All Active Courses and Workshops

Students are introduced to construction at a domestic scale through lectures, slides, and field trips. Structural calculations include safe selection of building parts by stress analysis, beam equations, and column computations. Students learn sufficient wood and masonry building techniques to design a small wood frame building. Assignments include structural models … Read more

Have you ever noticed that when you look at the night sky and gaze at all those mesmerizing stars, you’re actually looking back in time? Did you know that Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to Milky Way, is 2.5 million light years away from us? This means that when you look … Read more

Students are immersed in the nuts and bolts of architectural craft and construction technology practice. Through design sketch problems, hands-on demonstrations, and readings, students focus on the most common methods of constructing building systems in wood, masonry, steel, and concrete. Constructing a full-scale model of a wood-framed structure brings the … Read more

In this course, we analyze several individual practices and group movements from 1945 to the present. Instead of adhering to the distilled summaries of a textbook, we engage art of this period at less of a remove. Students come to comprehend the difficulty and subjectivity involved in formulating a history … Read more

An introduction to principles and techniques of floor loom weaving: including warp preparation, dressing the loom, pattern drafting, basic loom controlled and weaver-controlled weaves. Slide presentations emphasize a personal approach to the media.

Discover the synergy between Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign with course work based on a real-life project. Each program is approached as a specialized tool: Illustrator for digital illustrations and web graphics; Photoshop for editing images and creating special effects for web, broadcast, or print design; InDesign as a desktop … Read more

What makes a children’s book a classic? We’ll find out as we read, analyze, and enjoy the best of the field–fantasies from Peter Pan to Harry Potter, realistic novels from Anne of Green Gables to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and stories falling somewhere in between, like The Secret Garden. Though our emphasis will be on … Read more

This course provides an introduction to architectural design as a social art that emphasizes form relevant to use, and design with an appreciation of site, landscape, and materials. The course is foundational, using observation of existing built environments to support basic design skills through families of form, attending to the … Read more

In this introductory, course participants will learn how to design and carve wooden utensils. Students will be shown how to safely and efficiently use the bandsaw as well as hand tools such as gouges, rasps, files, scrapers, and a variety of handsaws. Whether it’s spoons, spatulas, forks, knives, or something … Read more

By examining the varied traditions in portraiture, through the lens of time and culture, this course will investigate a rich diversity of expression, spanning the frescos of Rome, the psychology of Alice Neal, the beauty of Leonardo, the technique of Ingres and the vulnerability of Vincent Van Gogh. We will … Read more

In this course we trace the physical, physiological, and psychological investigations of experimental filmmakers over the last seventy years. Studying these three trajectories-matter, body, and mind-reveals “film” to be a complex interplay between what Paul Sharits described in 1969 as “celluloid, two-dimensional strips; individual rectangular frames; the nature of sprockets … Read more

For students who want an intensive day-long studio experience that provides individual instruction. Students work within a continuum from realism to abstraction, and formal concerns are emphasized and tied to personal expression. Includes use of the model. Class critiques, slide talks and field trips enrich the painting experience. Some painting … Read more

For students who want an intensive day-long studio experience that provides individual instruction. Students work within a continuum from realism to abstraction, and formal concerns are emphasized and tied to personal expression. Includes use of the model. Class critiques, slide talks and field trips enrich the painting experience. Some painting … Read more

For students who want an intensive day-long studio experience that provides individual instruction. Students work within a continuum from realism to abstraction, and formal concerns are emphasized and tied to personal expression. Includes use of the model. Class critiques, slide talks and field trips enrich the painting experience. For senior … Read more

This course examines video games and how the video game medium relates to art generally. The course questions how video games can reshape storytelling conventions, especially about film and related media and design studies. It aims to study video games from historical, theoretical, cultural, queer, and industrial perspectives (among others) … Read more

Rich and expressive, monotype joins the graphic qualities of printmaking with the spontaneity of painting. This hands-on workshop teaches the basics of chine colle, pronto plate, collagraph, as well as other processes, and explores the sequential possibilities of monotype to develop images conceptually and formally. Image-making methods, ink handling, print … Read more

This course covers the basics of using ink and mixed media to explore the abstract and expressive possibilities of this versatile medium. Discussions will center around the work of abstract expressionist artists and their focus on freedom of expression through spontaneity and exploration of wet media. Techniques such as wet-into-wet, … Read more

This course will explore the transition from modernist thought as exemplified by the Abstract Expressionist movement to such postmodern notions of appropriation, parody, and fragmentation as they manifest themselves in the art of the 1970s and beyond. We will focus on such concepts and genres as minimalism, performance, video, installation … Read more

This course treats the evolution of film music from silent movies until the present.  It introduces students to musical syntax, the aesthetics of film music, and the means by which composers synchronize music and script to convey mood and render action vivid. Working chronologically, the course explores the increasing importance … Read more

This Summative Elective course seeks to build a bridge between the artistic aesthetics in Cinema and the scientific rigor of naturally plausible phenomena. In doing so, and through analyses of scientific foundations of scenarios portrayed in different genres of cinema, including but not limited to sci-fi and superhero, students will … Read more

Thinking about a career in graphic design? Do you currently “dabble” in graphic design for personal projects? Have you found yourself designing flyers, webpages, brochures or other graphic design work professionally without any design training? This one-day workshop is specifically targeted for those with no graphic design background, to understand what makes a design “work” visually … Read more

In this painting workshop, we will explore the relationship between perception and different modes of abstraction. Through intensive studio work students will explore the possibilities of painting while responding to perceptual experiences. The studio will become a place of inquiry utilizing various methods to affect the outcome and aesthetic and … Read more

This observation based class involves various approaches to seeing and expressing. We will work thin, thick, quick, slow, voluminous, flat, tonal, narrative — until you’ve broken out of habits that may be holding you back. The focus will be on acrylics, but participants are welcome to use oil or gouache … Read more

Words, images, color, shadow, and line — drawings with thread on fabric are made up of the same components as drawings on paper. This workshop explores embroidery as a form of drawing through direct drawing, transfer, and projection. Using found, vintage, or new cloth, lessons include a variety of stitches, … Read more

An introduction to the intersection of business, art and design. The purpose of this course is to give students a fundamental understanding of how businesses analyze and respond to competitive market dynamics, with an emphasis on the creative economy. Through case studies, market simulations, guest speakers, and discussion of current … Read more

Drawing on scholarship from the disciplines of history, art history, anthropology, and folklore, we consider the role of cloth in human experience. We will examine the use of traditional textiles in a range of historical and cultural contexts, with an emphasis on exploring social and symbolic functions as they relate … Read more

We will investigate the power of the artmaking process through lecture, discussion, and hands-on work in the Studio. We will also study a specific process, printmaking, through the work of keynote speaker and multi-media artist Magda Leon, who will lead a collagraph workshop for each cohort. We’ll explore how to … Read more

We will investigate the power of the artmaking process through lecture, discussion, and hands-on work in the Studio. We will also study a specific process, printmaking, through the work of keynote speaker and multi-media artist Magda Leon, who will lead a collagraph workshop for each cohort. We’ll explore how to … Read more

Everyone knows that accessories make the outfit and constitute a major part of the fashion industry. Explore handbag design as a specialization. Topics and projects include a brief history of the handbag, researching present trends, and creating designs. Using industry standards, students design and construct a clutch, soft shoulder, and … Read more

We will investigate the power of the artmaking process through lecture, discussion, and hands-on work in the Studio. We will also study a specific process, printmaking, through the work of keynote speaker and multi-media artist Magda Leon, who will lead a collagraph workshop for each cohort. We’ll explore how to … Read more

This intensive seven-week class develops students’ skills and agility in digital photography post-production. Using Adobe Lightroom Classic, Bridge, Camera Raw, and Photoshop, students learn a streamlined, professional workflow that takes images from camera to finished product. Learn the basics and beyond of powerful, industry standard software and systems, from file … Read more

This course provides a foundational understanding of the regulatory codes and legal frameworks that shape the practice of interior design. It explores how different states in the U.S. recognize and regulate the profession, as well as the professional institutions that support interior designers and related fields. Students will delve into … Read more

This course introduces illustration methods for the fashion designer and creative professional.  Demonstrations and exercises cover basic anatomy to the analysis of fashion figures.  Stylized drawing skills, composition layout techniques and industry flat sketches are taught, along with methods of critique and the editing process of designer collections. Students illustrate … Read more

This foundational class focuses on expanding and honing students’ digital content-creation, design, and art-making skills, through exploration of a wide range of software, concepts, and techniques. Topics include digital compositing of pixel-based images, vector design basics, time-based media best practices, introductory 3D design processes, and thoughtful use of AI tools. … Read more

In this class, students learn how to design and build front-end websites, gaining insight into up-to-date formal design requirements for web development. Interaction Design (UI) and User Experience (UX) theory and best practices are explored in detail. Students investigate the How, What, and Why of web design through the linear … Read more

Design Studio Three builds upon the foundation laid in Design Studio Two. Students are presented with a challenging design brief that necessitates a fundamental grasp of building codes and material safety standards. Each student will develop an outline specification focusing on product safety and sustainability considerations. Lectures throughout the course … Read more

Explore the art of personal expression through landscape photography. Tsar Fedorsky, a fine arts photographer whose own work draws on images found near home, will encourage students to discover their own visual voice by choosing to take landscape photographs close to home. Nature is all around us. You don’t need … Read more

This course is a great start for beginners looking to make a functional wooden object. Course participants will learn how to build a wooden plant stand utilizing machinery such as the table saw, domino joiner, router table and orbital sander. This course will cover how to create a lap joint … Read more

This workshop takes a reductive approach to painting the head by seeking the essential. A series of exercises will invite you to break down, simplify, and abstract through observation of a model in a specific lighting condition. The exercises address the shifting nature of perception, beginning with an intuitive drawing … Read more

This workshop will be conducted in oil and water-based paints, including acrylics and watercolor.  Students will paint on location and will be assisted in setting up to paint: organizing and laying out a palette, setting up an easel, choosing a composition and making a painting. A sketchbook will be used … Read more

Have you wanted to work in clay but firing your sculptures is impossible or impractical? Handmade paper clay is rougher than kiln clay, but it can take detail, and unlike kiln clay, it can be used over a wire armature. It hardens into a very solid object that does not … Read more

This class explores the continuing relevance and power of the personal mark as the foundation of the painting and drawing. Participants examine how this hand-made characteristic, combined with physicality of materials, can become a vehicle for creativity that roots communication back into lived experience while offering the possibility of more … Read more

Individual attention in a supportive environment is the focus of this comprehensive figure drawing course designed for students of all levels. We will examine the works of historic and contemporary artists to understand the common principals of sound figure drawing. The foundations of gesture, proportions, and anatomical structures will be … Read more

Reflecting diverse but interrelated cultural traditions, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean films offer a fun and fascinating lens through which to view the development of postwar Asian society.  The samurai film, Hong Kong action movies, and Japanese anime are some of the topics covered in following this development through a selection of … Read more

In this hands-on class, students will explore the intricate art of marquetry, where wood veneer of various colors is skillfully cut and assembled to form detailed images. Through a combination of demonstrations and practical exercises, students will learn the double-bevel cutting method, sand shading, and finishing techniques. By the end … Read more

What is placemaking? If you’ve ever worked on a community art project, thought about how to make your streets safer, or wondered about how cities can be improved by better design, you’ve been involved in placemaking. This course will use the city of Boston, past, present, future, as a case … Read more

This course is designed to unlock the power of digital design and fabrication with a series of hands-on training sessions. Explore essential software tools-including Adobe Illustrator, Rhino, and more-to create precise vector and 3D models. Learn how to translate digital designs into physical objects using laser cutting, CNC milling, and … Read more