Make beautiful art at the Old Hotel this month

OTHELLO — There are lots of chances coming up to try your hand at art at the Old Hotel Art Gallery in Othello.

“Our art classes are something that the Old Hotel has done for a very long time,” said gallery Director Samantha Copas. “I took classes here when I was a kid, and it kind of died off for a little bit … Then I got hired as the director last June, and that was something that I really wanted to bring back, turn it back into an Othello tradition.”

The classes are planned now through mid-August, Copas said. Most of them are for all ages, and parents have the option to stay with their kids or not. Participants are encouraged to wear clothes they don’t mind getting stained, as good art is prone to be messy.

Tuesday’s class is making dragon eggs, dazzling little spheroids made from air-dry clay.

“It's basically a white clay and you can add dye to it to color it, and then you mold it into an egg. Then you can add paint to it, you can add all kinds of gems, beads, shells to it and kind of make it your own. And then you let it dry and you've got an egg. It’s really cool.”

That class is at 5:30 p.m. and the fee is $12, according to the schedule.

On Saturday, the grownups take over for Paint & Sip. Instructor Nellie Hoots will break down the the process of painting and lead participants in painting a highland cow. As the name would suggest, participants are encouraged to bring beverages, with or without alcohol, to enjoy while they paint.

“This is something that we're trying out,” Copas said. “You just bring your own beverage — it doesn't have to be alcohol — and you can just kind of hang out, have fun and build something nice.”

Because of the possibility of alcohol present, children 10 and up are welcome at BYOB events if they’re accompanied by an adult, but smaller children should stay home, Copas said. The cost for that class is $30 per person and it starts at 7 p.m.

All ages are welcome again Aug. 5 for squirt gun and bubble painting. Artists can aim squirt guns filled with various paints at a piece of paper, or use bubble wands to blow soap bubbles infused with pigment to create vibrant designs. For obvious reasons, this class will be held outdoors. It’s at 11 a.m. and the cost is $10.

Aug. 9 will see another BYOB class, making an air plant terrarium.

“Those are a type of plant that does not have to be planted in soil,” Copas said. “In the wild, they usually just hang off of trees They're really neat plants; they look kind of alien, almost. And what we're going to do is get a container, and then students will fill it with rocks or sand, and they'll have a few air plants, different types of plants that they can choose from, and a few other little decorative pieces that they can add in.”

The air plant terrarium class is at 6:30 p.m. and the cost is $30.

On Aug. 10, there will be a class in making beautiful inlaid stepping stones for the garden, and Aug. 12, students can make a suncatcher in a butterfly or dragonfly design. Both those classes are at 11 a.m. The charge for the stepping stones class is $15, and the suncatcher class is $8.

Copas herself teaches most of the classes, she said, but the Old Hotel is always looking for volunteers to share their knowledge of a particular art or craft.

The Old Hotel is located at 33 E. Larch St. in Othello. For more information or to register for a class, visit the gallery’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theoldhotelothello or contact the Old Hotel at 509-488-5936 or by email at theoldhotel@outlook.com.

Classes at the Old Hotel

July 30: Dragon Eggs, 5:30 p.m., $12.

Aug. 3: Paint & Sip (BYOB): 7 p.m., $30.

Aug. 5: Squirt Gun and Bubble Painting, 11 a.m., $10.

Aug. 9: Air Plant Terrarium (BYOB) 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 10: Stepping Stones, 11 1.m., $15.

Aug. 12: Butterfly/Dragonfly Suncatcher, 11 a.m., $8.