During each two-hour session, create a watercolor painting based on your own collection of personal and family photographs. Teaching artist, Wennie Huang, will begin each weekly session with a demonstration of watercolor techniques you can try from home to translate snapshots of travel, family, and friends into your own unique compositions. Just as the artist Frederic Church collected thousands of photographs throughout his life, participants will be encouraged to cull through their own collection of images and personal snapshots to find new artistic inspiration. This weekly series will take inspiration from students’ personal archive of photographs of places visited, people cherished, and memories worth revisiting. This program is designed for adults ages 55+ as part of Olana’s Young at Heart series.

This program is held in conjunction with “Terraforming: Olana’s Historic Photography Collection Unearthed.” In addition to showcasing the work of contemporary artist David Hartt, Terraforming displays more than 130 historic photographs from Olana’s collection, illuminating the medium’s role in Church’s life and artistic creations.

Wennie Huang, PSA, received her BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in 1994 and her MFA in Printmaking from the University of Michigan in 1996. Huang also teaches at Parsons School of Design, Wave Hill, and the Pastel Society of America. She has over 20 years of experience in art education and has taught a variety of children, teen and adult classes and workshops at 92Y since 2005. Her mixed media installations combine paper, wood, print, fabric and photography. Her work has been exhibited at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Wave Hill, Detroit Artists Market Biennial and in various NYC galleries. She has received grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the New School, private and public commissions including through NYC Percent for Art program, as well as residencies at the Lower East Side Printshop, Dieu Donne Papermill, Center for Book Arts and the Ragdale Foundation. She lives and works in Brooklyn.

All sessions will be held on Zoom with an optional site visit available to participants. A tech session will be available to those who are unfamiliar with Zoom. A selection of basic materials will be provided to participants in advance of the program via mail. $250 for non-members/$150 for members. Advanced registration is required. Partial scholarships are available upon request. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

Ever wonder how artists like Frederic Church captured detail, contrast, and perspective? Participants ages 55+ are invited to sketch Church’s artist-designed landscape and scenic views learning basic artistic principles in the process. During each three-hour program led by teaching artist Shawn Dell Joyce, participants will be provided with basic sketch and watercolor materials, watch a short live demo, and experiment with sketching their own view of Olana’s famous landscape. Participants will be able to keep all provided art materials.

This three session course is part of an inclusive, anti-ageist, and participatory series of creative skill building programs at Olana. The course is specifically designed to provide older adults an opportunity to explore their artistic side, socialize with peers, and learn more about Olana, a resource for creativity in their own backyard. This class is perfect for those with mobility impairments or specific accessibility needs and will take place at easily accessible sites at Olana.

Shawn Dell Joyce began teaching plein air classes in 2000 and continues weekly to this day. She founded a plein air school with an arts and agricultural mission based on the historic Hudson River School, called the Wallkill River School of Art. It still exists today as a nonprofit arts organization with a mission of bringing cultural tourism to the Hudson Valley region through plein air painting workshops and events on local farms, historic sites, and open spaces. Her work is included in museum collections in the Georges Pompidou Museum in France and the Museum of Modern Art in NY.

Art materials and chairs will be provided. $250 for non-members/$150 for members. Advanced registration is required. Scholarships are available upon request. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

During a series of three songwriting workshops, participants ages 55+ will be invited to learn more about the basics of songwriting with award-winning performing songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle. Each session will introduce participants of all skill levels to the basics of songwriting and use Olana’s immersive environment as a framework to explore diverse musical genres. Sign up for one or all three workshops to connect to Olana through song and compose your own lyrics inspired by Frederic Church’s artist-designed landscape. Learn more about the focus of each workshop below. Each session includes a demonstration by the artists, hands-on teaching and one-on-one guidance, time for the individual development of songs, and opportunities for class inquiries and discussion.

Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle are award-winning songwriters and singers and live near the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Cosby Gibson is an award-winning performing songwriter who writes unique, original acoustic and folk-style songs on guitar and dulcimer. Grammy balloted, and winner of Capital District Music Awards for Best Folk Album, 2017 and 2018, and Dorn Space Arts Award for Music Outreach, 2019, and Best Folk Album, 2021. As a duo, they have been performing for twelve years, and tour both regionally and nationally. Together they play originals and favorites with a variety of instruments such as guitar, fiddle, banjo, and harmonica, and in many settings such as festivals, concert series, house concerts, and community events. Their special music programs include Historic Songs of the Erie Canal, Adirondack Lumber Camp Songs, Poetry Songs, and History Songs, Songwriters in the Round, and the new Labor Union Songs.

Open Writing Workshop | Saturday, October 29, 1:00 – 4:00 PM

This three-hour session will cover the basics of songwriting and provide time for participants to write songs inspired by place, personal lyrics, and select genres. Learn more about writing song lyrics and composing a melody by working directly with professional musicians and get time to workshop your writing with other participants. Light refreshments will be served. $25 non-members/$15 members.

Getting Inspired by Place | Saturday, November 5, 12:00 – 4:00 PM

During this special four-hour session, participants will join Olana staff for a tour of Olana’s landscape and historic house interiors. Afterwards, use the site as a source of inspiration and try your hand at writing songs inspired by what you’ve learned. This session will include a tour of Olana, an introduction to writing song lyrics, and time to compose and workshop your own compositions. Light refreshments will be served. $25 non-members/$15 members.

Workshop & Performance | Saturday, November 19, 1:00 – 4:00 PM

During this three-hour session, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the basics of songwriting and enjoy a performance by professional musicians Tom Staudle and Cosby Gibson. Learn more about writing song lyrics and composing a melody before sitting back and listening to a special performance for the last hour of class. Light refreshments will be served. $25 non-members/$15 members.

Advanced registration is required. Full scholarships are available upon request. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938.

This course is funded by E.A. Michelson Philanthropy.

During this fashion design and illustration program, students will use Olana as a source of inspiration for their own designs while learning the fashion illustration skills needed to bring their visions to life. During this ten-session course designed by professional designer Sergio Guadarrama, founder of Made x Hudson and Celestino Couture, students will explore Olana’s 250 acres of artist-designed landscape, collections, and elaborately decorated main house to inform their own work. Each session will focus on a different element of fashion illustration and guide students in learning to capture basic fashion proportion, shading, and realistic texture and drawing different fabrics. As a three-dimensional work of art, Olana will serve as an inspiration for participants in creating and designing their own wearable artworks. Participants will develop six skill takeaways over the ten-week course, first learning how to draw their own “croquis,” or blank figure sketches, and eventually finalizing their own designs using the skills they’ve developed. During the program, visits with The Olana Partnership curatorial and education staff will connect content from the site’s history and permanent collection to the course’s curriculum.

Sergio Guadarrama is proud to be one of the founders and “Sustainability & Fashion” advisor of Made X Hudson, a small batch cut and sew manufacturing facility in Catskill, NY. Sergio graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Along with Kade Johnson, Sergio established CELESTINO in 2005, an eco-conscious and fashion-forward company uniting classical couture techniques with innovative concepts, up-cycled luxury fabrics, and unconventional details.

During this eight-session course, participants will be invited to explore Olana’s famous views, making art at the sites and viewpoints once experienced and designed by Frederic Church himself. Each class will begin with a demonstration (all demonstrations are done by Teaching Artist Shawn Dell Joyce in pastel and oil paint). Pastel painting materials and basic sketching supplies will be provided as the central tools to guide participants in learning key principles about outdoor artmaking or painting “plein air.” The course will focus on the key principles of depicting a landscape, such as harnessing perspective, composition, and detail, while also covering important information on how best to prepare for artmaking outdoors. The course is open to all skill levels and participants without a background working outdoors are encouraged to participate. Each class will meet at a designated outdoor location onsite in Church’s designed landscape, offering students a unique opportunity to learn from a living practicing artist while walking in Church’s footsteps. The course will culminate with a final display of students’ artworks.

Shawn Dell Joyce began teaching plein air classes in 2000 and continues weekly to this day. She founded a plein air school with an arts and agricultural mission based on the historic Hudson River School, called the Wallkill River School of Art. It still exists today as a nonprofit arts organization with a mission of bringing cultural tourism to the Hudson Valley region through plein air painting workshops and events on local farms, historic sites, and open spaces. Her work is included in museum collections in the Georges Pompidou Museum in France and the Museum of Modern Art in NY.