Soapstone is a beautiful material, very forgiving, easy and satisfying to carve and polish, and gets artists thinking about subtractive process sculpture. You will start with small forms (which make wonderful gifts, by the way) and by the end of the course, you may be able to move toward larger work. The instructor Ed Higgins calls soapstone a gateway stone which perhaps one day will inspire you to carve marble! Soapstone will be available to students and some carving tools will be available for use, but you may want to assemble some of your own tools. Contact Ed Higgins directly with any questions ed_higgins@icloud.com.

If you’ve never tried to work non-objectively, you’ll find that it helps you learn important lessons that will serve you well in any of your future artistic endeavors. It helps you cure the dreaded fussies, as well as getting you to think more deeply about color, brushwork, and composition. This class combines an introductory studio course with an art appreciation talk. Every studio class will end with a short presentation spotlighting some of the great abstract painters of the modern era. If you’ve ever looked at abstract art and said to yourself “I could do that!” Here’s your chance to give it a try. There is no set materials list for this class. The instructor will be able to supply enough materials to get you started, but eventually you will develop your own projects and media preferences. Contact Ed Higgins directly with any questions ed_higgins@icloud.com.

This one-night workshop is designed to introduce students to the corresponding course, FLOW 2: Intermediate + Advanced Watercolor. Though this workshop is not a prerequisite for the course, it is an opportunity to meet the instructor and preview lesson plans before committing to the full course.

Working with gouache is a fast, easy way to do studies for larger paintings, helping you with color relationships and composition, but you’ll also find that adding your notes and thoughts turns your gouache journal itself into a work of art. Gouache paint is similar to watercolor, but it is modified to make it opaque. Gouache can be rewetted and dried to a matte finish, and the paint can become infused into its paper support, like watercolor. Contact Ed Higgins directly with any questions ed_higgins@icloud.com.

Oils are a very forgiving medium, great for learning because it’s easy to revise, repaint, wipe out and start over. Keeping an oil painting mobile and active throughout the process means that at any moment or any stage, your painting can surprise you and move you forward in a new direction. Sometimes one brushstroke allows you to see new possibilities. Ed has helped many artists power through their fear of starting, and gain confidence as oil painters. If you’ve never painted in oils before, don’t be afraid, contact Ed directly with any questions ed_higgins@icloud.com. *This class will focus on Color Mixing Strategies.

In this 1-day class, you'll learn everything you need to know to get started with watercolor painting. We will have an in-depth conversation about paper and pads, paint, palettes, and brushes. After a review of color theory, we'll fill in a color wheel and paint a small illustration printed on watercolor paper. All materials provided. *A $20 materials fee to be paid to the instructor on the night of class. **Snow Date: TUES 1/19.

This winter we’ll be taking a deep dive into studying domestic pets, particularly cats and dogs. To really learn about any subject, you have to draw it. We’ll begin every class with speed sketching warm up drills, followed by working from reference images and videos that will focus us on constructive anatomy and capturing the moods, aspects, and expressions of our subjects. You may work in any media you prefer. There is no set materials list, but a hardbound sketchbook or mixed media journal is recommended for your studies. Contact Ed Higgins directly with any questions ed_higgins@icloud.com.

Learn skills for capturing nature in your sketchbook with watercolor pencils, paint, and ink. We’ll start with exercises on capturing landscapes with both accuracy and efficiency, then work on techniques for illustrating natural specimens. Along the way, we’ll explore approaches for building a powerful composition. Along the way, we’ll cover ways to capture light, shadow, and color with precision. You’ll finish the class with a unique sketchbook spread, and the techniques and skills needed for continuing a nature sketchbook practice. Students can either buy themselves the required materials or they can buy material kits from the Mix, an art store in Brunswick. *Snow Date: 1/23.

Student Grade Kit

Professional Artist Grade Kit

Program-specific Add-on Kit