3782CE Beginning Memoirs
Instructor: Pat Brown
Mondays, January 9, 16, 23 and 30
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

How often have you said, "When I was a kid" but have never recorded the story? This class is for those who want to learn how to write a personal memoir. Lessons and discussions will stimulate your memory and serve as a foundation for beginning and continuing a memoir.

Every twenty-five years a new generation passes through school and your past becomes history. With the use of in-class writing exercises you will begin to recall and to write the stories that make your life unique.

This four-week session is designed to guide you through the basic steps of recording the stories you wish to pass on to your family and descendants. Bring a three-ring notebook, a folder and writing pad to class.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $59; Non-member: $89

3799CE The Joy of Pastels
Instructor: Rea Nurmi
Wednesdays, January 11, 18, 25, February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and March 7
3:30 - 5:00 p.m

Uncover your artistic ability, find sources of new inspiration, and experience the beauty of color in this fun class. No experience is needed. Rea Nurmi will be teaching all the basic techniques. Subjects will range from simple seascapes to more detailed landscapes. Still life and floral subjects will also be covered.

Rea Nurmi is a painter who has produced and exhibited artwork since 1987. She was born in Helsinki, Finland, and lives in Connecticut and St. Petersburg. In her paintings she prefers the pastel medium and her subjects are varied. Nurmi’s colorful underwater scenes are peaceful and evoke relaxation and tranquility. They express the fleeting moment when colorful tropical fish appear in the light and then disappear into the blue depths. In her flight series she creates freedom of flight exploring invisible borders between water and wind.

This class is suitable for both new and continuing pastel students.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $69; Non-member: $89

3812CE Poetry Workshop
Instructor: Ellen Hersh
Thursdays, January 19, February 2, 16, March 1, 15 and 29
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Not everyone can be a well-known poet, but we can certainly all be inspired by their poetry and instructed by their example. This course is open to beginning and more advanced poets who want to learn from models provided by better known poets, how to develop their own voices and themes.

At each session we will consider the work of a different well-known poet. Then participants will share their original poems for group discussion and criticism. Participants should be willing to bring a new or revised original poem to each meeting for our consideration. Maximum of 15 participants.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $39; Non-member: $69

3783CE Write Your Life Story
Instructor: Pat Brown
Fridays, February 3, 10, 17, 24, March 2 and 9
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

This class is open to those who have taken the basic memoir course and want to continue writing the stories of their life. To improve these stories, writers will examine and select events important to them and create word pictures revealing experiences. The importance of expressing emotions and feelings and how they reveal character will be discussed. Lessons and handouts will provide information on the patterns and themes of narration as guides to organizing life stories. They will also cover the writing techniques that add interest and variety to make a story come alive.

Discussions and sharing stories help writers capture a world of experience that promotes understanding among family members as they record the stories that are meaningful to their descendants.

Class members will have the opportunity to workshop—forming groups of four to discuss and offer helpful feedback. Writers learn by reading, listening critically and exchanging ideas as they continue to write.

Class is limited to 12.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $59; Non-member: $89