WORKSHOPS

Professional development workshops are presented to both individual artists and member organizations so you can decide which opportunities are relevant and helpful to you. All workshops - for both member artists and member organizations - are free or at a reduced rate for members of The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge.

For more information on workshops, please contact Rhonda Hale, Artist Services & Arts Education Director 540-224-1205 or rhale@theartscouncil.org

2010 Workshops:

February 16
John W. Anderson, author of Stand by Her: A Breast Cancer Guide for Men.
He is president and founder of The Farm, an advertising and production company with offices in New York and Roanoke.

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March 16
Thomas Becher, "Marketing Your Work: Leveraging PR and Social Media
to Get Noticed."
Thomas Becher combines strong writing skills, knowledge of the media and years of experience to provide public relations counsel to clients in many different industries. He is president and owner of tba (the becher agency), a Roanoke-based, full-service public relations, advertising and interactive agency with 10 employees.

He's a former reporter and editor for the Associated Press, served as editor of the university's communications office at the University of Connecticut and at Pratt & Whitney, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Northwest Airlines, fed his passion for aviation.

Becher is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in newspaper administration. He has earned a Certificate of Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America, a distinction demonstrating competency in knowledge, skills and abilities in PR.

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April 20
Laura Wickstead, “Genealogy”
Laura Wickstead of Roanoke City Libraries and a geneaologist, will talk on geneaology for our April Writer’s Workshop. She has worked with historians and genealogists since 1999 and is committed to connecting researchers with the information they seek.

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May 18
Valley Business FRONT Publisher and Artistic Director Tom Field (right) will conduct the first in a series of three workshops on electronic photo editing for writers Tuesday, May 18 at the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge.

The workshops, which graduate from introduction to advanced techniques, will be held the Arts Council’s offices on the second floor of Center in the Square. Space is limited, so early registrations are important.

Those attending should have with them a computer, photo software they either use or have available and their digital camera.

Field has been a professional designer for more than 20 years and is behind the FRONT’s popular and imaginative cover images for each issue. He is a Salem native and a graduate of Roanoke College.

The three workshops will include:

• Taking good digital photos and the basics of editing, May 18, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Introduction to Photoshop & Picasa, June 15 , 6-8 p.m.
• Photoshop, Advanced Methods, July 20, 6-8 p.m.

Workshop fees are:

• No. 1, $15 non-members/ $5 members;
• No. 2, $20 non–members/$7 members;
• No. 3, $20 non–members/$7 members;
Package for all 3 workshops $45 non-members/$19 members

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June 15 & July 20
Chris McAdams and Ariel Clark of tba (The Becher Agency) in Roanoke will teach the second and third installments of the three-class course on editing photographs presented by the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge at its monthly Writers Workshop Series Tuesday, June 15 at Center in the Square.

McAdams’ work has been rewarded with 25 local and regional ADDYs and has been recognized by the American Institute of Graphic Artists, the Public Relations Society of America and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. He has served Ad 2 Roanoke as president for two consecutive years.

Clark is part of a team that works in design for tba. She is a graduate of Virginia Western Community College (communication design) and earned an ADDY Award for magazine design. She has been a designer at Leisure Publishing.

• Introduction to Photoshop & Picasa, June 15 , 6-8 p.m.

• Photoshop, Advanced Methods, July 20, 6-8 p.m.

Workshop fees are:
• Class No. 2, $20 non–members/$7 members
• Class No. 3, $20 non–members/$7 members

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August 17
“Getting Agents to Look at Your Manuscript” with George Oliver and Joan Timberlake

Cost: $10- general public; free - members of the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge

Oliver and Timberlake will present a class titled, “Getting Agents To Look at Your Manuscript” and they will teach fiction and nonfiction angles. Oliver has degrees in German, English, and Linguistics, and has had a long career in teaching language and writing in varying venues, including 20 years at the University of Maryland. He keeps an irregular food blog and is compiling an anthology of his food writing. He handles non-fiction at Timberlake-Oliver Literary Services.

Timberlake has an M.A. in English Literature from Long Island University and a law degree from West Virginia University. She is founder of Timberlake-Oliver Literary Services. She has taught nonfiction disciplines including legal, business, technical, and grammar/editing and fiction disciplines including novel, short story, essay, mystery, and humorous writing at the Maryland University and Johns Hopkins University, has worked as a writer/editor in many large corporations.