Creative Classes

 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.

https://www.artbycal.com (less)

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 mo (more)

 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.

https://m2lr.com/artists/72-michael-dowling/ (less)

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 (more)

 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.

https://www.instagram.com/sarahshaystudio/ (less)

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 acr (more)

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.

https://m2lr.com/artists/72-michael-dowling (less)

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 indivi (more)