If you find the art associations, you'll find the classes. The art associations are the umbrella for artists in the area and all have at least judged art show a year where you can show your work. Contact an association and you will have your pick. Trust me.
For anyone who loved Roald Dahl's book, go and see the new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.
This Tim Burton film by Warner Brothers manages to capture Dahl's dark humor, and is simply FUN. If the Gene Wilder movie bored you, (or made you mad like it did me when I saw it when I was 12) there IS therapy available in this new movie.
"Charlie" follows the plot of Dahl's book closely, (with a few minor exceptions) and Johnny Depp is amazingly weird as Willy Wonka. It's startling to realize that this guy (who comes off as even stranger than Michael Jackson) is the SAME guy who played Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's "Pirates of the Carribean". . I guess that's why they call it acting. Oh, and Willy's wardrobe is to DIE for!
The sets are great. Charlie Bucket's home is Dickensian in nature, just as it should be. The Garden set around the Chocolate Waterfall is NOT Gene Wilder's sacharine-sweet setting where he sang his song and bit the edge off of a daffodil. THIS "eatible" Garden IS alluring, but it is also somewhat forboding, and ...well, it has tentacles. Honest.
The best change was the Oompa-Loompas. I never DID like the little orange guys with the green hair, who sang their smarmy songs about each of the Bad Children to the same tune.
THESE Oompa-Loompas seem to come from SE Asia, have a wicked sense of humor, and they use Dahl's orioginal lyrics, and each song has it's own style and tune. "Veruca Salt the little brute, has just gone down the garbage chute....etc".
BEST of all, the horrible plot complication of Charlie and Granpa Joe stealing an Everlasting Gobbstopper and then holding out on Mr. Wonka for the Industrial Spy's coin is GONE.
Didn't happen in the book, didn't happen here.
There's lots of "in-jokes". Just WAIT till you see what happens with the giant Wonka bar in the TV room, and hear the theme music. LOTS of "eye-candy" in this movie, and yes, the pun IS intended!
The ending IS a little different than in the book, but it all turns out right in the end. The Moral Lessons are more piquant, and EVERYONE gets what they deserve.
Movie sound-track is done by Danny Elfman, so it has that "Harry Potter" feel to it.
My companion for this matinee was a middle aged Army Vet who has never read the book and who HATED the Gene Wilder movie.
(Yes, this was a bit of a hard-sell to get him to go)
He loved "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and laughed so hard I thought he would aspirate his pop-corn.
"Charlie" is going to be on my Christmas Wish list when it comes out on DVD for sure.