June 2025 (date TBA)
Registration will open in March.
Humans have lived in this part of the mountains for thousands of years and the traces of that history are everywhere. There are archaeological sites from the first people here, mines and tailings from the Gold Rush, graceful old barns from the Italian-Swiss settlers who raised dairy cows and the rusty calligraphy of gates and fences in modern ranches. Loggers clearcut these hills for mining operations but the forests returned and today the mills are processing salvage timber from wildfires. There are elegant trestles and bridges from the railways which stitched it all together, and a museum full of old railway cars.
I'll be teaching this class with Cathy McAuliffe, who will give an in-depth intro to the history of each place. We'll be looking at different ways to tell those stories visually, demonstrating a range of techniques for sketch journaling and watercolor painting, from tight to loose, realistic to abstract.