A Piece of Work, Inc. is excited to announce that due to popular demand, Member Artist Dan Ruf will be teaching another Beginning Digital Photography Class beginning April 5^th!

The Beginning Digital Photography Class will consist of 4-two hour sessions. Beginning Thursday, April 5^th, the class will meet for four Thursday evenings (April 5, 12, 19, and 26) from 5:00pm - 7:00pm.  The registration fee is $80.00 per participant and class size will be limited to 10, so register early to ensure a seat as this class is already half full! 

This class will not only answer questions concerning camera functions and use, but will also cover aspects of controlling light, composition and photographic techniques.  As the course progresses, the discussion will touch on types of equipment, various purchasing pitfalls, and the processing and editing of digital images.

If the March class doesn’t fit into your schedule, Dan will be teaching one other Beginner level Digital Photography class this year in May (Sat. mornings from 10am to noon).  For those interested in learning even more about digital photography, Dan will be teaching an Intermediate class Saturday afternoons in June (must have taken his Beginning class in order to take the Intermediate). 

For details, please download the registration form below.  To register, please call (712) 336-1077 or stop by the gallery, located at 1619 Hill Ave in Spirit Lake. Gallery hours are 10:00am - 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday.

A Piece of Work, Inc. is excited to announce the return of Anita “Katie” Plucker’s Watercolor Workshop! The 3-day workshop will be held from 9:30a – 4:00p on June 27, 28, and 29. The cost of the class is $155.00 per participant, and class size is limited to 15 students. The workshop will focus on painting landscapes, and Katie will include her approach to painting trees, grasses, water and skies.

The daily workshop format will include a brief visit with participants, instruction/demonstration by Katie, a 1-hour lunch break, student practice, and a critique of work done for the day. Students must bring their own paints, brushes, palette, pencil, soft eraser, paper towels, water container, hair dryer, liquid frisket, a board to accommodate watercolor paper, and masking tape. Some supplies will be available for purchase at A Piece of Work, Inc.

Anita Baedke-Plucker, nicknamed Katie, was born and raised in Terril, Iowa. After graduating from Terril Community School, Katie attended Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, receiving a BA in Art Education, married and had two boys. Katie put her artistic career on hold to stay at home and as the boys grew older, Katie was able to create more artwork and began to enter area shows. Her career continued to grow as she went from art show to art show, to having limited edition prints published, to displaying her work in juried national exhibitions and galleries.

When she and her family moved back to the Terril area, Katie joined the Spencer Area Arts Council, and soon became Director of the the Gallery Shop and later, worked full-time as the Director of Education and Outreach for Arts on Grand in Spencer. Katie currently teaches Art at the Spencer Middle School, enabling her to finally put her degree in education and her love to teach into full practice while still allowing her fragments of free time to create.

Katie has been a popular art instructor for youth and adults for many art organizations. She is a member of the Transparent Watercolor Society, a signature member of the Iowa Watercolor Society and a charter member of the Colored Pencil Society of America.

"My watercolor paintings and colored pencil drawings reflect my life in the upper Midwest - rural landscapes, florals, architecture indicative to the area (simple porches and barns to ornate Victorian structures). My approach to my artwork is realistic and my style ranges from loose flowing brush strokes to tightly controlled detail. I paint, first of all, for my own enjoyment and expression. If anyone enjoys my work, that is an added bonus for me. I look for spatial relationships within my subject matter. I love surface texture, varied lines, negative spaces and the effects color can exude within a piece. I am always striving to experiment, learn more and to promote the arts."

For more information and a list of recommended supplies, download the registration form from the link below.

A Piece of Work, Inc. is excited to announce two brand new jewelry making classes taught by Kathy Evert of KJEwelry (of Spirit Lake).  Students will design and create their very own unique and beautiful beaded jewelry.

The first class is on Basic Stringing.  Participants will learn to use one of the most simple and straight-forward techniques to create works of wearable art.  This introduction to beading will help students become familiar with materials and terminology related to jewelry making, and will be completing a single strand necklace or bracelet to take home!  Kathy’s Basic Stringing class will be held on Saturday, April 28^th from 10:30am – noon, and if that doesn’t fit in your schedule Kathy will be teaching the same class again on Saturday, May 5^th from 1:00 – 3:00pm.  The cost of each Basic Stringing class is $45.00 per person.

Kathy’s second class is Basic Wire Wrapping.  Participants will learn the loop-and-wrap technique to create jewelry.  This technique is used frequently with beads of all sizes.  Students will create a pair of earrings and necklace (or bracelet) to take home.  The Basic Wire Wrapping class will be held on Saturday, April 28^th from 1:30 – 3:30pm, and the cost is $60.00 per person.

If you are interested in these classes, don’t hesitate to register as there are only 8 seats available for each class.  All supplies and tools will be provided, so students simply have to bring themselves and be ready to design and create one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry!

The registration form for Kathy’s class can be downloaded using the link below.  Questions can be emailed to apieceofworkinc@gmail.com or you can stop in the gallery, located at 1619 Hill Avenue.  Hours are 10am – 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday.