The Marion Art Center is now accepting registrations for its fall 2015 classes. The Marion Art Center is located at 80 Pleasant St. For more information, call 508-748-1266 or to register for any of the classes online visit www.marionartcenter.org/about/register.

Watercolor painting for adult beginners
Day/time: Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon, Sept. 24 to Nov. 19 (No class Nov. 5.)
Tuition: $180 members / $195 non-members (supplies not included)

Taught by Patricia White, this course is designed for people who would like to try watercolor painting but do not know where to start. White is a painter and a gallery instructor associate at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is past president of the Marion Art Center and the current president of the Bourne-Wareham Art Association.

White will help students explore different techniques, while working on the landscape, still life, figurative and/or imaginative painting in a nurturing environment. Participants should bring to the first class whatever supplies they have on hand. A suggested beginner’s supply list will be available at the first class. This course requires a minimum of five students.

Advanced Watercolor Painting
Day/time: Fridays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tuition: $175 members/ $190 non-members (materials not included)

This course, taught by Jay Ryan, is a perfect “next step” for those who would like to explore watercolor painting beyond a basic understanding of color and brush strokes.   Using the nature of light (and dark), students will “push” the medium, adding other water media, brushes and paper surfaces, and experiment with palette color mixing.

In each session, the class will start a new painting together using landscape, still life, the figure, abstract or imaginative thought, or narrative ideas as subjects. Each class will also provide a brief and supportive group “critique.”

Students will leave with an expanded knowledge of technique and traditional and contemporary use of watercolor. Five students are required to run this course.

Children’s classes

Little People’s Theater (ages 6-9) 
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Tuition: Each six-week session is $80 for members; $95 for non-members

Kim Teves will lead five sessions of the Little People’s Theater beginning in the fall and going through spring 2016.

The deadline for registration for the fall session 1 is Sept. 8. In this class, students will use their bodies, voices and found objects to create another world full of fantastic beings that are wacky and spooky and everything in between. Through storytelling, theater games and creative play, young actors will stretch their imaginations.

Each week the children will learn basic theater craft through drama games and readers' theater, and they will rehearse for a small production to be performed the last day of each session. The first fall session is Sept 15 to Oct. 20; the second is Nov. 3 to Dec. 8. The other sessions begin Jan. 5, Feb. 23 and April 5.

A minimum of five students is required to run the class.

Young People’s Theater (grades 4 to 8)
Day/time: Thursdays 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Tuition: Each eight-week session is $160 for members; $175 for non-members

Kim Teves will lead the Young People’s Theater class that will focus on nurturing the intellectual, artistic and personal development of young people, helping them find their “inner light” of self-confidence, sensitivity, creativity and leadership.

Young actors will develop acting skills while having fun and learning to interact with one another. Through acting games, improvisation and small scenes, young actors will learn the rules of the theater, theater terminology, how to project an emotion, how to start creating a character and more. Students will learn the process of putting on a production through selection, rehearsal and production of a small show presented the last day of the session.

The eight-week fall session starts Sept. 10 and runs through Oct. 29. The deadline to register is Sept. 5. The winter session begins Jan. 7 and the spring session March 24. A minimum of five student is required for this class.


MAC Dance Academy
Day/Time: Wednesdays (Sept. 23 to Nov. 11). See times below.

The Marion Art Center is now accepting registrations for its fall 2015 Dance Academy. Classes are held on Wednesdays and run for eight weeks. The fall session is grounded in classical dance, whereas the spring session focuses heavily on choreography and recital performance. Joclyne Nunes will lead the classes.

Preschool Dance: Preschool instruction is for children ages of 3 and 4. Class is 35 minutes and involves ballet warm-up, jazz stretches, basic mat tumbling and basic tap steps. The fee is $145 for members; $160 for non-members. (Children must be 3 years of age at the start of the session.)

Kinderstep (ages 4 to 5) and Beginner (ages 6 to 7): These classes are 45 minutes and involve ballet warm-up and barre, jazz stretches and beginner mat tumbling. The fee for the eight-week session is $155 for members; $170 for non-members.

Intermediate (ages 8 to 9): Intermediate instruction classes are 45 minutes and involve advanced ballet warm-up, barre and adagio, tumbling, jazz stretches and combinations and tap combinations. The fee for the eight-week session is $155 for members; $170 for non-members.

Preschool piano (age 3 to 5)
Day: Friday mornings, by appointment
Jamie Wiksten of Little Mozart’s Preschool Piano will lead 25-minute private lessons for kids on Friday mornings at the Marion Art Center. The cost is $20 per lesson and includes music, materials and recital.

Lessons are designed to introduce children to the piano and teach basic foundation skills that will inspire an early appreciation for music. Individual lessons place an emphasis on rhythm, finger position, music vocabulary, music notation, note reading and encourage overall fine motor development.

Ten-week sessions are offered three times per year: Fall (September to December), winter/spring (January to April), and summer (July to August). Each session concludes with a short recital. Children may repeat sessions through age 5 to enhance their knowledge and performance skills.

To reserve a lesson time, contact Jamie Wiksten at jwiksten@verizon.net or 508-295-0379.

Saturday Piano Lessons
Piano lessons for beginners and intermediates are offered on Saturday mornings, by appointment only, with instructor Donald Richard. Richard earned his bachelor of music degree from the University of Lowell. He has taught private lessons on piano and trumpet since 1980. He has been a substitute teacher at tri-town schools since 1999 and assisted with the Sippican School Band Blast since 2003.

To reserve a lesson time, contact Donald Richard at 781-582-6273 or don@javajiveband.com.