Archives: Past-workshops

Wednesday October 17, 2018

Metal In All Its Glory

WEEKEND ONE (2-days): June 22 – 23, 2019   Classes run 9 am– 4 pm daily and students are welcome to stay late in their studio.

Metal In All Its Glory

Working with silver, copper and brass, students will be inspired to continue working even further with metal. Students will complete two pieces of finished jewelry with mixed metal being worked together to complement each other. Numerous techniques will be taught, starting with the basics of piercing, sawing, sanding, texturing and riveting. Polishing techniques and multiple riveting techniques will be taught as well as working with the roller printer for unusual textures. Patinas can be applied and students will learn the basic elements of design. This course is excellent for beginner students who have always wanted to try metal, they will jump right in and learn a variety of cold-joining techniques and walk away with a broader skill level and a love of working with mixed metals.

Workshop level: Beginner / Intermediate

• STUDENT SUPPLY LIST (Click HERE): All students are responsible for bringing their own supplies but for this class, most supplies will be provided.
• COURSE COST: $382 (Includes $291 tuition and $91 materials fee which includes specific supplies provided by the instructor which include brass, copper, silver and jewelry making materials)

Tuition includes daily lunch and snacks.  Prices are listed in Canadian Dollars and are inclusive of all applicable taxes. An accommodation package, which includes breakfast and dinner is available separately. Click here for further details.

Cheryl Jacobs 

Cheryl  started her career apprenticed to a goldsmith in Mill Valley California in 1985, she also studied at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco. Her family moved to Vancouver Island where she started her own line of jewelry. She has been teaching at North Island College in Campbell River and up and down Vancouver island  and doing private silver-smithing classes for 22 years. Her line of jewelry can be seen at shows such as the Filberg Festival, Circle Craft, One of a kind in Vancouver and the Art Market in Calgary.  She also has galleries and does home sales out of her studio in Cumberland, BC.

cheryljacobsdesigns.com

 

Just one spot left!

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Tuesday October 16, 2018

Vibrant Landscape in Pastel

WEEK ONE (5-days): June 24 – 28, 2019    Classes run  9 am  – 4 pm daily and students are welcome to stay late in their studio.

Vibrant Landscape in Pastel

Learn the fundamentals of working in soft pastel on paper. Become familiar with the materials through some exercises that focus on elements of the landscape like trees, clouds, rocks, water, etc., and then move on to develop landscapes.

David will teach through lecture and demonstration, advancing the class step-by-step, and encourage students to work at their own pace. Working from both photos and the occasional plein-air excursion, the process will start with building a confident drawing in vine charcoal, followed by gradually adding pastel using a variety of mark making. Areas of special focus will be establishing values, working dark to light, colour temperature, creating strong compositions, atmospheric perspective and underpainting techniques unique to using sanded paper.

All levels welcome.

• STUDENT SUPPLY LIST (click HERE): All students are responsible for bringing their own supplies.
• COURSE FEE: $711 (Inclusive of $681 tuition and $30 in specialized materials to be provided by the instructor.)

Tuition also includes lunch and daily snacks. Prices are listed in Canadian Dollars and are inclusive of all applicable taxes. An accommodation package, which includes breakfast and dinner is available separately. Click here for further details.

David Shkolny

David is an Edmonton-based artist specializing in soft pastel. Born in Pinawa, Manitoba, in 1969, David has spent most of his life in Alberta. David’s art is collected internationally and is also represented in The Canada Council Art Bank. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1992.

Shkolny is fascinated by the medium of pastel and what he has come to learn of the endless ways in which to express its qualities. Naturally drawn to portraying landscapes, he enjoys it both for the possibilities of interesting colour relationships and the ambiguity of space and form which can result from experimentation and the slightest suggestions of a mark. He values a process that is not dictated by a prescribed outcome, but evolves from a dialogue with the process.

www.davidshkolny.com

 

 

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Monday May 14, 2018

Abstraction in Acrylic (UPDATED)

**Updated course description**

This is an abstract class so forms and shapes can mean anything and of course be very different to each person.  Imagery itself is based on the personal connection that the students will find with forms.

Students would start by sorting out the contrast of varying elements, cool and warm colours, angled and curved shapes and lines, dark and light areas etc.  Utilizing the pencils, students would be asked to write out directly on the canvases their thoughts about their shapes; to find their personal connection to them, thus investing intent to their work.  As the painting develops, working both wet and dry, thick and thin, I want the student to re-evaluate where their painting is going and be critical within their own work.  I will have a list of questions I would like them to ask themselves- a sort of critical criteria.  But the fine balance here is NOT to be too linear or cerebral with their painting and keep the flow of intuitiveness going.  Being too cerebral will stifle the looseness.  However, being too loose often has no direction and feels trite.

There is a great quote by Robert Motherwell that I like to use for classes like this:

‘Its not that the creative act and the critical act are simultaneous.  It’s more like you blurt something out and then you analyze it.’

Students will learn to be aware of their acts, ask why, ask how, ask what does it mean?  There are no coincidences and accidents in the creative act.  The act of painting involves understanding the self.  The act of understanding the self involves being vulnerable and not afraid to look past the obvious visuals.

Class times are 9 – 4 pm each day. Classroom studios are open after hours.

Course cost:  $285    Class fee: $0 

• STUDENT SUPPLY LIST   Students are responsible for providing their own materials.

Tuition includes lunch and daily snacks and is inclusive of all applicable taxes.

 

MICHELLE MILLER is an international artist, from Saskatchewan, currently painting out of her studio in Victoria, British Columbia. Miller is well studied having earned a B.F.A. Visual Arts with a Triple Major in Painting, Drawing, & Printmaking, and a B.A. in Art History. The combination of the two degrees has given Miller a unique balance of heart and mind – the balance of the visceral and the cerebral is what Miller searches for in her art.

She paints in both oils and acrylic and often incorporates other mediums such as jute, fabric, and tissue paper to convey a unique, raw, and symbolic story through each piece. Millers paintings deliver ideas that are both temporally and geographically specific, her works investigate metaphorical thoughts with abstracted forms. It is the process, the actual act of painting, the sense of discovery and wonderment that is consistent in all of Millers work.

As an art instructor, Miller relishes helping people develop and discover who they are by finding their authentic voice in art. Having established a unique approach toward teaching art, with over 20 years of experience, Miller has earned her title as the most sought after art teacher for all ages.

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Wednesday March 21, 2018

Fun! Soda Firing

The course is an adventure in Cone 10 Soda Firing!  Participants will explore decorating techniques with slips and glazes in preparation for firing, using your own bisque pots. Participants will prepare the work and get it ready for packing the kiln. There will be instruction on how to specifically pack for a soda firing. While the pieces are being fired, there will be demonstrations of throwing, discussions concerning design and form of pots and demonstrations of surface treatments for wet and leather hard clay. While the kiln is cooling participants will get the opportunity to try some of these techniques on pieces made during the course. Participants will also get to make their own brushes and explore their uses on paper and clay.

The kiln will be loaded on Wednesday, then unloaded on Friday, and the work discussed and documented. It will be an exciting reveal!

Course cost: $665   Supply fee: $20  – slips, brushes and decorating materials

• STUDENT SUPPLY LIST  Students are responsible for providing their own supplies
• 2018_Clay_Order_Form_for_MISSA

Tuition includes lunch and daily snacks and is inclusive of all applicable taxes.

 

ALAN BURGESS has been a potter and teacher all his life.  Educated at Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts in London England, he apprenticed as a student in several pottery workshops, making production ware.  He has established studios in North Wales, Comox, BC, and Buckley Bay.   Alan was head of Bolton College of Art, ceramics department, England, where he coordinated a three-year vocational ceramics program, validated by the British Society of Designer Craftspersons. Following his move to Canada in 1982, Alan was soon teaching at North Island College in Courtenay, BC.  He continued to teach ceramics, drawing, and sculpture at NIC for the next 30 years, 11 years as chair of the Fine Arts department.

Alan has taught many ceramic workshops, including several at MISSA. A master thrower, he works mainly in stoneware and porcelain, focusing on functional and larger decorative pieces.  His work may be found in international collections.

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Sunday January 21, 2018

Abstract Alchemy: Black, White and Warm Metallics

In this course students will reinterpret nature’s deep imagery and essence employing matter from nature itself, within a limited palette. Paint, ink and homemade gesso will be made from inorganic and organic sources including pine soot, shells and earth minerals. Natural metallics will be introduced for warmth and depth. These arcane processes have been employed for thousands of years on cave walls, screens and scrolls, and aboriginal works. A variety of drawing, painting and collage techniques will be covered to cultivate individualized expression. This meaningful, process-driven, ecological (non-toxic, water-based) work truly nurtures the heart and spirit. Abstractionists and realists at all skill levels are welcome. Returning students can be challenged to move to a more advanced level with new techniques.

Course cost: $665   Supply fee: $128  STUDENT SUPPLY LIST

Tuition includes lunch and daily snacks. Prices are listed in Canadian Dollars and are inclusive of all applicable taxes. 

 

JUDITH KRUGER is an American visual artist whose abstract paintings, prints and mixed media works explore Human-Environment connectivity. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy for natural painting materials and ecological, historical processes.

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Sunday January 21, 2018

Life Drawing Intensive

All working artists struggle to be more creative.  This course will explain what people are up against though unique working exercises that reveal what is going on during the act of drawing.  This course offers 2 days of intensive drawing from a life model and offers practical solutions that will help any artist draw better as well as overcome creative blocks, unhelpful drawing habits and common preconceptions. There will be ample time for free drawing as well.  This course is based on her book The Creative Eye.

Being willing to take risks, rather than being good at drawing, is the important thing. Learning that you can make new choices about paying attention.

Course cost: $285  Model fee: $43  STUDENT SUPPLY LIST

Tuition includes lunch and daily snacks and is inclusive of all applicable taxes. 

 

HEATHER SPEARS, a Vancouver-born writer and artist, has lived in Denmark since 1962. Her books: 14 collections of poetry, 5 novels, and 4 books of drawings. Major awards in writing: Governor-General’s Award, three time Pat Lowther Memorial Award, CBC Literary Prize.  As an artist she instructs drawing, writes about drawing and the brain (The Creative Eye, 2012) specializes in drawing premature infants, draws in theatres, concert halls, courtrooms, hospitals and war zones. She has held close to 100 solo exhibitions in Europe and America. She has taught frhe Creative Eye.equently at MISSA.

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Sunday January 21, 2018

Monoprints with Coloured Clay Slips

We are very saddened by the news that Mitch Lyons passed away on March 5th, 2018.

We enjoyed his presence at MISSA in 2017 and we were looking forward to welcoming him back. He will be greatly missed.

A celebration of Mitch’s life will be held at the Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, DE, on April 28th from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

• Messages can be left in the Legacy Guestbook

 

This class has been cancelled.

MITCH LYONS earned his Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Tyler School of Art, and his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphics from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His clay monoprints can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the United States, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, Woodmere Museum, American University and the University of Delaware. Lyons has had exhibitions of his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; the Noyes Museum, New Jersey; Kalmar Lans Museum, Kalmar, Sweden; and the Vonderau Museum, Fulda, Germany. He is a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts visual arts grant. He has taught at West Chester University, Moore College of Art, Rowan University, Alfred University, and the University of Delaware. In the past ten years he has led over 100 workshops.

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Sunday January 14, 2018

Art Cloths: Works on Canvas

There is something both traditional and enchanting about painting on canvas to create items that are utilitarian as well as artistic.  In this workshop students will explore the many processes around making art cloths, traditionally called floor cloths, and be guided through their artistic journey painting and applying different colours and textures on cloth and through learning different mark-making techniques such as block printing, screen printing, mono-printing, texturing and stenciling.  Through creative design studies, students will follow design principles and colour theory to choose their colour palettes, decorative elements, original patterning, drawing and marking effects.  Image transfer and collage will also be covered during this 2-day workshop and will serve as inspiration for several art cloth projects.

Ragging, sponging, painting, spraying, sanding, scratching, marking, stamping, printing, stenciling, faux finishing, writing, screening, transferring, masking, ageing, collaging, splattering, deconstructing, stitching, fraying, gluing, colouring, varnishing…   there are limitless variations and possibilities to the layers that can be added to a blank canvas or cloth. Creating complexity, depth, layers, will serve as the exploration for each student’s process, making imprints of their personal experiences and engagement within their artistic journeys.

Students are encouraged to bring imagery, art journals and other creative material that will inspire their work.

All classes run 9 – 4 pm each day. Studios are also open after hours.

Course cost: $285     Course fee: $55   

• Student Supply List

Tuition includes lunch and daily snacks and is inclusive of all applicable taxes.

 

NATALIE GRAMBOW has an extensive background in design, photography, textile arts and as an art educator.  An accredited interior designer, she spent many years working within the architectural design field.  Her first deep exploration of textile art began during her Visual Arts studies at Ottawa University, when she experimented with non-silver printing techniques such as cyanotypes, transferring her photographs in large format unto cloth.. She completed the Textile Arts program at Capilano University in 2001, and was awarded the BC Craft Association’s Award of Excellence.

Natalie has exhibited her textile art installations in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.  She has also developed a line of naturally dyed fabrics, under her brand La Cochenille© , and has created a series of textile design and creativity workshops being offered at several art and textile schools.

Natalie is currently living in Roberts Creek, B.C. where she owns a studio and continues her art practice and studies.

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