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Craft Media Courses

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These courses provide a foundation in working in various craft materials and processes, including paper crafts, book arts, fiber crafts, mixed-media hybrid materials, ceramics, and glass.

Introduction to Craft Media Series

The Introduction to Craft Media Series is a set of 12-week courses in material studies that introduce students to craft media, methodologies, histories, and traditions.

These courses provide a foundation in working in a variety of craft materials processes, including paper crafts, book arts, fiber crafts, mixed-media hybrid materials, ceramics, and glass.

Craft Practice

Students create functional or non-functional objects while they cultivate respect for craft and explore material as an art form.

Students analyze the social and ethical aspects of craft as they develop technical competency. Coursework encourages an investigation into the potential of objects to possess visual, tactile, and conceptual information.

Craft Traditions and Contemporary Practice

Students examine craft traditions in their original context and in contemporary practice and explore multicultural perspectives and personal reinterpretations.

Students learn about the mythic multicultural sources of craft ritual and reinterpret these through their own cultural and artistic lens to achieve an understanding of the importance of craftwork, within a fine arts context, as a vehicle of culture.

Courses

  • Relief paper sculpture, folded, cut, and assembled
  • Mexican papel picado traditions (tissue paper banners)
  • Paper collage, mixed media paper, paper weaving
  • Pop-up cards
  • Crafting illumination: paper lantern design – hanging, tabletop, or wall-mounted

  • Sculptural form and mask making: transform hybrid materials
  • Introduction of structural paper building strategies, including papier-mâché, paper-clay, plaster gauze, wire mesh, and others as sculptural substrates for skeletal armature forms
  • Working with a variety of materials joined with wax, plaster, and other materials in a collaging of objects, beads, string, feathers, stones, shells, etc.
  • Surface finishes for sculpture, including patinas, paints, and waxes

  • Linear suspension: transform string, wire, yarn, and fabric through tying, binding, sewing, and more
  • Knitting and crochet
  • Exploration of the interfacing of rigid and flexible materials held in suspension to one another to create wall works, discrete objects, and hanging sculptures, including mobiles, puppets, marionettes, or other suspended animation-based works of art

  • Fundamentals of producing handmade books, including binding practices and materials and exploration of the expressive potential of the form through combining images and text
  • Introduction to handmade book genres, including journals, portfolios, pop-up books, chapbooks, concertina, and accordion books
  • Introduction to artists’ books
  • Introduction to binding methods, including saddle stitch, perfect bond, long stitch, Coptic stitch, and Japanese stab binding

  • Comprehensive introduction to the materials and methods essential to ceramic practice
  • Handbuilding: pinch, coil, slab, and the use of the extruder
  • Wheel throwing
  • The use of slips, engobes, gand lazes to explore the role of surface treatments in ceramics
  • Firing methods, including low-fire glazes, maiolica, and midrange stoneware glazing in oxidation, raku, and pit firing

  • Introduction to kilnforming glass, a method of shaping glass in a kiln using heat
  • Introduction to kilns, computerized kilns, and firing programs
  • Fusing and slumping processes
  • Coldworking and relevant materials handling
  • Introduction to stained glass techniques, including cutting, foilking, and soldering and use of lead foil in construction of three-dimensional art pieces
  • Students build a strong foundation in the ancient art form of mosaics, including the planning, design, and selection of materials

All Upcoming Craft Media Classes

View Calendar
Upcoming Classes Calendar

Magical Ice Tie-Dyeing

September 27 - October 4, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$75

Instructors:
Bob Devers,

Venue:
156 Gibbs

Turn ice and fabric into something magic. In this two-day workshop, you’ll discover the art of ice tie-dyeing and watch everyday garments transform with unexpected […]
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Craft and Conversation-Form and Content: Stories of Historic Pottery

September 27, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$5

Instructors:
Vidya Vijayasekharan,

Venue:
156 Gibbs

This talk explores the rich world of mythology and folklore, history, and tradition—all told through the surface decorations of ancient pottery. These vessels reveal the […]
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Encaustic Painting with Mixed Media

October 2 - November 6, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$180

Instructors:
Kelly Posey,

Venue:
Studio 100

In this class, we’ll dive into the exciting world of encaustic painting, an expressive art form that combines hot wax and pigments to create rich, […]
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Introduction to Kiln-Formed Glass

October 9 - October 23, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$240

Instructors:
Nanette Bevan,

Venue:
Classroom 1

Discover kiln-formed glass in this four-week intro course designed for beginners. You’ll transform simple designs into striking glass pieces while learning essential techniques like firing, […]
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Batik Fabric Design

October 11 - November 22, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$150

Instructors:
Bob Devers,

Venue:
156 Gibbs

Batik is the ancient decorative art of creating designs on fabric using dyes and a resist such as melted beeswax. In this class, you’ll learn […]
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Craft and Creative Industries Workshop: Create Your Own Handmade Brushes

October 11, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$5

Instructors:
Ann Hobart,

Venue:
Classroom 4

Discover the art and craft of brush-making in this unique workshop led by ceramic artist Ann Hobart. In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to […]
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Altered Books

October 22 - November 12, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$180

Instructors:
Marcie Wolf-Hubbard,

Venue:
Studio 100

Turn book pages into works of art!  This class explores creative ways to upcycle books with drawing, painting, collage, and mixed media techniques like gelatin […]
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Craft + Conversation: British Pottery Revival Movement

October 25, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$5

Instructors:
Ann Hobart,

Venue:
Executive Conference Suite

Ann Hobart will share stories and pots of some of the notables of the British Pottery Revival Movement that erupted after WWII. After WWII, a […]
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Visible Mending Knitwear Workshop

October 25, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$45

Instructors:
Dorie Hightower,

Venue:
Studio 100

Visible mending is the practice of repairing sweaters and other knitwear in a way that celebrates the repair rather than hiding it. Unlike conventional mending, […]
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Introduction to Cyanotype Workshop

November 2, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$35

Instructors:
Maria Soboleva,

Venue:
156 Gibbs

Do you love blue? Discover the art of making cyanotype prints in this hands-on-workshop designed for anyone to enjoy. Students will learn how to create […]
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Standing Wave Sculpture

November 6 - November 20, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$220

Instructors:
Nanette Bevan,

Venue:
Classroom 1

In this 3 Day class, students will design and create a large 12×18 standing wave table top sculpture. Students are encouraged to consider reactions possible when […]
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Master Craft Workshop: Papercutting Illuminated

November 8 - November 9, 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$225

Instructors:
Melanie Kehoss,

Venue:
VisArts Pop-Up

Explore the timeless art of papercutting in this immersive two-day workshop with acclaimed cut paper artist Melanie Kehoss. Through an engaging artist talk and live […]
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Encaustic Painting with Mixed Media

November 13 - December 18, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$150

Instructors:
Kelly Posey,

Venue:
Studio 100

In this class, we’ll dive into the exciting world of encaustic painting, an expressive art form that combines hot wax and pigments to create rich, […]
Learn more

Decorative Fused Glass Platter: Embellish with Enamel

November 14 - November 21, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$100

Instructors:
Nanette Bevan,

Venue:
Classroom 4

Glass enamel is a fine, paint-like substance made of powdered glass—when fired, it fuses to the surface and becomes permanent. It’s a beautiful way to […]
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Empty Bowls 2025

November 16, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$25

Venue:
Buchanan Room (Floor 2)

Join us for an Empty Bowls gathering!  Sunday, November 16 |  1-3 PM | Buchanan Room Tickets: $25 in Advance | $30 at the Door […]
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Mixed Media Sculpture

November 19 - December 17, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$120

Instructors:
Marcie Wolf-Hubbard,

Venue:
Studio 100

Discover the exciting world of three-dimensional art in this hands-on mixed media sculpture class. Students will explore a wide range of materials—such as cardboard, wire, […]
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Table Top Sculpture

December 4 - December 18, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$120 – $200

Instructors:
Nanette Bevan,

Venue:
Classroom 1

In this 3 Day class, students will design and create a large 10x 12 table top sculpture that will be displayed in a metal stand. […]
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Craft Industries Courses

Continue learning with the Introduction to Creative Industries Series.

Learn more

Questions?

Contact Emily Fucello, Education Director or Robert Devers, Center for Craft Studies Coordinator.