Arts & Theater

During this class participants will create three-dimensional artistic compositions made by combining various everyday objects, scraps and/or materials such as wood, metal, cloth or paper into a unified whole. Assemblage is closely related to collage but extends into sculpture. It is a mixed media construction combining the artist’s creativity and the visual appeal of themed collections. Your collections mirror you and inspire you to create. Put on your “Bag Lady “garb and wherever you go let your creative instincts take over. As a mixed media artist, you most likely have already been finding inspiration in 3-dimensional paraphernalia and cut up imagery. Assemblage creates a synchronicity between you and the objects you choose to use. It highlights transformation of your collections and “spotlights” a theme, letting images and objects speak to the viewer. Regina Thomas’ collage and mixed media art is a mélange of visual stimuli, colors, and shapes involving different genres from the representational to the abstract.  These multi-layered works portray her view of the world, never realistic, injecting her own narratives, metaphors, and icons.  Regina works instinctually, and her desire is to stimulate and intrigue the viewer, make a connection, bringing their own experiences to the work. Regina has […]

This class is designed for students with some experience using colored pencil and have basic concepts of botanical illustration. This course will focus on drawing a complete botanical study over the four-week session. Students will plan and draw each component of the study week by week resulting in a frame-able work of art. The teacher will provide the oversized paper, tracing paper for sketches and the flower subject. Short material list available upon registration. Nancy Bentivegna is a botanical artist who received her training at the New York Botanical Gardens through the Botanical Art and Illustration Program. After completing the program in 2010, she relocated to Boston. For the past eleven years she has been teaching a variety of botanical art classes in Boston and the greater Boston area. These courses are based on the instruction she received at the NYBG and include colored pencil, graphite, pen and ink and watercolor pencil. Nancy prefers to work in watercolor pencil combined with colored pencil for depth and detail. She does custom pieces for clients both in the Boston area and New York. She recently relocated to Essex and will be offering classes at the Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook. Dates: Thursdays: Oct. […]

This course focuses on gouache skills and techniques such as water to paint ratios, color mixing, shading and gradients, brush control including dry bushing, layering and glazing techniques and how to stay vibrant not muddy using this medium.  Work on a painting on illustration board of a subject of your choice. Paint with joy and not frustration. Supply list available upon registration. Sandra Garofalo is a painter and illustrator whose talents shine through a variety of mediums, with a primary focus on acrylics, gouache, photography and glass—both hot and cold. She began her artistic journey illustrating for Spotlight, Motorboat, and International Yacht magazines. During this time her love for depicting fish and shorebirds truly began to blossom. Later, she pursued a teaching career in advertising, art, and digital design. After retiring, she moved to her current home in Connecticut. Spending quality time in Southwest Florida, Sandra’s inspiration flourished into a vivid explosion of color and creativity. Surrounded by exotic wildlife in their lush habitats, she found herself constantly flooded with imagery that sparked emotional, expressive artwork. “The vibrant variation of color on the fish and other wildlife — as well as their                surroundings —is more than exciting to capture in paint,” she says. […]

Do you have a passion for style? Do you fill your notebooks with clothing doodles and dream of seeing your own designs on the runway? Step into the shoes of a real designer in this immersive, hands-on fashion illustration course! This creative studio class guides you through the entire process of bringing fashion to life. Start by mastering the fundamentals of the fashion figure and practicing dynamic poses used by professional designers to showcase clothing. As you  dive deeper into illustration, you will learn to identify classic fashion silhouettes, speak the language of style with standard fabric terms, respond to fun design prompts, and curate your  own custom color palettes. Using a mix of pencils, markers, and watercolors, practice the step-by-step workflow of brainstorming quick concept sketches and polishing them into portfolio-ready finished art pieces. All materials are provided! Just bring your imagination and enthusiasm.  A curated supply list will be provided at the start of class if you wish to keep creating and building your own toolkit at home. Jillian Nielsen began sewing and designing at a young age, attending fashion design programs in Connecticut and NYC, attended Bard College at Simon’s Rock and has a Certificate in Costume […]

This art class welcomes participants of all skill levels who are interested in analog collage. The course introduces the fundamentals of collage, focusing on minimalism and the use of a limited palette. Through guided exercises, the class learns how to select and arrange images to create visually engaging compositions. Emphasis is placed on simplicity and balance to encourage creativity within constraints and foster an appreciation for a clean, modern aesthetic. Over four studio sessions, participants practice the essential methods of analog collage: selection of substrates, cutting techniques, adhesive applications, color theory, and composition.  Projects such as creating a master board, starting and updating a studio notebook, designing artist trading cards and finally creating a personal collage are designed to practice newly acquired skills and  encourage participants to develop their own unique modern aesthetic. Small supply list available upon registration. Molly Waite Lund is an analog collage artist who lives in Essex, Connecticut.  As a self-taught artist, Lund is continuously experimenting with color, shape, relationships, and negative space.  She is compelled to repurpose vintage papers as a reminder of the history that has shaped her life. In her collages, the world that Lund imagines is a place where the familiar becomes […]

Do you have a passion for style? Do you fill your notebooks with clothing doodles and dream of seeing your own designs on the runway? Step into the shoes of a real designer in this immersive, hands-on fashion illustration course! This creative studio class guides you through the entire process of bringing fashion to life. Start by mastering the fundamentals of the fashion figure and practicing dynamic poses used by professional designers to showcase clothing. As you  dive deeper into illustration, you will learn to identify classic fashion silhouettes, speak the language of style with standard fabric terms, respond to fun design prompts, and curate your  own custom color palettes. Using a mix of pencils, markers, and watercolors, practice the step-by-step workflow of brainstorming quick concept sketches and polishing them into portfolio-ready finished art pieces. All materials are provided! Just bring your imagination and enthusiasm.  A curated supply list will be provided at the start of class if you wish to keep creating and building your own toolkit at home. Jillian Nielsen began sewing and designing at a young age, attending fashion design programs in Connecticut and NYC, attended Bard College at Simon’s Rock and has a Certificate in Costume […]

This art class welcomes participants of all skill levels who are interested in analog collage. The course introduces the fundamentals of collage, focusing on minimalism and the use of a limited palette. Through guided exercises, the class learns how to select and arrange images to create visually engaging compositions. Emphasis is placed on simplicity and balance to encourage creativity within constraints and foster an appreciation for a clean, modern aesthetic. Over four studio sessions, participants practice the essential methods of analog collage: selection of substrates, cutting techniques, adhesive applications, color theory, and composition.  Projects such as creating a master board, starting and updating a studio notebook, designing artist trading cards and finally creating a personal collage are designed to practice newly acquired skills and  encourage participants to develop their own unique modern aesthetic. Small supply list available upon registration. Molly Waite Lund is an analog collage artist who lives in Essex, Connecticut.  As a self-taught artist, Lund is continuously experimenting with color, shape, relationships, and negative space.  She is compelled to repurpose vintage papers as a reminder of the history that has shaped her life. In her collages, the world that Lund imagines is a place where the familiar becomes […]

In this 4-week journey explore collage from medium to process. Learn to transform the physical appearance of printed, vintage and specialty papers. Each journal page will showcase a medium, reconstructed paper and mini-collages of your design. Learn to describe each completed page for future reference. This is a good foundational course for future collage work.  Material list available upon registration. No collage experience necessary. Regina Thomas’ collage and mixed media art is a mélange of visual stimuli, colors, and shapes involving different genres from the representational to the abstract.  These multi-layered works portray her view of the world, never realistic, injecting her own narratives, metaphors, and icons.  Regina works instinctually, and her desire is to stimulate and intrigue the viewer, make a connection, bringing their own experiences to the work. Regina has lived and traveled throughout Asia and Europe.  While in London, she attended Richmond University concentrating on the Art Disciplines as well as Studio classes.  Upon her return to the states she continued refining her art through classes and workshops at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), The New Art Center in Newton – MA, South Shore Art Center – MA, West Hartford Art League, Creative Arts Workshop/New Haven, […]

Do you have a passion for style? Do you fill your notebooks with clothing doodles and dream of seeing your own designs on the runway? Step into the shoes of a real designer in this immersive, hands-on fashion illustration course! This creative studio class guides you through the entire process of bringing fashion to life. Start by mastering the fundamentals of the fashion figure and practicing dynamic poses used by professional designers to showcase clothing. As you  dive deeper into illustration, you will learn to identify classic fashion silhouettes, speak the language of style with standard fabric terms, respond to fun design prompts, and curate your  own custom color palettes. Using a mix of pencils, markers, and watercolors, practice the step-by-step workflow of brainstorming quick concept sketches and polishing them into portfolio-ready finished art pieces. All materials are provided! Just bring your imagination and enthusiasm.  A curated supply list will be provided at the start of class if you wish to keep creating and building your own toolkit at home. Jillian Nielsen began sewing and designing at a young age, attending fashion design programs in Connecticut and NYC, attended Bard College at Simon’s Rock and has a Certificate in Costume […]

This art class welcomes participants of all skill levels who are interested in analog collage. The course introduces the fundamentals of collage, focusing on minimalism and the use of a limited palette. Through guided exercises, the class learns how to select and arrange images to create visually engaging compositions. Emphasis is placed on simplicity and balance to encourage creativity within constraints and foster an appreciation for a clean, modern aesthetic. Over four studio sessions, participants practice the essential methods of analog collage: selection of substrates, cutting techniques, adhesive applications, color theory, and composition.  Projects such as creating a master board, starting and updating a studio notebook, designing artist trading cards and finally creating a personal collage are designed to practice newly acquired skills and  encourage participants to develop their own unique modern aesthetic. Small supply list available upon registration. Molly Waite Lund is an analog collage artist who lives in Essex, Connecticut.  As a self-taught artist, Lund is continuously experimenting with color, shape, relationships, and negative space.  She is compelled to repurpose vintage papers as a reminder of the history that has shaped her life. In her collages, the world that Lund imagines is a place where the familiar becomes […]

In this 4-week journey explore collage from medium to process. Learn to transform the physical appearance of printed, vintage and specialty papers. Each journal page will showcase a medium, reconstructed paper and mini-collages of your design. Learn to describe each completed page for future reference. This is a good foundational course for future collage work.  Material list available upon registration. No collage experience necessary. Regina Thomas’ collage and mixed media art is a mélange of visual stimuli, colors, and shapes involving different genres from the representational to the abstract.  These multi-layered works portray her view of the world, never realistic, injecting her own narratives, metaphors, and icons.  Regina works instinctually, and her desire is to stimulate and intrigue the viewer, make a connection, bringing their own experiences to the work. Regina has lived and traveled throughout Asia and Europe.  While in London, she attended Richmond University concentrating on the Art Disciplines as well as Studio classes.  Upon her return to the states she continued refining her art through classes and workshops at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), The New Art Center in Newton – MA, South Shore Art Center – MA, West Hartford Art League, Creative Arts Workshop/New Haven, […]

Do you have a passion for style? Do you fill your notebooks with clothing doodles and dream of seeing your own designs on the runway? Step into the shoes of a real designer in this immersive, hands-on fashion illustration course! This creative studio class guides you through the entire process of bringing fashion to life. Start by mastering the fundamentals of the fashion figure and practicing dynamic poses used by professional designers to showcase clothing. As you  dive deeper into illustration, you will learn to identify classic fashion silhouettes, speak the language of style with standard fabric terms, respond to fun design prompts, and curate your  own custom color palettes. Using a mix of pencils, markers, and watercolors, practice the step-by-step workflow of brainstorming quick concept sketches and polishing them into portfolio-ready finished art pieces. All materials are provided! Just bring your imagination and enthusiasm.  A curated supply list will be provided at the start of class if you wish to keep creating and building your own toolkit at home. Jillian Nielsen began sewing and designing at a young age, attending fashion design programs in Connecticut and NYC, attended Bard College at Simon’s Rock and has a Certificate in Costume […]

In this 4-week journey explore collage from medium to process. Learn to transform the physical appearance of printed, vintage and specialty papers. Each journal page will showcase a medium, reconstructed paper and mini-collages of your design. Learn to describe each completed page for future reference. This is a good foundational course for future collage work.  Material list available upon registration. No collage experience necessary. Regina Thomas’ collage and mixed media art is a mélange of visual stimuli, colors, and shapes involving different genres from the representational to the abstract.  These multi-layered works portray her view of the world, never realistic, injecting her own narratives, metaphors, and icons.  Regina works instinctually, and her desire is to stimulate and intrigue the viewer, make a connection, bringing their own experiences to the work. Regina has lived and traveled throughout Asia and Europe.  While in London, she attended Richmond University concentrating on the Art Disciplines as well as Studio classes.  Upon her return to the states she continued refining her art through classes and workshops at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), The New Art Center in Newton – MA, South Shore Art Center – MA, West Hartford Art League, Creative Arts Workshop/New Haven, […]