LAKEPORT, Calif. – Luis Alberto Urrea painted vivid word pictures of life along the border between the US and Mexico in his novel Into the Beautiful North, the NEA Big Read selection in Lake County.

Local artists Richard Schmidt and Diana Liebe have taken Urrea’s images and translated them into visual pictures that they will share in a free beginning art workshop at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main Street in Lakeport on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Students will use watercolors, colored pencils and water color pencils to color their own versions of a template painting that features themes from “Into the Beautiful North.” During the class Schmidt will read from Urrea’s writing to inspire the students to new heights of creativity.

“Into the Beautiful North” follows the adventures of 19-year-old Nayeli who works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father who journeyed to the United States when she was young.

Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village – they've all gone north.

While watching “The Magnificent Seven,” Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men – her own "Siete Magníficos” – to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.

A national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

For more information on this event, please contact the library at 707-263-8817. You also can view a full calendar of events for the NEA Big Read in Lake County, which continues through October, at http://www.lakecountybigread.com.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary.

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.