Our 1- and 2-day workshops offer a taste of something new and a little digging deep, while teaching artists from around the country provide in-depth exploration for the benefit of our instructors, advanced students, and curious learners during Visiting Artist Workshops.
Winter
BRONZE PMC
Kathleen DeVries / Jewelry Studio
3/25
12-4pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Enjoy a Saturday afternoon exploring the versatility of Bronze Precious Metal Clay. Recommendations for tools and techniques needed to work with Bronze PMC will be covered including forming, texture, mold making for multiples, embedding a Cubic Zirconia stone accent, and more. Students will create several finished pieces from design to completion in the form of earrings, pendants, charms, tube beads, and organic shapes to incorporate in their jewelry designs.
BOTANICAL WINTER WONDERLAND
Deborah Mattson and Mary Jo Asmus / River Street Flowerland
Sat 2/25
1 – 4pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Spend a winter afternoon in the warm atmosphere of a greenhouse bursting with inspiring vegetation, flowering plants, potted plants, greens, ornamental garden sculptures, and the general ongoing and curious growth in one of Kalamazoo’s outstanding greenhouses. You’ll find inspiration for drawing, painting and or photographing at River Street Flowerland! Individual instruction will be provided. Bring materials of your choice to work with.
SAMPLING METAL GARDEN ART
Paul Nimz / Studio 1
Sat 3/25
10am-12:30pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Learn basic MIG welding techniques, plasma cutting and metal fabrication in a safe, encouraging environment. This workshop is for newcomers interested in making their own unique steel garden sculptures.
MOLD MAKING INTRODUCTION
DARLA JACKSON / VISITING ARTIST / Studio 1
Sun 3/5
12 - 3pm / One Day
$85 / Members: $65
Explore various forms of silicone rubber molds and their uses in various sculpture processes. See examples of block molds, blanket molds and brush on molds and will learn which method is best for different needs. Students will learn about techniques specific to rubber mold making, mold making in a range of sizes, the impact of the multiple, and how using different molds can be used to express their ideas. This class will be in a lecture format with various demos. Students will not be making molds during the class but will leave with specific instructions on how to do so on their own and a list of resources.
SILVER STACKED RINGS
Emily Wohlscheid / Jewelry Studio
Sat 3/11
11am - 3:30pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Experience jewelry making in this all levels workshop to create a stack of simple rings from sterling silver. The basics of soldering, finishing, texturing, basic stone setting, and polishing will be covered as students fabricate a stack of rings in copper or bronze before moving on to silver. Students will leave with several completed rings.
NEEDLE FELTING OR DRY FELTING
Sarah Nott / Multi-Purpose Classroom
Sat & Sun 3/18-3/19
12-3pm / Two Days
$70 / Members: $50
Come make soft wool into three dimensional objects and bas-relief images! Students will learn the terminology, techniques, and materials necessary to create works of needle felting out of wool.
STENCIL AND STITCH A STORY!
Rita Petteys / Studio 4
Sat & Sun 3/18-19
Sat 1-5pm, Sun 12-4pm / Two Days
$75 / Members: $55
Stencil and stitch your way through visual storytelling! Students will be led through techniques in fabric painting, creating stencils, and basic embroidery stitches. Students will leave with a 5x7 stenciled piece of fabric of their original design and will have begun stitching details and enhancements.
NAALBINDING MITTENS
Heidi Bukoski / Weaving Studio
Sat 3/18
10 am - 4 pm / One Day
$80 / Members: $60
Learn the ancient art of Naalbinding, the oldest form of looped garment construction. Using a large specialty needle, students will learn one of the many stitches in Naalbinding to begin a pair of mittens from 100% wool yarn. Students will leave with all the skill and material to complete their mitten project.
POETRY AND FLASH FICTION
Laura Citino / Online with Zoom
Sat 2/25
11am-3pm / One Day
$60 / Members: $40
Go beyond the ode, the sestina, the typical story shape of exposition, rising action, and climax! Explore the use of found forms in both poetry and short prose to create tension, build atmosphere, and reveal surprising characters. Whether it's a poem in the form of a dictionary definition, a short story told through fake tweets, or a set of odd wanted ads, we'll both utilize and break these forms to craft weird, playful, and evocative writings.
DRAWING PORTRAITS FROM LIFE
Sue Snyder / Studio 4
(B) For adults: Sat 3/25 12-4pm
12-4pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Adventure into the art of drawing portraits from life with chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark), using Conte crayon on toned paper, creating the illusion of modeling, volume, and the drama of light. Students will learn how life studies impact studio work, and the potential of finding beauty in a simple medium.
DRAWING PORTRAITS FROM LIFE
Sue Snyder / Studio 4
(A) For teenagers: Sat 3/11
12-4pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Adventure into the art of drawing portraits from life with chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark), using Conte crayon on toned paper, creating the illusion of modeling, volume, and the drama of light. Students will learn how life studies impact studio work, and the potential of finding beauty in a simple medium.
CABOCHONS & WIRE WRAPPED PENDANT
Dawn Coeur / Jewelry Studio
Sat & Sun. 2/25-2/26
12 - 4pm / Two Days
$100 / Members: $80
Complete a hand crafted cabochon (flat backed, domed stone) and wire wrapped pendant in a weekend! Dawn will lead students in cutting and shaping a cabochon to showcase in a wire wrapped pendant design. A great workshop for students to be introduced to lapidary (stone work) and jewelry making in our well equipped studio.
Spring
JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTMAKING
Mary Brodbeck / Print Studio
Fri 4/14, Sat 4/15, Sun 4/16
Fri 6:30 – 9pm / Sat 9am – 5pm (bring lunch) Sun Noon – 4pm / Three Days
$250 / Members: $230
Learn to make a Japanese woodblock print! The workshop begins with a hands-on printing
demonstration from a prepared block using; water-based pigments, kento registration, and
pressing with a baren – all hallmarks of this Japanese process dating back to the 17th century. We
will then move into designing, carving, and printing our own designs with thorough
demonstrations along the way. Please bring a 5” x 7” cartoon sketch for your one-color
woodblock print. Sample designs will be available for beginners, advanced printmakers may use
more than one color by using both sides of the block. All tools and materials are provided; please bring carving tools if you have a set. All levels are welcome.
Visiting Artist HANDMADE BUTTONS: The Dorset Crosswheel
Kelly Brandt / Weaving Studio
Sat 5/6
1-4pm / One Day
$70 / Members: $50
Enhance your custom garments and learn the rich history of Dorset Buttons! In the English county of Dorset, before commercial buttons were widely available, shepherds cut rings from the horns of their Horned Dorset sheep to turn into fashionable buttons. Using threads or finely spun yarns, these rings were covered in a style called Crosswheel. Using these traditional techniques, students will create their own Dorset Crosswheel buttons.
MINDFULNESS MOVEMENTS FOR ARTISTS
Dawn Coeur / Auditorium
Tue 5/9
6:30-8:30pm / One Day
$40 / Members: $20
Explore ways to move the body to create mindfulness and maintain healthy ergonomics while creating art. We will co-create movements to help your body maintain healthy function through all your artistic endeavors. Plan for an evening of gentle movement, wear comfortable clothing and bring an open mind.
WRITING WITH FOUND FORMS
Laura Citino / Online with Zoom
Sat 5/6
11am-3pm / One Day
$50 / Members: $30
Go beyond the ode, the sestina, the typical story shape of exposition, rising action, and climax! Explore the use of found forms in both poetry and short prose to create tension, build atmosphere, and reveal surprising characters. Whether it's a poem in the form of a dictionary definition, a short story told through fake tweets, or a set of odd wanted ads, we'll both utilize and break these forms to craft weird, playful, and evocative writings.
NEEDLE FELTING OR DRY FELTING
Sarah Nott / Multi-Purpose Classroom
Sat & Sun 4/15-4/16
12-3pm / Two Days
$70 / Members: $50
Come make soft wool into three dimensional objects and bas-relief images! Students will learn the terminology, techniques, and materials necessary to create works of needle felting out of wool.
HANDBUILT HAND TOOLS
Rachel Stickney / Jewelry Studio
Sat & Sun 4/8-4/9
Sat 9am-3pm Lunch at noon / Sun noon-4pm / Two Days
$120 / Members: $100
Shape, scrape, file, and carve your way to making your own set of handcrafted tools made from animal bone! This class will focus on crafting your own bone folder and burnishing tools using traditional materials with modern methods. Files, carvers, axes, and saws will be used in this class. Come with a notebook or sketchbook and leave with a small collection of tools ready for use for your next art project.
INTRO TO TORCH FIRED ENAMELING
Deb Flook / Jewelry Studio
Sat 4/22
1 - 4 pm / One Day
Prerequisite: Beginning Jewelry or equivalent
$55 / Members: $35
Kilns aren’t the only way to enamel! This introductory workshop will begin with how to set up a torch enameling workstation and what tools are required and will quickly move into how to add enamel to your work. How to coat headpins, flat and curved surfaces, beads, and more will be covered.
PRECIOUS METAL CLAY – STERLING SILVER
Kathleen DeVries / Jewelry Studio
Fri 5/5
1 - 4 pm / One Day
$60 / Members: $40
Explore the versatility of working with Sterling Silver Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Learn about
the tools and techniques needed to create a variety of pieces from forming to finishing. Projects
include earrings, a necklace with an embedded Cubic Zirconia, charms, tube beads and molds
for multiples.
INTRO TO DROP SPINDLE
Emily Wohlscheid / Weaving Studio
Sat 5/13
1 - 4 pm / One Day
$40 / Members: $20
Learn the basics of spinning and plying on a drop spindle. Students will be introduced to various wool preparations and learn how to make their fibers ready for spinning. The day will end with creating a two-ply yarn from our newly spun fibers.
CYANOTYPE AND COLLAGING NEGATIVES
Amelia Volwiler-Stanley / Computer Lab & Darkroom
Sat & Sun 4/22-4/23
1-4pm / Two Days
$65 / Members: $45
In this two-day workshop, you will learn two processes. First, the process of cyanotype, an analogue photo process that results in a beautiful blue image. Second: how to construct your own unique cyanotype negative using non-traditional processes rooted in the printmaking technique of collagraphy. Construct repeatable compositions for cyanotypes by collaging film negatives, pressed botanicals, found objects and hand-drawn elements. Fine art paper and fabric will be hand-coated with light sensitive cyanotype chemistry to create your one-of-a-kind sun printed artwork.