Arts Education
Education Programs
Spring Term COVID Safety Protocols
Beginning in Spring Term, which starts on April 17th, we will no longer require proof of vaccination for students of any age. Masks are required for instructors and students over the age of 2. Parents of children who require special health considerations should contact Registrar, Joy Ghigleri, at 206-259-3005 so that adjustments can be made to individual class policies. We will continue to practice the following COVID protocols:
- All staff and instructors are fully vaccinated.
- Windows are open during class for increased ventilation.
- High contact surfaces are wiped down frequently.
- Students, staff and instructors must stay home if they have had exposure to someone with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID, or if they or someone in their household are experiencing any COVID symptoms (including fever, congestion/runny nose, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, cough, shortness of breath, chills, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, vomiting, or any other symptom identified by the CDC as identified with COVID).
- We will communicate quickly and openly to parents in the event of any suspected or confirmed exposure to COVID. In the event of a confirmed positive case, we will contact local health officials and follow their guidance on next steps.
Note for student performers: In order to participate in a dance or musical theatre production on the Kay White Hall stage, all students must show proof of vaccination, OR test negative for COVID on the first day of loading into the theater AND again on the day of the first performance. To facilitate this process, we will set up a testing station in which VCA staff will witness the testing and results of a parent/guardian administered rapid test. Parents/Guardians will need to purchase their own tests and bring them to the testing station with their student. We recommend BinaxNOW kits, available through Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Amazon. We will reach out with more information for students involved prior to their production dates.
*We will continue to monitor the local and overall COVID case numbers and will require all students and instructors to wear masks if cases increase significantly. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate the shifting Covid landscape.
Music Together ®- Drum Song Collection
Music Together ®- Drum Song Collection
Ages: 0-5 with caregiver
Wednesdays, April 20-June 15 | 10:30-11:15am
Tuition: One child with caregiver $205 General | $190 Member - please register online
Family with 2 or more children $310 General | $290 Member - please call to register
(non-crawling infant siblings may attend free)
Instructor: Sunder Michelle
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Gather around for joyous music making with your children and learn beloved Music Together® songs and activities. Little ones will love jumping and hiding in “John the Rabbit” & “Sneak and Peek.” and enjoy the catchy rhythms of “Jim Jam Drummer.” Tuition includes audio recordings to play at home and on the go, a colorful illustrated family songbook, and resources with bonus music-making ideas to try at home. Sunder is a Registered Teacher for Music Together who has always loved music, singing, dancing, playing in bands (favorites were steel drum & African drum and dance troupe!) and taking Music Together classes with her children. Join our music making community today!
Find out more »Tiny Art Studio
Tiny Art Studio
Ages: 6-11
Wednesdays, May 18-June 8 | 4-5:30 pm
Tuition: $100 General | $90 Member (includes $10 materials fee)
Instructor: Anna Sander
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Join us to make tiny creations to take home or display in our Tiny Gallery at the Blue Heron. Projects include printmaking, air-dry clay, beaded sun catchers and matchbox collage. Anna Sander is a preschool teacher at Honeybee Playschool and loves to create art with people of all ages.
Find out more »Intro to Improv
Intro to Improv
Ages: 16-Adult
Wednesdays, Apr 27-June 15 | 7-9 pm
Tuition: $215 General | $200 Member
Instructor: Mik Kuhlman
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Explore the spontaneous creation of theatre and short form improv with one of Vashon’s most talented actors. Learn to work with spatial awareness, balance and body centers as you build characters and develop group dialogue.
Find out more »Photographing the Spirit of Animals
Photographing the Spirit of Animals
Ages: 9-13
Thursdays, May 19-June 9 | 4-6:30 pm
Tuition: $160 General | $145 Member (includes $15 materials fee)
Instructor: Annie Marie Musselman
Location: On-location at various Vashon farms
Visit local farms to explore new ways to photograph animals and learn about photographers who have captured their images in beautiful and interesting ways. Class culminates in a show at the Blue Heron.
Find out more »Needle Felting Animals, Monsters, and Insects
Needle Felting Animals, Monsters, and Insects
Ages: 9-13
Saturday, May 21 | 1-4:30 pm
Tuition: $65 General | $55 Member (includes $15 materials fee)
Instructor: Alisara Martin
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Get ready to make fantastical creatures out of felt! You will learn how to use friction, water, and barbed needles to turn wool into small freestanding soft sculptures. You will use sketches and reference pictures to help you understand how to shape and build with this tactile medium. Needle felting takes patience so we will practice techniques to stay safe while getting into the focused rhythm that will bring your creature to life.
Find out more »I Solisti di Vashon
I Solisti di Vashon
Grades: 6-12
Mondays, Apr 4-June 13 | 5:15-6:30 pm (skip school breaks/holidays)
Tuition: $220 General | $205 Member
Instructor: Gaye Detzer
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
I Solisti di Vashon is an advanced string ensemble for high school students. The repertoire is chosen from the great classical composers and from contemporary popular music.
Find out more »All About Theatre
All About Theatre
Ages: 7-11
Tuesdays, April 26-May 31 | 4-5:30 pm
Tuition: $155 General | $140 Member (includes $20 materials fee)
Instructor: Joy Ghigleri
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
In this class, we'll spend each day learning about different areas of theatre through fun hands-on activities! Make special effect sounds with a slapstick and a thunder tube, hone your acting skills through games and acting exercises, make your own gobo (and learn what a gobo is!), write your own short play, create a costume for a character of your choice, and more!
Find out more »Knitting Beyond the Basics
Knitting Beyond the Basics
Ages: 16-Adult
Tuesdays, April 26-May 31, 6-8 pm
Tuition: $150 Member | $165 General
Instructor: Becky Brilliant-Parent
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Continue to advance your knitting skills! Move beyond flat pieces and work on a more intermediate level project (hat, baby sweater, lacy scarf) that requires more complex pattern reading techniques, counting, use of stitch markers, knitting in the round, etc.
Find out more »Beginning Fiction Writing
Beginning Fiction Writing
Ages: 16-Adult
Tuesdays, Apr 26-May 31, 6:30-8:30 pm
Tuition: $175 General | $160 Member
Instructor: Tavi Black
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Have you dabbled in writing, but you’ve been too shy to share it with anyone? Learn the basics of writing fiction and discover what is unique to you as a writer. We’ll discuss genre, drafting, revision and the path to publication. Before earning an MFA from Lesley University, Tavi Black spent 14 years touring with rock bands. Her debut novel, Where Are We Tomorrow? was the 1st place winner of the 2016 PNWA Mainstream Fiction Contest and was a finalist in the 2021 NYC Big Book Award. Several of Tavi’s short stories have been shortlisted for prizes, including Aesthetica Magazine’s Competition, and the Donald Barthelme Prize for Short Prose. She has a historical fiction novel based in 1913 in coastal Maine set to be released in early 2023.
Find out more »Curious Drawing
Curious Drawing
Ages: 14-Adult
Tuesdays, May 3-June 7 | 7-8:30 pm
Tuition: $140 General | $125 Member
Instructor: Britt Freda
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
This class calls on participants to embrace a curious mindset and to become an explorer, a pioneer, a researcher of things unfamiliar. We are all born with the skill of being curious. Put down old perspectives and outdated ways of assessing talent and pick-up a pencil and drawing paper. Bring a sense of humor, a dash of brave letting go and explore the (mindful) practice of drawing. No additional experience is required.
Find out more »Shutter Speed: Tricks of the Trade
Shutter Speed: Tricks of the Trade
Ages: 14-Adult
Wednesdays and Fridays, May 6, 13, 25, June 1 | 6:30-8:30 pm
Tuition: $125 General | $110 Member
Instructor: Ray Pfortner
Location: VCA and island location shoots
Nothing will transform your own photography more immediately than exploring alternative and other-than-normal shutter speeds. Imagine breaking the "rules:" moving the camera during long exposures/painting with the camera (Intentional Camera Movement), zooming while exposing, blurring the motion of water, wind, animals and even sports, light drawing, capturing fireworks and even lightning. Explore how in this workshop combining lessons, practice with in-person on-location shoots, and sharing your results for feedback. For any skill photography level, using any digital camera with Shutter Priority and Manual exposure modes.
Find out more »Suzuki Violin Lessons
Suzuki Violin Lessons
Ages: 4-18
Weekly lessons through June 10th (contact Gaye to schedule)
15 Min, 30 Min, and 45 Min lessons available. Please contact registrar for tuition price and to register.
Instructor: Gaye Detzer
Location: Blue Heron Classroom
The Suzuki approach is based on the philosophy that young children learn music just as they learn to speak their native language – through regular listening, developmentally appropriate instruction and frequent opportunities to play alone and with others. Please contact registrar, Joy, to register. Once registered, please contact Gaye directly to schedule lessons. detzerubicz@icloud.com
For questions or help with registrations, please contact our registrar at joy@vashoncenterforthearts.org or (206) 259-3005.
Find out more »Family Clay Lab
Family Clay Lab
Ages: All ages (kids under 8 should register with an adult)
Saturday, June 18 | 3-5 pm
Tuition: $50 General | $40 Member (includes $5 materials fee)
Instructor: Laurie Thorpe
Location: Blue Heron Gallery
Join us for an afternoon of family fun and welcome the springtime with terra cotta sun faces to hang on a wall or on a garden post. All ages welcome – kids 10 and under should sign up with someone older.
Find out more »
Scholarships available!
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have financial aid available to make arts education classes accessible to any student interested.
Please click the link below or contact BHEC Registrar for more information:
joy@vashoncenterforthearts.org