Photo by Alex Byers

2024 Drawing & Painting Workshops

Workshop enrollment happens on a first-come, first-served basis. Many fill to capacity quickly and have waitlists months in advance. It’s best to register as early as possible – don’t delay! Registrations for onsite workshops should be made no later than 15 days ahead of the workshop start date so that we can include you when we’re making workshop determinations, ordering materials, etc. Touchstone’s onsite workshop determinations (running vs cancelling) are made 14 days in advance of their scheduled start dates, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time.

  • A processing fee of $25 will be added to 2-5 day onsite workshops.
  • All workshop participants must be at least 18 years of age, unless otherwise noted.
  • Remember: Materials and studio fees are separate from tuition fees and are to be paid in full once finalized (typically two weeks prior to the workshop).

To view a full listing of the Terms and Conditions as part of your enrollment, download the 2024 Participant Guide. Please review our updated Health & Safety Guidelines* and Cancellation Policy* prior to registering for any workshop.

 

*Subject to change based on health regulations and best practices. Registered participants will be notified if changes are made.

HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS (AGES 14 AND OLDER): JUN 8TH & AUG 25TH

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at working in a craft medium? In these exciting half-day (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) workshops for ages 14 and older, you will learn new techniques and processes while creating hands-on projects in the medium of your choosing. Projects vary and may utilize different materials and techniques per session/instructor.

 

Projects examples may include:

  • Blacksmithing – forged steel hooks, leaves, or bottle openers
  • Ceramics* – wheel thrown (June 8) or handbuilt (August 25) clay mugs, tiles, or small sculptures
  • Glass* – marbles, beads, or small objects/sculptures created with flameworking/fused glass techniques (not glass blowing)
  • Metals & Jewelry – making metal rings, pendants, or keychains
  • Painting & Drawing – sketching/drawing using colored pencils or different paints for still lifes, portraits, or scenery

*Some projects in ceramics or glass may require that you pick your items up at a later date due to the need for kiln firing.

JUN 8 | SATURDAY (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Try It!

All Levels - No Experience Needed! (Ages 14+)
$140 Tuition Plus $10 Nonrefundable Processing Fee
Materials Fees Included

REGISTER NOW

AUG 25 | SUNDAY (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Try It!

All Levels - No Experience Needed! (Ages 14+)
$140 Tuition Plus $10 Nonrefundable Processing Fee
Materials Fees Included

REGISTER NOW

Dress appropriately as you will likely get messy! We recommend all participants wear closed-toe shoes, restrain long hair, and avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling jewelry. If you try Blacksmithing or glass, wear cotton or denim clothing (avoid cuffs) and closed-toe shoes are required (no flip-flops or sandals). We will provide safety glasses and ear plugs where necessary.

 

Please check in at Blaney Lodge between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Workshops begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. within their designated studios.

5 DAY WORKSHOPS: JUN 10-14 THROUGH AUG 19-23

JUN 17-21 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Cyanotype & Encaustic Fusion
Instructor: Michele Randall

*Pre-approved for Act 48 Credit by PAEA

Beginner-Intermediate
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$165-$215 Materials and Studio Fees

REGISTER NOW

Explore the fundamentals of cyanotype printmaking and its use as a tool with encaustic painting. By the end of the workshop, you will understand how to produce cyanotypes using photographic negatives, silhouettes, and other mark making techniques; learn how to set up a simple lab in your own studio; and learn various techniques for incorporating cyanotype into the encaustic process. Best practices for mounting and finishing the encaustic painting will also be covered.

JUL 8-12 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Techniques in Watercolor
Instructor: Stacy Lund Levy

Intermediate
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$25 Studio Fee

REGISTER NOW

Develop watercolor painting techniques and essential skills that you can apply to any subject matter. Enhance your understanding of painting with a limited vs expanded palette, techniques for applying masking fluid, color mixing, and applying flat, graded, and layered washes. We will also discuss what to leave in and what to remove from photographic references and how those decisions will improve your compositions.  Enhance your skills through daily exercises or bring your own references to work from.

JUL 22-26 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Discovering Oil & Cold Wax
Instructor: Julie Snidle

*Pre-approved for Act 48 Credit by PAEA

No Experience-Beginner
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$75-$125 Materials and Studio Fees

REGISTER NOW

Are you new to oils or would you like to learn a non-traditional approach to oil painting? Cold wax medium is an additive that thickens oil paint and speeds up the drying time (a bit). We will use R&F Pigment Sticks (compressed oil paints) along with tube oils to create paintings without brushes or smelly solvents. You will discover new tools and methods for creating rich and authentic small works on paper and Ampersand’s Gessobord. With Arches oil paper as our primary substrate, you’ll have several paintings going at once and they can easily be transported back home. Expect to have fun, get a bit messy, and change the way you think about oil painting.

JUL 29-AUG 2 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) | NATURE WEEK 
A Forager’s Sketchbook: Mushrooms, Fungi, & Forest Plants
Instructor: Margaret Saylor

*Pre-approved for Act 48 Credit by PAEA

All Levels
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$25 Studio Fee

REGISTER NOW

Observation is the key to all drawing, and here is your opportunity to learn to look and, most importantly, see the natural world up close. You’ll create a sketchbook of forest finds depicted in the medium of your choice: graphite, Micron pen, watercolor…. or all three. Working with a botanical artist, make notes, sketches, preliminary drawings, or finished painted passages. Write down your observations and build a beautiful sketchbook that can be the basis for an ongoing practice.

AUG 12-16 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Oil Painting in Two Approaches: Small Traditional Still Life & Composite Image
Instructor: Joan Stolz

Beginner-Intermediate
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$70-$120 Materials and Studio Fees

REGISTER NOW

Combine several images into one picture plane – from life, photos, your imagination, and/or art references. First, you’ll use small canvases so that you can develop a more traditional oil painting, which will help guide you through the basic mechanics of building a surface. You’ll create a few rough sketches to work out your composition, then start the painting. We’ll place a strong focus on the relative nature of color and on creating a luminous quality in your two works.

AUG 19-23 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Plein Air Painting
Instructor: Joshua Hoffman

All Levels
$695 Member | $725 Non-Member
$25 Studio Fee

REGISTER NOW

Build upon your skills through daily exercises focusing on different aspects of plein air painting such as shadows and atmospheric perspective. Each day will begin with a lecture on the history of plein air painting, composition and color theory, and perspective, followed by painting demonstrations and time for students to complete their own paintings. Participants should have some experience with drawing.

WEEKEND WORKSHOPS: AUG 31-SEP 1 THROUGH SEP 28-30

AUG 31-SEP 1 | 2-DAY (SAT-SUN) | LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Pen and Ink
Instructor: Phil Ashworth

Beginner-Intermediate
$375 Member | $405 Non-Member
$35-$85 Materials and Studio Fees

REGISTER NOW

Discover the various ways to use line work to create depth, texture, and emotion in a drawing. Participants will look at mark making techniques and how the makers used them to apply to their own dynamic pen and ink drawings.

Touchstone Center for Crafts prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or association preference. Touchstone Center for Crafts also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to its facilities and programming.