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Art
in The Farms: An Allerton Folk School
(SOLD OUT) Beginning Watercolor
with Sally Walsh
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.
Intermediate Watercolor
with Sally Walsh
Experience Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Continue your journey through watercolor at Intermediate Watercolor: Landscapes on Tuesdays, Oct. 14 through Nov. 4 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in The Studio.
Aimed at those who completed the Beginning Watercolor class, instructor and former art educator Sally Walsh will teach students skills and techniques to further their watercolor art in this class that will focus on landscapes.
$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
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.
Historical Dancing: Titanic to the Talkies (Oct 14)
with Jeanette Watts
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.
Cardboard & Paper Sculptures
with Mary Seyfarth
Experience Level: All Levels
Create a sculpture out of just cardboard, paper and glue at Cardboard and Paper Sculptures on Thursday & Friday Oct. 16 & 17 2025 in the Greenhouse Auditorium.
In this class, Chicago-based artist Mary Seyfarth will cover design elements including form, scale, placement, color, and proportion and present tips, tricks and the means for each student to leave with their very own wildlife sculpture.
$95/person. Register here by Oct 2. 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
Mary K. Seyfarth is the founder of MKS.Works, a visual arts studio in Wilmette that showcases a variety of sculptures of different materials. She first started working with ceramics in 1978 and it has been her life's work and passion since that time.
Quilting: Meditative Slow Stitching by Hand
with Billie Theide
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn to make a beautiful hand-pieced and hand-stitched quilt from scraps of fabric at Quilting: Meditative Slow Stitching By Hand on Friday, Oct. 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. in The Studio.
Instructor Billie Theide will help students explore hand-piecing and hand-quilting a quilt in a unique way by stitching from the outside in. The class will also explore the rich cultural history of meditative slow stitching.
$120/person. Registration will close Oct. 10 or when capacity is reached. 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
Billie Theide is a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Racine Art Museum, among others.
She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
Woodland Folklore & Papier Mache
with Orrin Taylor
Experience Level: Beginner
Use woodland legends as inspiration to make masks at Woodland Folklore & Papier Mâché Masks on Monday through Thursday, Oct. 20-23 from 5 to 9 p.m. in The Shop.
Instructor and underground artist Orrin Taylor will assist students in creating masks based on the various characters and creatures featured in woodland folklore. While learning the art of papier mâché in this mixed-media course, students will also hear about various folklore legends found throughout the world
$70/person. Registration will close Oct. 13 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.
Historical Dancing: Titanic to the Talkies (Oct 21)
with Jeanette Watts
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.
Tufting the Masters
with Billie Theide
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn to make your own textile at Tufting the Masters on Sunday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in The Studio.
Instructor Billie Theide will help students through the process of making small tufted pieces, suitable for framing and inspired by masters of painting (think Miro, Klee, Matisse).
$145/person. Registration will close Oct. 19 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. 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
Billie Theide is a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Racine Art Museum, among others.
She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.