© 2012 Crossings at Carnegie
All Rights Reserved

Open Studio - Life Drawing sessions at Crossings
Scheduled sessions take place on Sundays from Noon to 3 pm.

Upcoming sessions: June 23, July 21, Aug 18.
Life Drawing is $18 per session or $30 for two. Includes model fee.

“Life Drawing is at once the most frustrating and satisfying art form that an artist can undertake”
- artist Mike Schad of Zumbro Falls.

The ‘Open Studio-Life Drawing’ sessions are a great opportunity for artists, at any level of expertise, to practice and hone their skills, and expand their ability to "see." Professional and emerging artists, as well as fine art students developing their portfolios, motivate each other with their own abilities, critiques, and encouragement. Each artist works independently in the medium of their choice.

Live models, natural light, welcoming and creative setting.

Wine and Watercolor with Dan Wiemer
Friday, May 17, 7 - 9pm.
Cost: $28 + $8 materials fee.

Dan Wiemer returns for another creative evening! Everything you'll need is supplied, and each class will provide students with new subject matter to paint. The focus of this class project will be flowers.

Join us for a fun and casual evening of art. Bring some wine or beverage of choice and spend a couple of hours with some watercolors and brush!

This is a fun and easy project, suitable for beginners and experienced painters alike. You'll be guided by expert watercolor artist Dan Wiemer through a step by step watercolor painting.
Whether it is a landscape or a floral, you will learn and laugh in a relaxed setting and leave with a finished "masterpiece".

Instructor Dan Wiemer is an award-winning artist and illustrator who lives in Red Wing MN. He was trained as a graphic designer and has painted in watermedia most of his life. Dan is a past president of the Minnesota Watercolor Society and has taught classes and workshops for twenty years, from Austin to Zumbrota and a few stops in between.

Earrings Gone Wild!
Saturday, July 20, 10am - 12:30pm.
Cost: $29 + $18 materials fee.
Make it a day and take both classes for $50! (Plus materials costs)

Make your Saturday morning creative and beautiful. Instructor Carla Cooper will guide you step by step through basic wire techniques. You'll create and go home with three different pair of pierced earrings using beads and wire. 

These techniques can be used for any other future project you'd like to create using wire.  Good class for beginners!  Kits will be available for purchase at class.

Instructor: Carla Cooper. Carla has taught a variety of beading classes, has done repairs and sold jewelry on consignment for many years at Northfield's local bead store, Glass Garden Beads.

Wire Wrapped Stones and Crystal Points
Saturday, July 20, 1:30 - 4pm.
Cost: $29 + $3 materials fee per piece created.

Make it a day and take both classes for $50! (Plus materials costs)

In this class you will learn how to wrap flat stones in a variety of different ways! These wrapped gems, stones or crystals can then be used as pendants or charms.  Students will also learn a different method for wrapping crystal points (or any similar cylinder-like shape). 

You may bring your own wire (22 & 20 gauge), stones and crystals to class, but there will be some available for sale for use in class as well for $3 each.

Instructor: Carla Cooper. Carla has taught a variety of beading classes, has done repairs and sold jewelry on consignment for many years at Northfield's local bead store, Glass Garden Beads.

Exciting Color in Plein Air Painting
Saturday & Sunday, July 27 & 28.
9am - 5pm each day.
Cost: $178 plus self-supplied materials.

Join us for an oil painting workshop devoted to outdoor painting from life and the many expressive moods of color. Move into another dimension of plein air painting and explore an array of color choices and the interesting paintings that can be created using all the power of color at the artist's disposal.

Summer Flowers by Derek Davis

We will learn to see color in new and different ways and explore some wonderful visual tools. Included in the workshop is instruction in local color, temperature balance for authentic color, using broken color, arbitrary color schemes, mixing color with additive strategies as well as subtractive, glazing for individual color, high chroma and low chroma color together, and other color theory put into practice.

This will be a fun and informational class that will leave you tired but happy. Students can expect to bring home 3-4 small plein air sketches after doing the exercises in class. Some of these lessons are mind benders with the goal of growth in mind.

Materials:
6 small painting panels (5x7 - 6x8)
Plein air painting easel/set-up, including mixing palette, solvent and cleaning container, medium of choice or stand oil with palette cup
2 painting/palette knives
rags, clips
soft pencil or hard charcoal
sketchbook
2 each (size 6) 1/2" and (size 8) 3/4" bright or flat bristle brushes; softer mongoose, sable or synthetic flat brush same size range for glazing and blending pure pigment or prismatic color selection including warm and cool yellow (cad. yellow and yellow light/lemon), red ( quin. rose and cad. red light ), and blue( cerulean or pthalo, cobalt and ultramarine ), also viridian, Cad. orange and a large tube of titanium white.

Artist Derek Davis is a second generation professional artist who has spent his life learning about painting. Derek's mother was a landscape artist exposing him to outdoor painting and his father was a contemporary western artist which gave him exposure to varied ideas on color and its use. The artist competes in plein aire competitions, paints figurative, still life, floral, landscape subject matter and teaches from his studio as well as showing his work in many fine art galleries. In addition to painting in oil he works in watercolor. He is an award winning artist with a following of collectors who prize his work. Derek is the President of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and is passionate in teaching about the joys and rewards to be found in the pursuit of painting en plein aire. He can be contacted through his website: www.derekdavisstudio.com.

Batik 2-Day Workshop
Saturday & Sunday, September 7 & 8, 9am - 4pm.
Cost: $148 + $25 materials fee.

Beginners as well as the experienced batiker will find this workshop inspiring and illuminating.

Make colorful, intriguing pieces of art by applying hot molten wax and dye in layers on cloth!

Students will create two-dimensional art using traditional batik tools and techniques but with soy wax. Soy wax is a sustainable alternative to traditional batik waxes - paraffin and beeswax. Soy wax melts at a low temperature making it safer to handle, remove, and dispose. After applying soy wax to cotton students will explore layering with colors using Procion fiber reactive dyes in warm and cool palettes.

You really don’t have to know a thing about art or have any design ideas to create beauty in this workshop! You’ll walk away from two days of play with 4-10 completed pieces of art, ready to frame or hang on a dowel or rod! Dyes, wax, tools, and fabric will be supplied.

Instructor: Cyndi Kaye Meier. Cyndi in an award-winning artist who has lectured and conducted workshops in batik and other fiber arts for many years. Learn more about her.

Concrete Sculpture Workshop
Saturday, September 28, 10am - 4pm &
Sunday, September 29, 11am - 3pm.
Cost: $198 + $35 materials fee.

Learn to make concrete statuary in this 2-day workshop with award-winning folk artist Wouterina "Riana" DeRaad. You'll learn techniques in this workshop that are not taught in any other schools or books! Bring a pair of part-rubber/part-cloth gloves and a face mask to class. Everything else you'll need is supplied.

During the first day of this workshop, participants will be making a multi-layered metal armature, which will be cemented in the following day. You will learn how to cut and shape the metal lathe and when and how to use reinforcements. There will be a demonstration on the various cementing techniques, discussions on cement formulas, and what pigments to use for coloring cement.

You can even go one step further and embellish your concrete sculpture with mosaic tile. Rianna's Mosaic 2-day workshop will take place in October!

"Big Head" concrete sculpture made in Riana's class by Susan Waughtal

Since 1988 Wouterina has created more than 40 figures that make up a sculpture garden at her home in Beldenville, WI. Wouterina's award-winning sculpture gardens have been featured on “Rebecca’s Garden” and “The Wisconsin Gardener” on Wisconsin Public Television, and in numerous publications including Midwest Living, Minnesota Monthly, Wisconsin Trails Magazine, Country Gardens, Minnesota Horticulturist, and the Folk Art Messenger.

A little about Riana: "I like for my statues to provoke imagination, to look naive and old, as though they have been here for many years. Beauty, function and longevity are my main objectives. Most statues have a welded steel frame and two layers of a metal mesh for strength, followed by one or two layers of concrete. To make the mosaics, pottery shards, glass, pebbles and various other objects are applied with a tile adhesive. Most pieces are finished with a grout."

View Riana's online gallery for inspiration and amazement at her website !

Rosemaling Intensive 3-Day Workshop
Thursday through Saturday, October 3 - 5.
9am - 4pm each day.
Cost: $165 plus self-supplied materials.

Try your hand at a
beautiful folk art form
with Vesterheim Gold Medal winner
Ken Magnuson

Rosemaling is a form of decorative flower painting that originated in Norway in the 1700s. These graceful designs are derived from C and S strokes and are characterized by flowing lines and scroll, imaginative, fanciful flowers, and subtle colors. Rosemaling may also incorporate figures, scenes and script lettering.

Several different styles of rosemaling exist, each named for the region in which it originated. In this class, both Telemark and Hallingdal styles of painting will be taught.

Students will work at their own level, from beginners on up, and may choose the style they prefer. Each student will work on their own project at their own pace. Please bring in any wooden object that's suitable for painting such as a tray, canister or box; patterns of all sorts will be available for you to choose from. Beginners can bring an object to paint but can also spend the workshop practicing painting on paper.

Please bring at least 3 sheets of heavy paper or cardboard (11x14 or larger) with TWO coats of neutral-colored latex paint. You will use these for practice.
Click here for a list of supplies you'll need

All students, from absolute beginners to more advanced Rosemalers, can expect to learn, refine and hone their skills in this timeless style of painting.

Instructor Ken Magnuson was awarded the Vesterheim Gold Medal for excellence in rosemaling by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah. To earn this award, artists must complete and earn 8 points at the annual national competition each July. The first Gold Medal was awarded in 1969. Since that time, less than 50 artists have received this award. Ken was also recently awarded the Artisan Award of Excellence from the Norsk Hostfest.

Mosaic Madness
Saturday, October 26, 10am - 4pm &
Sunday, October 27, 11am - 3pm.
Cost: $175 + $10 materials fee.

Learn the basic skills of Mosaic Tiling, materials and patterning in this 2-day workshop with award-winning folk artist Wouterina "Riana" DeRaad. You'll learn techniques in this workshop that are not taught in any other schools or books!

Students will learn how to cut and break glass and ceramic tile, what materials and adhesives to use for our subzero climate, and different mosaic patterning techniques. There will be a grouting demonstration, discussions on cement formulas, how to use pigments and ways to texture a cement surface!

You can mosaic your own mailbox, garden planter, bench, cookie jar.... just about anything that holds still ... with the skills you'll learn in this class.

Materials list: an object to tile, such as a clay pot, vase, cookie jar, birdbath, or your sculpture from the concrete workshop! Please bring some TESSERAE (tile objects such as broken dishes, pebbles, buttons, mirrors, beads, shells, and the like), rubber/cloth gloves, old towels and rags.

A few pointers from Riana:

• Bring non porous materials to tile with if your project will reside outside all year around
• Please break your tile (tessarae) before coming to the workshop. An easy way to do this is fold an old towel several times, lay your tile /dish glazed side facing down in between the folds, and break it with a hammer. (Kind of fun!) Don't forget to wear safety glasses.
• We will be using a cement-based tile adhesive, so please don't bring metal or painted wood to tile on.

Since 1988 Wouterina has created more than 40 figures that make up a sculpture garden at her home in Beldenville, WI. Wouterina's award-winning sculpture gardens have been featured on “Rebecca’s Garden” and “The Wisconsin Gardener” on Wisconsin Public Television, and in numerous publications including Midwest Living, Minnesota Monthly, Wisconsin Trails Magazine, Country Gardens, Minnesota Horticulturist, and the Folk Art Messenger.

A little more about Riana: "I like for my statues to provoke imagination, to look naive and old, as though they have been here for many years. Beauty, function and longevity are my main objectives. Most statues have a welded steel frame and two layers of a metal mesh for strength, followed by one or two layers of concrete. To make the mosaics, pottery shards, glass, pebbles and various other objects are applied with a tile adhesive. Most pieces are finished with a grout."

View Riana's online gallery for inspiration and amazement at her website !
Please also check out the frequently asked questions and answers about Rianna's workshops.

Painting by Intuition: Point Zero Painting Workshop
Thursday through Sunday, March 27 through March 30
10am-6pm each day.
Cost: $395. $100 non-refundable deposit due upon registration.

Point Zero Painting, with its emphasis on process, not product, is a method of self-exploration and spiritual discovery, rather than a traditional painting class. A sense of trust and integration can be gained as unexpected images emerge.

Imagine giving oneself the time and space to fully express without care or concern for opinion, judgment or fear. Imagine being in a group setting where freedom to explore to be true to one's inner voice, to learn to trust one's own instincts is emphasized over getting approval, producing or performing for some outer source. Finally, imagine all this happening through the power of creativity, the simple and pure act of painting. Intuition becomes your guide.

As we take risks to express ourselves, no comments, judgments or critiques are allowed. A mutual support is engendered. Group cohesiveness is formed as we enter into the sacredness of the creative moment. We find that we are very similar in unique ways. There is a lot of play around the paint table, and laughter is often heard. A strong bond naturally occurs. We find a communion in the heart of the painters community.

Debbie Purdy, M.A.A.T., L.C.P.C., is an art therapist, and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and teacher of the Point Zero Painting Process as described in the books by Michele Cassou. Debbie ran her own studio in Elmhurst, IL for ten years, teaching and sharing the process with others. She is currently teaching in Albuquerque, NM and other venues across the country. With intuition as her guide, Debbie continues to open to new ways of sharing the process, engaging in her own practice, and through workshops and classes across the country. She invites everyone to join her on this incredible journey. Read more about Debbie at Creative Wings Studio.

"Crossings is one of my favorite places to teach.
I love it not only for its wonderful, engaging students, but for the warmth and vitality of the art gallery space. Crossings is a great place to be a writer." – Alison McGhee - Author, Pulitzer Prize winner and Loft Literary Center Instructor

Classes are listed below in chronological order

In the Middle: Writing for Middle Grades and Young Adults Three Keys to Poetry: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Writers of any level can gain something from each of these classes. Our experience-level indications are meant to guide your choices, but you are always welcome at any class, whether you're just starting out or are on the New York Times bestsellers list!

Help us plan! Register at least one week prior to class.
Call 507-732-7616 to register by phone

Click here for the fine print about cancellations and refunds.

In the Middle: Writing for Middle Grades and Young Adults
Saturday, June 22, 10am - 1pm.
Cost: $35

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Between picture books and adult novels lies the realm of middle grade and young adult fiction.  Readers from late elementary to high school seek out these sorts of books on their own—books that speak to them, that feature characters near their own ages, and that appeal to a child or teen’s taste and view of the world.  Everything from Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Twilight, from Charlotte’s Web to The Hunger Games falls into this broad and exciting range.

In this class, we’ll discuss the traits that define these categories, talk about what makes MG/YA accessible, interesting, and relatable to young readers, look at current trends, and use our own inner adolescents for inspiration and information.  Exercises for gathering ideas, playing with voice and narration, and revising will get us started. 

Jacqueline West is the author of the best-selling middle grade fantasy series The Books of Elsewhere (Dial/Penguin).  Her novels, short fiction, and poetry have earned many awards and honors, including two Pushcart Prize nominations, a Cybils Award, and two Minnesota Book Award nominations.  A former high school English teacher, she is now a frequent speaker and workshop leader.  Visit her at www.jacquelinewest.com.

Three Keys to Poetry: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Saturday, July 20, 10am - 1pm.
Cost: $50

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

"There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays,
And every single one of them is right!" 
                                      —Rudyard Kipling

“She hid in a golden rain.
You ran through the gold until a rainy chill.
If that's it buddy it's a bleak routine.”
                                                —Richard Hugo

Every poet with a little experience knows how to use surface repetition—rhymes, refrains, and extended metaphors—but repetition can develop in dozens of more sophisticated ways, and may operate at the deepest level of a poem as surely as it plays on the surface of the lines. Poets from pre-literate times and poets publishing in prestigious magazines demonstrate how various types of repetition can deepen and intensify the meanings, feelings and music of poems.

Participants should e-mail single copies of two of their own poems that are without obvious repetition, to rez@gac dot edu, by July 12. Poems should be typed in a plain font (12-point Times Roman or Arial are suggested), each poem no longer than 20 lines), so that copies can be prepared for each member of the class. We’ll experiment with ways of enhancing them through multiple kinds of repetition.
 
John Calvin Rezmerski’s first book was released in 1969. Since then his poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies as various as New Letters, the Wall Street Journal, the speculative fiction magazine Tales of the Unanticipated, and Water-Stone Review, and he has published more than 20 collections mingling humor, irony, and emotional insight. Bridging the gap between academic and popular arts, he has collaborated with painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, dancers, theatrical troupes and scientists.
He has performed his work for hundreds of audiences in schools, libraries, professional meetings, literary conventions, community festivals, coffee houses, bars, and on television and radio. He taught writing for 35 years at Gustavus Adolphus College, and serves as organizer and master of ceremonies of the Cambria Eisteddfod bardic competition held each year in Cambria, Minnesota. His most recent book is Breaking the Rules: Beginning with Ghazals (Red Dragonfly Press). 

John Calvin Rezmerski

Classes are listed below in chronological order

Help us plan! Register at least one week prior to class.
Call 507-732-7616 to register by phone

Click here for the fine print about cancellations and refunds.

Rise and Shine Yoga
Thursdays: 6-7 am.
April 18 through May 23.
6 sessions/$60. Drop-ins are fine! $12 per class. Call to check availability.

Join us Thursday mornings for an hour of Hatha yoga: a physical yoga class that will calm your mind as you increase your balance, strength and flexibility. Some postures will be challenging, but YOU get to decide how far YOU want to take YOUR challenge. Some yoga experience is helpful, but all levels are welcome. Modifications will be given.

Instructor Gerise Thompson lives in Pine Island with her husband, Steve, 15 year old son Alex, and Leo, their Welsh Pembroke Corgi. Gerise has been practicing yoga for over 9 years and has attended teacher training with David Swenson in Columbus, OH. Gerise loves that yoga is for everyone, as long as you listen to yourself; you are your best teacher!

Prana Flow Yoga
Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30 pm.
April 9 through May 14.
6 sessions/$60. Drop-ins are fine! $12 per class. Call to check availability.
Instuctors Gerise Thompson and Ann Flott will be instructors for this session.

Upcoming session:
Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30 pm.
May 21 (Skip May 28), June 4, 11, 18, 25 (Skip July 2), July 9.
6 sessions/$60. Drop-ins are fine! $12 per class. Call to check availability.
Instuctor: Gerise Thompson.

Prana Flow Yoga is an energetic, creative, full-spectrum vinyasa style of yoga pioneered by world-known yoga teacher Shiva Rea and her Global Collective of Teachers. Students of all levels are empowered to experience prana- the universal source of breath, life energy and conscious intelligence- as the navigating source of yoga practice and vital living. Classes will include aspects of the teachings of Krishnamacharya, Tantra, Ayurveda and Bhakti, in addition to paying attention to what is currently happening on a personal, local and global level, to utilize inner intelligence to find balance between strength and fluidity, skill and intuition, and activation and receptivity.

Guitar, Ukulele and Mandolin Lessons:
Tuesdays from 3-7:30pm; call to set up time.

$18 per half-hour private weekly lesson, paid monthly. Requires two-month commitment, and 30 days' notice before cancellation. Please read Crossings' music instruction FAQ's

One-on-one instruction, acoustic or electric guitar, plus ukulele and mandolin! Beginners on up: all ages!

Instructor: Jake McBroom. Jake has 12 years of experience playing guitar in the local music scene playing various styles of music- everything from metal to rock to bluegrass to country.

Jake will provide a personalized lesson plan depending on each student's musical interest and beginning skill level.

Crossings' music instruction FAQ's

return to top of page

Crossings is located in a former Carnegie Library building in
Zumbrota, Minnesota.
For more specific directions, please visit this link:
Directions to Crossings:
Go to Home page