Do it for you!
Explore your creative side! Learn something new! Enjoy our professional facilities. Benefit from our talented and experienced instructors. Whether a beginner or accomplished artist, you will find many creative choices to inspire the imagination.
Download a Community Education brochure in PDF format.
Summer 2009
Classes and workshops all summer long!
Registration begins April 6, 2009
Click here to register.
Click on a title below to be taken to that course description.
MAY
Diva Bags Workshop
Sculpting a Likeness
JUNE
Landscape Painting
JULY
Beginning Drawing
Digital Photography
Life Drawing
Watercolor Painting
Woodworking Studio
AUGUST
Workshop Saturday
•Canvas Preparation
•Fused Glass
•Photograph Your Art
•Polymer Clay
•Silkscreening
MAY
Special Workshop: Diva Bags
Create a whimsical little purse and embellish it with your favorite diva in this one-day workshop. Using hand sewing techniques and various fabrics, beads, trims and other fun stuff, participants add their own personal touch to make a one-of-a-kind bag to give as a gift or keep for themselves. Bring a 4”x4” or smaller photograph of your favorite diva, heroine, goddess or other cool woman. No sewing experience needed. Registration for this class opens March 1. Registration deadline is April 10. Enrollment is limited.
Instructor – Thomasin Durgin received her MFA in fiber art from Memphis College of Art in 2001, and has taught undergraduate and Continuing Education classes in both fiber and computer arts at MCA. She is currently the Assistant Curator of Education at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Saturday / 1 session / May 2
1 – 4 pm
Tuition: $45
Materials fee: $30
Sculpting a Likeness
This course takes students through all the necessary steps to create a good likeness in the clay medium. Students are introduced to various techniques including photographic reference, critical measurements, as well as spatial relationships between the different parts of the head and face. All skill levels welcome.
Instructor - Matt Singer graduated from NYU film school in 1990, then worked in the area of special effects make-up in Los Angeles for 15 years. He eventually made a name for himself as an innovator in the area of silicone prosthetics, developing two popular silicone products commonly used in film and television. Now the President of Silicone Ocular here in Memphis, Matt also lectures on Maxillofacial Prosthetics at the University Of Tennessee, Memphis.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / May 12 - 28
6 – 9 pm
Tuition: $270
Materials fee: $50
JUNE
Landscape Painting
For those who enjoy both art and nature, this course provides exposure to painting fundamentals within nature itself. Students learn to use color, visual elements and painting technique. The course begins with drawing as a way to learn to organize and compose from nature and moves quickly into painting directly from the landscape. Basic drawing experience is recommended.
Instructor – Peter Bowman has taught drawing, painting and two-dimensional design for over 25 years. He holds a BFA from Memphis College of Art and an MFA from Montana State University. He enjoys using the ordinary out of context and likens his own work to a series of still photos taken from a documentary film of his own visual environment. His works have been featured locally, regionally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Works from his recent solo exhibition, Flat Space, can be seen at http://www.davidluskgallery.com
Saturdays / 6 sessions / June 6 – July 18
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Tuition: $225
JULY
Beginning Drawing
Learn how to draw by looking at and analyzing what is usually taken for granted: shape, space, light and line. Given these tools, students learn to perceive the three-dimensional world and transform it to a flat surface. Carefully planned exercises initiate students into the world of drawing and acquaint them with the most basic concepts used in all art making. Even with no artistic experience, students learn new skills and a new way of seeing the world.
This class is FULL.
Instructor – Sonya Forbes studied for two years at Memphis College of Art before completing a master’s degree in art education at the University of Memphis. She has taught a variety of art classes at University of Memphis, Shelby County Schools, Memphis City Schools and Memphis College of Art, and has served as the director of Art and the Basic Curriculum (ABC) at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Sonya currently teaches art for Memphis City Schools.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / July 7 – 23
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
This Class is FULL.
Digital Photography
Improve the quality of your photographs by learning how your digital camera can work for you. This class covers the use of your digital camera, how to compose a better picture, how to work with lighting and what elements are essential to make an average photograph into a great one. Classroom meetings and field components are included. Students supply their own digital camera. A DSLR camera with a tripod is highly recommended for this class.
This class is FULL.
Instructor – Louise Palazola received a BFA in photography from Denver University and owned and operated a portrait studio in San Diego for ten years. She earned an MFA from Memphis College of Art in 2001 and has exhibited her work both in Memphis and nationally. Louise now lives in Memphis and is currently an adjunct instructor in the undergraduate digital arts program at MCA.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / July 7 – 23
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
This class is FULL.
NEW DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS (see description above)--
Instructor - Haley Morris-Cafiero is an instructor and technician for the photography department at Memphis College of Art. She received an MFA at the University of Arizona in Tucson, majoring in ceramics, photography and printmaking. She is currently working on methods for combining her photographic work with traditional clay techniques.
This class is FULL.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / June 23 - July 9
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
This class is FULL.
Life Drawing
This course focuses upon the anatomy of line and form. Rather than taking an objective analysis approach, students begin to learn what is essential to drawing the figure at this stage. Surface landmarks and planar structure plus the play of tensions and balances within the figure’s dynamic form and its extensions into space are explored in this class.
Instructor – Fred Burton is a professor of drawing at Memphis College of Art. He received an MA from Kent State University and an MFA from Wichita State University. Burton’s paintings, drawings and woodcuts have been exhibited in Paris and Vence France, London, New York, Chicago and Houston. He is listed in Who’s Who in the Humanities and Who’s Who Among American Teachers and Men of Achievement (15th edition).
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / July 7 – 23
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
Watercolor Painting
This course is designed to develop skills, thinking and confidence with this expressive medium through still life. Students use thumbnail sketches to explore the subject as pictorial design (an arrangement of line, shape and color). Actual painting begins with monochrome wash drawings to aid in developing fluency with the medium and then moves into full color. Discussions and demonstrations assist students in working from light to dark, large to small, simple to complex and mixing color with a limited palette. Individual discussions and critiques are provided by the instructor.
Instructor – Marc Rouillard holds a BFA from Memphis College of Art. He has worked as a commercial artist, illustrator and graphic artist and is currently an art director for a graphic design studio. A prolific painter, his masterful watercolors and oils have been widely exhibited in single-artist and group showings at numerous galleries and museums.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / July 7 – 23
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
Materials fee: $95
Woodworking Studio
Beginning woodworking students create a simple project that introduces them to the basic power tools and techniques used in fine furniture making. Students work in MCA’s spacious and well-equipped wood shop with high-quality materials. They develop good technique and shop habits while improving woodworking skills that can be applied to future projects.
Instructor - Kenneth Houk has worked in architectural woodwork and furniture-making for over 30 years. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Memphis and studied at the Appalachian Center for Craft at Smithville, Tennessee. He is currently shop supervisor at Memphis College of Art where he has worked for over 10 years. His work has been featured in Woodwork Magazine.
Tuesdays and Thursdays / 6 sessions / July 7 – 23
6:30 – 9 pm
Tuition: $225
Materials fee: $50
AUGUST
Workshop Saturday
Get your cool on. Escape the heat and rejuvenate your creativity! Spend a hot August afternoon in our cool studios doing some cool stuff. With this fabulous sampling of workshops, your only problem will be choosing just one cool thing to do.
Saturday / 1 session / August 8 / 1 – 5 pm
Tuition: $75 (includes materials)
Canvas Preparation
Building a quality canvas is the first step to creating great paintings. In this workshop students will learn the basics of canvas construction. All aspects of choosing and making the right canvas will be discussed including what woods and fabrics to use and several ways to construct a canvas stretcher. After class demonstrations, students will have one hour of studio time to assemble, stretch and prime their own canvas.
Instructor – Bob Riseling received an MFA from University of Wisconsin and has been teaching art since 1963. Riseling has been a painting professor at Memphis College of Art for 35 years, led the College’s Horn Island expedition for more than 20 of those, and for eight years was the Director of MCA’s Cossitt Gallery. He exhibits locally, nationally and internationally, and has work in many private and public collections.
Fused Glass
Fused glass is a technique involving kiln-fired stained glass. Glass fusing is used to create unique pieces of art. Students learn how to cut, arrange and fuse together glass pieces create a unique piece of art. This simple but stunning art form will take you to a whole new level of creativity. Tools are provided for use in class or students may bring their own tools.
Instructor – Haley Morris-Cafiero received a BFA in ceramics from the University of North Florida and MFA from the University of Arizona. An experienced artist and engaging instructor, Haley currently teaches fused glass techniques in the Master’s program at MCA.
Photograph Your Art
This class is a brief but thorough session that teaches how to set up lighting for 2-D and 3-D artwork, photograph the artwork, upload the images and burn them onto a disk. Students learn how to shoot their artwork for themselves, they bring in artwork to be photographed and leave the workshop with a disk of images. This workshop is ideal for any artist, regardless of their photographic training.¬ Participants can bring up to three 2-dimensional works or one 3-dimensional work to be photographed.
Instructor – Ryan Steed is a photographer whose emphasis lies in documentary and social commentary photography. His interests range from analog photographic processes to modern digital media. He has published and shown work through Arkansas State University, the Society for Photographic Education, the Medicine Factory and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum. He also has work published and credited with Amnesty International, Library of Congress and Epilogue Magazine.
Polymer Clay Techniques
Beautiful, versatile and downright fun, polymer clay has many creative applications. Clay is cured at low temperature in your home oven. Emphasis in the class is on cane building, bead making and decorative techniques. Achieve spectacular results in one session. Prepare to be addicted!
Instructor – Lisa Tribo received a BFA from Memphis College of Art and is the manager of the Art Center Store at the College. Known primarily as a painter, she has worked extensively with polymer clay since it's introduction. Lisa and her polymer clay-covered tiles were recently featured on HGTV's "That's Clever!"
Silkscreen Workshop
Start out with a guided tour of the exhibition The Prints of Jacob Lawrence, 1963 – 2000 at the Brooks Museum and learn about the history and technique of silkscreening. Afterwards go into the studio to produce a full-color, limited edition print of your own design, using methods that can be affordably replicated at home.
Instructor – Richard Gamble is an artist and musician who lives and works in Memphis. He holds a BFA in painting and printmaking from Memphis College of Art. He is currently on the exhibitions staff at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and is co-founder of Odessa, a nonprofit arts and music venue. He has exhibited both locally and nationally.
Registration deadline is 10 working days prior to the start date of the class for which you are enrolling.
To Register
By mail:
Memphis College of Art
Community Education
1930 Poplar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
Click here to download a registration form (PDF)
By fax:
Credit cards only
(901) 272-5128
Walk in:
Rust Hall
Overton Park
1930 Poplar Ave.
8:30-4:30 M-F
Online:
Use this convenient option and pay through Paypal or call our office with your payment after you complete your registration. Click here to register online.