Adult Programs
and Classes
Experiment. Create. Connect.
Adult art online programs are interactive, synchronous classes designed to connect community, create engaging work, and experiment with new and familiar materials.
Adult students focus on personal growth, strengthening art skills, and fostering intellectual curiosity. Together we learn historic and contemporary artists, exercise the language of art and design, make art together in class and have prompts for work outside class.
Ongoing programs and monthly courses have different options available to fit all artistic levels to meet your goals.
2021 Adult Online Art Classes
September 2021
Make Your Own Coloring Page
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We will meet Wednesdays in September, from 6-8pm EST.
This is an online course, on Zoom. Students will also utilize Google Classroom. Links and materials will be sent one week before class starts.
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The goal of this class is to illustrate black and white minimalist images that can also serve as coloring, painting, or collage pages!
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We will be doing 1-2 short pieces a week, working in pencil or ink pens to start, as we walk through how to draw various ink abstracts and landscapes.
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This process is both process-based and product-based. We will be moving step-by-step through drawing practices, learning to understand the effect and process of pattern, line, and minimalist color options. In this product-based work, all students, regardless of skill level, can create frame-able work for their homes, portfolios, or as gifts for friends!
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October/November 2021
Artifacts: a Cultural Response to Trauma
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This 8-week class will meet Wednesdays in October and November, from 6-8pm EST.
This is an online course, on Zoom. Students will also utilize Google Classroom. Links and materials will be sent one week before class starts.
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Trauma is often characterized by “too much, too fast.” We have been living in a rare time in history. It is rare, it is noteworthy. It is a collective trauma, too much, too fast, where every single human on earth is affected by the same thing at the same time. We are living in a time that will be written about in history books, studied for years to come.
In this online class, we will study the contemporary media and art that has emerged during Covid, and respond with our own art and media. We will ask ourselves: How can we participate in artifact making, in a time that will be studied for years to come?
As artists, and as people, I am thinking about how the art and culture that will be noted, and the culture and art that will emerge from this time. What books will be written, narratives formed, what art will document the fractured state of our existence? These resources act as artifacts of these times - the diaries, newspapers, letters, news clips, murals and spray paint pieces, protest signs - these will be studied for years to come. This class is a studio art practice of an artifact collection/creation and cultural response to these movements and this time period.
Weekly presentations will introduce a number of past and present artists' work, writing, and tactics used by artists and designers to find the generative potential that was created out of other collective trauma in history and culture. We will engage with some of the very contemporary material and media that was generated out of Covid, including, but not limited to: Zadie Smith’s ‘Intimations,’ clips from Grey’s Anatomy and the commercial media response, Khalid’s song ‘New Normal,’ Bo Burnham’s ‘Inside,’ and many more examples.
Each week, we will make art of our own in class and outside of class. This is a prompt-based class, with open-ended ideas that will be explored. These prompts are intended to spur small, bold creative moves - ones that might be repeated, developed, or discarded. All will be discussed. The goal is not necessarily to create elaborate, refined projects, but to allow yourself to trial approaches you might not normally consider, to learn from failures, as well as successes, and to explore this time.
An art journal will be provided, and materials that you have in your space and/or materials that you buy will be encouraged. Students may use photography, video, music, fiber arts, oil pastel, spray paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, pencil or pen, collage, or anything else that would suit your needs. This class will be structured within an art journal, so that we can create full pieces and/or ideas that can be further generated into larger, more fleshed-out pieces. Prompts on these various ideas will be provided, and conversations about our fractured state of existence will be explored. Exchange and shared learning will also be available outside of weekly Zoom sessions as students are encouraged to share work via the Google Classroom learning platform at any time.
In this online class, we will meet Wednesdays, from 6-8pm, starting October 6 to November 24, 2021. Prompts for the week will be shared on Sundays, and are done in whichever order you like throughout the week, with the plan to be done by the following week. Prompts are shared on Sunday, as starting the week with art is a powerful way to begin and set your intention for your studio art/artifact-making practice.
Students will receive the Zoom link, Google Classroom link, and relevant materials one week before class starts.
30% of the class proceeds will be donated to Diatribe. I am selecting the Diatribe because of their excellent work and mission: “The Diatribe uses performing arts to empower young people to share their stories, raise awareness of social issues, and create change within their communities.” They continually support students in their own artifact-making and life honoring community work.
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Previous 2021 Adults Courses
January
Intro to Drawing
We will meet on Mondays in January, from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, adult students will use graphite pencils to learn the basics of drawing. We will explore value, composition, and learn to dissect both still life and portraits with shape and form. The goal of this class is to show up for the page, to make art as often as you are able, and to have fun.
We will be making small works each week, and focus on two to three larger pieces - a still life and a portrait, throughout the month as well.
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Acrylic Painting
We will meet on Thursdays in January, from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, adult students will learn the basics of drawing. Together, we will explore the basics of acrylic paint. Practice color theory and value, experiment with different brushwork and texture and understand art history as we study and make art inspired by artists' work.
We will be making small works each week, and focus on two to three larger pieces.
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February
Watercolor Painting
We will meet on Mondays in February, from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, adult students will learn the basics of watercolor painting. Practice color theory and value, experiment with different brushwork, layering in color, use the language of art and design to hold group shares, or critiques, understand art history as we study and make art inspired by artists' work, and make pieces with our own styles.
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Instagram Poetry
We will meet on Thursdays in February, from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, adult students can expect to write poetry, read poetry from authors who are on and off Instagram, and make art that relates to the poetry. What will emerge is an understanding and appreciation of various short-form poetry, new art, and a small collection of new work. We will also have a meeting with a writer working on Instagram today.
In class, we will start with a warm up writing or drawing exercise, look at the work of artists and writers working today, see new work to follow, write poems or very short stories, and make art to match the writing. Participants will leave with a new body of work to have for themselves, or share on Instagram.
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March
Modern Collage
We will meet on Mondays in March from 6-8pm EST.
This is no ordinary collage class. In this class, we will explore, build, and innovate what we know of this medium.
Each class will feature a different era of the collage genre, from Picasso and found objects, to Annegret Soltau and sewing thread onto canvas, to more modern collage approaches like picture juxtapositions. We will work from themes and/or emotions as we create work that is meaningful and important. 3d pieces will emerge from paper, work will become tactile, interesting, and it will speak to them.
We will also be meeting with a modern collage artist, who will share about their process, studio, and work.
Adult Watercolor Botanicals
We will meet on Wednesdays in March from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, we will explore and create watercolor botanical paintings. Focusing mostly on native plants, we will learn how to draw and paint as we layer in the watercolor paints to create masterpieces just in time for spring.
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In this very interactive class, we will be encouraging spring walks to observe what is starting to pop up - even if it’s just observing the color of dogwood or the light through the trees. We will learn to mix colors, as we match the colors of nature to the colors of our palettes. We will also learn about and test out techniques of various contemporary watercolor artists.
April
Victory and Potager Gardening
We will meet on Mondays in April from 6-8pm EST.
This is a very comprehensive gardening course on Victory and Potager Gardening. Potager (po-toh-jhay) gardening means “kitchen garden” and is a holistic approach to gardening, as it welcomes flowers, herbs, and vegetables in the same area, thus welcoming and supporting pollinators.
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Students will familiarize themselves with, or learn the history of Victory Gardening, preparing your garden for a healthiest plant life, soil and soil structure, fertilizing and composting, flower care, vegetable selection and care, pest control, organic solutions, garden design, and so much more.
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Students will receive a 10-20 page PDF handout each week depending on the topics. In our class, we welcome any and all questions, so much so that the class pivots around the student’s needs and garden wishes. Regardless of the garden you have or want - container garden, raised bed, in-ground, or even a farmette space, this class is for you!
Collage Portrait and Still Life
We will meet on Thursdays in April from 6-8pm EST.
In this class, we will use paper like a painting or drawing medium, and focus on still life and portraits.
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Different than other classes that I have offered, this is a deeper dive. While we will have instruction, I will largely be acting as a guide in your art-making. How can you achieve the shadow value or shape? What is the best way to do this? I will walk students through setting up a still life in their own spaces, so they can reference it at any time. For the portrait work, we will be doing a self-portrait or work from a photo of a person.
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We will only be making two larger works of art - one still life and one portrait, because we want to explore, understand, but also take time with the work. We will discuss how to break up the still life or portrait into basic shapes and forms, identify the colors, then find those colors (or other desired color) and cut the shapes to work with the piece.
May
Art Journaling: Establishing a Regular Creative Practice
We will meet on Mondays in May, from 6-8pm EST.
The goal of this class is to again encourage the regular ongoing practice of art making. We will learn to see as an artist, grant time to be creative, dive into the art-making space, and show up for the page and ourselves in the process.
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We will be using a variety of materials - oil pastels, watercolor, acrylic paints, photography, video work, soundscapes, ink or ballpoint pens, pencils - whatever you have already. (I will also recommend other materials that are optional, but you can choose to get.) We will have regular practices and work in-class, but we will also have a plethora of prompts to choose from - some larger, some as small as going on a walk and observing color or recording your favorite sounds throughout a day with your phone.
Garden Design, Pollinators, and Companion Planting
We will meet on Thursdays in May, from 6-8pm EST.
This is a very comprehensive gardening course on Garden Design, Pollinators, and Companion Planting. Serving the exact needs of the students in the class, we will be using your actual spaces and/or gardening circumstances. Whether you have a porch, container garden, raised bed, in-ground, community garden, or just a dream/future space, we will be solving your problems and designing the space of your dreams!
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Students will learn to analyze their spaces for light, shadow, water flow, wind flow, seasonal changes, and figure out what will work best. We will be exercising elements of art and design in a garden space to create a space that you love as we bring in plants that not only look good together, but by companion planting great plants together, they will grow stronger and deter pests!