Free Drawing Classes Held in July

Parker artist offers free drawing seminars and exhibition

Artist Tadashi Hayakawa is offering a free four-part drawing workshop during the month of July at Parker’s Mainstreet Center, 19650 E. Mainstreet. The workshops coincide with an exhibition of Hayakawa’s drawings in the Mainstreet Center Gallery. The gallery show opens with a public reception on Wednesday, July 12 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Classes will be held July 13, July 16, July 20 and July 23. Parallel classes will be offered, one for youth ages eight and older and one for adults. Kids’ classes will emphasize bringing creativity into their drawing. Kids will experiment with different drawing mediums and learn how professional artists work. Adults will study basic techniques of pen, pencil, charcoal and wash drawing, but will be encouraged to introduce personal expression, creativity and feeling into their work. Students may attend all or just some of the workshops, and all skill levels are welcome. Classes are 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Mainstreet Center, 19650 E. Mainstreet in downtown Parker. Students should bring a sack lunch.

To register for the drawing workshops, call the Parker Recreation Department at 303.841.4500. The workshops are free, but pre-registration is required so that the instructors can adequately plan for the classes.

Hayakawa is an internationally known artist whose work has been shown in galleries and shows around the world. The drawing exhibition, July 12 through 23, will feature several pieces shown at the Peace Exhibition at the Nagasaki Museum of Art in Japan in 2003 and 2004 and one piece which will be shown in the International Art Festival this coming September in Los Angeles. The exhibit will illustrate how diverse the field of drawing is. Hayakawa’s large works, miniature works, abstract, realist, serious, casual, final products and preparatory sketches will all be shown. He will also use prints of Picasso, Miro, Ben Shahn and Gorky to show how these famous artists use drawing as a foundation for their work.

Work of other area artists will be shown alongside Hayakawa’s drawings. Students from Ponderosa High School, Mountain View Elementary and Academy of Art all contributed pieces. Parker Artist Guild members Barbara Wilson, Beth Appleton, Claire Hovlihan, Betty Arndt and Ervin Bradley will also be guest artists. Workshop students are encouraged to view the exhibit prior to attending class.

A native of Tokyo, Hayakawa left Japan at 19 to travel to the United States to study art. He earned an MFA from the Otis Art Institute in 1969. His professional focus gradually moved to more commercial endeavors and business pursuits. At age 50 he realized that he missed his creative life and returned to drawing, painting and creative experimentation. For the past 13 years, his work has been gaining an international following. His artwork is featured at the 825 Art Gallery in Denver and Don O’Melveny Gallery in Los Angeles, and he exhibits in shows in Japan and Korea. His original artwork is in private and corporate collections throughout the world.

Hayakawa would like to thank the many people who made this exhibition and free workshop series possible, including Mainstreet Coordinator Cindy Galasso, Parker’s Cultural Coordinator Bill Meyer, artist Linda Ginsberg and the Parker Guiry’s store for donating the materials for the workshops