STUDIO PROGRAMS¬

Spring Class Registration Now Open!

Welcome to Studio Programs at Virginia MOCA. No matter your age or experience, we’re here to help you embrace your inner artist and enjoy exceptional and exciting hands-on art experiences inspired by the art in our galleries. Engage with a variety of artists, creative media, techniques, and themes to produce contemporary artworks filled with meaning.

*Class sizes are limited; early registration is encouraged.

CLASSES FOR ADULTS

→ CERAMICS: DEVELOPING YOUR ARTISTIC STYLE

Thursdays, March 23–April 20, 2023 | 6:00–9:00 PM

One of the greatest challenges and opportunities in an artist’s career is discovering their artistic style. In this dynamic, five-week course, we’ll concentrate on finding and developing a signature style in our ceramic artwork. Through deep practice and critical discussion, we’ll learn how to hone our focus while continuously improving our skills in fun and immersive ways, including an after-hours guided tour of the Museum’s exhibits.

→ DRAWING: SCRATCHBOARD

Thursdays, March 30–April 20, 2023 | 6:00–8:30 PM

Scratchboard is a subtractive drawing process that involves scraping away at a dark surface with a sharp tool to reveal a lighter layer beneath. This dynamic drawing method can be used to achieve stunning levels of contrast and detail.

→ CERAMICS: HAND-BUILDING, SYMBOLISM, & FORM

CLASS FULL; please join waitlist.

Saturday, April 8, 2023 | 10:45 AM–2:45 PM

Practice slab hand-building techniques to create a variety of forms, and use tools and underglaze to embellish ceramic surfaces with texture, text, symbols, and more.

→ WATERCOLOR: PROCESS ON PAPER

Saturday, April 15, 2023 | 10:00 AM–2:30 PM

Spend the day relaxing with watercolor, journaling, and imagination as you learn introductory watercolor painting techniques and experiment with the dynamics of blending colors. Discover how journaling and process art may assist in sifting through the weight of life’s experiences, and engage with the capacity of color to influence the emotional power of a particular work of art.

→ CERAMICS: VESSELS WITH VOICE

Saturdays, April 29–May 27, 2023 | 12:30–3:30 PM

Discover expanded form-building and embellishment techniques to create ceramic vessels that share a story! For centuries, artisans have used ceramic surfaces to chronicle moments, legends, and messages. See how this tradition continues in contemporary art by exploring the galleries at Virginia MOCA and practicing your own take on ceramic form and surface design in our studios.

→ ACRYLIC PAINTING: THE HUMAN FIGURE

Sunday, May 7, 2023 | 10:00 AM–4:00 PM

In this day-long workshop, you’ll learn to use movement, light, and color to tell expressive stories with the human figure in acrylic paint. Inspired by a visit to our exhibitions, we’ll discuss the importance of composition, color, narrative, and more in abstract and representational figure art before moving on to create our very own figure paintings!

→ CERAMICS: SGRAFFITO

Thursdays, May 18–June 1, 2023 | 6:00–9:00 PM

Sgraffito involves carving lines and marks through layers of underglaze or slip to reveal the clay color beneath. Visit our galleries to view the intricately carved works of exhibiting artist LaToya Hobbs, and create a ceramic piece inspired by Hobbs’ processes of using subtraction to create imagery.

MASTER CLASSES

Spend the day in the studio with an exhibiting artist for a master class inspired by their artistic viewpoint and process. This unique and personal experience is a fabulous way for participants to have a one-on-one interaction with a contemporary artist.

Please check back later for more master classes!

CLASSES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES

AGES 2–5 (WITH CAREGIVER)

→ 1ST ART: PRINTMAKING

Saturday, March 25, 2023 | 10:30–11:30 AM

Explore shapes and silhouettes with a gelli plate as we learn how to identify positive and negative space in art! Practice skills in cutting, arranging, and printmaking, and walk away with several unique, handmade prints.

→ 1ST ART: DRAWING

Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 10:30–11:30 AM

Explore the element of texture through the scratchboard art technique. Scratchboard is a drawing medium where the artist scrapes away at a dark surface layer to reveal a secret layer underneath. In this workshop, we’ll use wooden tools to mark the surface of our scratchboard, revealing a colorful first layer.

→ 1ST ART: PAINTING

Saturday, May 20, 2023 | 10:30–11:30 AM

In this workshop, we’ll combine collage and paint to create multilayered, abstract works of art with a focus on texture and shape. Young artists will practice their scissor skills, as well as color mixing and painting techniques. By the end of class, they’ll walk away with a large, mixed-media artwork ready for display!

→ 1ST ART: CLAY

Saturday, June 10, 2023 | 10:30–11:30 AM

In this workshop, your little one will learn all about the human face as we use texture tools to animate a clay slab. After adding all the facial details, we’ll then learn how to slump our clay over a mold to create the perfect trinket dish! All artworks created during this class will be glazed, kiln-fired, and treasured for years to come.

AGES 6–8

→ MIXED MEDIA: COLLAGE ON CANVAS

Saturday, March 25, 2023 | 1:00–3:00 PM

In this one-day workshop, we’ll discover many exciting examples of collage in contemporary art and try our hand at creating a professional-quality collage of our own! From coming up with an exciting idea to piecing the artwork together, young artists will learn all the tips and tricks to create a professional-quality collage, including how to select the best glues and sealants to attach their work to canvas. By the end of this program, students will walk away with a stretched and sealed collage on canvas that is ready to display!

→ INTRO TO CONTEMPORARY ART

Saturdays, April 22–May 20, 223 | 12:00–1:30 PM

Uncover the themes, techniques, and materials exhibited in the galleries at Virginia MOCA, and immerse yourself in the essential studio practices of a contemporary artist. Learn to create works of art from start to finish as you perform visual research in a sketchbook, and try your hand at a variety of techniques in drawing, painting, and printmaking. By the end of this experience, you’ll walk away with a final print, drawing, and painting, in addition to a sketchbook full of useful knowledge!

AGES 9–12

→ DRAWING AND PRINTMAKING

CLASS FULL; please join waitlist.

Sundays, March 12–April 2, 2023 | 2:00–4:00 PM

In this introductory course, we’ll look to contemporary artists for inspiration as we explore unique approaches to the traditional art of drawing and printmaking. We’ll delve into the scratchboard technique, explore an assortment of drawing tools, and create intriguing prints using a variety of subtractive and additive printmaking methods including collagraph, monoprint, and linocut.

→ CERAMICS: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

CLASS FULL; please join waitlist.

Saturday, May 6, 2023 | 9:00–11:00 AM

Sgraffito, meaning 'scratched', explores the layering and removal of different colored clay slips to create bold patterns and designs. Inspired by the textured artworks of LaToya Hobbs in our galleries, students will have the chance to design and create their own ceramic objects using the sgraffito technique!

TEENS AGES 13–17

→ ART PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT FOR TEENS

Monday–Friday, April 10–14, 2023 | 1:00–4:00 PM

Spend spring break strengthening your art portfolio! In this week-long program for teens, you’ll work closely with a teaching artist to develop a series of artworks centered around a theme of your choice. Together, we’ll get inspired by the art in our galleries and hone our studio skills as we delve deep into the processes of research, practice, and documentation to develop a cohesive body of work perfect for building a strong portfolio.  

The Cohen Memorial Fund at Virginia MOCA offers a number of scholarships for children and teens to participate in art education. Everyone deserves to express their creativity. Through these scholarships we hope to provide an understanding and appreciation of the arts to anyone with an interest—regardless of financial situation—and to recognize and encourage artistically gifted individuals.

ONLINE FORM | PRINTABLE FORM