"...The most interesting aspect of other people, the point where we go inside them," artist David Hockney once noted, "is the face. It tells all."
On Sunday, April 27, from 2:30-4:00 pm, in the Westport Library's McManus Room, students in grades 6-8 will have an opportunity to explore the face and portraiture in a Portrait Workshop for Kids. Bedford Middle School art teacher and Westport 2013 Teacher of the Year Cecily Anderson will leadthe hands-on workshop to help students unlock the mysteries of the human face. Digging into the Library's vast media resources, they will investigate portraits as a genre and explore what techniques artists use to tell stories and influence the way we see people's faces. Then, using both drawing and collage techniques, the students will create portraits of their own. Enrollment for the workshop is free but limited to 20 students and requires online registration at www.westportlibrary.org.
This workshop is being given in conjunction with the exhibit "Face to Face: Portraits from WSPAC as It Turns 50," celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection (WSPAC) in 1964 by the late artist, art historian and Greens Farms art teacher Burt Chernow. Newly installed in the Library's Great Hall, the exhibit includes more than 20 portraits in widely varied styles from WSPAC, whose holdings now number more than 1,300 works. In addition to the Portrait Workshop for Kids, on Saturday, May 10, from 1-4 pm, Town of Westport Art Curator Kathie Bennewitz will lead a rare guided tour of WSPAC holdings in four schools and in Town Hall, which will conclude with a tour of the "Face to Faces" exhibit. Reservations for the tour must be made online at www.westportlibrary.org and will cost $30.