Links to Peggy Sanders Brennan

Published: December 05, 2005 10:43 am    Cushing Daily Citizen
115 S. Cleveland
Cushing, OK 74023

Cushing area residents make trip to Quartz Mountain

Rake leaves. Carve pumpkins. Bake pies. Create art? This fall, Five Cushing area residents added a weekend of intensive artistic study to their usual checklist of fall activities. Betty Bowen, Cathy Branyan, M.J. Henderson Smith, Sharon Martin and Rob Smith attended the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain (OFAI), a series of weekend retreats for adults taught by master artists in the literary, visual and performing arts.

"OFAI is a wonderful opportunity to study under prominent artists," said Rob Smith, Lachenmeyer Arts Center director. "It's nice to revert back to a student mode and learn new techniques and ideas," Smith participated in an OFAI printmaking workshop.

OFAI gives Oklahomans a chance to study with nationally-renowned artists and stay close to home. True beginners and professional artists alike can find OFAI workshops that fit their expertise and interests in a variety of classes, including painting, photography, printmaking, writing, dancing, storytelling, choir, theater, and arts integration. OFAI is held at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center and state park in southwest Oklahoma.

Smith along with Bowen and Branyan participated in the "Collage Approach to the Monotype" printmaking workshop taught by Katherine Brimberry of Austin, Texas. Participants learned to create one-of-a-kind prints using a variety of materials. Brimberry is the master printer, co-director and president of Flatbed Press in Austin..

Henderson Smith took part in the "Painting the Big Sky" class taught by Katherine Alexander of New York City. Participants learned to use acrylic paints to capture the majesty and grandeur of the western sky. Alexander is a nationally-renowned landscape painter whose work is exhibited around the globe.

Martin, a Drumright High School teacher, chose the "Southeast Native American Basketry" workshop taught by Peggy Sanders Brennan of Edmond, Okla. Participants learned the traditions of native basketry and completed a Southeastern Indian corn holder basket. Sanders Brennan, a Cherokee Nation member, is the founder of the Oklahoma Native American Basketweavers Association.

All Oklahoma public schoolteachers automatically receive full scholarships to attend OFAI, including tuition, room and board. Cushing area teachers were sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, the Oklahoma Arts Council, ConocoPhillips, the Pauline Dwyer Macklanburg and Robert A. Macklanburg, Jr., Foundation, the Sarkeys Foundation and Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

The Oklahoma Arts Institute is a private, non-profit organization developed in 1976, with a vision to cultivate established and emerging artists and educators through art workshops, immersion and awareness. OAI administers a fine arts program for talented Oklahoma youth and a series of continuing education workshops for adults.