Outdoor painting courses are always popular at the Center. Each week, members of such groups gather at a selected outdoor site, set up their portable easels, and paint. In so doing, they enjoy the creative process of making art while making deep and lasting friendships. Such is the story of Visions of Landscape, an exhibit of watercolor paintings hung this past June at the Evergreen Woods retirement community. The paintings were done by a very special group of artists and students that has been learning, exploring and painting together for some time under the guidance and teachings of watercolor artist and teacher, JOAN DOWNEY. So when the community's resident gallery committee put out the invitation for art to brighten its walls, the group was delighted to respond with their interpretations of real life familiar scenes.

Such stories are not uncommon at the Center, which provides an environment where artists of all ages, backgrounds and interests may gather, practice, explore and exchange ideas. We see the benefits of this experience so often, especially in ceramics, metalworking, painting and weaving where students come back semester after semester to spend many hours together in the studio or out, often celebrating together with their own class presentations, critiques, even potluck dinners served out of their own pottery creations.