Explore innovative and technical approaches to scientific illustration through pen and ink. Students will learn different types of line-making techniques and ink washes and will create their own scientific illustration with botanical and animal specimens.
read moreProduce an original music video! You’ll learn art direction, how to shoot dance/choreography, handheld camera techniques, green screen compositing and editing to music rhythms. Learn to design, shoot and edit a 2-4 minute music video using music of your choice.
read moreIf you’ve taken a beginner drawing class, this intermediate class is a great opportunity to practice your observation skills, experiment with personal mark making style and apply them to various subject areas with drawing media. Explore and get guidance as you develop your own individual style and subject matter interests. We’ll focus on the development […]
read moreLearn what all the buttons on your digital camera actually do. You’ll learn about things like white balance, resolution and megapixels. We’ll discuss how to capture an image, ensure proper exposure and create an effective composition. Weekly assignments coupled with in-class discussions will help you troubleshoot problems and develop a creative eye.
read moreExplore the relationship between words and pictures in a collaborative setting. We’ll use visual images (including, but not limited to: photographs, paintings, postcards, and comics) to prompt new creative writing, in the style and genre of your choosing.
read moreExplore the apocalypse and learn the foundations of fiction writing. What does the apocalypse tell us about our deepest fears and biggest desires? Using this framework/lens, you will explore creative and experimental fictional forms to flex your muscles writing and building worlds, characters, dialogue, and plot. This class will also include brief reading assignments to […]
read moreLearn to cast metal using the lost-wax technique to cast work in silver. By creating jewelry models of your own design, you’ll learn about model preparation, investing, burning out and casting with centrifugal and vacuum-casting machines.
read moreDo you want to introduce abstraction to your paintings? Learn new ways to approach composition, color and process while finding new modes of painterly expression. We’ll work on new paintings in a self-directed manner, leaving plenty of time for one-on-one discussion and in-class critiques.
read moreDo you want to learn to quilt or change your approach to quilting? We’ll cover contemporary quilt design and technique. You’ll learn about piecing, applique and machine quilting. You’ll leave with a finished wall or lap quilt.
read moreLearn advanced, kiln-working techniques to create functional or sculptural projects of your choosing. We’ll cover advanced fusing techniques, making pattern bars and pot melts, and various ways to shape glass through slumping, mold making and cold working.
read moreLearn 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 moreHave you taken poetry workshops at VisArts? Do you feel ready to deepen your craft? Work with other experienced writers to study, learn new forms and critique your classmates’ work.
read moreHave you taken poetry workshops at VisArts? Do you feel ready to deepen your craft? Work with other experienced writers to study, learn new forms and critique your classmates’ work.
read moreHow do you take advantage of the creative opportunities that are present in your writing, and recognize the sparkling moments? Plows turn over top layers of earth so that fresh nutrients can surface. Workshopping your poems in this class will help you uncover rich worlds, too.
read moreBuild a workable first draft of a novel by the final session of this year-long class. We’ll focus on technique and craft as well as plot structure as we work our way through your novel from start to finish.
read moreThomas 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 moreWhy do folktales and fairy tales have such a remarkable staying power? Author and mythographer Marina Warner suggests that it’s “because the meanings they generate are themselves magical shape-shifters, dancing to the needs of their audience.” In this class, we’ll read and discuss fairy tales, both traditional and revisionist. We will then reimagine them, as […]
read moreExplore the dark self, what Carl Jung called the “shadow” part of our psyche. Sometimes we see it in our dreams, sometimes it appears in dark imaginings. We’ll learn what the shadow can add to our creative writing by experimenting with timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery and Active Imagination.
read moreExplore short story fiction writing by studying narrative craft elements like story, plot, character, scene, structure, archetypal patterns and dialogue. We’ll examine professionally published pieces and your own work. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to begin a story based on a word or an idea. You’ll also understand how to evaluate […]
read moreExplore the possibilities of the prose poem. Each week, we’ll read and discuss examples of prose poems (historic and contemporary), then use these conversations to inspire us as we write prose poems of our own.
read moreStart the new year off on the right foot by developing a structured writing routine. We’ll use regular prompts in these weekly workshops, designed to get your pen moving and your creativity flowing.
read moreGreat writing is risky and born of keen observations of the world. In this class, we’ll combine periods of meditation and writing prompts to unlock our most authentic voices by attuning the senses and cultivating bravery on the page. Leave the class with meditation techniques and writing exercises to use in your own writing practice. […]
read moreDo you have a wood or furniture project in mind but need help in design, construction, wood selection or building techniques? This class is designed to help you through that process. Submit your ideas and pictures two weeks before classes start and we can work together to make your vision a reality.
read moreMaster hand-cut dovetails. You’ll design and construct a dovetailed box using the wood of your choice. Learn about basic woodworking, machines, hand tools and finishes.
read moreCreate a small, functional object out of concrete, such as a small bench, stool, side table, or planter. You’ll learn how to properly pour and cast concrete into molds. We’ll also explore different techniques for creating textures and colors on the outer surface of the concrete object.
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