Arts & Crafts

Tips for Taking Wonderful Pictures of the Flora and Fauna in Your World With Your Phone’s Camera App 

Flowers are blooming! Critters are visiting our backyards! Grab your phone to capture the glory of nature all around us. Topics we’ll explore focus & exposure, how to create a dramatic image of the simplest of flowers, what to aim for when taking wildlife shots, and more. Join our online class, with phone in hand, ready to practice some new ways of thinking about your nature photographs.

This class is offered through video conferencing and/or pre-recorded video, or a combination of the two. Students must have an audio and video enabled computer, tablet or smartphone to participate. Merrymeeting will send you information about accessing the class prior to its start date.

Tips for Taking Wonderful Pictures of the Flora and Fauna in Your World With Your Phone’s Camera App

Flowers are blooming! Critters are visiting our backyards! Grab your phone to capture the glory of nature all around us. Topics we’ll explore focus & exposure, how to create a dramatic image of the simplest of flowers, what to aim for when taking wildlife shots, and more. Join our online class, with phone in hand, ready to practice some new ways of thinking about your nature photographs.

This class is offered through video conferencing and/or pre-recorded video, or a combination of the two. Students must have an audio and video enabled computer, tablet or smartphone to participate. Merrymeeting will send you information about accessing the class prior to its start date.

Move over bonsai trees! A handcrafted tabletop driftwood tree will add a touch of the Maine coast to your home decor. Join Chris for this fun, hands on craft activity using driftwood, beach stones, and recycled wire from political signs. Chris will supply all materials but feel free to bring your own supplies from your walks along the shore. 

Tools:

Ruler or tape measure

Pencil or marker

Electric drill

Length of tree trunk wire

1 bit bigger than tree trunk wire

1 bit slightly smaller than tree trunk wire

Garden clippers or loppers

Hammer

Piece of scrap wood

Ruler or tape measure

White pine (Maine’s state flower) and Red pine are ubiquitous throughout the region and provide a vital pool of resources for human and nonhuman Mainers alike. Pine needles are beautiful, strong, and can be coiled and sewn together to make jewelry, hats, lovely usable baskets and/or adorably tiny ones. Learn to identify, regeneratively gather and harvest, properly store and process, and weave with pine needles. We'll cover the basics of coiled basketry, which is a global, ancient human skill, and create a wonderful pine- needle basket. Every participant will make a basket to take home. No required texts, books, special materials, etc. All tools and materials included. No discounts.

If you've taken a beginner's course or have some previous painting experience, this course will help you continue to explore acrylics. Begin at your own skill level and work at your own pace. Review mixing colors, choosing and preparing supports, adding texture; then on to using acrylic gels and other mediums (including mixed media art), composing a still life, and painting landscapes/seascapes from photos. Optional project: painting BIG! We encourage experimentation and expanding your painting horizons.