Berkshire Art Center Announces Spring 2026 Classes, New Workshop Series

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Art Center (BAC) has announced its Spring 2026 lineup of classes and workshops, offering a range of creative opportunities in ceramics, mixed media, drawing, painting, and mindful art practices for artists of all levels.
 
BAC's ceramics studios will be active this season with courses such as Natural Sculptural Forms in Clay with Paula Shalan, Handbuilding Techniques: Altering Slab Forms with Ingrid Raab, and Thrown Forms for Teapots with Sharon Pollock. Additional offerings invite students to explore the expressive possibilities of clay through both handbuilding and wheel throwing.
 
For those interested in mixed media, BAC will offer workshops including Natural Dyeing with Plants: Eco-Printing Basics with Mallorey Carron, as well as Joyful Collaborative Collage and Joyful Jewelry Studio with Kim Waterman. Students can also join artist Jody King Camarra for Intuitive Collage or experiment with printmaking in her Print Lab sessions.
 
Drawing and painting classes will take place in BAC's spacious 2D studio, where instructor Wednesday Sorokin will lead courses including Painting Basics, Abstract Painting: Color, Design, and Spirit, and Drawing for Everyone, welcoming beginners and experienced artists alike. Friday Morning Painting Studio, a supportive and relaxed group setting for painters, will continue this season with guidance from Faculty Artist Diane Firtell. Open to artists working in any medium, the studio offers participants dedicated time to paint alongside others while receiving feedback and encouragement in a welcoming creative environment.
 
The spring schedule also includes opportunities to connect creativity with mindfulness. Executive Director Laura Thompson will lead a free three-week online series, Spark Your Creativity, inviting participants to explore reflection and creative renewal through guided meditation. Artist Thomas Libetti will also offer Drawing from Observation & Meditation, combining foundational drawing techniques with practices inspired by yoga and mindfulness.
 
BAC is also launching a new series of monthly workshops at Wander, located at 34 Depot Street, Suite 101 in Pittsfield. Held on the second Saturday of each month, BAC at Wander will introduce participants to creative techniques in a welcoming, community-centered setting. April's workshop, Indoor Urban Sketching with Jill McLean, will explore capturing scenes from everyday life—people, food, drinks, or interiors—using layered ink and watercolor. In May, Botanical Watercolor Resist with Johanna Merfeld will invite participants to draw from live plant materials while experimenting with the vibrant interaction between oil pastel and watercolor. In June, Visual Journaling with Kaily Ritz will guide students in creating a small sketchbook diary, combining drawing with collected mementos such as receipts, notes, and keepsakes to document daily life through art.
 
BAC's Spring 2026 programs are designed to foster creativity, connection, and exploration across a wide range of artistic disciplines.
 
For a full list of classes and registration information, visit berkshireartcenter.org
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Letter: Southern Berkshire Ambulance Expresses Gratitude for Support

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Over the next nine months, the Southern Berkshire Ambulance Squad (SBAS) will take delivery of two new ambulances, at a cost of roughly $1 million, to replace two vehicles that are very much on their last wheels. Lacking that $1 million, SBAS had to put out an emergency call of its own. I write to share the wonderful news that Berkshire Preservation Inc. (BPI) more than answered our call.

BPI's board, which includes Carole Owens, Louis Schroeter, Wende and David Carver, Nelson Furlano, and Todd Ehrlich worked tirelessly to organize a benefit concert at the Colonial Theatre that netted $98,877 for SBAS. We saw firsthand how hard they worked to bring it off, and we could not be more grateful to be the beneficiaries of their efforts and generosity.

SBAS answers your emergency calls 24/7/365. It means a great deal to us that when we were the ones in need, BPI answered ours. If you would like to learn more about BPI, and you should, please go to preservationinc.org.

With deep gratitude,

Ken Schumacher
Great Barrington, Mass. 

Ken Schumacher is president of the board of directors
of the Southern Ambulance Squad

 

 

 

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