Noah Johnson, the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center's new education coordinator, invites the community to attend the wide range of art classes the center offers. In this photo, Johnson holds a gnome that sits on display made from the center's Gnome Luminary class with Dawn Delaney. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)

ESCANABA – From toddler art classes to stained-glass workshops, the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center is expanding its educational offerings, giving residents a creative outlet and a place to learn year-round.

The center currently offers a guide to their education program from January to April, detailing a wide range of classes, how to register and other artist opportunities.

“We’re starting a new, I guess you could say, era,” remarked Noah Johnson, the center’s new education coordinator. “Our classes not only offer expert guidance by extremely talented local artists, but they also offer a space to meet and connect with other artists and members of the community.”

So far this month, the center has offered a vision board workshop, a glass mosaic class with Jan Dillion, a charcuterie board-making class with Chelsea McNeil, and more. These diverse programs give participants the chance to explore their skills in an environment designed to foster creativity.

“What I’ve been learning in my four months (here) is that anyone can be an artist,” said Johnson. “You just got to put yourself out there, try something new.”

Some of the most popular classes Johnson has noticed include glass-focused offerings, like the glass mosaic class with Jan Dillion and fused and stained-glass classes with Beth Cox. Clay classes taught by Chelsea McNeil or Dawn Delaney are also consistently popular.

“Friendships tend to form out of common interests, and whether you’re in our pottery studio, trying your hand at glass work or learning a new skill, you will be around other artists and forming what could be life-long friendships,” noted Johnson.

The center also offers youth classes for varying age ranges and grades, including toddler art for children who are of walking age to four years old, homeschool art for children in first through eighth grade with Indra Valdez and more.

Johnson encourages aspiring instructors to reach out if they have an idea for a class.

“If there’s a person out there who thinks ‘Man, I have this really cool skill and I can create this really cool thing’ and you’re interested in teaching, reach out to me.”

He extends the same invitation to community members who want to attend a class that the center doesn’t currently offer, highlighting the program’s flexibility.

The center reinvests funds from classes directly into its education program, covering facility costs, supplies and instructor fees, ensuring a high-quality experience for everyone.

“Because of the work of our amazing instructors, people are coming back again and again to continue to learn and hone their skills, which is an amazing thing to see, not only for the Bonifas, but for the instructors who work hard to provide the best experience possible.” 

The center’s efforts in the program, guided by Johnson, have already made an impact on participants.

“The students have had a great time,” said Johnson. “After each class, participants are asked to fill out an evaluation form detailing their experience with the instructor, the class and the facility itself. While we’re always looking to improve, I can confidently say from reviewing those evaluations that our participants leave classes happy and with a sense of accomplishment.”

He credits much of the education program’s success to the center’s instructors.

“While I may coordinate the education programs and classes, none of what I do would be possible without the efforts of our instructors. If you can’t take a class, take a moment and research these artists and show them love for their work. Thank you to all of our volunteers and our artists who are teaching this session – Chelsea McNeil, Dawn Delaney, Jan Dillion, Dawn Ertl, Beth Cox, Andrew Blowers, Lisette LaFave, Christina Economopoulous, Kate Oman, Jessica Shields, Gabriel Gaudino, Corinne Powers, Mary Nyberg, Betty Nyberg, Staci Berg, Indra Valdez, Caitlin Kirchenwitz, Dave Radloff, Rachel Branstrom and Dominic and Jennifer Guzzetta.” 

Some of the center’s upcoming classes include:

– Crochet Warm Hearts Fingerless Mitts with Caitlin Kirchenwitz – Thursdays, Jan. 29 and Feb. 12 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. (Register by Jan. 23) Those attending will make a pair of fingerless gloves featuring a heart-stitch cuff and a crochet cabled heart motif.

– Gnome Luminary with Dawn Delaney – Thursdays, Feb. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m., Feb. 12 from 6 to 7 p.m. and Feb. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. (Register by Jan. 29) Participants will hand-build their own gnome luminary from clay.

– Exploration in Animation with Gabriel Gaudino – Fridays, Feb. 6 and 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. (Register by Jan. 31) In this new series, attendees will learn the history and basics of animation.

– Stained Glass with Beth Cox – Wednesdays, Feb. 11, 18 and 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. (Register by Feb. 4) Participants will learn techniques to create a simple stained-glass panel.

– Wire Wrapped Shell Pendants with Corinne Powers – Saturday, Feb. 28 from 3 to 4 p.m. (Register by Feb. 22) Attendees will make two pendants each, learning how to wrap shells with fluid, intricate lines of copper or silver wire.

All classes can be found at bonifasarts.org.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.