DIS

DISCOVER! | MARCH 12, 2016
KATE HARLOW | STAFF WRITER
Pieces | 11
Other classes:
• Sippin’ & Sketchin’. Highschoolers
& adults: learn the
nuts & bolts of drawing with
artist Alissa Sinclair… while
sipping cider or hot chocolate
at the Northwestern College
Korver Art Center. Mar. 22, 29
and Apr. 5.
• Siouxland 102. Read the stories
of our neighborhood and
see the places. Jim Schaap
returns by popular demand, for
another series in the history and
culture of this part of the world.
Mar. 29, Apr. 26, May 31, June
28, July 26.
Play with your food
I
know your mother probably told
you not to play with your food, but
artist Matt Drissell actually encourages
you to do just that.
Drissell, through Orange City Arts,
will be offering a class geared toward
kids to encourage them to create art
with food in a class entitled, “Play
with your food” on Saturday, March
19. The class is being offered to students
in grades 5-8 and 9-12, which is
exactly the point, according to Orange
City Arts executive director Janine
Calsbeek.
“We wanted a fun class for high
school and middle school people.
(Sorry, adults!),” wrote Calsbeek.
Students don’t have to worry if
they aren’t a budding Rembrandt; the
class is open to those who can wield
a paintbrush and to those who have
never even tried.
“No previous painting experience
is required. I can’t tell too many
specifics,” Calsbeek said. “I think he
Learn to paint with food with Matt Drissell
will demonstrate his process, and let
people paint with the materials he
uses. He distills paint from the food
products.”
Matt Drissell currently lives in Sioux
Center and is an associate professor of
art at Dordt College. He has a Master
of Fine Arts in Painting from the New
York Academy of Art and a Bachelor of
Art from Wheaton College in Illinois.
Before becoming a professor at
Dordt College, he taught middle
and high school art for five years in
Milwaukee, WI, and later in St. Louis,
MO.
Drissell talked about his work of
creating art with food such as popsicles,
ice cream, lemonade, bomb
pops, jello, bacon, Sriracha sauce, coffee
grounds and cake mixes and here’s
what he had to say:
“By utilizing the highly processed
food treats, my work suggests themes
of land, agriculture, and sustainability.
Additionally, the work
At a Glance:
WHAT: “Play with your food” class
with Matt Drissell
WHERE: Northwestern Korver Art
Center, Room 103, Orange City, IA
WHEN: Saturday, March 19 from
10-11:30 a.m. for the 5-8th grade
students, and Noon-1:30 p.m. for
the 9-12th grade students
COST: $35
CONTACT: 712-707-4885
ONLINE: orangecityarts.net
shows an affinity with the modernist
art movement of Abstract Expressionism.
Popsicles drip, spill, and ooze
onto the work, just as Jackson Pollock,
Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko,
and other members of the New York
School worked with their paint.
“These pinnacles of 20th century
cultural developments — industrial
food and modern art — are juxtaposed
in my work, and yet they find
an odd resonance there.”
In his “Play with your food” class
students can expect to learn about the
history of painting as well as more
about Drissell’s specific process.
If you are an adult wishing you
could be a part of this class then take
note.
Orange City Arts will be hosting an
event on April 2 at the Barn at Blue
Mountain as a part of their “Meet
the Artist” series, where you will be
able to meet this year’s five Iowa Artist
Fellows selected by the Iowa Arts
Council.
Drissell is one of those artists.
To learn more about that event contact
Orange City Arts. For your child
though, if they want to sign up for this
class, make sure you tell them it’s OK
to play with their food — at least this
one time. F
Orange City | Iowa
• Beginning Painting...For Kids.
Paint & sip your way to a work
of art on canvas, with artist Alissa
Sinclair, at Old Factory. Shirley
Temples included! Grades
K-1 and 2-4. Mar. 19.
• Memoir: Writing Your Stories.
Write about your life experiences,
with inspiration by Barbara
Turnwall: Orange City Town Hall.
Apr. 4-28. Monday & Thursday
afternoons.
• The Art of Frosting. Decorate
Easter-themed cookies, under
the guidance of the artists at A
Piece of Cake in Le Mars, Michelle
and Sam Bomgaars. Mar.
22, 23 or 26.
• Zine making. Create a selfpublished
photocopied maga-
Zine with Iowa artists Rachel
Buse and Rob Stephens. Free
workshop for high schoolers
and up. Barn at Blue Mountain.
Apr. 2.
Advance registration and payment
are required. Register a
week in advance for reduced
fee. For online registration and
more information, see orangecityarts.net.
Or call 712-707-4885
or email orangecityartsIA@
gmail.com.