Composition 1 introduces the basics of visual design elements (line, shape, texture, and space) and principles (balance, harmony, contrast). Students focus on developing their composition skills through drawing exercises, personal projects, class feedback, along with expansive examples from art and design history. 

Supply List:

1 ea 9x12 Strathmore Drawing Pad

1 ea 8.5x11 Newsprint1 ea Graphite Pencil Set (6B, 2B, HB)

1 ea General’s Eraser Set

1 ea Glue Stick

1 ea Micron .03

1 ea Plastic Ruler

1 ea 9x12 Pack Construction Paper

1 ea Dual Tipped Sharpie 

1 ea Xacto Knife

Explore the world of your local birds through drawing! We will take a step-by-step approach to drawing our feathered friends through photos and video.We will explore their favorite backyard birds through the fundamentals of drawing. We will apply these drawing skills to accurately capture our bird’s form and behavior. Students will also connect their birding knowledge to their drawings to inform anatomy, feather tracts, and other important identification landmarks. We will be rendering birds with graphite and colored pencils.The drawing skills that we are practicing in class will help you observe your feathered subjects carefully and capture the details for later reference. 

Materials not provided. Please bring the following:

- Drawing Pencils (2B, 6B, Ebony Pencil)

- Pencil Sharpener

- White Click Eraser

- Bristol Paper, Vellum

- Colored Pencil set

Optional:

- Binoculars

- Bird Field Guide

Rediscover the Crayon — not as a childhood relic, but as a serious artistic medium. Crayons Reimagined is a contemporary art course built around original, instructor-developed techniques that reveal the crayon as a dynamic, expressive medium for adult artists. Perfect for makers who love color and aren't afraid to try something unexpected.

Materials not provided. Please bring the following:

-crayons of your choice

-construction paper (a variety of colors is welcomed)

Open Print Lab is designed to be a creative exploration space! Open Print Lab is where our intergenerational printmakers, with an established practice, meet with others, share work, tips, and life's journeys! Enjoy access to 3 manual roll-top etching/relief presses for your self-directed projects! This studio session is not a regular instructional class, so we recommend beginners start with one of our various printmaking classes.

Folks are welcome to bring in anything that they wish, just so long as it goes back home with you! A Studio Monitor is available to answer questions and orient you on materials. Some materials are available at cost, so bring cash for additional supplies.

Welcome to “Beyond 27 Seconds, the How, What, and Why of Looking at Art”.  our NEW and FREE monthly Community Forum where we look at, talk about, and create art!  Do you know that the average time a person views an art piece is a mere 27 seconds?  In that time one may decide “I like it” ,“I don’t get it” “It’s good.” or maybe “My 6-year-old could do that.” But what does one really comprehend in such a short amount of time? In this fun and lively forum, we will learn how to better engage with, enjoy more deeply, and truly appreciate art – and the artist!  Each session, we will focus on such topics as: process, genre, medium, or group of artists, movement, or time period, with the goal of understanding how and why artists create and how we can view art in new ways to better interpret, connect with, and appreciate what we see! Each month one of our teaching artists will share curated works of art to lead the forum, with the first hour exploring concepts like   “What makes a piece of art effective?”  “Do I need to know “what” I am looking at to appreciate it?” “How did they do that?”  Once inspired, we will create a simple, yet exciting art piece relating to the topic of the month.  Join us each month, August through November at The Drawing Studio.  In December, we will have a field trip to a local museum to view real art “in the wild” and practice our new skills of seeing and engaging!   

Welcome in the festive season by creating Fall-inspired greeting cards with drawing, paint, and embellishments to celebrate the harvest season.

Materials provided by The Drawing Studio.

Painterpretations, founded in 2019 by Randiesia Fletcher, MEd.,is an intergenerational social and cultural arts class that has gained international attention for its innovative approach to dialogue and creative expression. The program engages participants across generations in critical conversations sparked by culturally relevant topics, guiding them to write and create visual responses—“Painterpretations”—that reflect personal and collective narratives. Through the integration of sound clips, video, poetry, mapping, and the study of artists and techniques from the African Diaspora, Painterpretations creates a dynamic space where storytelling, history, and art converge.

Open Print Lab is designed to be a creative exploration space! Open Print Lab is where our intergenerational printmakers, with an established practice, meet with others, share work, tips, and life's journeys! Enjoy access to 3 manual roll-top etching/relief presses for your self-directed projects! This studio session is not a regular instructional class, so we recommend beginners start with one of our various printmaking classes.

Folks are welcome to bring in anything that they wish, just so long as it goes back home with you! A Studio Monitor is available to answer questions and orient you on materials. Some materials are available at cost, so bring cash for additional supplies.