All can study art next weekend at Mat-Su College

PALMER — What are you doing Saturday, June 2? Is it as fun as learning to paint, draw or put together an appealing living room?

If not, Mat-Su College still has some slots open in its second annual Machetanz Art Festival, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the college campus. Two-session classes run from 9 a.m. to noon, and then 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. One-session classes run all day. Here’s a rundown of what’s still available:

Basic Sumi-e Techniques

What: Jean Shadrach has studied with sumi-e masters from around the world. If you’re unfamiliar with the style, think painting with ink using a bamboo brush and rice paper. Techniques from sumi-e can translate to watercolor, oils, acrylics and ceramics. No experience is necessary to take the class.

Price: $50, plus $5 for materials

Length: One session

Draw Stick Figures and More

What: Don Kolstad plans to teach students who believe they can’t draw a stick figure how to depict the human form with basic shapes and proportions. Students will leave with drawings.

Price: $25, plus $10 for materials

Length: Two sessions

Website: donkolstadart.com

Hands-on Interior Design

What: Trained in architecture and working as a residential designer and professor, Tiffany Staples plans to show students how to successfully apply color and space planning to a home. Students can bring scissors and Scotch tape, and even a floor plan sketch or drawing of a room they’re planning on rearranging.

Price: $25, plus $10 for materials.

Length: Two sessions

Introduction to Watercolor

What: Tom Nixon is a landscape painter who teaches watercolor and drawing. His course description says he welcomes all comers — and he means all comers. “If the fact that the fuzzy end of the brush goes into the paint is a revelation to you, then this is the introductory level class you have been searching for,” he says.

Price: $50 + $20 for materials

Length: One session

Website: tomnixonart.com

Intermediate Watercolor

What: Vladimir Zkikhartsev, Fairbanks-based and Russian-born with awards from art competitions in various countries, has tailored his class for more advanced students. He plans to teach them the “Russian-style” of loose, confident watercolor painting.

Price: $50, lunch included

Length: One session

Website: vladimirzkikhartsev.com

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.