Artwork that Nina Davidowitz may address in her art appreciation classes at the JCC includes ‘Harmony in Red’ by Matisse, a piece of a Minoan mural known as ‘Prince of the Lilies’ and Chagall’s ‘I and the Village.’
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Artist Nina Davidowitz to teach fall classes
Artist Nina Davidowitz will teach fall art classes at the Friedman JCC in Kingston and at the Wyoming Valley Art League’s Circle Centre for the Arts in Wilkes-Barre.
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Participants work on their collages during a previous collage workshop with Nina Davidowitz.
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“I’m excited about this; I’m excited to teach,” local artist Nina Davidowitz said as she looked ahead to the art classes she will lead this season at the Jewish Community Center in Kingston — and at the Circle Centre for the Arts in Wilkes-Barre.
“There are no tests or quizzes, no textbooks,” she said with a laugh, hinting her students will be able to concentrate on the joy of learning, without the chores or anxiety.
“It’s almost like armchair travel,” she said. “We’ll cover so many countries and time periods.”
The “traveling” will take place in her Art Appreciation classes, which will open 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the JCC with “Ancient Beginnings,” a 12-week course that continues through Dec. 10 and includes cave art through the works of ancient Greece and Rome, ending with the Medieval period.
If you’re interested in more recent works, “Art Appreciation: The Modern World” will run 6:15 through 7:45 p.m. Sept. 8 through Dec. 1 at the JCC as a continuation of a series that ended in June. It will explore Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and the Pop Art movement, featuring such artists as Kandinsky, Picasso, Dali, Warhol, O’Keeffe, Hooper and more.
“Sometimes people are intimidated by the visual arts,” Davidowitz said. “I want to dissolve that tension. Art is really for everybody. You don’t need any special powers to appreciate it or talk about it.”
When she started teaching last year at the JCC, Davidowitz said, she geared the class “toward people who didn’t know a whole lot about art but were interested. I wanted to show them how to look at a piece of art, to see how it was made, and if it’s famous, why is it so famous. I wanted them to feel comfortable going to an exhibit or a gallery, knowing they’d have some vocabulary to use.”
Indeed, even a short conversation with Davidowitz can make a non-expert feel as if maybe now they’d be able to face an “Art and Artists” category on “Jeopardy.” She’s full of easy-to-remember information, such as when she points to Chagall’s painting titled “I and the Village” and says the dream-like quality of figures floating around is an example of Surrealism, or when she talks about Minoan murals that show athletes of ancient Minos somersaulting over bulls. “We don’t know much about their culture, because there is no written record, but their murals are so playful and joyful,” she said.
And if your idea of a fun art class involves working on your own project, Davidowitz will lead Paint ‘n Sip Workshops once a month, starting with a Rosh Hashana-inspired session to make a collage 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at the JCC.
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is “a time to count our blessings and realize what we’re grateful for,” Davidowitz said, noting you don’t have to be Jewish to participate.
The workshop will begin with a brief time to focus on your intentions for the season ahead, and supplies will be included. You can bring copies of family photos if you want to use them in a collage, but “we have a ton of magazines just waiting to be cut up,” Davidowitz said, so you really don’t have to bring anything unless you want to have a beverage to sip.
Additional Paint ‘n Sip dates at the JCC are Oct. 10 or Oct. 12, Nov. 21 and Dec. 7, and Davidowitz expects to demonstrate how to create a particular painting as participants follow along and create their own versions of the artwork.
“I believe in the power of art to uplift, heal, and energize the soul,” Davidowitz said, noting the classes are also “a great way to make new friends.”
Meanwhile, at the Wyoming Valley Art League’s Circle Centre for the Arts, rear 130 South Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, Davidowitz will lead sessions on “Exploring Collage,” during which participants will use that medium to create landscapes, still lifes, portraits and abstract pieces. If there is interest in adding painting and drawing to the collages, Davidowitz will venture into mixed media pieces as well.
At the Circle Centre, the collage courses are divided into Session 1, which meets Sept. 10, Sept. 17, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8; Session 2 which meets Oct. 15, Oct, 22, Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 and Session 3, which meets Nov. 12, Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
More information, including the cost of classes, is available at the respective Facebook pages for Friedman JCC and Circle Centre For the Arts. Their phone numbers are 570-824-4646 for the JCC and 570-288-1020 for the Circle Centre.
