Are you an artist looking to learn a new technique? Or are you an art lover who would love to try your hand at the creative life? If you’ve been waiting for the opportunity to learn a new craft from a professional, get ready to exercise your inner artist, as the Ten O’Clock Club kicks off its second annual Artist’s Workshop Week on Saturday, March 15 and runs through Sunday, March 23.
The brainchild of local printmaker Gabriele Teich, Artist Workshop Week is a way to try a new hobby or discipline without having to set aside weeks or even months of classes, not to mention buying all the art supplies you might need for those classes. Offering workshops throughout the week and over two weekends, the event is a loosely facilitated series of hands-on seminars running from two to five hours, given by local artists who make a living at their crafts.
“I came up with the idea because I was in Australia with friends, and we drove through the small town of Bellingen,” said Teich. “It was super busy, and the restaurants were full, but it’s this tiny town like the size of Mesilla and I asked, what’s going on here? My friend told me that it was the end of workshop week, and I wanted to know more. We talked about it, and I thought, what a great idea! We should do this in Las Cruces!”
Do it she did, with last year’s premiere of the event drawing 13 local artists to teach over 50 participants. Organizing the event with her co-founder, local painter Margaret Bernstein, Teich is very pleased with the reception the event received.
“Most artists I know do teach workshops here and there, whenever they feel like it, or whenever they have a group of people interested in what they do,” she said. “This is a way to bring them all together. The workshops are all concise, you can take as many throughout the week as you want, and just experience different kinds of art. They’re all hands on and each person who attends will go home with a finished product that they have created themselves.”
This year’s lineup includes 33 artists, who open their doors to studios and workspaces, teaching everything from painting, sculpture, textiles and gourds to music, dance, and words. To sign up, attendees are invited to visit Teich’s personal website at GabrieleTeich.com and toggle the Workshop Weekend pulldown at the top of the home page.
“It’s everything anybody needs to take part,” Teich said. “There’s a calendar with all of the workshops and the times, there are descriptions of each class with small artist bios, and finally there is contact info. Interested parties can then contact the artist they want to take the class from directly and make their plans that way.”
This removes the middleman from the equation, she said. This way, it’s up to the artists to decide how many students they will take on, the times and the cost per workshop. Some will obviously be more expensive than others, based on the kind of materials used, but that is all included in the price.
“I personally really like this format for the workshops,” Teich said. “In two to five hours, you get to know a little bit about a new hobby or discipline that interests you. You don’t have to spend a lot of money buying art supplies that you might not even use. You’re taking one class, you get all the supplies you’ll need, and you find out if you like it. You also get to spend a few hours with interesting people learning something new, and afterwards you have something to show for it. Whether you continue to follow that hobby or learn more about the discipline, that’s up to you. It’s just a nice intro, a really nice way to get a feel for a new medium and see if you like it.”
To find out more about Artists Workshop Week, visit GabrieleTeich.com/workshop-week and discover how you can tweak curiosity, tone skills, and introduce imaginative expression into your life.
