ONLINE: Creative Mapmaking
Through prompts and guided visualizations, we will draw upon memory and imagination to create hand-drawn maps. Document a favorite place, draw your dreamworlds, and map out your life experiences.
read moreBlog
ONSITE: Space, Place, & Identity: Creative Nonfiction Workshop
In this workshop, we’ll write about where we’re from, where we’ve been, and where we hope to go in the future. We’ll generate essays about one’s hometown or region, travel or exploration, and the changed geography of our lives during the pandemic. Part workshop, part craft discussion, part generative space. You will write four short […]
read moreONSITE: Narrative Painting
Explore the connection between storytelling and painting. We will utilizing story and memory as a framework to make paintings. Storytelling takes many forms, so we will look study a variety of painters, both abstract and representational, historical and contemporary, and how their work connects to narrative. Examples will include Pierre Bonnard, Philip Guston, Max Beckmann, […]
read moreONSITE: Wheel Thrown + Altered Forms
Learn to alter wheel-thrown forms to create more dynamic ones. Students will combine hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques, and will experiment with darting and other alteration techniques. Skills that we will explore in this class include wheel throwing, coil building, slab building, darting, and handle pulling. Demonstrations will include altered cups, mugs, bowls, vases, and one […]
read moreONSITE: Glass Fusing for Everybody (B)
This class will help students of all levels build their skills and gain a greater understanding of the glass fusing and kiln-forming process. We will cover glass cutting, firing temperatures, cold-working, and more, while we make a variety of functional and decorative projects. Experienced students are welcome to follow along with class projects or work […]
read moreONSITE: Kitchen Canisters + Cookie Jars
Start with the basics of creating a good slab using various tools and techniques. We’ll use those slabs to create a set of graduated, covered canisters. Next, you’ll learn how to slump mold the lids and make hand-built handles. We’ll cover the basics of construction of the gallery that the lid sits on. Students will […]
read moreONSITE: Introduction to Metal Jewelry
Learn how to transform metals into beautiful works of wearable art. We’ll cover techniques such as sawing, drilling, texturing, working with wire, filing, sanding and polishing. We’ll also cover riveting, soldering with a torch and basic stone setting. You’ll use these skills to make one finished piece of jewelry.
read moreONSITE: Intermediate Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator + InDesign
This intermediate-level class is an 8-week course that will go deeper into the three key Adobe Creative Cloud applications: Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. We will explore more tools for InDesign, more features of Illustrator (including 3-Dimensional tools), and more tools and techniques of Photoshop. Students should be familiar with the basic tools, functions, and features […]
read moreONSITE: Experimental Mixed Media
Discover new techniques to expand your creativity and find your own unique way to represent the world around you, using a variety of media. In this class, you will learn how to experiment with watercolor, ink, and other mixed media of your choice, to create three pieces inspired by the world around you.
read moreONSITE: Exploring Surface Decoration
Explore surface decoration for functional pottery. Each week, we’ll cover new surface techniques such as slip transfer, screen printing, underglaze processes, decals, lusters and more. We’ll also discuss visual concepts to facilitate a greater understanding of design and make thoughtful decisions when finishing a piece.
read moreONSITE: Create a Small Metal Treasure Box
Create a small round or square container to hold your rings, coins, or secret messages! Working in copper, we will learn basic construction techniques to create one-of-a-kind containers. This is an intermediate class, and students are expected to have taken at least one introductory class and must be confident soldering. We will be working in […]
read moreONSITE: Silver Metal Clay Jewelry (A)
Learn to work with metal clay, a malleable, metal-bearing material that is perfectly suited for creating jewelry. Use your hands to shape it and a variety of tools to add detail and texture. You’ll fire the metal clay to transform it into a silver object. Add a new skill to your repertoire each week and […]
read moreONSITE: Figure Drawing (B)
These drawing sessions are open to anyone interested in drawing from a live figure model. A studio monitor guides the model and overall experience, but drawing instruction is not provided.
read moreONSITE: Intermediate Wheel Throwing
In this intermediate wheel throwing class, students will learn to throw entertaining style ceramics for serving and cooking.
read moreONSITE: A Taste of Blacksmithing – Wands at the Ready
Start the spooky season off right by conjuring a wand of iron! We’ll use basic blacksmithing techniques—and perhaps a little magic—to forge the top accessory no witch or wizard would be without.
read moreONSITE: Screenwriting
Experiment with or continue developing screenwriting for film through exercises and workshops. Students will work towards completing a short screenplay or TV pilot ready for production or begin/continue working on a feature length screenplay. This class is suitable for writers of any level and can be repeated.
read moreONSITE: Stop-Motion Animation with Puppets
Bring a handmade puppet to life! Learn all of the basics of the stop-frame animation process and create your very own handcrafted puppets. This course covers the fabrication of puppetry, storytelling, set building, and the technique of stop-motion animation. Plan to leave with with an understanding of stop-frame animation techniques, your puppets, and your very […]
read moreONLINE: Drawing from the World Around You
Anyone can learn how to draw using just a sketchbook and some simple tools. You will learn techniques and practices for drawing from observation by looking at the objects and spaces around you. This class is a compact introduction to developing accuracy, practicing drawing and design fundamentals, and exploring what makes a compelling image.
read moreONSITE: Writing the Memoir
Thomas Larson writes that “memoir is most successful when it is not the ‘story of a life,’ but a focused part of that life—a dozen summers spent working on a grandfather’s farm, a long relationship with a dying relative, the first year of law school.” You’ll work on writing prompts and timed writing exercises, and […]
read moreONSITE: Ceramic Lamps
Create a pair of ceramic lamps using ceramic columns, wood bases and high-quality brass parts. We’ll explore form, surface and glazing to create ceramic columns that suit your personal style. You’ll even learn some wiring basics to make your lamps functional.
read moreONLINE: Revision Intensive: Short Fiction
Have a story that needs work but you don’t know where to start? Nothing we write can stand on its own without some phase of revision. In this one-day short fiction intensive, students learn different methods for revision, plus come away with resources and actionable steps for how to address revision in their own work.
read moreONSITE: Figure Drawing (K)
These drawing sessions are open to anyone interested in drawing from a live figure model. A studio monitor guides the model and overall experience, but drawing instruction is not provided.
read moreONLINE: Introduction to Digital Photography
Learn how to effectively and creatively use your digital camera and leave the auto button behind! You’ll learn the fundaments of photography and image capture, including aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and composition. We’ll also cover tips and tricks like choosing the right lens for your image. Weekly assignments, critiques and discussions will help […]
read moreONSITE: Introduction to Letterpress (B)
Explore the letterpress printing process, which dates back to the 15th century and the time of Gutenberg. We’ll cover typesetting, inking, printing and paper selection as you become familiar with the terminology and VisArts’ presses. You’ll have time to create multiple pieces and trade work with classmates, which will help you build a small collection […]
read moreONSITE: Introduction to Clay
Explore the basics of clay. We’ll cover the proper use of studio tools, equipment and materials. You’ll learn about slab construction, coil building and combined techniques. We’ll also demonstrate wheel throwing and discuss how various clays and glazes respond to each other.
read more