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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

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? Explore the magic of cyanotype—the art of making one-of-a-kind blue prints using sunlight. In this relaxed workshop, you’ll learn how to […]
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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

Ready to make waves? In this three-day class, you’ll design and create a 12×18 standing wave tabletop sculpture using Bullseye glass. You’ll explore the unique […]
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Master Craft Workshop: Papercutting Illuminated

November 8 - November 9, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$180

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 (Sold Out)

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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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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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 world of three-dimensional art in this hands-on mixed media sculpture class. You’ll experiment with materials like cardboard, wire, fabric, plaster, recycled objects, and […]
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Tabletop Sculpture

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

Cost:
$120 – $200

Instructors:
Nanette Bevan,

Venue:
Classroom 1

Ready to make something striking? In this three-day class, you’ll design and create a 10″ x 12″ glass sculpture displayed in a metal stand. Go […]
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Magical Ice Tie-Dyeing

January 10, 2026 - January 31, 2026, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$150

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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Batik Fabric Design

February 14, 2026 - March 07, 2026, 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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Maiolica Glaze Painting on Tiles and Large Platters

March 21, 2026 - April 25, 2026, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Ages:
14+,

Cost:
$150

Instructors:
Bob Devers,

Venue:
Classroom 5

This workshop introduces students to the vibrant, colorful world of maiolica glaze painting—a centuries-old ceramics tradition that’s still full of fresh creative possibilities. You’ll explore […]
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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.