Springtime watercolor.  Rising temperatures.  Longer days.  Birds, butterflies and buds.   Focus on capturing the beauty of nature with a series of prompts.  Loose washes and inks.  Play with magnification inspired by O’Keeffe.  Or expressive texture inspired by Olive Rush.  Fold pages for a book to house your works and to give space for painting your backyard springtime. ($90 for a three-hour class with e klingner)

SEEING IS BELIEVING is a study course for the curious, the one who ponders, the person who wants to stretch their way into perceiving in an open observation-based structure. Through observing deeply, we can learn to draw what we truly see. The class supports observation through drawing what is around us, beginning with curated still life setups using charcoal, rag drawing paper, soft lead pencils, and erasers. Discourse and tea will happen as well, as will discussion of the readings and experiences during the drawing process. The objective is to slow down, truly see what is in front of us, both in drawing and in life.

There are three independent salon sessions for this class, with directed readings, on January 31, February 21, and March 7. Students can sign up for one or more sessions. March 7th, there will be an exhibition of artists’ work from all three sessions, with a reception. (Shelley Horton-Trippe. Cost is $90 per session with a $20 materials fee to be collected at the class. If you register for all three classes, the cost is $300.00 with no materials fee).

Explore possibilities with color.  Trust your intuition as you respond to what you see and feel. Color is personal. Re-enforce your understanding of the power of color. Sometimes delicate, sometimes bold.  A few theories and properties can be helpful.  Observe arrangements of winter weeds and blooming bunches. Follow a few prompts to paint color combinations that appeal to you. ($90 for a three-hour watercolor class with e klingner)

SEEING IS BELIEVING is a study course for the curious, the one who ponders, the person who wants to stretch their way into perceiving in an open observation-based structure. Through observing deeply, we can learn to draw what we truly see. The class supports observation through drawing what is around us, beginning with curated still life setups using charcoal, rag drawing paper, soft lead pencils, and erasers. Discourse and tea will happen as well, as will discussion of the readings and experiences during the drawing process. The objective is to slow down, truly see what is in front of us, both in drawing and in life.

There are three independent salon sessions for this class, with directed readings, on January 31, February 21, and March 7. Students can sign up for one or more sessions. March 7th, there will be an exhibition of artists’ work from all three sessions, with a reception. (Shelley Horton-Trippe. Cost is $90 per session with a $20 materials fee to be collected at the class. If you register for all three classes, the cost is $300.00 with no materials fee).

In a 1943 letter to her friend Ethel Leach, Olive Rush wrote, “Vines hanging heavy with the various kinds of grapes ripening at different times and so fragrant that all the patios and garden are sweet.” It is easy to imagine that Olive Rush took as much inspiration from the aromas and fragrances of her beloved garden as she did the blooms and fruits she cultivated each year. Sweetness in spring and summer, musky and earthy tones from the decay of autumn, crisp and even cold notes in winter. 

This class is an immersive offering that encourages participants to interact with fragrance as a creative medium. Through a series of exercises that include writing and watercolor, participants will be guided to create their own fragrances, and will pour two candles using them, with non-toxic candle oils and 100% soy wax. All materials will be provided. ($135 for a 3-hour class with Jessica Demshar).

Cyanotypes are one of the earliest forms of photography, and they offer an opportunity for a unique creative dance with nature. they offer an opportunity to let go of control and be surprised by the beautiful variations and effects that are achieved with natural exposure to sunlight. This class will be accessible for newcomers with no prior experience, but it is also a “next level” workshop designed for creative folks who have taken my first class. It will include new opportunities to make a large photo print from a photo image you provide , perhaps of a beloved family member or ancestor.  You will create your own transparency with permanent marker and treat your own paper with the emulsion to play with brushstrokes. 

Pre-treated materials will include 8.5x11 fabrics and 12x16 paper, so you can go big! All materials will be supplied, including your own 12x16 cyanotype plexiglass kit to take home and continue your explorations. ($95 for a 3 hour class with Carol Schrader)

Give yourself time for play and practice. Focus on abundance.  Our vast views with slope and sky, mountains and mesas.  Explore possibilities as you paint landscapes from abstract to real.  Limited palette for natural harmony.  Paint a set of watercolor postcards.  Save into a book ready for framing  or giving. ($90 for three hour class with e klingner)

Cyanotypes are one of the earliest forms of photography, and they offer an opportunity for a unique creative dance with nature. We will use local plants, including some from the Olive Rush garden, and beautiful objects to create beautiful cyan prints directly with the sun. Cyanotypes offer an opportunity to let go of control and be surprised by the beautiful variations and effects that are achieved with natural exposure to sunlight. You will make three note card images on high quality watercolor paper, and one tea towel or scarf. All materials will be supplied. (2.5 hour class, $70) Teacher Carol Schrader.

Cyanotypes are one of the earliest forms of photography, and they offer an opportunity for a unique creative dance with nature. We will use local plants, including some from the Olive Rush garden, and beautiful objects to create beautiful cyan prints directly with the sun. Cyanotypes offer an opportunity to let go of control and be surprised by the beautiful variations and effects that are achieved with natural exposure to sunlight. There will even be negatives of drawings by Olive Rush that you can embellish with flowers, grasses and meaningful objects, then print on high quality watercolor paper using the sun to make your own special keepsake. All materials will be supplied to create three prints on paper and one napkin or scarf. No cameras required! ($70 for a 2.5 hour class with Carol Schrader)

Observe inside and out.  Take note of old beauty.  Watercolor your personal autumn with inspiration from trees and leaves surrounding this old adobe house on Canyon Road.  Paint weathered gardens layered and loose. Play with value and translucency to capture vibrant glow with your palette.  Save practice pieces into a folio. ($70 for three hour class with e klingner)

What happens when you take in the ordinary?  The everyday of what is here.  What is familiar?  What is new? What surprises?  Explore the expressive nature of watercolor in a calm and encouraging way. Prompts and techniques to inspire Use your observations and feelings of this place to inspire your watercolor sketches. ($70 for three hour class with e klingner)

The Olive Rush Studio & Art Center is hosting a gallery opening and sale for contemporary artists who are directly descended from or inspired by the life and artwork of Olive Rush.   Featured artists include Leah Kohlenberg, a great-grandniece of Olive Rush, and Frank Trocino, the Olive Rush artist in residence. Come meet the artists and view the house where Olive Rush lived and worked. 

The show, entitled Olive Branches, refers not only to the Rush direct influences on contemporary artists, but also to the olive tree as the ancient symbol of peace, something we know Rush as a life-long Quaker loved and valued.   A percentage of all art purchases will go to support the non-profit Olive Rush Studio & Art Center.

As part of the Canyon Road Summerwalk, we will host a tea party in Olive Rush’s historic home and garden.  Olive was one of the first artists on the street when she bought her house in 1920, and her garden and home were a common gathering place as the creatives and their friends flocked to Canyon Road.   

At the tea party, nibble cookies and drink punch, and meet Olive herself, played by her great grand niece, Leah Kohlenberg, also an artist.  Stroll through the tranquil garden where over 20 local emerging artists and creators from ArtWalk Santa Fe will showcase their work, offering a glimpse into the vibrant art community that thrives here today as it did in Olive’s lifetime. Enjoy live music that complements the evening’s ambiance, and explore the historic home and studio of renowned painter Olive Rush.

Observe watercolors by Olive Rush and Georgia O’Keeffe.  Look closely.    Become a spectator.  Observe details and  paint your version of New Mexico.  Sharpen your use of color and water with techniques to inspire. Explore the expressive nature of watercolor.  Remain inspired from Olive and Georgia. ($70 for three hour class with e klingner)

Book Now

The Olive Rush Studio & Art Center is hosting the first in a series of Pop-Up Gallery Shows, with our first show featuring the vibrant painting of Kirby Kendrick.  Olive Rush's house on Canyon Road, recently reopened as an artist studio house museum open to the public, was the center of many gatherings for artists and art lovers when Rush lived there, between 1920s-1960s.  She and her home played a central role in the modern art movement that emerged from Santa Fe during that time.

Come meet this Friday's featured artist, Kirby Kendrick, a professional artist specializing in Southwestern, Contemporary, and Impressionist paintings, drawings, multi-media, and installation. She has received numerous awards and recognition during her career, including the Award of Excellence at the 2008 San Diego 50th International Award Exhibition. Her work is also featured in a permanent exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art.  A percentage of all art purchases will go to support the non-profit Olive Rush Studio & Art Center.

As part of the Canyon Road Summerwalk, we will host a tea party in Olive Rush’s home and garden.  Olive was one of the first artists on the street when she bought her house in 1920, and her garden and home were a common gathering place as the creatives and their friends flocked to Canyon Road.   

Experience an Olive Rush style tea party in the garden and house.  Nibble cookies and drink punch, and meet Olive herself (played by her great grand niece, Leah Kohlenberg, also an artist). Listen to the Mexican folk music of Trio Lucero, who perform Trio Romantico, Mariachi, Jarocho, and other Mexican and Caribbean music. In the house, see Rush’s paintings, her furnishings and photographs of her and her family. Original art for sale by Kirby Kendrick will be hanging in the portal. Come join us; it will be fun! (Donation)

As part of the Canyon Road Summerwalk, we will host a tea party in Olive Rush’s home and garden.  Olive was one of the first artists on the street when she bought her house in 1920, and her garden and home were a common gathering place as the creatives and their friends flocked to Canyon Road.   

Experience an Olive Rush style tea party in the garden and house.  Nibble cookies and drink punch, and meet Olive herself (played by her great grand niece, Leah Kohlenberg, also an artist), and her friends from that era.   We'll be hosting Alexandra Elridge, who is launching her new Tarot Card line, "The Wilding.” And we’ll be hosting Maria Shiel, a singer songwriter from the west of Ireland who writes “Celtic-infused Americana”. She lives here in Santa Fe and plays with a Santa Fe based Celtic trio. There will also be aura readings and poetry upon demand.   Come join us, it will be fun!

Browse the path. Nourish your eye in natural beauty. Note summer colors. Patterns in shade. Lights and darks. Paint with fluid and fast drying watercolors. Pigment plus water. Combine techniques. strengthen your skills with curiosity. Gather into a small book. ($70 for three hour class).

Join us in the intimate Studio space to experience this concert. The deeply felt lyrical emotion and down to earth beats of rhythm and blues can be found in abundance whenever Madi Sato lifts her voice in song. With a voice that bespeaks of her Southern upbringing and is at once both pure and raw, Madi's combination of emotional intensity and technical proficiency communicates itself to listeners immediately. Whether it's a selection from her own catalog of originals or one of the carefully selected tunes from the world of R&B, traditional blues or jazz standards at which she also excels, Madi delivers the music in her heart directly to your soul.

Pianist John Rangel combines deep musical skills from his NYC musical family and Eastman School of Music training in jazz piano and composition with a spiritual intention and musical direction nourished by the L.A. Leimert Park community, the “African-American Greenwich Village.”

($30. The studio space is limited to 24 people, so sign up early!)

During Canyon Road’s Summer Walk, join us for tea and punch in Olive Rush’s garden — and enjoy the paintings in the house too. From 1920 through much of the 1960’s, there were many tea parties each year in that garden! Rush and her friends talked, planned, nibbled cookies, picked fruit, baked bread in the horno, danced, and listened to jazz at those parties.

Invitations were cherished! All Olive’s friends came to those parties - the Santa Fe and visiting artists, the poets and writers, the Pueblo artists and their families, the powerhouse women of New Mexico, the Indian School teachers and students, Rush’s Hispanic farming neighbors, the early Quakers, and the musicians. You come too!

Come to the Studio and the Garden Casita to view and purchase paintings created by the Olive Branches -- a consortium of Rush influenced artists featuring Leah Kohlenberg, great grand niece of Olive Rush, and Frank Trocino, Olive Rush Artist in Residence. The house and garden will be open for visitors. There will be light foods and drinks. Donations are welcome but not required. Come and enjoy these works and meet the artists!

Bring your attention to the colors of this place. Inside and out. Olive Rush House. Reds yellows blues. Mix single pigments to notice interactions. Capture feelings with loose renderings. Droplets and gradations. Play and practice using a set of prompts. Work in multiples and select the best for saving in a small portfolio. $70 for three hour class.

Come to the Studio to view, enjoy and purchase paintings and jewelry created by the young artists studying at the Santa Fe Indian School. During her life, Olive Rush encouraged the artists from the School with her whole heart and energy. Now that relationship continues — this show is a collaboration between the School and the Olive Rush Studio & Art Center. Musicians from the School will be playing, and the house and garden will be open for visitors. There will be light foods and drinks. Donations welcome.

Above our heads a daily drama. Clouds. Varied and magnificent. How to capture the light and shape? Mood and atmosphere?  Play with a series of painting methods. Build a set of postcards and package to save or send. (e klingner, $70)

Notice our winter world.  Long shadows.  Contrast. Remain receptive to all the darks and all the lights. Pay any attention to what is around us. Focus on one.  Explore values in your water colors. Draw, paint, write.  Take inspiration from nearby.  The long view. (e klingner, $70)

Children and their parents, grandparents, and caregivers are invited to join us in the studio for an afternoon of family holiday makings -- gifts, decorations and snacks. ($5 minimum donation per family)

Give time to quiet observation of paintings in the Olive Rush Studio. Be guided with questions. Reflect. Let your thoughts wander with consideration. Create small paintings bound in a portfolio. Honor your creative self. This three hour class with E Klingner is $75.

Children and their parents, grandparents, and caregivers are invited to join us in the studio for an afternoon of family holiday makings -- gifts, decorations and snacks. ($5 minimum donation per family)

Join us in this walking tour, which explores three historic properties along Canyon Road -- El Zaguan, the Edwin Brooks House and the Olive Rush Studio & Art Center. The tour concludes with an intimate buffet-style dinner in the inviting sala of the Edwin Brooks house, allowing the participants to talk and dine in comfort.