Experience Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Learn the history, aesthetics and craft of traditional haiku at Intro to English Language Haiku on Sunday, Oct. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

Instructor Lee Gurga will lead students through a stress-free writing exercise to help them gain confidence to write their own poems. Students should be prepared to spend time outside (weather permitting), and should bring their favorite journal and writing utensil.

$20/person. Registration will close Oct. 2 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Lee Gurga has served as president of the Haiku Society of America (HSA) and is currently the editor of the journal Modern Haiku and the Modern Haiku Press. His books of haiku, “In & Out of Fog” and “Fresh Scent” were awarded First Prize in the HSA Merit Book Awards. In addition, his “Haiku: A Poet’s Guide” was recognized by the HSA as the Best Book of Criticism for 2004.

His anthology, “Haiku 21”, co-edited with Scott Metz, was honored as Best Anthology by the HSA and with the Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Award. Their anthology, “Haiku 2014” also received a Touchstone Award. 

His awards also include an Illinois Arts Council Poetry Fellowship, the Japan-America Society of Chicago's Cultural Achievement Award, and, in his work as a dentist, an American Red Cross Healthcare Heroes Award. 

Gurga lives in mischievous retirement with his wife Jan and three cats on the Sangamon River in Piatt County, Illinois.

Experience Level: Beginner (Ages 21+)

Gather natural elements to use in a floral arrangement at Ikebana in the Wild on Monday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

In this course, instructor Rachel Wooters will lead students on a nature walk to gather natural materials, followed by a hands-on, freestyle ikebana (“giving life to flowers”) floral arranging session using both foraged and provided materials. The experience will conclude with drinks and creative conversation.

A bar will be available.

$100/person (Ages 21+). Registration will close Sept. 29 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Rachel Wooters is a Central Illinois-based artist and educator with a passion for creative expression through florals, ceramics, and community connection. A graduate of the Master Program at Makeup Designory (MUD), Rachel brings a refined eye and a hands-on, intuitive approach to every workshop she leads. Her classes—ranging from floral arranging to pottery—invite guests to slow down, play, and explore their personal creativity in a welcoming, artful environment.

Experience Level: Beginner (Ages 21+)

Combine artwork with self-care at Therapy Monsters on Monday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Mansion Carriage House.

Instructor Orrin Taylor will guide students through using an imaginative approach to self-love and self-care. Using mixed media, students will learn a variety of ways to create humorous and therapeutic personalized characters to help deal with everyday life, ranging from paint to illustration, in a process that is not only therapeutic, but helps promote fun in art and connecting with one’s inner child.

A bar will be available.

$65/person. Registration will close Sept. 29 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Orrin Taylor is a self-taught outsider artist from central Illinois. Working primarily in painting and illustration, most of his artwork is based on dreams and random mental spasms. He currently resides on a farm in the middle of nowhere with his wife and two dogs.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn about the high-energy dances that dominated the early 20th century at Historical Dancing: Titanic to the Talkies on Tuesdays, Sept. 23 through Oct. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

Instructor Jeanette Watts will help students explore the one step, castle walk, tango, foxtrot, Charleston, black bottom and other delights of early jazz.

In this era, the music was so infectious it required new kinds of dancing to go with it! Ragtime took over ballrooms with dances that shocked as well as delighted, while syncopated rhythms turned into the jazz of the Roaring Twenties. Meanwhile, Rudolph Valentino’s movie tango kept ballroom dancers like Irene and Vernon Castle popular.

$25/class (or $110/person for the entire series). Registration will close Sept. 11 or one week prior to each class, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Jeanette Watts has been teaching historical dances for more than 20 years. She is the founder of the Terpsichorean Delights Dance Assembly in Dayton, Ohio, Queen City Vintage Dance in Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent covid writing an 8-volume series of instructional dance manuals for historical museums.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn the basics of painting with acrylic paint at Intro to Acrylic Painting on Wednesday, October 8th from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio. 

Instructor Kari Keller will teach students the basics of sketching out guidelines, color selection, color mixing, and brushing techniques. Students will create a colorful fall scene on an 8" x 10" canvas to take home with them. 

$75/person. Register by Oct. 8. All sales are final.

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Kari Keller has been a Champaign/Urbana resident since 2008, originally hailing from the tiny community of St. Anne. Illinois. She has had a passion for art since she could hold a crayon and loves to experiment with many different styles, rarely sticking to one theme for long.

Keller has dabbled in cartoons, acrylic pouring, zentangles, patterns, logo design, pottery painting and other art forms. Her influences include Alphonse Mucha, HR Geiger and the art of Northwest coastal Native Americans. She also has a thriving side business as a face painter.

Kari is happiest when immersed in a new project and can’t imagine life without art!

About The Farms

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.

Experience Level: Beginner 

Learn how to jam with other musicians at Beginner Jam Sessions on Saturdays, Sept. 13, Oct. 11, Nov. 8 and Dec. 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in The Studio. Learn to play as a group and learn new songs at a gentle pace in a friendly environment. 

Jams sessions are open to beginning mountain dulcimer players and other instrumentalists. 

$5/person. Registration closes one day before each course begins or when capacity is reached. All sales are final. 

— Sept. 13 
— Oct. 11 
— Nov. 8 
— Dec. 13 

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the instructor 

Lou Ann Koebel currently leads a weekly dulcimer jam for the East Central Dulcimer Illinois Dulcimer Club at Lincoln Square. She also plays in a local band that visits and performs at local assisted living facilities. 

Koebel has taught beginning dulcimer classes for The Farms, where she has had a wonderful time teaching the group and realized her love of teaching and passing on the tradition of playing a mountain dulcimer. Lou Ann also plays at area music festivals. 

Experience Level: Beginner (all ages; parents/guardians are not required to register with their children, but they are encouraged to be present for those 13 and younger.)

Create a unique piece of art out of locally sourced alpaca fiber at Needlefelt Pumpkin on Monday, Oct. 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.

Stephanie Block of Sundrop Alpacas will walk students through the needlefelting process to make a pumpkin, which can be customized to make them look authentic, whimsical or anything in between. The class is perfect for those wanting to learn a new art form.

Take advantage of a fun opportunity to bring a friend or family member for just a $10 add-on fee as you work together on a single project kit!

$65/person* + $10/person for add-on (limit one). Register here.  Registration will close Oct. 6 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*A $15 discount is available during registration for those who bring their own needlefelting tools.

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

Consider making a weekend out of it and stay overnight with our Weekend Wind Down. View discounted rooms ($110/night + tax) here and book online or by calling 217-333-3287. Find out more about our weekend Wind Down series here.

About the instructor

Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas since 2016. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn the foundational skills of watercolor at Beginning Watercolor on Tuesdays, Oct. 14 through Nov. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in The Studio.

 Instructor and former art educator Sally Walsh will walk students through new techniques each week to create paintings focusing on landscapes, flowers, fruit, glass and special effects.

 $65/person*. Registration will close Oct. 7 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*Students should bring:
— 140 lb. watercolor paper pad (spiral bound is best)
— 16-color oval pan watercolor paint set (Students can choose to borrow a watercolor pallet and brushes for a $10 fee, which can be applied at registration).
— Minimum of three brushes with pointed bristles: large (No. 10-12), medium (No. 6-8) and small (No. 4-6)
— Pencil, clear ruler, kneaded eraser

(Students can borrow a watercolor pallet and brushes for a $10 fee, which can be applied at registration).

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

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

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.