Studio School Adult Classes

In each of these one-night workshops, you can explore encaustics by gaining a core understanding of fundamental techniques, and different styles of application and design. Each participant will have the opportunity to create 2 completed pieces of encaustic art through guided demonstrations and exploration. No previous encaustic experience is required. All materials included in class price.

Learn how to use "odds and ends" you may have lying around the house to create inspiring artwork! Each week, we will learn about different artists who used materials that are unconventional in the fine art world: yarn with Judith Scott and Olek, beads and broken jewelry with Betsy Youngquist and Kori Newkirk, and "scraps" of fabric and cardboard with Lesya Demchenko and Bisa Butler. We will create a different project each time we meet inspired by their unique vision, with the goal of discovering our own creative voice.

Instructor Allise Noble / Beginners & Intermediate

Enjoy the summer landscape while you learn about concepts and techniques that enable artists to capture the landscape en plein air. Value, composition, and light will be explored. Locations around the Great Lakes Bay region will provide the inspiration & subject matter for projects that pertain to line, color, shadow, and form.

Instructor Jill Tatroe / Beginners & Intermediate

ENROLL NOW - AUG 20

This class will cover the foundational concepts of photography. Some of the topics we will explore are: correct exposure, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, focus, lighting, and composition. Please come with a DSLR or mirrorless camera with adjustable aperture, film speed, and shutter speed, and a tripod for the first class. Homework assignments will be an ongoing part of this class, and students will need to print up to twelve photos a week to review in class.

Instructor Stephen Grewe / Intermediate

This class will give students the experience of taking film photos, developing film, and printing images in the darkroom. We will be using 35mm black and white film. If students do not have a 35mm film camera, the Center has a limited number of cameras to loan. Topics covered will be: correct exposure, loading film, film development, and printing. Class price includes 2 rolls of film and a 25 sheet box of 8x10 paper. Please email the instructor at stephen.photosteph@gmail.com if you have questions.

Instructor Stephen Grewe / Beginners & Intermediate

Students who have outside film experience or have taken the previous Film Photography course will have the chance to continue learning at their own pace with the help of an instructor. Limited studio hours will be available alongside class hours. If students do not have a film camera, they may loan one of five available 35mm film camera from the Center. Students will be responsible for purchasing their own printing materials. Please email the instructor at stephen.photosteph@gmail.com if you have questions.

Instructor Stephen Grewe / Beginners & Intermediate

MON / OCT 28 - DEC 9, 2024 / 6 - 9 PM
$175 / $160 Museum Members

Are you new to the world of pottery? Are you a potter in love with hand building? Join Pam Hart and explore the three major hand building methods: pinch pot, coil, and slab using a project-based approach. Hand building helps students to understand the properties of clay and learn skills all potters need. Every session introduces NEW projects that will allow students to explore making both functional and artistic work. Experienced potters can build on their own work with instructor support. All students are expected to purchase clay from the Center for $40.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date.)
Instructor Pam Hart / Beginners & Intermediate

ENROLL NOW

TUE / OCT 29 - DEC 10, 2024 / 6 - 9 PM
$175 / $160 Museum Members

Now that you’ve developed your hand building ceramics skills, you may ask yourself, what’s next? Beginner Wheel is for you! Mike will leverage your hand building skills and break down the basic small steps to teach you how to throw on the potter’s wheel with control and confidence. You’ll be applying your new skills in sequence to make cylinders, bowls, and plates while being actively vulnerable, learning from mistakes, and having a lot of fun along in this journey! All students are expected to purchase clay from the Center for $40.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date.)
Instructor Mike Zureich / Intermediate

ENROLL NOW

THU / OCT 31 - DEC 12, 2024 / 6 - 9 PM
$175 / $160 Museum Members

This semester we will focus on how to improve your wheel skills by throwing matching sets of two! Just for fun, each session will begin with a mini challenge! So far, we have learned how to throw cylinders, mugs, bowls, plates, and vases. Now, let’s set our pointer’s and begin to make equally sized pieces finishing them out with glaze and surface design. Individual goals, sketchbook, and glaze journals will be discussed. Demonstrations and one-on-one assistance will be offered throughout the course. All projects and “just for fun” class challenges are optional. All students are expected to purchase clay from the Center for $40.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date.)
Instructor Becca Waltz / Intermediate & Advanced

ENROLL NOW

THU / OCT 31 - DEC 12, 2024 / 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
$175 / $160 Museum Members

Now that you have learned the basic forms and techniques, let’s have fun with them! In this class we are going DEEP—by exploring advanced forms, surface techniques, and a bit of sculpture. In addition, we will stretch our minds to think more broadly in the realm of aesthetics and how to create a cohesive body of work around a single theme. Come join us for an adventure as we dive deeper into the vast world of ceramic possibilities. All students are expected to purchase clay from the Center for $40.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date.)
Instructor Beth Nova / Advanced

ENROLL NOW

Come make a suncatcher with glass powders! Students will make pieces using powdered glass before it is fired and fused together. Necessary tools, glass supplies and kiln firings provided. Takes place at the instructor's home studio, so please dress for the weather (no heat, no AC). N95 mask required as we will be working with glass powders. $30 materials fee due to the instructor on the day of class. Any questions email instructor: emmyheger@yahoo.com

Location / at instructors home studio (directions emailed prior to class)
Instructor Emmy Heger / Beginners

Come make some ornaments for someone special! Students will make holiday ornaments by cutting glass and using glass frit before it is fired and fused together. Necessary tools, glass supplies and kiln firings provided. Takes place at the instructor's home studio, so please dress for the weather (no heat, no AC). $30 materials fee due to the instructor on the day of class. Any questions email instructor: emmyheger@yahoo.com

Location / at instructors home studio (directions emailed prior to class)
Instructor Emmy Heger / Beginners

This hand-fabricated jewelry class offers a wonderful opportunity to explore the versatility & endless possibilities of manipulating precious metals & gemstones into objects of adornment. Students will learn fundamental jewelry manufacturing techniques while working in gold & silver, as well as essential geological information about gemstones & how they should be cared for during the manufacturing process. Students must purchase all raw materials.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date)
Instructor Roger Schmidt / All Skill Levels

Take your designs on paper through the process of lost wax casting to create finished jewelry. Beginning students will execute a guided project; intermediate and advanced students will work on their own designs. Wax working, casting, and finishing techniques will be demonstrated. At the start of the class, a group order will be placed for metal and supplies.

Location / Carriage House Hall (directions to be emailed closer to class start date)
Instructor Sharon Berkan-Dent / All Skill Levels

Gain basic drawing skills as you explore a variety of mediums to see which you like best, including graphite, ink, and colored pencil. Learn how to shade, blend, and create texture as we practice both drawing from life and using grids to draw from a photo. We will try both realism and stylized illustration.

Instructor Allise Noble / Beginners & Intermediate

We will work from still lifes with charcoal, pencil and ink to explore perspective, balance, texture, line and composition. The bones of a good painting begin with the drawing , and the basis of a great drawing is learning the elements and principles of art and being comfortable with their use. Individualized instruction and inclusive teaching style - Nancy Philo incorporates demos and critique to advance your practice.

Instructor Nancy Philo / Beginners

Come join us for a spooky night of bottles and brushes! Make your art cute, creepy, or inspired by the beautiful nature unique to this season - it's all up to you! Different materials and techniques will be demonstrated with an open-ended project. We will explore several technique options while we sip and relax with drinks from the Pendulum Lounge.

Instructor Allise Noble / All Skill Levels

Create beautiful illustrations in ink, exploring both realism as well as more whimsical, stylized applications. Learn basic drawing skills with both pen and pencil, and then add a burst of color using watercolor markers. This technique is relaxing and experimental and works with a variety of drawing styles.

Instructor Allise Noble / All Skill Levels

Learn the basics of painting or hone your current skills as you learn to manipulate brushes, mix color and apply paint. Use traditional and contemporary processes to develop an individual painting style. Students will study old Master's techniques such as grisaille, and painting alla prima, while painting from life and photo references.

Instructor Jill Tatroe / Beginners & Intermediate

ENROLL NOW

Watercolor is an elusive, portable, and beautiful medium! Learn and practice all the watercolor techniques, with a professional award-winning artist with 50 years of classical and experimental watercolor expertise. Still-life, florals, and landscape will be part of this class. The instructor brings an inclusive and welcoming approach with individualized instruction and positive class critiques. Come join us and begin or find your next level with watercolor.

Instructor Nancy Philo / Beginners

ENROLL NOW

Take your drawing and painting skills and apply them to portraiture. Classes will focus on proportion, scale, and perspective as they relate to the human face. We will work on color mixing, using a limited color palette to achieve different skin tones, and study images from Art History. For the most part painting will be from photo references with a focus on how best to take photos for that purpose.

Instructor Jill Tatroe / Intermediate & Advanced

ENROLL NOW

Transparent watercolor and acrylics are both water-based media. If you have taken a watercolor class in the past, Nancy can help you explore and improve in a class designed for intermediate to professional painters. Bring your paints, brushes, water container and paper or canvas, and get individualized instruction in a non-competitive and welcoming environment. You may choose to work in either acrylic on canvas or watercolor.

Instructor Nancy Philo / Beginners & Intermediate

ENROLL NOW