The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) has two public events planned for the first full week of next month.

For holiday gifts — to give away or splurge for one’s personal collection — SCAN is offering a Small Works Art Show & Sale. Artist members of SCAN will feature small, original artwork, all 11 by 14 inches or smaller, for purchase “at very reasonable prices,” organizers promise.

The event will be offered one day only, on Saturday, December 3, from 10 am to 4 pm, in the lower level of Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street in Newtown (at The Flagpole).

For additional information call 203-788-2817.

Silk Aquatint Printmaking

A few days later SCAN will welcome Bonnie Johnson for a demonstration of silk aquatint printmaking.

That program is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7, at 1:30 pm, also in the lower level of the meeting house. The demonstration is open to the public and admission is free.

A graduate of the Silvermine College of Art in New Canaan, and certified in botanical illustration from the Bronx (N.Y.) Botanical Gardens, award-winning artist Johnson finds she can capture “life’s intricacies” through printmaking.

“I find inspiration everywhere,” she says. “Very simply, I notice a scene or an interesting flower or texture and I want to share it through my art. . . . inspires me to explore texture, color and attitude of landscapes and the plant life that surrounds us.”

Utilizing techniques derived from a professional career as an art director, graphic designer, illustrator and art teacher, Johnson currently paints in oil and watercolor and works with a contemporary non-toxic printmaking technique, silk aquatint, an intaglio printmaking technique in which finely woven silk fabric is laminated to a rigid backing.

The artist then creates an image on the silk surface with an acrylic paint and medium mixture. The intaglio “plate” is then traditionally inked and carefully wiped, then printed on dampened paper on an etching press.

Wonderful textures and rich tones can be achieved, and small variable editions can be made. Each print is done by hand and is a unique piece of art.

“I am always experimenting and continue to explore a combination of traditional and non-traditional methods of producing art where boundaries between printmaking, drawing, and painting are obscured or do not exist,” says Johnson, who also taught for many years at the University of Bridgeport and the Al Collins School of Graphic Design and Gibbs College.

Silk aquatint has become her favorite medium, as it uses drawing, painting, color, and technology.

“The result is unique textures, color combinations and subtleties that cannot be achieved any other way,” she explains.

Reservations are not taken for SCAN programs but additional information about programs and the group can be found at SCANart.org.