University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies’ School of the Arts (SOA) at Rhinelander will open Saturday, July 19, and run through Wednesday, July 23, at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School. Registration is now open.

This year SOA marks its 51st consecutive program in Rhinelander.

Class descriptions, instructor biographical sketches, and registration information are currently available online at soawisconsin.org.

The first School of the Arts at Rhinelander, held in the summer of 1964, drew some 50 students and six writing instructors who experienced “the Wisconsin Idea of bringing the resources of the university to the citizens of the state.” Today’s SOA offers a variety of classes in visual arts, writing, mind/body/spirit, performing arts, and culinary arts and nutrition. All classes are taught by university-level instructors or recognized practitioners in the field, and more than 200 students are expected to attend.

SOA at Rhinelander has remained vital by constantly changing the curriculum and offering new and innovative classes each year.

“For more than 50 years SOA has provided creative nourishment to the thousands of artists and seekers–poets, painters, novelists, cooks, and performers–who have come through its doors to satisfy their curiosity and cultivate their muses,” director Lynn Tarnoff said. “Of the 55 classes offered this year, 32 are new offerings. We are pleased to add such diverse disciplines as Fantastic Color for Painters; Happily Pounding Flowers: An Old Craft with New Flair; Taking Better Photographs with Smart Phones and Point-and-Shoot Cameras; Hand Marbling on Paper; Norwegian Rosemaling and others.”

In addition to new offerings, SOA 2014 will continue the practice of offering one, two, three and five-day workshops. 

“We adopted this option in 2013 as a convenience to our attendees,” Tarnoff said. “And the post-SOA critiques showed that offering the options was overwhelmingly popular. This makes it possible for students to attend a specific workshop without committing an entire week, and it relieves the potential added cost of lodging.”

Several Rhinelander-area instructors will conduct workshops at SOA 2014 including photographer Dennis McGill (Getting the Most Out of Your Digital SLR Camera and Taking Better Photographs with Smart Phones and Point-and-Shoot Cameras), culinary artist Dottie Reeder (Paint Like a Pro and Eat It, Too: Hand Painted Cookies and Regional Italian Cooking), yoga instructor Jane Banning (Yoga for Every Body), and potter Torrey Youngstrum (Playing in the Dirt: Mud Pies and So Much More).

Popular singer/musician Wade Fernandez will return to teach Finding Your Voice Through Native Flute: First Experience and Finding Your Voice Through Native Flute: The Journey Continues, and past Wisconsin Poet Laureate Bruce Dethlefsen will reprise his workshop Weekend with a Poet Laureate.

More information is available at University of Wisconsin–Madison Continuing Studies at 608-262-7389.