Creative Classes

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.

www.moegram.com (less)

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 (more)

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.

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

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 (more)

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

  (less)

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 m (more)

 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:

Join the Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Art Museum for a two-part artistic adventure! In part one, students will learn to draw butterflies by exploring their representation in artworks from the Denver Art Museum’s collections, while also discovering the fascinating anatomy of butterflies through the presentation of preserved specimens. In part two, students will be given a guided tour and immersed in the Butterfly Pavilion’s lush conservatory, surrounded by thousands of free-flying butterflies. They will continue to refine their drawing practice in this natural setting with the opportunity to nature journal and draw from live or preserved specimens. This two-part Workshop is perfect for artists and nature enthusiasts alike and does not require any prior technical knowledge.

What to Expect:

Students can expect to engage with butterfly specimens, both living and preserved, and examples of artistically represented butterflies in the collections of the Denver Art Museum. Instruction will cover both the art of illustrating butterflies and the science of their anatomy and coloration. Through the connection of art, science, and nature, students will develop skills in drawing the shapes, patterns, values, and colors of butterflies. They will gain a deeper understanding of nature and butterflies through the exploration of the Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Art Museum’s collections.

Class Cancellation Policy:

If a class or workshop is 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. Students are welcome to bring their own sketch books and preferred drawing materials, but it is not necessary.

Educators:

Anna Kaye was born in Detroit, Michigan and now lives in Denver where she works in her studio creating drawings, paintings, videos, and sculptures that are inspired by the natural world. Witnessing the urban decay from de-industrialization as a child enhanced her sense of empathy, compassion, love for diversity and justice, and reverence for the natural world. She earned her B.S. in geology and fine art at Skidmore College, NY. She continued her education at Yale in painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography. She earned her M.F.A. at Washington University in St. Louis where she was awarded the Laura and William Jens Scholarship and a teaching on record position. Anna Kaye’s artwork is a part of international, private, public, corporate, and museum collections. Kaye donates a percentage of all sales annually to environmental funds. She curates large-scale exhibitions that promote social action and connectivity. She currently teaches at the Denver Art Museum and Denver Botanic Gardens.

https://www.annakayeart.com/

Megan Schulz is the Adult Programs Coordinator at Butterfly Pavilion, where she develops engaging programs that connect adults with the natural world. With a background in environmental education, Megan has expanded the Pavilion’s offerings to include diverse workshops, lectures, and hands-on activities centered around invertebrates. She is passionate about building inclusive, interactive learning experiences. In her free time, Megan enjoys nature photography, reading, and spending time with her pets.

https://www.instagram.com/nature_by_megan6/?hl=en#

Additional Notes:

Please be aware that the May 17th class session will take place at the Denver Art Museum and the May 24th class session will take place at the Butterfly Pavilion. General admission on the day of the workshop is included in your registration fee. (less)

Class Description:

Join the Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Art Museum for a two-part artistic adventure! In part one, students will learn to draw butterflies by exploring their representation in artworks from the Denver Art Museum’s collec (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)