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Creative Classes
1-Day Workshop | Collage: Embellishing for Dramatic Effect (5/10)
Class Description:
In this class, students will learn various collage techniques that focus on manipulating materials to tell stories. During each session, students will create layers and nuance to describe emotions, sequences of events, and the complexities of memories. As the class progresses, students will create scrap buckets full of self-made embellishments. As a culminating project, students will arrange their scraps into a collage and share their stories with the group.
What to Expect:
Students will walk away from classes with new strategies for exploring visual narratives and evaluating conversations introduced by artworks from the museum's galleries. By the end of the class, students will have clear ideas about creating unique embellishments in their personal artwork and how to develop collages with a unique approach to materials.
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 students and are included in the price of this workshop.
Educator:
Moe Gram is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Denver and uses a diverse array of media inluding painting, mural, collage, and installation. Gram graduated from California State University Bakersfield with a major in Visual Arts and a minor in Cultural Studies. Currently, Gram's art can be seen in murals throughout Colorado, an installation at the Denver Art Museum's Creative Hub, at the Acoma House in room 204, and at various locations throughout the Denver metro area. Through her playful color palette, messaging, and juxtaposition of unique embellishments and found objects, Moe’s work encourages the viewer to absorb and reflect- for the betterment of oneself and collectively for us all.
1-Day Workshop | Collage: Modern & Contemporary Mixed Media
Class Description:
In this one workshop, students will explore the art of collage while taking direct inspiration from the Modern and Contemporary Art collection. Using provided collage making materials, students will be challenged to create an original collage or mixed media piece incorporating a photocopied image from the collection. This class is open to all abilities.
What to Expect:
At the start of class, we will tour the Modern and Contemporary galleries for ideas and inspiration. Then students will choose one of the three select photocopied images from the collection to begin constructing a collage. While using as much or as little of the image, students will embellish their piece with the provided collage making supplies (i.e. tissue paper, magazine, text and found images). Making more than one piece is encouraged, but also folders will be provided if students wish to work further on it at home.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided for students and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Robin Whatley is a mixed media collage artist, educator, and curator based in Denver CO. With a background in arts administration, she holds a BFA with a concentration in painting from Colorado State University, and studied at the Santa Chiara Italart in Castiglione Fiorentino, Italy. Her work examines old print ads like an archeological artifact of our ancestors. The nameless figures inked into aged pulp of 1960’s magazines are carefully rescued from the dehumanizing old Madison Ave world and safely released into a vivid and futuristic landscape. These seamlessly blended vintage paper cut-outs and water-based paintings transport the viewer into surreal and otherworldly landscapes where humanity and identity are explored beyond consumerism. Robin’s work has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions around the US including Arizona, Colorado, Rhode Island, Florida and Washington. Her work has been published with Kolaj Magazine, a world art magazine on contemporary collage, and The Curator’s Salon Magazine in London UK.
1-Day Workshop | Painting: Flow State (1/25)
Class Description:
Flow State is a one-day workshop that explores the connections between intuitive painting, mindfulness meditation, and community. Participants will learn how to combine abstract painting and drawing skills with mindfulness meditation techniques and will explore how this hybrid practice can be used to hold space for our Selves and each other. Participants will work individually and as a group using acrylic paint, pastels, paper and canvas. This class connects to abstract works in the Denver Art Museum collection, including pieces by artists like Mark Bradford, Elaine de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Sam Gilliam, Shinique Smith, and Sonia Gechtoff.
What to Expect:
Students will be led into the galleries at the beginning of the workshop to observe and discuss one work. The selected work will serve as an introduction to and inspiration for the exercises that will be practiced during the day, which will include guided meditations, gestural painting prompts, and group reflections. Students can expect to:
• Be guided through various meditations as a group with visualization and mindfulness-based techniques.
• Practice guided, individual meditative painting/drawing exercises on paper.
• Create a large-scale, group painting on canvas.
• Reflect on the day’s work in a group discussion at the end of each workshop.
Participants will walk away with a series of personal abstract paintings on paper, a set of creative meditations to use in everyday life, and the opportunity to co-create a large-scale group painting with others. The large group painting will require participants to work on the same surface at the same time in some instances.
No prior painting or drawing skills are required. No experience with meditation or mindfulness required. This class is open to all skill levels.
Class Make-up Day 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 students and are included in the price of this workshop.
Educator:
Visual artist, Sarah Darlene, explores the functionality of abstraction through a feminine, queer, and contemporary perspective. Her work investigates the intersections of painting, social practice, and meditation and their collective ability to promote self-reflection, cathartic healing, and true social change. Palmeri holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Louisiana State University, and an Executive Certificate of Nonprofit Management from the University of Notre Dame. She has been a member of Strangers Art Collective since 2015 and is a former Artist in Residence at RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Iceland.
1-Day Workshop | Painting: Flow State (5/3)
Class Description:
Flow State is a one-day workshop that explores the connections between intuitive painting, mindfulness meditation, and community. Participants will learn how to combine abstract painting and drawing skills with mindfulness meditation techniques and will explore how this hybrid practice can be used to hold space for our Selves and each other. Participants will work individually and as a group using acrylic paint, pastels, paper and canvas. This class connects to abstract works in the Denver Art Museum collection, including pieces by artists like Mark Bradford, Elaine de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Sam Gilliam, Shinique Smith, and Sonia Gechtoff.
What to Expect:
Students will be led into the galleries at the beginning of the workshop to observe and discuss one work. The selected work will serve as an introduction to and inspiration for the exercises that will be practiced during the day, which will include guided meditations, gestural painting prompts, and group reflections. Students can expect to:
Be guided through various meditations as a group with visualization and mindfulness-based techniques.
Practice guided, individual meditative painting/drawing exercises on paper.
Create a large-scale, group painting on canvas.
Reflect on the day s work in a group discussion at the end of each workshop.
Participants will walk away with a series of personal abstract paintings on paper, a set of creative meditations to use in everyday life, and the opportunity to co-create a large-scale group painting with others. The large group painting will require participants to work on the same surface at the same time in some instances.
No prior painting or drawing skills are required. No experience with meditation or mindfulness required. This class is open to all skill levels.
Class Make-up Day 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 students and are included in the price of this workshop.
Educator:
Visual artist, Sarah Darlene, explores the functionality of abstraction through a feminine, queer, and contemporary perspective. Her work investigates the intersections of painting, social practice, and meditation and their collective ability to promote self-reflection, cathartic healing, and true social change. Palmeri holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Louisiana State University, and an Executive Certificate of Nonprofit Management from the University of Notre Dame. She has been a member of Strangers Art Collective since 2015 and is a former Artist in Residence at RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Iceland.
www.sarahdarlene.com
1-Day Workshop | Paper Craft: Hand Papermaking – February Session
Class Description:
Students will learn how to make paper from recycled materials. The class will experiment with various mediums to create different textures and colors of paper that can be used for cards, tags, and artwork. Participants will leave class with a stack of custom recycled paper.
What to Expect:
This class will focus on small experiments with papermaking from various materials such as recycled paper, fabric scraps, newspaper, tissue paper, etc. Students will also experiment with add-ins like coffee grounds, pressed flowers, and crayon shavings. This will allow for a lot of experimentation. No prior knowledge is needed.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided for students and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Elizabeth Truskin is an artist from Denver who specializes in portraits and mixed-media paintings. Her work is featured in galleries along the front range and consistently at Next Gallery in Lakewood, CO. Truskin teaches art classes for Denver Public Schools, Redline Contemporary Arts Center, Denver Recreational Centers, and the Denver Art Museum.
1-Day Workshop | Paper Craft: Hand Papermaking – March Session
Class Description:
Students will learn how to make paper from recycled materials. The class will experiment with various mediums to create different textures and colors of paper that can be used for cards, tags, and artwork. Participants will walk out of class with a stack of custom recycled paper.
What to Expect:
This class will focus on small experiments with papermaking from various materials such as recycled paper, fabric scraps, newspaper, tissue paper, etc. Students will also experiment with add-ins like coffee grounds, pressed flowers, and crayon shavings. This will allow for a lot of experimentation. No prior knowledge is needed.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided for students and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Elizabeth Truskin is an artist from Denver who specializes in portraits and mixed-media paintings. Her work is featured in galleries along the front range and consistently at Next Gallery in Lakewood, CO. Truskin teaches art classes for Denver Public Schools, Redline Contemporary Arts Center, Denver Recreational Centers, and the Denver Art Museum.
1-Day Workshop | Textiles: Cherokee Basket Weaving
Class Description:
Students will learn the history of Cherokee basket making materials from pre-European contact through to contemporary Oklahoma Cherokee weaving. Following Sarah H. Hill in her book, Weaving New Worlds: Southeastern Cherokee Women and Their Basketry, we will meet some notable weavers and touch on different material traditions. The DAM Indigenous Arts of North America has a small selection of basketry from the Original Peoples of the Southeastern US and their descendants, and this class will both expose students to more examples of these traditions and give them an opportunity to weave their own round reed Oklahoma style Cherokee basket.
What to Expect:
The first 60-90 minutes will be a presentation providing a close look at Cherokee basket weaving traditions and weavers, students are welcome to move around as needed during lecture and discussion. Instructor will spend 20-30 minutes providing a demo of starting, shaping/forming, and finishing a basket, and the remainder of the class, provide step-by-step instruction to the group, followed up with one-on-one support. After the demos, students are expected to take breaks, including lunch, as needed. Every student will be able to finish at least one basket, possibly more than one.
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:
Salix is a 35-year-old two-spirit, multiracial creator and educator of Muscogee/Cherokee descent. Salix has had baskets on display at the Evergreen Center for the Arts, and they teach basket weaving for Colorado Native Org's Native cultural night. You can also find them at events such as the Harvest of All First Nations Corn Festival, and áyA Con Denver.
1-Day Workshop | Textiles: Intro to Embroidery
Class Description:
In this class, students will be introduced to the art of embroidery, the many different stitches one can use to be creative with embroidery and will be inspired by the fiber works in the museum collection. Once students gain confidence with embroidery, they will be encouraged to create their own works.
“I view embroidery as simply drawing with thread. This has inspired my own studio practice, and I hope it will inspire my students!” - Charis
What to Expect:
Students can expect to look at how embroidery has been used in artmaking through looking at examples in the museum's collection. In the classroom, students will learn and practice several basic and creative embroidery stitches. Beginners are welcome! I enjoy seeing students get the hang of embroidery and then get inspired to use what they've learned and incorporate the skills into their own artworks outside of class.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided by the teacher and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Charis Fleshner is an art educator and nationally exhibiting conceptual artist who earned her MFA from the University of New Mexico. She currently teaches art at the Denver Art Museum and Aims Community College. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Art Fort Collins, Emmanuel Gallery in Denver, and Strata Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been awarded two artist residencies elsewhere in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her work can be seen at charismakesart.com. She is currently working on projects in color pencil and soft sculpture.
1-Day Workshop | Textiles: Ojo de Dios Weaving
Class Description:
Students will learn the history, significance, and traditions of Ojo De Dios, also known as Gods Eyes.
Using yearn, students will weave in their own unique patterns while discovering how these ancient weavings connect us more deeply to our ancestral roots. The artistic practice of making Ojo de Dios will be explored as a form of meditation.
What to Expect:
During class time, students will make an 18” x 18” eight-sided weaving. They will learn five different weaving patterns. Students will also be introduced to oral histories and the story of Grandmother Spider and the Time-keeper Weavers.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided for students and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Cal Duran is a Queer, Two Spirit, Indigenous, Native, Mixed blood. Latinx, Manito, Mestizo, Chicanx, Indian Artist, and Arts Educator from Colorado. Art has been a portal to channel his indigenous ancestors, where he slips under an emotional spinning vortex of creation. 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.
1-Day Workshop | Textiles: Wet Felting & Needle Felted Imagery
Class Description:
In this workshop, students will learn how to wet felt a surface using techniques of agitating wool with soap and water. Each student will create an image on their wet-felted surface, using wet felting and needle felting techniques. This imagery can range from abstract colors to a landscape, or an imaginary world. With the help of the instructor, the student is open to making an original felted piece with the option of working with a large range of colors.
What to Expect:
During class time, students will create from one to two wet felted and needle felted works. Students do not need any prior knowledge to attend this class. The project involves active movement and agitation of wool using various materials.
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 SATURDAY as the educator’s schedule allows.
Materials:
All materials will be provided for students and are included in the price for this workshop.
Educator:
Samara Johnson is a Laramie-based interdisciplinary artist and educator at University of Wyoming and various locations across the Front Range in Colorado. She was born and raised in Moose Pass, Alaska, and received her Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting at University of Colorado at Boulder and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting at Sonoma State University. She currently creates dimensional wall works, which often include materials and imagery that speak to the interconnectedness of humans as emotional animals. This interconnectedness is portrayed as visceral revealing of the body, attesting to the importance of the body's vulnerable nervous system and how it becomes a translator for the body's environment to the inside of a person. Johnson's work has been exhibited across the nation at University of New Mexico - Valencia, Union Hall in Denver, Colorado, University of Colorado Art Museum, and Healdsburg Center for the Arts in Healdsburg, California.
4 Week | Drawing: Intermediate Techniques
Class Description:
In Drawing: Intermediate Techniques, students will explore intermediate drawing techniques in an accelerated format. They will survey the DAM’s collection and use drawing fundamentals to sketch from art within the galleries. Students will create individual pieces inspired by their research sketches, utilizing their expanded skills. The intent of this class is to build competence and guide each artist through the entire process of researching and creating a completed piece of work.
What to Expect:
Artists will build upon their fundamental skills to learn and develop intermediate techniques, 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 into the studio to complete a finished project.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Basics overview and new skills
Week 2
• Learning new techniques and building knowledge
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.
4 Week | Illustration: Wild Mythologies
Class Description:
In this class, students will be introduced to the art game Exquisite Corpse, popular among the Surrealist artists. Students will relate Surrealism and the creative creatures that emerge from the drawing game to the exhibit Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak. Drawing on this inspiration, students will create their own original illustrations and learn how story can help influence and mold an artwork's inception. Students will intertwine their illustrations and stories they construct for their creatures – connecting image and text through playful interactions of art viewing, sensory details, collaboration, and creation.
What to Expect:
We will be going into the galleries and making during class time. Exercises each class will build up to creating a final illustration at the end. Beginners welcome! The aim of this class is to jump start your creative thinking and make illustrating accessible and fun instead of intimidating for students.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Learn about and play the Surrealist drawing game exquisite corpse and relate it to the work of Maurice Sendak by visiting the Wild Things exhibit together.
Week 2
• Create your own creature from the exquisite corpse game and begin thinking about the story and personality for your creature.
Week 3
• Look at the work "Dream of Arcadia" by painter Thomas Cole in the gallery and consider how to use color, mood, scale, and environment in our final illustrations.
Week 4
• Bring everything together and work on final illustrations using gouache and color pencil.
Class Make-up Day 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 $30-50. We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Charis Fleshner is an art educator and nationally exhibiting conceptual artist who earned her MFA from the University of New Mexico. She currently teaches art at the Denver Art Museum and Aims Community College. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Art Fort Collins, Emmanuel Gallery in Denver, and Strata Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been awarded two artist residencies elsewhere in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her work can be seen at charismakesart.com. She is currently working on projects in color pencil and soft sculpture.
4 Week | Painting: Flow State (2/19)
Class Description:
Flow State is a 4-week abstract painting class that explores the connections between intuitive painting, mindfulness meditation, and community. Participants will learn how to combine abstract painting and drawing skills with mindfulness meditation techniques. Each class will present different ways this hybrid practice can be used to hold space for ourselves and each other. Participants will work individually and as a group using acrylic paint, pastels, paper and canvas. This class will connect to abstract works in the Denver Art Museum collection, including pieces by artists like Mark Bradford, Elaine de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Sam Gilliam, Shinique Smith, and Sonia Gechtoff.
What to Expect:
Students will be led into the galleries at the beginning of each workshop to observe and discuss one work. The selected work will serve as an introduction to and inspiration for the exercises that will be practiced that day, which will include guided meditations, gestural painting prompts, and group reflections. While each week will be a different experience, students can expect to:
? Be guided through various meditations as a group with visualization and mindfulness-based techniques.
? Practice guided, individual meditative painting/drawing exercises on paper.
? Create a large-scale, group painting on canvas.
? Reflect on the day’s work in a group discussion at the end of each workshop.
Participants will walk away with a series of personal abstract paintings on paper, a set of creative meditations to use in everyday life, and the opportunity to co-create a large-scale group painting with others. The large group painting will require participants to work on the same surface at the same time in some instances.
No prior painting or drawing skills are required. No experience with meditation or mindfulness required. This class is open to all skill levels.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Artist introduction and meditation intro
Week 2
• Intuitive drawing intro, individual practice and getting to know your materials
Week 3
• Intuitive drawing, individual practice continued
Week 4
• Individual practice continued, group painting
Class Make-up Day 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 $30-50. We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Visual artist, Sarah Darlene, explores the functionality of abstraction through a feminine, queer, and contemporary perspective. Her work investigates the intersections of painting, social practice, and meditation and their collective ability to promote self-reflection, cathartic healing, and true social change. Palmeri holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Louisiana State University, and an Executive Certificate of Nonprofit Management from the University of Notre Dame. She has been a member of Strangers Art Collective since 2015 and is a former Artist in Residence at RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Iceland.
4 Week | Painting: Spring into Color
Class Description:
Spring reawakens our sense of wonder and attention, inviting the imagination to grow wild. In this class, students will respond to the constantly changing colors and forms of Spring. Students will use the versatility of acrylic paint as a medium to capture their observations and imaginations in a series of small-scale paintings on paper.
What to Expect:
Students will move between the Studio and the Museum collection to develop a series of small, experimental paintings over the course of 4 weeks. The class will explore how different artists, such as Simphiwe Ndzube and Maria van Oosterwyck, create very different compositions that capture the unpredictable nature of Spring. In the Studio, focus will be on experimentation with a wide range of techniques in using acrylic medium to bring these studies together into a harmonious final painting.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Introductions, basic materials introduction and experiments.
Week 2
• DAM collection visit. Found and felt lines.
Week 3
• DAM collection visit, color mixing, natural shapes and collage.
Week 4
• Building harmony in a final composition.
Class Make-up Day 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 $50-70*.
We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Sarah Shay is a Denver-based artist. Shay paints in order to slow down and pay attention to the spaces where our personal lives and collective experiences connect. Shay studied Photography and Anthropology at the University of Iowa, and Community Arts and Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Teaching and learning are at the core of her artistic practice, with teaching experience in K-12, Higher Education, and community-based programming in Colorado.
4 Week | Textiles: Cherokee Basket Weaving
Class Description:
Students will learn the history of Cherokee basket making materials from pre-European contact through to contemporary Oklahoma Cherokee basket weaving. Following Sarah H. Hill in her book, Weaving New Worlds: Southeastern Cherokee Women and Their Basketry, we will meet some notable weavers and touch on different material traditions. The DAM Indigenous Arts of North America has a small selection of basketry from the Original Peoples of the Southeastern US and their descendants, and this class will both expose students to more examples of these traditions and give them an opportunity to weave their own round reed Oklahoma style Cherokee basket.
What to Expect:
Students will be given a presentation providing a close look at Cherokee basket weaving traditions and weavers, students are welcome to move around as needed during lecture and discussion. The instructor will spend 20-30 minutes providing a demo of starting, shaping/forming, and finishing a basket, and will begin work on single-walled baskets with students. The instructor will provide step-by-step instruction to the group, followed with one-on-one support. Each student will be able to finish at least one single-walled basket and begin work on a double-walled basket during the course of this class.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Lecture contextualizing this class within Denver’s American Indian history and what has happened on this land, to its ancestral caretakers, the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute. The lecture will include Cherokee basket weaving cultural history, as well as contemporary Cherokee weavers, and Q&A as time allows. Instructor will discuss materials, demo beginning of process, and begin baskets as time allows.
Week 2
• Continue weaving demo to include forming/shaping basket, and finishing. Begin/continue step-by-step and individual instruction. Demo double-walled baskets technique, and students ready can start double-walled basket.
Week 3
• Finish single-walled baskets, demo double-walled technique, ongoing individual support.
Week 4
• Finish all baskets.
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 $30-50.
We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Salix is a 35-year-old two-spirit, multiracial creator and educator of Muscogee/Cherokee descent. Salix has had baskets on display at the Evergreen Center for the Arts, and they teach basket weaving for Colorado Native Org's Native cultural night. You can also find them at events such as the Harvest of All First Nations Corn Festival, and áyA Con Denver.
https://www.instagram.com/salix.weaves/
4 Week | Textiles: Soft Sculptures
Class Description:
Explore and experiment with various fiber-art techniques by transforming two-dimensional fabric drawings and paintings into three-dimensional, plushie soft sculptures inspired by nature, abstraction and the DAM’s contemporary Textile Arts and Fashion collection.
Students will walk through and learn about the collections, focusing on textile work that utilizes drawing and painting elements. Through the exploration of the DAM’s collections, students will learn how expansive textile and fiber arts can be, inspiring them to make their own fiber art. The class will focus on simple and accessible techniques. Students will learn how to paint on fabric by using fabric paint and paint markers, and be inspired to make their own shapes, colors, patterns, etc. Students will then learn how to transform their two-dimensional fabric pieces into three-dimensional soft sculptures by learning simple sewing techniques and skills. This is an experimental approach to soft sculpture where students are free to explore, play and try new techniques all while being introduced to the basics of fabric painting, drawing, and sewing.
What to Expect:
The first day of class will be informational and learning based, we will walk through the galleries and view a presentation. The rest of the day-to-day class experience will comprise of art demos and creating soft sculpture pieces. This is a primarily a project-based approach where experimentation in painting, drawing, and sewing will be encouraged.
Students can choose to make one large soft sculpture or two medium soft sculpture pieces.
Some knowledge of hand-sewing is encouraged but not required. Students must be comfortable holding a needle and thread or utilizing fabric glue.
Students should have an interest in painting and drawing on fabric and understand that this is the primary focus of the class.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Intro/presentation about teacher and soft sculpture techniques, history, etc.
• Explore collection in galleries, inspiration sources, beginning sketching, drawing, and documenting in classroom or gallery for inspiration for soft sculpture
Week 2
• Finish Sketches and drawing on paper
• Teacher demonstration about fabric drawing/painting
• Students begin sketching and fabric
• Students can read up on resources, etc. as they might have to wait for fabric paint to dry in between painting and drawing layers
Week 3
• Students finish drawing and painting on fabric
• Teacher demo into hand sewing techniques
• Students begin sewing, stuffing, and adorning soft sculpture
Week 4
• Students finish sewing, stuffing and adding details to piece
• If time, students share out their finished pieces with the class
Class Make-up Day 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 $50-80. We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Holly Nordeck currently works and lives in Golden, CO. She graduated from Colorado State University with a BFA and minor in Art Business in 2016, her visual art has exhibited at Lincoln Center (Fort Collins), Arvada Center for the Arts (Arvada), StoreRoom (Denver), and Bell Projects (Denver). Nordeck has worked in cultural institutions since 2016, her focus is producing participatory events in collaboration with Colorado creatives. She is experienced in event production, creative consulting, public engagement experiences, and art focused facilitation.
6 Week | Painting: Beginning Oil
Class Description:
In this class, students will explore oil painting fundamentals in an accelerated format. They will survey the DAM’s collection and sketch from art within the galleries. Students will create individual pieces inspired by their research sketches, utilizing their newly built skills. 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:
Students will learn or in some cases relearn fundamental skills in addition to some tricks of the trade. This knowledge will help them work within the museum to sketch and generate ideas and bring those ideas into the studio to complete a finished project.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Focus on oil painting fundamentals
Week 2
• Focus on oil painting 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
• Painting in the classroom
Week 6
• Painting 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 $60-100.
We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the below 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.
6 Week | Painting: Intermediate Oil
Class Description:
In Painting: Intermediate Oil, students will explore intermediate oil painting techniques in an accelerated format. They will survey the DAM’s collection and sketch from art within the galleries. Students will create individual pieces inspired by their research sketches, utilizing their newly built skills. The intent of this class is to build skill and guide each artist through the entire process of researching and creating a completed piece of work.
What to Expect:
Students will build upon their fundamental skills to learn and develop intermediate techniques, in addition to some tricks of the trade. This knowledge will help them work within the museum to sketch and generate ideas and bring those ideas into the studio to complete a finished project.
Timeline:
Week 1
• Focus on oil painting techniques
Week 2
• Focus on oil painting techniques
Week 3
• Gathering sketches and ideas in the museum’s galleries
Week 4
• Gathering sketches and ideas in the museum’s galleries
Week 5
• Painting in the classroom
Week 6
• Painting 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 $60-100.
We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, 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.
6 Week | Textiles: Off-Loom Weaving
Class Description:
In this 6-week class, students will be introduced to weaving beyond the loom through techniques including book, card, and tapestry weaving. Students will learn how to construct simple, portable, “looms” using easy-to-find materials that can be adapted to any circumstance. Through each technique, students will learn about the basic elements of woven cloth and explore the design variations and possibilities offered by each weaving approach. 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 – many of which were created using similar techniques to those we will be using in class – as well as the work of contemporary weaving artists such as Sheila Hicks, Karolina Gnatowski, and Colorado-based artist Steven Frost.
What to Expect:
This class will include a mix of in-class demonstration, skill sharing, and making as well as group gallery visits and discussion. The compact and mobile formats of the looms will allow us to take our work beyond the classroom to draw inspiration from the galleries and the museum’s architecture while connecting with themes of space, place, and portability. Through observing works in the collection and learning new skills, we will take time to reflect on how weaving techniques are engaged across cultures and textile traditions, our positions as learners and artists, and our own relationships with textile histories. Students will leave the class with three sample weavings along with their handmade loom components.
Timeline:
Week 1 – Introductions + Book Weaving
• Introductions and class overview
• Lecture/demonstration: Intro to weaving
• Demonstration/activity: Tapestry weaving on a book loom
• Demonstration/Activity: Basic weave structures
• For next time: bring backstrap materials
Week 2 – Backstrap Weaving
• Re-introductions, questions/reflections from last class
• Demonstration/activity: Cutting off and finishing book weavings (15 mins)
• Slide lecture: Contemporary weaving artists + Backstrap Weaving
• Demonstration/Activity: Setting up the backstrap loom
• For next time: optional reading
Week 3 – Backstrap Weaving + Gallery Visit
• Gallery visits to woven textile objects
• Demonstration/activity: Weaving on a backstrap loom in museum space
• For next week: Bring materials for card weaving
Week 4 – Card Weaving
• Lecture/demonstration: Tablet weaving
• Prepare cards and card looms
• For next week: Optional reading
Week 5 – Card Weaving + Gallery Visit
• Welcome and gather
• Group reading discussion
• Demonstration/activity: Card weaving
• Gallery visit
Week 6 – Card Weaving + Conclusion
• Card weaving in museum space
• Return to classroom, finishing card weavings
• Share work and wrap up
Class Make-up Day 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 $50-70.
We partner with Meininger’s for local shopping, purchase a kit of your required materials online for in-store pickup, or purchase the items individually.
Educator:
Etta Sandry is an artist, educator, and facilitator currently based in Boulder, Colorado. Rooted in weaving, her interdisciplinary work is situated in the expanded material practices field between craft, contemporary art, and creative research. She has exhibited her work in the United States and Canada and was the 2022 Experimental Weaver in Residence at the Unstable Design Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she now conducts research as a PhD student. Etta completed her MFA in the Fibre & Material Practices program at Concordia University where she also held positions teaching fiber structures and critical thinking & writing. She has over ten years of experience working as an organizer and administrator in arts communities, including roles as a board member at the artist-run centre articule in Montreal and as a volunteer staff in ACRE Residency’s fiber studio in Wisconsin.