When Liverpool Art Center students heard about a potential quarantine period due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, they asked Sandra Sabene, the center’s founder, if the studio would be closing. Sabene immediately told them that the art center would transition to virtual classes.  She said she just needed a few days to get everything in place.

Within three days, Sabene revamped her website and created web pages that students can check to see the activities planned for each day. She had taken online classes a few years ago where she learned how to provide virtual services. So, she had some content already in place and was able to quickly launch online programs at Liverpool Art Center.

Liverpool Art Center offers online programs through platforms such as Facebook Live and Zoom.

The Facebook Live tutorials include morning meditation sessions and art tutorials like watercolor and portrait-drawing demonstrations. The live videos last for 30 minutes and are free and open to the public. 

Studio members can join a Zoom meeting for another 90 minutes, where they can continue working on their projects and talk with Sabene and other students. Sabene also offers virtual private sessions for individuals, groups or families. 

Jillian Hagadorn is leading some of the live painting and drawing demonstrations on Facebook. In one of these live sessions, Hagadorn demonstrated how to draw a portrait, offering tips on shading and answering questions from viewers as soft music played in the background. 

Hagadorn said she is also working on developing a series of videos on specific topics as well as holding virtual private sessions. She added that Liverpool Art Center is built for the community and serves both people with an interest in art and who want to connect with others.

“It’s become this incredible safe haven for people,” Hagadorn said. “So, I think especially now during a time of crisis, it was only natural that the art center continues to go as well.”

Kay Miracle, a singer-songwriter who works with veterans and other people who have faced trauma, said she and Sabene are looking into adding an online writing course to the studio’s offerings. 

Sabene said that art allows people to tap into the way they feel and brings mindfulness and presence, which she said are necessary to bring peace into people’s homes.

Sandra Sabene uses platforms such as Zoom and Facebook Live to hold online art classes. Following 30-minute Facebook Live demonstrations, ongoing students meet on Zoom for discussion and instruction from Sabene. Courtesy of Sandra Sabene

Anna Gagnier, a Creative Rhythms drum facilitator at Liverpool Art Center, said in a Facebook direct message to The Daily Orange that many people are craving connection and community during this uncertain time.

The online programs at Liverpool Art Center have drawn both longtime students and people who are new to the studio. 

Karen Dillon-Morse said she has been a student at Liverpool Art Center for about 18 years, since Sabene had started the studio. Dillon-Morse said Sabene has always been community-minded and that she has created programs that reached out to the community even before the quarantine period.

Spending time at Liverpool Art Center is Dillon-Morse’s favorite part of each week. She added that it is disappointing to miss out on this experience during the quarantine, but the virtual art classes serve as an escape from the uncertain situation happening in the world.

Another viewer of one of the Facebook Live videos was William Geffken, a freelance artist who does acrylic painting on canvas. He is not a student at Liverpool Art Center, but he said he has seen information about it on Facebook. 

“I think it’s a fantastic idea during this hard time that we’re going through because it could give creative artists like myself and other people around the country something to look forward to,” Geffken said. 

Jodi Lee, another class participant, said she used a children’s art kit while participating in an online art class because she didn’t have many art supplies in her house.

“But even with something simple, I was able to create something beautiful, and I surprised myself,” she said. 

A former teacher herself, Pam Mead said that Sabene’s teaching style is perfectly suited for teaching online. Mead, who has been a student at the art center since October, said that she has grown as an artist within the last week and a half through the online classes.

Meanwhile, Kate Nagle, another longtime student at the studio, said the virtual classes have allowed her to continue to experience community at the art center, despite being physically separated from other students. 

“You forget that you’re sitting in a room by yourself with your sketchpad drawing because you hear everybody, and you see the people,” Nagle said. “And it kind of takes you out of that spot where you’re alone in your house at the time.”

Published on April 1, 2020 at 10:21 pm

Contact Mandy: ackrayna@syr.edu | @MandyKraynak