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Creative Classes

1-Day Workshop | Clay Sculpting: Dia de los Muertos

 *Price includes a $60 Studio Fee for all materials provided.

 

Class Description:

In this class, students will use red rock clay from Colorado and reconnect with the earth. Focus will be on the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), with time for exploring one’s own ancestral relationship to cultural holidays. Bring your imagination and voice to the medium of clay while learning sculptural techniques.

 

What to Expect:

We will start with looking at objects in the museum’s collections on display, researching, and sketching. Students will plan a vision for their Dia de los Muertos sculpture and build a paper armature. Remaining time will be spent on working with clay, sculpting, and finally painting.

 

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a FRIDAY or SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.

 

Materials:

All materials will be provided for this workshop and are included in the Studio Fee of $60.

 

Educator:

Cal Duran is an artist and art educator focusing on connecting with his ancestors from an Indigenous and Latinx background. His work often explores parallels between hybrid identities found in myth, religion, and ritual. Duran has shown altars, installations and artwork in museums and galleries throughout the Denver Metro area and beyond. He continues to honor his ancestors and recently created a room at Meow Wolf in Denver, honoring the indigenous tribes of Colorado and the Americas.

https://www.artbycal.com

1-Day Workshop | Watercolor Postcards

 *Price includes a $30 Studio Fee for all materials provided.

 

Class Description:

In this class, students will experiment with different watercolor techniques to make a set of 10 postcards. We will practice wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques to make mini paintings. Subjects for these paintings include DAM-inspired artwork, landscapes, flowers, and abstract designs. I will demonstrate and have examples of each of these styles.

 

What to Expect:

Students will roam the galleries for a set period to look for inspiration. They will be challenged to re-create a loose, watercolor version of at least one chosen art piece for one of their experimental designs for their postcards. Participants will experiment with different techniques and subject matters, and walk out with several (10 or more) finished watercolor postcards that they can mail or display.

 

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a FRIDAY or SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.

 

Materials:

All materials will be provided for this workshop and are included in the Studio Fee of $30.

 

Educator:

Elizabeth Truskin is a Denver artist and instructor who specializes in community-driven public art, portrait painting, and multimedia artwork. She shows at galleries in the Santa Fe Art District and Next Gallery in the 40 West Arts District.

https://www.nextgallery.org/elizabethtruskin-1-1

4 Week | Fibers & Soft Sculpture: Craftivism

*Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $20-40.

 

Class Description:

Craftivism is simply craft + activism. In this class, we will use textiles to create our own soft sculptures, protest tapestries about a cause that matters to you, and positive affirmation embroideries. Students will learn sewing and embroidery techniques to create works about things you care about. The textile collection of the Denver Art Museum has several works of craftivism and we will also look at those to understand what craftivism is and how simple it is to do! Beginners are welcome. Don't be intimidated by sewing. This course will make it simple and meaningful.

 

What to Expect:

During class, we will mostly be creating. We will be making 3 different artworks: soft sculptures of the word "No" to help remind us to keep healthy boundaries in our lives, fabric tapestries about a cause or topic that matters to you personally, and hand embroidered positive affirmations. After this class, you will know 3 new ways of creating work that is personal and meaningful to you using fabric and sewing techniques. Beginners are welcome. No prior experience necessary.

 

Timeline:

Class 1: introduction to soft sculpture and creation of our own soft sculptures

Class 2: Look at the work of Aram Han Sifuentes in the textiles collection of the Denver Art Museum, and begin creating our own protest tapestries

Class 3: Finish tapestries and begin embroidery

Class 4: Finish embroidery

 

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a FRIDAY or SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.

 

Educator:

Charis Lillene Fleshner is a conceptual mixed media artist who completed her MFA in studio art at the University of New Mexico. Fleshner currently teaches art at Aims Community College and shows work nationally. Before starting graduate studies, Charis Lillene Fleshner used her BFA in art education from University of North Texas to teach junior high and elementary art for seven years. Her studio practice currently focuses on painting, soft sculpture, Craftivism, and the intersections of Feminism and art.

charismakesart.com

4 Week | Textiles: Tapestry Weaving

*Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $30-70.

 

Class Description:

In this 4-week class, students will be introduced to the techniques of tapestry weaving. They will learn about the basic elements of weaving (the loom, warp, and weft) and how to set up a frame loom for hand weaving. We will cover the fundamental weaving patterns and tapestry design techniques, such as plain weave, color block design, and methods for creating texture in the weave. The course will engage with the many examples of woven works from the museum’s Indigenous Arts of North America and Textile and Fashion Collections as well as the work of contemporary weaving artists. Through this class, students will gain a deeper understanding of the textiles that we engage with in our everyday clothing, homes, and lives and become familiar with one of our oldest technologies: weaving.

 

What to Expect:

The first half of the class will focus on loom set-up, weave basics, and skill building. This class will offer a mix of hands-on making, art viewing, discussion, and designing. We will look at images of the work of contemporary tapestry weavers and students will be offered reading material to add context to the skill-based class. We will then take a group visit to the galleries to look at works from the museum’s collection as inspiration for designing a final tapestry project. As students develop their skills, they will be encouraged to experiment with the materials they use in their weavings, using non-traditional wefts and found materials. Students will leave the class with one sampler weaving and one final piece and a tapestry loom for future weaving. Students do not need any prior knowledge for this course.

 

Timeline:

CLASS 1 – Introductions and Basics

• Introductions and community agreements

• Slide lecture/demonstration: Weaving basics

• Demonstration/activity: Setting up the tapestry loom

• Demonstration/Activity: Basic weave structures

• For next time: bring a found material to weave with

 

CLASS 2 – Texture Play

• Re-introductions, questions/reflections from last class

• Slide lecture: Contemporary Weaving Artists

• Demonstration/Activity: Texturing Techniques

• Demonstration/Activity: Finishing Techniques

• For next time: begin thinking about final design; optional reading

 

CLASS 3 – Designing

• Welcome and gather, introduce final project/check-in

• Gallery visits to woven textile objects

• Designing and beginning final weaving

• For next time: finish setting up loom and begin weaving, if you can; optional reading

 

CLASS 4 – Project

• Welcome and gather

• Project weaving

• Share work and wrap-up

 

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a FRIDAY or SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.

 

Educator:

Etta Sandry is an artist, educator, and facilitator from the midwestern United States, currently based in Boulder, Colorado. Her material-focused research is rooted in weaving and spans media through sculpture, writing, and installation. Etta completed her MFA in the Fibre & Material Practices program at Concordia University in the spring of 2021. She has exhibited her work in the United States and Canada and was the 2022 Experimental Weaver in Residence at the Unstable Design Lab in Boulder, Colorado. Her work as an educator has recently included positions teaching fibre structures and critical thinking & writing at Concordia. Etta has over ten years of experience working as an organizer and administrator in arts communities. Most recently, this has included roles as a board member at the artist-run centre articule in Montreal and as a volunteer staff in ACRE Residency’s fibre studio in Wisconsin.

www.ettasandry.com

6 Week | Drawing: Fundamentals

*Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $30-70.

 

Class Description:

In this class we will explore drawing fundamentals in an accelerated form. We will use the fundamentals to explore within the museum as we sketch from art within the galleries. We will conclude with creating individual pieces from the skills built and research sketches. The intent of this class is to bring each artist through the entire process of researching and creating a completed piece of work.

 

What to Expect:

Artists will learn or in some cases relearn fundamental skills mixed with some tricks of the trade to help them work within the museum to sketch and generate ideas as well as take those ideas in to the studio to complete a finished project.

 

Timeline:

Week 1 – Learning the fundamentals

Week 2 - Learning the fundamentals

Week 3 – Gathering sketches and ideas in the museum’s galleries

Week 4 - Gathering sketches and ideas in the museum’s galleries

Week 5 – Drawing in the classroom

Week 6 - Drawing in the classroom

 

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a FRIDAY or SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.

 

 

Materials:

Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $30-70.

GET THE MATERIALS KIT AT MEININGER’S ART SUPPLY or purchase the items individually.

 

Educator:

Born in Denver in 1972, Michael Dowling spent much of his early life as a typical kid apart from being an obsessive drawer. It wasn’t until the age of 25, and after several years studying various subjects as well as working in many fields, that Michael started painting. With that late beginning, Dowling dove full in and began studying extensively. At 28, he decided to sell a burgeoning art sales company and moved to Florence, Italy to focus on painting. He has since returned to his native Denver where he lives and works.

Michael Dowling's work has been characterized as a combination of traditional practices in realism and his explorations of mark, pattern, and color to disrupt that reality. In many compositions, figures presented as portrait, morph into their surreal self, and lone objects tell stories through their subtle positioning. These objects and characters sit in bizarre spaces with intentionally disrupted atmospheres in order to find further meaning within the imagery.

https://m2lr.com/artists/72-michael-dowling/

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