By JANICE RANDALL

Vashon Allied Arts

Vashon Allied Arts is offering a slate of new fall classes aimed at boosting Islanders’ skills in songwriting, oil painting, metal art, photography and other artistic endeavors.

Using a step-by-step process, Rebecca Dvorin Strong will teach teens and adults to paint with oils. Students will make two still lifes, a pointillist painting and a classical realist painting. Class meets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays starting Oct. 11, in the studio space directly north of Blue Heron.

Metal arts workshops taught by David Erue will take place from noon to 3

p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 11 and

18. Students will learn basic welding and cutting techniques and design and create

their own metal sculptures.

Photography students can learn from accomplished Island photographer Ray Pfortner, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays starting Oct. 15. The class will cover basic camera handling and refining composition skills. The group shoot, scheduled for 11:30 a.m to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, will focus on birds of prey at Wolftown.

Kids 8 to 12 can learn their way around the kitchen in a new creative cookery class. Students will prepare soup, carve vegtables, work with tempera paints and more. The class will meet from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, starting Oct. 16.

Teens and adults can practice the craft of songwriting

in a one-day workshop with

songwriter Sue Ennis, who worked with platinum-selling Seattle rock band Heart and teaches songwriting at

Shoreline Community College. This interactive workshop will address strong lyric writing, song structure and catchy melodies. It takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19.

Scholarships are available for all classes. Both registration and scholarship forms may be picked at Blue Heron or found on line at www.vashonalliedarts.org.