from THE CALAVERAS ENTERPRISE
July 24,
2012
Galerie Copper
offers
a wide palette of art classes to community
by Kristine Williams
For many it may feel as though
the opportunity to learn a new trade has come and gone, but at Galerie Copper
in Copperopolis, 145 Stone St., weekly art classes offer individuals the chance
to pick up a paintbrush and create something new.
Galerie Copper owners, Susie and
Larry Hoffman, provide weekly courses to the public. Classes feature different
art instructors who encourage people to explore new art mediums and expand
their existing artistic skills.
Tucked beneath the large
prominent clock in Copper Town Square, the Galerie Copper is an artists’
one-stop-shop. Here one can find myriad art supplies ranging from brushes of
every size to blank canvases and boards, hundreds of paint options, pencils and
more.
Galerie Copper is unique though
in that it is more than a simple art supply store. Visitors can browse the
shop’s gallery, which is presently displaying art from 42 local foothill and
valley artists and has a small corner section, the Artists’ Corner, where
anyone can come to work on pieces. There is a lot of variety among the art
hanging on the walls that speaks to the diversity of the painters and sketch
artists.
Last Wednesday the store was
having one of its regularly scheduled classes, graphite drawing with instructor
Monika Stattner, a Sonora resident who studied to be an art teacher at the
Pratt Institute in New York after moving to America from Hungary. Courses are
held in the gallery’s newly constructed classroom. Tables, chairs and supplies
were provided and the atmosphere was inviting and casual.
Hoffman encouraged students to
move to the front table where Stattner was seated so that they would be better
able to view their instructor’s technique on how to create proper surface on a
drawing of a monkey, explaining to her students that tilting the graphite
pencils was essential to avoiding harsh lines which would negate the gentle
shading required for many graphite drawings.
“I enjoy teaching,” Stattner said.
“Like many people I’ve been drawing since forever. … I suppose the only
difference is I didn’t stop.”
Stattner’s passion for her work
was evident in the detailed drawings she had on display for students to
observe. Animals are a favorite topic of her’s and many of her pieces were
accompanied by the subject’s photograph. Besides the fact that the graphite
drawings were in black and white the drawing and original photo were virtually
identical.
Susie Hoffman, who Stattner
described as “lively, inviting and warm,” explained that Galerie Copper was a
melding of desires from herself, her husband and Copper Town Square.
“I really wanted to expand the
Copper Art Club and don’t like painting alone,” she explained when asked what
drove her to begin offering classes. “Larry wanted a store and they (Town Hall)
wanted a gallery. Everything just sort of came together.”
Gallerie Copper is open Mondays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Classes are held regularly
during the week. Fees vary depending on the class.
To register for classes and for
more information, contact Larry Hoffman at larry@townhallarts.com or call 785-2050.
