General Admission $45; Westcott Member $35; Student (18 and Under) $25. Lunch included. Rain Date: Saturday, September 2nd from 9am to 1pm. Program in partnership with Mad River Art League.
Join us for the Westcott Plein Air Session. Your instructors Terry Welker and Ruth Gless will introduce the group to their work, techniques, approaches, materials, tools etc. Participants will have an opportunity to work on composition studies and dive deep into creating an artwork inspired by the architecture and gardens of the Westcott House.
Lunch will be provided. Participants are responsible for bringing their own supplies such as sketchbooks, pencils, pens in various weights; a choice of:
- watercolors with appropriate paper or watercolor block;
- portable oil paints and panel;
- oil pastels and paper;
- suitable brushes, and other painting supplies (but try to keep it simple).
You may bring an easel and your favorite stool or portable chair. You will have a choice of simply enjoying sketching and exploring new techniques or pursue a more advanced experience. The session will end with group critique and a lunch in the garden. The group will meet at 9am at the Westcott museum shop, 85 South Greenmount Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505.
Instructors:
Terry Welker, FAIA, is an architect/sculptor from Dayton, Ohio. He received his Master of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. In the Welker Studio he makes large scale suspended public art and temporary installations that are exhibited across the United States. In 2017 he installed his permanent largest works to date, “FRACTAL RAIN,” at the downtown Dayton Metro Library, and “CONSTELLATION’ at Dayton Children’s Hospital. As an architect, served as the Chief Building Official for the cities of Kettering and Oakwood for 22 years and represented the Ohio Valley Region on the AIA Strategic Council. He also volunteers his time serving on Kettering’s public art commission. He is currently on the faculty of the Miami University Department of Architecture in Oxford Ohio. His newest installation, "Westcott Callas," are on display in the Westcott garden through the end of September.
Ruth M. Gless, FAIA, an award-winning designer with forty years’ experience, spent the early part of her career as an artist, a classroom teacher, and member of two internationally recognized architectural firms. She was twenty years the managing principal of Lincoln Street Studio in Columbus OH. She has served AIA Columbus as a Board Member, as President, and as delegate to the Board of AIA Ohio. She was elevated to Fellow in 2016, and currently serves as Chair of AIA Columbus Fellows Committee. She was awarded the AIA Ohio Mentor Award in 2019. As an architect and a painter, she celebrates urban space, because she believes that even the smallest village, rural location, or ruin can be urban. In 2021, Ruth was awarded the AIA Ohio Gold Medal Honor Award. The Gold Medal is the highest honor AIA Ohio can bestow on a member.
During the pandemic, Ruth, Terry, and their friend Timothy C. Hawk established a weekend ritual of driving to a different town in Ohio, setting their easels up outdoors and painting various buildings and downtown scenes. In more than 40 locations, they captured in oils and watercolors county courthouses, grain silos, churches and commercial buildings. The work was exhibited as “The Ohio Wanderers Collection” at Ohio State University’s Faculty Club earlier this year.
Westcott Plein Air is part of Westcott Design Hub, a design education initiative generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, Turner Foundation, and the Springfield Foundation.
Questions? Email info@westcotthouse.org.
This program is organized in partnership with Mad River Art League. To learn more about the league here.
