Springs Gallery, a fine art/fine craft gallery in Yellow Springs, Ohio, is offering a hands-on painting workshop with Dayton artist Mike Elsass. Elsass, who paints on rusted steel, will be doing his creative, spontaneous painting, along with students, on Thursday, September 15, 4 pm – 7 pm. Students will paint on King’s Yard, outside of Springs Gallery, 220 Xenia Avenue in Yellow Springs.
The fee for the workshop is $70.00; all materials will be provided. Students will be able to take home a finished work of their own creation for each session. For questions, or to register, please call Springs Gallery at 937-767-1766, or email: springsgallery@earthlink.net. Please register by Sunday, September 11. There will be a minimum of 5 students and no maximum.
Registration forms are available on the Springs Gallery site at www.springsgallery.blogspot.com, and at Springs Gallery during business hours: Wednesday through Sunday, Noon to 7 pm. Free parking is available in two lots on the west end of King’s Yard off Walnut Street, and on surrounding streets.
Bio Info.:
Mike Elsass studied for years under nationally renowned Dayton steel painter Roger Sayre, whom he considers his mentor. Sayre showed Elsass the possibilities of steel as a surface for acrylic and urged him to experiment. Elsass explores the medium by sanding and rusting sheets of metal in search of new and different textures and applies multiple layers of paint and shiny or opaque finishes. In the aging of the metals and its imperfections, Elsass sees a mirror of the human condition. The fast-drying quality of the acrylics allows him to work with motivation and speed on several pieces at a time, expressing, as in a musical crescendo, his spontaneity and deep passion for life.
Elsass has done instruction and on-location painting throughout the U.S. and Canada. His work is in several corporate and private collections. Elsass is also currently represented by several fine art galleries throughout the West, South and Midwest, including Springs Gallery in Yellow Springs.
Photo: Untitled acrylic on rusted steel by Mike Elsass, 12" x 12", photo by Christine Klinger