Special Classes & Workshops
Registration opens August 17; classes begin September 14

Pottery Wheel for Teens (Grades 6–12)
Lily Stratton
(304B10) Tuesday, 4 sessions September 14–October 5, 4–6 pm, GCMA Ceramics Studio, $89

Learn the skills of wheel throwing while having fun with clay. Each student will work at the wheel to learn techniques such as wedging, centering, opening, pulling, shaping, removing, and trimming—all leading to success on the pottery wheel. Space is limited to allow each student access to a wheel during class. Finished pottery must be picked up Thursday, October 21 between 9 am–6 pm. Lab fee of $20 payable at first class.

Art for Teens: Painting, Supersized! (Grades 6–12)
Bruce Bunch
(305B10) Tuesday, 6 sessions October 19–November 23, 4–6 pm, GCMA Studio 1, $129

Take on the challenge (and the fun!) of turning an everyday object into a supersized image in acrylic on canvas. Using the work of Georgia O’Keefe as a springboard, students will learn techniques for accurately capturing detail, scale, and perspective. Elements of composition and color theory are part of this highly engaging class, which offers students the opportunity to develop skills that will take them to the next level. Instructor and artist Bruce Bunch has extensive experience using this methodology and enjoys sharing his expertise with students of all ages. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Photo Hike: Cityscapes and Landscapes
Diane Hopkins-Hughs and Anne Martin
(309B10) Saturday, 2 sessions October 30 and November 20, 9 am–4 pm, meet at GCMA, $99

Grab a camera and learn to compose photographs of city and country scenes with photographer Diane Hopkins-Hughs and naturalist Anne Martin. Hands-on instruction during hikes in downtown Greenville and the South Carolina mountains emphasizes learning to see in a whole new way. Participants will practice a variety of compositions, from microphotography to broad sweeping vistas. Bring a camera, a bag lunch, and gas money. You will be responsible for developing work outside of class in either 35 mm or digital formats. Students will be invited to a critique of their work in Hopkins-Hughs’ studio (date to be determined by class).
Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Calligraphy
Bruce Bunch
(306B10) Thursday, 4 sessions September 16–October 7, 6–8:30 pm, GCMA Studio 2 (level 3), $99

The application of beautifully formed letters to an invitation, card, or a hand-bound storybook is an art as old as language itself. This class is designed for students who are just starting out or for calligraphers who want to invigorate their skills. Warm up with the Chancery letterform, using pens and brushes. Moving beyond letterforms, the class will cover addressing, layout, design, patterns, and decorative borders. Classes include demonstrations and lots of hands-on time. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Encaustic Workshop: A Modern Approach to an Ancient Art
Patricia Kilburg

(300C11) Friday–Saturday, 2 sessions January 21–22 (snow date January 28–29), 10 am–4:00 pm, $129

Experience encaustic, the art of painting with pigments dissolved in hot wax, that was used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Using modern products and tools, Greenville artist Pat Kilburg will share her process of working in this luminous medium. The workshop is an introduction to current encaustic materials and their use. Techniques will include basic painting and fusing, incising lines and marks, creating texture, adding collage elements, and more. Artists of every skill level will have the opportunity to make an encaustic painting. Materials list mailed with confirmation. Lab fee of $30 payable at first class. Students are asked to bring a bag lunch.

Using Acrylics as Oils: Self-Portraits and Figures
Phil Garrett, visiting artist
(301C11) Friday–Saturday, 2 sessions February 25–26, Friday–Saturday, 10 am–4 pm GCMA Studio 1, $179

Join printmaker and painter Phil Garrett for the opportunity to study the human form while learning how to achieve oil-like effects with acrylic paints. Using Golden OPEN Acrylics, which have an extended working time, participants will share Garrett’s insights interpreting what they see as they render self-portraits, then work from a seated model. Students will learn to select a basic palette for traditional techniques, which pigments provide clean color mixing, and which media work for blending and glazing. All paint and gels provided by Golden Paints. Materials list mailed with confirmation. Students are asked to bring a bag lunch.

Watercolor Workshop: Portrait, Still Life, Plein Air
Mary Whyte, Visiting Artist
(302C11) Thursday–Saturday, 3 sessions March 31, April 1 & 2, 9:30 am–4 pm, GCMA Studios 1 and 2, $429 (includes lunch)

In celebration of Working South, the artist’s landmark exhibition at the Greenville County Museum of Art, Charleston watercolorist Mary Whyte returns for a ninth year to unearth the mysteries of watercolor. Students will benefit from Whyte’s expertise as they work from a seated model, render still life in the studios, and paint outdoors in Greenville’s Falls Park. This class is a must for students of all levels, providing lessons in the fundamentals of mixing color, washing and glazing, and the creation of strong color compositions. It is carefully organized to provide a foundation for the development of individual style. Students will also be treated to a tour of the Museum’s Andrew Wyeth collection and Whyte’s exhibition, Working South. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Classes for Adults

Ceramics

True Beginnings: Wheel Throwing
Lily Stratton
(307B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14), 9:30 am–12:30 pm, GCMA Ceramics Studio, $159
(308B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14), 6–9 pm, GCMA Ceramics Studio, $159

Join us in our newly renovated Ceramics Studio! Ceramic artists of all levels will explore wheel throwing, firing and glazing techniques, and creating cylinder and bowl forms for everyday use. Those who have already mastered wheel throwing basics will have the opportunity to expand on the possibilities of the cylinder and the bowl by developing pitchers, vases, lidded casseroles, and teapots. The course will also cover embellishments such as stamping, carving, and decorative glazing. This is a great opportunity for those interested in continuing their experience in throwing, and it is also ideal for beginners. Materials list mailed with confirmation. Earthenware clay and low fire glazes will be used. Lab fee of $39 payable at first class.

Drawing

Drawing Figures and Faces
Suzy Hart
(310B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14), 9:30 am–12:30 pm, GCMA Studio 2, $189

Beginner to advanced students will explore techniques used to create a likeness, from rendering the whole figure to focusing on the face. Emphasis in this course is on drawing and anatomical structures, as well as key relationships that accurately place facial features. A model will be used during each class. Instructor Suzy Hart is a lifetime member of the Art Students League of New York and a 2007 recipient of an Award of Excellence from the Portrait Society of America. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Figure Drawing
Glen Miller
(311B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14), 6:30–9 pm, GCMA Studio 2, $159

Join artist and instructor Glen Miller for a popular figure study class that is open to students of all levels. Participants will learn to render the figure through a series of gestural studies, timed short studies, anatomical studies, and fully modeled drawings. Students will work from a live model using their choice of charcoal, conté crayon, graphite, or ink. Miller, a long-time member of the Museum faculty also teaches at Converse College and Furman University. As a regular participant in First Fridays and Open Studios, he exhibits in his Greenville gallery, Twelve Sixty-Six. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Painting

Oil Painting Primer
Emily Clarke
(312B10) Tuesday, 8 sessions September 14–November 9 (no class October 12), 10 am–1 pm, GCMA Studio 1, $169

Whether painting a landscape or still life, instructor Emily Clarke will help students demystify the challenges and embrace the joys of working in oil. The first five sessions include demonstrations, discussion, and exercises focusing on the characteristics of the medium, basic forms, values, color, distance, and texture. The final three sessions will focus on combining these elements to create successful still life paintings. Clarke holds a MS in Art Therapy from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and a BA in Art from Furman University. She works and exhibits in her River Street studio in Greenville’s West End. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Foundations in Acrylic Painting
Paul Yanko
(314B10) Friday, 6 sessions September 17–October 29 (no class October 15), 9:30 am–12:30 pm, GCMA Studio 1, $129

Students new to acrylic or looking to strengthen their skills need look no further. This class will focus on building a foundation of invaluable techniques for creating successful paintings. Students will learn how to begin a painting, the basics of color mixing, creating lights and darks with color, and altering paints to achieve a variety of effects. Instructor Paul Yanko earned his MFA at Kent State University, has taught at the college level, and currently teaches painting at the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Experimental Water Media
Carrie Burns Brown
(315B10) Wednesday, 11 sessions September 15–December 8 (no class October 13 or November 24), 9 am–noon, GCMA Studio 1, $229

Advanced water media students will be challenged and energized as they use innovative techniques to achieve fresh results. Critiques, demonstrations, and assignments will help students find new approaches to their work. The Museum’s collection will enhance understanding and appreciation of various techniques and applications. Instructor Carrie Burns Brown is a member with distinction of watercolor societies across the country and teaches workshops throughout the US and Canada. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Watercolor: Elements of Autumn
Bruce Bunch
(316B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14) 9:30 am–12:30pm, GCMA Studio 1, $169

Capture the colorful essence of an autumn landscape in watercolor. Students will concentrate on the use of color, light, tone, distance, shadows, textures, skies, and water reflections—techniques essential to effective landscape interpretation. Artists will learn to maximize the use of both plein air sketches and photos for reference. Classes will include demonstrations, a lot of hands-on time, and the opportunity to study the Museum’s landscape paintings, including examples in the Museum’s exhibitions Local Color: Landscapes from the Southern Collection and Andrew Wyeth: The Greenville Collection. Instructor Bruce Bunch has won numerous awards, including Best of Show in the Georgia Wildlife Arts Festival and the Queens Award (UK) for excellence. He is an Artist-in-Residence with the South Carolina State Park Service. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

Oil Painting: Forms and Figures
Paul Flint
(313B10) Thursday, 8 sessions September 16–November 11 (no class October 14), 6–9 pm, GCMA Studio 1, $189

As students expand their facility in oil, this class will use the model as its center. Painters will engage the elements of art—line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color—while developing the ability to distill basic forms in rendering the human figure. In addition to discussion and demonstration, the course offers guidance from paintings in the Museum’s galleries and examples by John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, and Jan Vermeer, providing insights into anatomy, technique, composition, color relationships, and stylistic qualities. Instructor Paul Flint is a founding member of the ArtBomb Company and a frequent participant in Greenville’s Open Studios. Materials list mailed with confirmation.

 

 

After school classes for children

Download a Registration Form

Download a printable listing of courses