More Classes

This page lists classes in media including beading, textiles, watercolor,  ceramics and digital. 

OTHER MEDIA

kumihimo braided bead ropesKumihimo

Learn this ancient Japanese fiber technique that combines threads, beads, ribbons, and more into amazing braids and ropes.

Make a bracelet, a key chain, a necklace or many other decorative pieces.

A wheel plus 8 bobbins and threads are provided in class, and students can bring additional fibers, ribbons and beads as desired.

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learn how to make earrings with polymer clay and beads Bead Stringing Basics

necklace1-bead-studioLearn about clasps, crimps, stringing  materials and different kinds of beads.

 

Create a necklace using supplies from our Bead Studio supplies, or try making earrings, a bracelet, or other simple stringing projects.

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watercolor-textures-29 watercolor-textures-22Watercolor Textures

Create a collection of beautiful watercolor  papers to use in multimedia projects while you explore application techniques that can be used in larger paintings. Combine and layer to build depth and beauty!

Paper, paints, brushes and other tools supplied in class.

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Using Underglazes with Ceramicsceramic face painted with underglazes

ceramic vase with patchwork underglaze decorationUse colorful underglazes and techniques for tools including brushes, line applicators, sponges, stamps, and stencils.

 

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Ceramic Texture Stamps

Make a bevy of beautiful stamps out of ceramic clay that will be bisque fired after drying. You can use them to texture your projects in ceramics, polymer clay, even cookies! During class, use the stamps that are already fired to get an idea of how to combine them for more options and large scale designs.

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TEXTILES

Spirit Doll

Spirit Dolls 1-Construction

Spirit dolls, totems, icons or decorative poppet–no matter what you call it, express yourself with a very personal art project. We’ll use fanciful fabric, trims, beads, clay and more to create and adorn a figure that expresses whatever mood or thought you choose.

Celebrate the divine, turn trauma into treasure, use the power of art to focus your awareness in creative, transforming ways! Start off in part one with your choice of hand dyed fabric (provided in class) or bring your own material to cut, sew and stuff into a doll body using the provided simple patterns.

For those that would rather not sew, there are premade cotton doll bodies available for purchase. Then we’ll use fabric paints and Shiva textile paint sticks to further decorate the fabric. Also included in the cost of the class is a polymer clay face that can be glued or drilled and sewn to the doll body. We will cover how to recognize and gather the many elements that become a particular doll, and to know when to add more or to take away.

Sometimes you already have a plan, and other times dolls seem to almost collect themselves into being as you go. Many design options will be discussed and compared as we prepare for the the Spirit Doll 2 class.

Students will need:

  • needle and thread
  • other fabric for body if desired (1/4 yd)s
  • sewing machine (or premade doll body option
  • fiberfill stuffing

Hand dyed fabric, pattern and a polymer clay face are provided as part of the class fee along with paints and oil sticks for use in class. Additional kits are available for purchase as well.

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Spirit Dolls 2- Costuming and Embellishments

Nbeaded doll by Laura Sandovalow that the doll body is created, we can add all sorts of costume elements and embellishments. Polymer clay, fabric or painted details can be used to make shoes; add faerie wings or other clothing details to embellish your doll.

Make it beautifully decorative or scary enough to ward away monsters! Many fabric scraps, lace and trims, feathers, sequins and embellishments will be provid ed, and you can also bring your own baubles and bits to add to your project.

Old costume jewelry and buttons can become crowns, breastplates, armor and more! Embroidery floss or beads that you provide can become hair or decorate hair created from leftover strips of your fabric.

We will cover simple bead embroidery techniques that can be used to accent or completely cover your doll. There are no end to the options when making a Spirit Doll, as they can be expressive of anything you choose…let the spirit move you to creativity!

Students will need:

  • needle, thread
  • beading thread (nymo)
  • beads, including seed beads and larger beads
  • collected jewelry, charms or other embellishments
  • fiber, yarn or other trims as desired

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beaded belly ance braBellydance Beading

Transform an ordinary bra that fits you into something extraordinary using trims (available at nearby Hancock fabrics or from your own fabric stash), sequins, beads and fabric paints supplied in class.

We’ll cover fabric painting and hand sewing techniques as well as bead embroidery and fringe. Sources for beads, coins, and bells and silk scarves will be reviewed. Pieces of costume jewelry are great additions too.

Gather your pieces and bring them in to start creating your own wearable art. This is a multi-part activity that will feature new techniques at each session. Participants can attend as often as they choose; the first session is $20 and each one thereafter is $5.

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blue-kona-2014Dyeing for Textile Artists

colorsamples-2012Learn resist dye techniques as well as bag dyeing to create beautiful clothing and textiles for wearable art or quilting.

Dye  fat quarters of cotton in solids and patterns with techniques that have been used for centuries, updated with modern chemistry and utilizing simple supplies and tools.

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discharge6-webwilliam-shirt-webDischarge Dyeing

Start with solid colored fabric, tie as for shibori tie dye, and then remove color (discharge) with beach and bleach paste.

Within minutes, stop the chlorine action to neutralize it, and rinse to reveal gorgeous effects.

This can be done with fabric or clothing.

Create one of a kind wearables and fabric for textile arts.

The shirt seen here at left began as a solid black shirt, and the fabric at right a dark purple.

Much faster than traditional tie dye, this is a great way to build your fabric stash for quilting.

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Digital

The Business of Professional ArtAre you an artist or entrepreneur that would like to showcase your work on the web?

Do you yearn to earn from sales without the bother and huge expense of opening a store and staffing it every day?

You can showcase your business on the internet without spending thousands of dollars by learning how to set up and maintain a website and an online store.

This four part series of classes will walk you through all the aspects you need to know whether you are just getting started or ready to fine tune your presentation.

Students will need:

  • a working knowledge of basic computer use (how to open and save a file, etc)
  • small notebook and pencil or pen for notes

The Business Of Art – 1   Setup & Graphics

We will touch on how to create a business plan, legal issues such as licenses, sales and business income taxes, what to name your business and highlights of of copyright, patent and trademark issues that artists need to know. We’ll use Adobe Photoshop CS5 to design or revamp your logo and use it in creating business cards, letterhead, hangtags and headers for packaging and more.

Students will need:

  • a working knowledge of basic computer use (how to open and save a file, etc)
  • small notebook and pencil or pen for notes
  • any business graphics or files they currently have on flash drive or cd

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The Business Of Art -2   Photography & Editing

use simple lighting and photoshop to create create images to sell your workStudents will bring in up to five pieces of artwork to photograph, or can bring digital photo files to edit. Several digital photo setups will be used and compared. We will learn about effective composition that showcases your art, backgrounds that accentuate rather than compete with your work.

The instructor will shoot pictures and students are welcome to bring their own cameras to shoot as well. Then we will use Adobe Bridge and Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit the photos and save them both for print and web use.

Learn how to fix images that are off-color, too dark, or remove elements that are distracting or misplaced. With a few tricks you can be editing your images to look their best. Then those images can be used to sell the artwork directly or to embellish your business graphics, or to sell as images on cards or even fabric!

Students will need:

  • a working knowledge of basic computer use (how to open and save a file, etc)
  • small notebook and pencil or pen for notes
  • 5 items to photograph or images they currently have on flash drive or cd

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The Business Of Art -3   Websites & Storefronts

In this section we will cover how to setup a WordPress blog/website and and an Etsy storefront. Students can use the free files from WordPress.com or WordPress.org (come find out what the difference is!) to create a site that is hosted by wordpress at no cost, or purchase hosting from a company like dreamhost.com  and get a free domain name with your account. (students who already have a domain name and host can use that, but will need to bring their account access information such as user name and password).

We will discuss and compare the uses of different “templates” and how to use Photoshop to create a banner that fits the feel of your site and can also be resized for use with your Etsy.com storefront. Students will also learn how to open a storefront at Etsy.com and prepare for next week when we begin listing items for sale! (opening etsy stores requires the use of a bank account routing number, as does setting up a Paypal account. We will discuss the uses of Paypal both for online shopping and for taking credit card payments at shows.

Students will need:

  • a working knowledge of basic computer use (how to open and save a file, etc)
  • small notebook and pencil or pen for notes
  • routing number of savings or checking account to set up etsy and paypal accounts
  • paypal account information if already a member,
  • etsy account information if already a member,
  • credit/debitcard if you wish to purchase hosting/domain name (purchase of hosting and domain is optional) OR current hosting account and domain name info

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The Business Of Art-4 Ad Copy & Content

In this final section of the Business Of Art series, we’ll compose effective, keyword-rich descriptions of items and list them for sale using etsy.com (and talk about why etsy can be far more effective and economical at reaching your target market as an artist than ebay or other online venues).

Then we will create posts and pages using WordPress to advertise items that we list in the individual Etsy stores, paying particular attention to well written descriptors that reach not only your customers but also the “robots” and search engines that are so important to ranking well in searches such as google or bing. Learn how to cross link and promote your site as well as your product line.

Students will need:

  • a working knowledge of basic computer use (how to open and save a file, etc)
  • small notebook and pencil or pen for notes

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digitally colored paper dollsColoring Paper Dolls with Adobe Photoshop

Start with the supplied paper doll PDF and learn to use photoshop to digitally color and print them! Includes:

  • how to select and fill areas with color
  • how to use feathering and gradients
  • how to create and apply patterns for texture or prints
  • how to print your dolls in multiple colorways and lots more!

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Adobe Photoshop

Andyportrait01TAndy as the element Fireutoring workshops tailored to your need; whether you want to digitize and save family photos, create art using digital photography or tweak photos to use in online sales.

 

 

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