By Torey Vanek
When I moved to the Alexandria area a few years ago, I wanted to find a place to take art courses or workshops on the weekends or evenings. Alexandria has such a great art scene and I was excited when I heard about The Art League. The Art League is both a charitable and non-profit educational institution and offers classes in all the fine arts and many crafts. Last summer, I decided to sign up for the Silk Screen Printing course that is taught by local print maker Nancy McIntyre and it was fantastic.
I received my undergraduate degree in Art so my experience with art teachers is fairly vast and I can say that Nancy was one of the best instructors I have ever had. She is a very talented artist but also knows how to teach the principles of silk screen printing to a mixed group in her class. We started off the class with simple cut out images onto our screen but finished off with photo silk screens that combined multiple colors and images. I had so much fun in the first session of this course, that I opted to take it again this fall.
The Art League is conveniently located in Old Town’s Torpedo Factory and offers courses throughout the year. Plus, if you are looking for local artwork for your home, their gallery at the Torpedo Factory has a great collection of affordable and local work. Including work by my favorite teacher, Nancy McIntyre.
