drawing10” to save 10 percent when registering for at least three classes

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Vivian Krishnan is a multimedia artist with works that cross the vast stage of storytelling, from designing costumes for theatrical characters to writing and illustrating diverse children’s books. She received her bachelors in Durango, Colorado, focusing on Printmaking and Sculpture as well as earning her MFA at UIUC in Theatrical Design.

Experience Level: Beginner

Do you have a bunch of vacation photos on your phone that go ignored? Then make them into works of art at Watercolor Travel Journal from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 6-7 in The Studio.

In this two-day workshop, instructor Deb Marett will teach the basics of watercolor painting, drawing skills and putting a layout together to create pages in journals that capture memories and turn them into a cherished keepsake that can be expanded.

First, students will experiment on practice paper, focusing on how to break down images into simple shapes to make drawing easier, the principles of watercolor, painting light to dark, mixing colors, handling brushes and other basics.

The second day, students will put together a page layout with thumbnail sketches and create page in their journals, as well as a painted page.

$190/person. Register by July 23. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Deb Marett is a professional artist whose work focuses on equestrian scenes, figurative scenes, and portraiture. She always travels with watercolors and a travel journal.

“It is an amazing way to remember moments of the trip, and spend time soaking up the places I visit,” Marett said.

She loves sharing her knowledge and teaching, and finding ways to make painting and drawing fun and accessible to anyone who wants to explore their creative side.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn the basics of poetry at Exploring Nature & Life Through Mary Oliver’s Poetry from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, June 8, July 20 and Aug. 10. Instructor Kate Herald will help students explore allegory and meter using Oliver’s poetry, including “Wild Geese” and “How I Go to the Woods,” as

Participants will then be invited to write and share their own life poem based on their observations at Allerton Park. Register for the entire series at a discount or sign-up for individual classes.

Classes will be held in The Studio with time also being spent outdoors.

$85/person for the entire series or $30/classs. Register by June 5 or three days prior to subsequent classes*. All sales are final.

*Individual class links:

— June 8

— July 20

— Aug. 10

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kate Herald teaches people how to tell stories that change the world for good. She holds a Ph.D. in English and uses her background in storytelling research as a learning designer, gender studies professor and curator for TEDxNormal.

Figure Drawing Open Studio

Artists of all levels and abilities are invited to experience drawing a live model at Figure Drawing Open Studio on Mondays, May 20, June 3 & 17, July 1 & 15 and Aug. 5 & 19 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Classes will be held in the Mansion Library (May-July) and in the Greenhouse Auditorium (August).

The open studio format will allow students to work independently, with minimal guidance from facilitator (instead of instructor?) Vivian Krishnan. Students should bring their own supplies, including pencils, charcoal and other medium as well as an easel or sawhorse to draw on. Classes will focus on quick gestures, long poses, and both costumed and nude models.

A cash bar will be available.

$35/class*. Register at least two days before each class. All sales are final.

Individual class links:

— May 20

— June 3

— June 17

— July 1

— July 15

— August 5

— August 19

*Use the discount code “Drawing10” to save 10 percent when registering for at least three classes

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Vivian Krishnan is a multimedia artist with works that cross the vast stage of storytelling, from designing costumes for theatrical characters to writing and illustrating diverse children’s books. She received her bachelors in Durango, Colorado, focusing on Printmaking and Sculpture as well as earning her MFA at UIUC in Theatrical Design.

Experience Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Achieve that goal of learning to play a musical instrument at Learn Guitar: Get Started the Right Way on Tuesdays, Sept. 3-Nov. 5 from 6 to 7 p.m. in The Studio.

Leading this course will be musician Rex Parvin, who has a very specific approach to teaching guitar based on a simple terminology he applies specifically to the guitar. It is essentially a 3-step process:

— Learn the notes on the guitar
— Learn how those notes go together to form chords.
— Apply and combine steps 1 and 2 to form chords and play songs, developing your own style and creative expression.

$200/person*. Register by Aug. 27. All sales are final.

*Students should bring their own guitar.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Rex Parvin knew from early adolescence that his primary passion in life was music, having taken guitar lessons and learning to read music starting at age five. He learned how to conduct choirs in high school and went to college as a voice major, getting bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education, specializing in voice and conducting.

Rex’s musical abilities and passions led to a 30-year career as a full-time music director, studio musician, conductor, and guitar teacher. He is a “people person” who loves to interact with others and see them grow in their abilities and understanding of music, encouraging them to new levels of excellence. Those who have learned from him have always commented that they learned many new things in ways that were easily understandable and created a hunger to learn even more.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.