MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center’s Restore Project features a pastel making workshop this Saturday, Oct. 20, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Adults and children age 12 and up are invited to make their own pastels from a range of colors of earth pigments sourced from Lake County’s beautiful hills, as well as traditional art pigments.

Participants are encouraged to bring clay earth from their own environment in a 16- or 32-ounce container to enrich the palette of colors available.

Please register in advance for this class at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. Space is limited and reservations are required.

“Making art from dirt has its beginnings as far as our species has been around,” said workshop Instructor Channing Rudd. “Humans have always used local materials for painting on cave walls, our bodies, and even burying the dead. This class will delve deeply into the various aspects of making pastels using our local clay soils in the process … From dirt to art.”

Rudd grew up in New York and received his BFA at Syracuse University. He studied under the renowned Bauhaus professor Peter Piening, friend of painters Maholy-Nagy and Paul Klee. Primarily a plein air artist, Rudd moved to Lake County in 1980 and has taught art at Woodland College Clearlake Campus since 1994.

The Restore Project provides Lake County residents with low-cost art classes and the opportunity to learn or refine skills in a variety of materials techniques. Classes take place most Saturdays through May 2019.

Fall and winter classes include clay, woodworking, metalworking, felting, concrete, dry point, block printing and more. Late winter and spring classes will focus on personal and collaborative projects, studio time, mentoring and guidance to create personal and group work.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, Nicholas Hay will lead a dry point etching class. On Sunday, Nov. 4, the Restore Project features an introduction to natural woodworking with Marcus Maria Jung from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Restore project was made possible with support from the California Arts Council, a state agency, with additional support from local organizations, businesses, and individuals. Visit www.ca.arts.gov to learn more about the California Arts Council’s important work in communities and schools throughout California.

The Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.