ONSITE: The Noir Portrait: Drawing with Charcoal

Learn how to make realistic portraits using the beautiful, painterly medium of charcoal on toned paper. This class teaches traditional academic concepts, but in an encouraging open environment conducive to learning. We will examine how to successfully represent form and capture a likeness from life. This class teaches Realist techniques that were taught in the […]

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ONSITE: Drawing + Painting with Ink

Want a new approach to drawing and painting? Explore mark making with ink, pen and brush. We’ll examine both the classical and contemporary use of ink wash, pen, ink and more. Exercises will be focused on gesture, contour, observation and texture.

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COVID-19 Video Diaries – NEW!

We are all living in an unprecedented moment, one that presents an array of challenges and feelings. In this course, students will create a video time capsule by recording digital diaries and collaborating to share them with a larger online community. We’ll explore the history of first-person video, view several examples, then discuss and produce […]

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Making Your Own Dinner Party – New!

Create sets of plates, bowls, tumblers, serving bowls, platters and all the necessary vessels to host a feast. We’ll focus on creating sets with an eye to size, glaze surface and personal embellishments. In addition to weekly demos, the class includes an examination of tableware across cultures and pottery traditions.

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Drawing + Painting with Ink

Want a new approach to drawing and painting? Explore mark making with ink, pen and brush. We’ll examine both the classical and contemporary use of ink wash, pen, ink and more. Exercises will be focused on gesture, contour, observation and texture.

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ONSITE: The Prose Poem

Explore 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.

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Street Photography

Explore Richmond and delve into the world of street photography. We’ll look at historical and contemporary examples of street photography and discuss both technique and personal style. As a group, we’ll head out into the city to capture images. At the end of the day, we’ll return to VisArts to edit our images, share and […]

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ONLINE: Writing Home

What does it mean to write about home? We’ll examine the many kinds of homes that exist, ranging from houses to nations to the body itself. Our conversation will take us from the Grimms’ Fairytale “Hansel and Gretel” to the present day as we write about our changing relationships with home in the time of […]

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Introduction to Acrylic Painting (B)

Learn the fundamentals of working with acrylic paint, including essential color theory and brushwork techniques. We’ll look at historical references and contemporary examples. Students will come away with a deeper understanding of this medium and its expressive possibilities.

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ONSITE: Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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ONSITE: Family Studio: Exploring Georgia O’Keeffe: Large-Scale Flower Art

Come and make art side by side as a family. Families will explore a new medium each week and create a beautiful project together. We'll explore Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers, because no one saw them like she did! We will observe examples of Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings, learn how flowers are important to pollinators and create […]

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ONSITE: Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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ONSITE: Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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Drawing for Comfort, Memory + Meaning – NEW!

Rediscover objects that you come into contact with everyday. We’ll explore ways of interpreting through drawing, focusing on what holds meaning, good memories and importance in our surroundings. The instructor will demonstrate pencil drawing techniques, show visual subject ideas and examples. Students will work through a new drawing assignment each week.

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Introduction to Freelance Writing – New!

For the aspiring writer, freelance can be both rewarding and lucrative. This class explores the world of freelancing, both analyzing and writing in a multiplicity of genres such as travel, pop culture, food, health/wellness, arts, tech, profile pieces, humor, etc. We’ll study top-notch examples from well-regarded writers and complete weekly written assignments. Each session will […]

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ONLINE: Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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Audio Postcard: Sound Story Basics- NEW!

Learn the basics of storytelling through sound by making your own audio postcard. We’ll listen to examples of the audio postcard and learn how to record sound using a portable recorder. We’ll explore ways to layer everyday sounds to create a rich soundscape, and learn digital editing techniques. By the end of the class, you […]

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Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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ONSITE: Advanced Stained Glass

This class is open to advanced glass students to experiment with different techniques of enhancing their stained glass work. Some examples of techniques covered are glue chipping, double glazing, minor fusing, sandblasting, engraving, and simple painting.

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Pen + Ink Drawing

Learn how to draw using black India ink, a dip pen and brush. We’ll cover techniques such as cross-hatching and stippling. You’ll learn the ins and outs of using a dip pen and brush, then we’ll go over drawing fundamentals such as value, perspective and line. We’ll also study the history of ink drawing by […]

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ONLINE: The Tough Stuff: Healing Through Writing

This class is for the conversations that still need to happen. We’ll talk about the barriers that keep us from writing what we need to write. We’ll also examine works by Chanel Miller, Jeannette Walls, and Layli Long Soldier to take lessons from the ways in which they make difficult topics easier to access. Students […]

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ONSITE: Pen + Ink Drawing

Learn how to draw using black India ink, a dip pen and brush. We’ll cover techniques such as cross-hatching and stippling. You’ll learn the ins and outs of using a dip pen and brush, then we’ll go over drawing fundamentals such as value, perspective and line. We’ll also study the history of ink drawing by […]

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Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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ONSITE: Drawing + Painting with Ink (This class is only offered twice a year!)

Want a new approach to drawing and painting? Explore mark making with ink, pen and brush. We’ll examine both the classical and contemporary use of ink wash, pen, ink and more. Exercises will be focused on gesture, contour, observation and texture.

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Short Story Fiction Writing

Explore 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 […]

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