Chestertown RiverArts’ programming continues to provide ways for us all to be open to community, connection, and creativity. In October, explore unique outdoor classes (with masks & distancing), fun Zoom workshops, a month-long RiverArts Salon partnership with Shore Rivers, a new online photography exhibit, new art-at-home kits, and more.

Venture into wide open spaces with Vanna Ramirez’s in-person, outdoor, drawing class every Wednesday in October. Vanna is an extraordinarily talented local artist who has taught classes for RiverArts in a variety of artistic mediums and gets rave reviews for her knowledge, skill, and kindness. Registration is accepted for any or all of these Wednesday sessions, and the class is open to all ages.

Open your eyes to new vistas with Kris Kelley’s Intro to Smartphone Photography class on Wednesday, October 14 via Zoom. At the end of the class, students are invited to participate in a seven-day smartphone photography challenge, culminating in a curated virtual gallery on our website.

Kris Kelley

Open a buffet for your fine feathered friends when you make a Clay Bird Feeder in a Zoom class with Dianna Frymiare on Saturday, November 7. This class is designed for beginners as well as those who would like to build on their skills, and a video of the will be available free of charge for students to review afterwards.

Join the open dialogue of RiverArts Salons. Every Tuesday in October, the popular RiverArts Salons joins forces with ShoreRivers to present #ShoreRiverArts, a series of Salon discussions around a different aspect of the question “What is essential?” with respect to art and the environment. Special guests including Darran Tilghman, Tim Trumbauer, Maria and Adams Wood, and Dave Harp will lead explorations through the lenses of justice, family, and harmony. Each week will also include a meaningful call to action, and participants will be invited to take part in a collaborative art project.

Take to the open road and visit KidSpot at the Farmers’ Market on select Saturday mornings, or make an appointment to visit the Clay Studio to purchase a Quick Kit to complete at home—a fun new way to make a small project like a little pot, a whistle, a memory tile, or a holiday ornament (it’s never too early!). Enjoy our “Open Heart” Paint Nite kit to get everything you need to paint a fun art canvas from the comfort of your home.

Chestertown RiverArts invites photographers to submit work for consideration for inclusion in a juried photography exhibit to open in the RiverArts online viewing room on September 28.

Curator William Trainor writes “In this Juried Exhibition, we would like to see the artistic vision of your image. We would like you to use your photographic skills to produce an image that brings something to tell us, inspire us, or surprise us. So, use your skills of composition and the use of light and dark, empty space, contrast, focus, background, elements of art and design to generate an artistic image that speaks to us all.”

Untitled, William Trainor

Judge Linda Roy Walls will select winners of Best in Show, Second and Third for cash prizes, as well as an Honorable Mention award. Viewers will vote on a “People’s Choice” Award. Submission is online with a deadline of September 14. Find guidelines and forms online at the RiverArts Community website

RiverArts Classes

Use handbuilding and embellishment techniques to make a beautiful Clay Birdfeeder in an online class with RiverArts Clay Studio Manager Dianna Frymiare. This 90-minute class is suitable for ages 8 – 80 using tools that are easily found around the house. Purchase a clay kit and register online.

The Joy of Visual Journaling in Nature is an outdoor class offered in a new partnership between RiverArts and the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College. Over two weekends in late September and early October, join Chesapeake writer and educator Kate Livie for a beginner’s visual journaling class designed to help you capture the beauty of nature while building your fundamental writing, drawing and watercolor techniques.

Also at RiverArts

RiverArts Salons every Tuesday from 5 – 5:45pm provide a place to learn something new, share ideas, explore interesting topics, see and be seen, and have fun. Upcoming guests and topics include The Importance of Character on September 22 and Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson on September 29. Register online by noon on Tuesdays to receive the Zoom link for the week’s discussion.

RiverArts Photography Club meets online every Thursday evening at 7pm with a Tips and Tricks session at 6pm. Participation in the club is always free, and all are welcome, from advanced photographers to beginners coming for the first time. Contact Steve Kane at srkane@gmail.com to share your photos in the Photography Club.

Visit community.ChestertownRiverArts.org for more information and to register for classes, exhibits, and programs. To stay in touch with community, creativity, and connection locally and around the world, sign up for the RiverArts Daily Dose newsletter.

Chestertown RiverArts is a community arts center serving Kent County, Maryland and beyond with exhibits, classes, children’s arts activities, and a Clay Studio. RiverArts’ mission is “growing community, creativity, and connection through the Arts.” Visit RiverArts online at www.ChestertownRiverArts.org, or connect by phone at 410.778.6300 or email at info@ChestertownRiverArts.org.

After thoughtful evaluation, RiverArts and KidSPOT are sad to announce yet another difficult decision in the cascade of difficult decisions this season. It is sad but likely no longer surprising to hear of the cancellation of KidSPOT’s Summer Arts Camps this year in view of the risks posed by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Instructors’ and students’ health remains of primary concern to RiverArts. There is clear consensus among medical professionals and public health experts that the dangers posed by the virus remain serious and ubiquitous. Looking at guidelines established by state and local authorities, RiverArts is facing the reality that no plausible way can be found to offer Summer Camp while providing sufficient protection to instructors, volunteers, and campers—and by extension to the families of everyone involved in the program.

Although camps are cancelled, KidSPOT will still be present to help kids and families “Play, create, explore” this summer. Plans are in the works for providing arts experiences for kids this summer, and further announcements about these plans will come as they take shape. KidSPOT Coordinator Sarah Lyle, Summer Camp Coordinators Elizabeth Healy and Mary Ann Herron, and RiverArts Executive Director Maria Wood all convey their hope that families will stay in touch via email and social media to say hello and share projects, creative creations, and ideas about how they’d like to connect with KidSPOT during coming weeks and months.

RiverArts galleries and main office are at 315 High Street, Suite 106, Chestertown, MD  21620 – (in the breezeway). In-person events and activities are suspended for the time being but the public is invited to visit www.ChestertownRiverArts.org to sign up for daily arts-related emails and to engage with the RiverArts community on Facebook and Instagram.

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We’ve had a mild winter, and Chestertown RiverArts has a wide variety of March classes to put you in a spring mood. Whether you learn a new skill at our Clay Studio, or explore a new art form at our ArtsAlive Education Center, you’ll discover something creative and fun to do in March! Some of these classes cost as little as $25. Details & registration information can be found by clicking on the ArtsAlive/Classes tab at the top of the page at www.chestertownriverarts.org. Or call 410-778-6300.

Fanciful Fairies – Tuesday, Mar 3 (12-2 pm)
Drawing Boot Camp Continued – Tuesdays, Mar 3, 10, & 17 (3-5 pm)
Drawing Boot Camp Continued – Wednesdays, Mar 4, 11, & 18 (7-9 pm)
Try It! Clay Wheel – Friday, Mar 6 (5-8 pm) – Only a few spots left in the 6 pm session!
Clay Mushroom Madness – Saturday, Mar 7 (10 am – 1 pm)
Decorate & Glaze! (4 Weeks) – Tuesdays, Mar 10 – 31 (6-9 pm)
Cartooning – Saturday, Mar 14 (12-4 pm)
Colorful Clay Flowers – Saturday, March 14 (10 am – 2 pm)
Etsy Success (Monthly Professional Development for Artists) – Monday, Mar 16 (6:30-8 pm)
Beginner Pottery Wheel (8 Weeks) – Tuesdays, March 17 – May 5 (10 am – 12:30 pm)
Intermediate Pottery (4 weeks) – Thursdays, March 19 – April 9 (6 – 8:30 pm)
Fanciful Fairies – Thursday, Mar 19 (6-8 pm)
Pysanky Egg Dyeing – Thursday, Mar 26 (6-10 pm)
Nuno Felt Scarf – Saturday, Mar 28 (10 am – 1 pm)
Lambscape – Paint with Wool – Saturday, Mar 28 (2-5 pm)
Mobile Raku – Saturday, Mar 28 (9 am – 4:30 pm)

We’re also offering two special drop-in programs. Visit our Clay Studio any day during their Open Studio hours (call 443-282-0030) to paint a springtime figurine, and come by ArtsAlive any Wednesday from 2-4 pm to work on an arts or crafts project of your own or to join in on one of ours. Come see where the arts meets the community in Chestertown, and enjoy a creative program, a nice meal, and our charming shops.

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Each April, Chestertown RiverArts celebrates our community’s long history of living close to the Earth by hosting an Earth-themed exhibit. Artists and poets are invited to submit works that reflect their concept of our beautiful Earth and what is happening to it. This year’s theme is “Taking Care: Celebrating the Earth.

Earth Day will celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 22. The global mission of Earth Day Network is “to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide.” It is their belief that one of the best ways to highlight this mission is through the creative arts. If you visit their website, www.earthdaynetwork.org you will learn about the issues and activities that they are pursuing. Perhaps this will inform and inspire both artwork and poetry.

Chester River Spring by Jack Fancher

This exhibit will be judged. Visual artists are encouraged to enter up to two works which may be 2D or 3D. Poets may submit one entry with a maximum of three poems. Prizes include: Best in Show for visual arts – $300 and the Pat Herold Nielsen Poetry Prize – $300.  For both art and poetry there will be Second Place – $150; Honorable Mention – $50 and People’s Choice – $25.

The submission deadline is March 1. For more information on submission guidelines, other key dates, fees and background information on the curators and judges go to www.chestertownriverarts.org/exhibitions and click on “Taking Care: Celebrating the Earth.” A portion of the submission fees will be donated to the Sassafrass Environmental Education Center at Turner’s Creek.

RiverArts galleries and main office are at 315 High Street, Suite 106, Chestertown, MD  21620 – (in the breezeway). Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 11 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 5:30PM, Sunday 11 AM – 3 PM, First Fridays until 8 PM.

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Each month, RiverArts’ ArtsAlive Education Center hosts drop-in art & crafting on Wednesdays from 2-4 pm (bring your own project or jump in on a simple one we’ve created for the day!), First Friday events (often pop-up galleries and/or hands-on art activities), and a wide variety of classes. From fine arts series taught by professionals to unique one-day projects, we offer something for everyone. Or take a class with RiverArts’ Clay Studio to learn pottery wheel, hand-building, and glazing techniques.

We also offer weekly opportunities for growth in your arts journey.
– Pastels Class – with Mary Pritchard – Each Tuesday (9 am – 12 pm)
– Life Drawing Drop-In – with a live model – Each Monday (1-4 pm)
– Photography Club – Last Thursday of the month

Winter Animals

February brings a variety of classes that will help you celebrate the winter season and maybe make a present for your Valentine.
– Drawing Boot Camp (daytime) – with Vanna Ramirez – Tuesdays, February 4, 11, 18, & 25 (3-5 pm) – pay weekly
– Drawing Boot Camp (evening) – with Vanna Ramirez – Wednesdays, Feb 5, 12, 19, & 26 (7-9 pm) – pay weekly
– Cartooning – with Vanna Ramirez – Saturday, February 8 (10 am – 2 pm)
– Clay Hand Building – at the Clay Studio – with Marilee Schumann – Saturdays, February 8 – February 29 (10 am – 1 pm)
– Sailors’ Valentine – with Candace Liccione – Tuesday, February 11 (6:30-8:30 pm)
– Adorable Winter Animals – Needle Felting – with Clara Daining – Thursday, February 13 (6-8 pm)
– SKIES! SKIES! and more SKIES in Watercolor – with Steve Bleinberger – Saturday, February 15 (9 am to 4 pm)
– Magical Mosaic Pendants – with Candace Liccione – Thursday, February 20 (6:30-8 pm)
– Chestertown Gallery Crawl – Drop-in Activity with a “family” theme @ ArtsAlive – Drop-in Springtime Figurine Painting (fee) @ Clay Studio – Saturday, February 22 (10 am – 5 pm)
– Explore Art! – for kids ages 8-14 – with Vanna Ramirez – Tuesdays, Feb 25, Mar 3, 10, & 17 (5:30-7:30 pm) – pay weekly

For more details, pricing, and sign-up information for any of the classes listed, please visit our website at chestertownriverarts.org and look under the ArtsAlive/Classes tab at the top of the page. We look forward to helping you do something creative during these cold winter months!

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