The Art League School
Card-Weaving Workshop
For anyone in need of a creative pick-me-up, the Art League School will have a one-day workshop on card weaving, a method that dates back to 400 BC and can be used to make trendy straps, belts, or pet leashes. The class will be held on November 21 from 1 to 6. Taught by Linda Hurt, the five-hour session will focus on easy-to-learn weaving patterns. The workshop is $55. To register, click here.
Washington Glass School
Painting With Wax: Basic Encaustic Workshop
Ditch the oil paints and acrylics for this one: On October 17 and 18 from 10 to 3, students can try encaustic painting using beeswax. The versatile method allows the wax to be carved, collaged, or decorated with Xerox transfers. Instructor Ellyn Weiss will demonstrate how to use wax in its molten form and fuse it with heat onto a canvas or board. Tuition is $325, which includes materials.
Xtreme Lava Lovers Weekend
The Washington Glass School is teaming up with the DC Glassworks studio for their hottest weekend yet—literally. In this two-day session, you can liquefy solid glass and aluminum to create beautiful sculptures and practical items such as bowls and plates. Ewin Timmers and Dave D’Orio will supervise this metal crash course on November 7 at the Washington Glass School and November 8 at DC Glassworks in Hyattsville. Each session runs from 1 to 5. The class costs $400.
Bas Relief in Glass
This class is designed to teach glass lovers how to kiln-cast sheet glass to make bas-relief sculptures. During the two sessions, instructor Nicole Puzan will teach on different types of glass, and you can experiment with color. The two-day class will be taught November 14 and 21 from 2 to 5 for $350. Students are encouraged to bring any designs they want to incorporate into their work, although they’ll be provided with an image library to choose patterns from as well.
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center
Introduction to Papermaking
This class teaches Western papermaking methods using cotton and abaca. Instructor Beth Parthum will give tutorials on how to operate the school’s Hollander beater, a Dutch machine that produces paper pulp from plant fibers. After making the paper into sheets, you can use it to make collages. The class is offered Saturday, October 17, from 10 to 4. Tuition is $120. For more information, call 301-608-9101.
Pulp Printing
At this class on October 24, you can focus on ways to decorate handmade-paper sheets. You’ll learn how to make pulp prints and stencils by places images on a mesh screen and coloring them with sprayed pulp. Once the paper is pressed and dry, you have a stenciled image. Students are asked to bring in images from photographs, drawings, or copier art to implement in their creations. The class instructor is printmaker and papermaker Gretchen Schermerhorn. Tuition is $140, and the workshop will be held from 10 to 4. If you can’t make the October session, the class will be given again on November 14. For more information, call 301-608-9101.
Letterpressed Holiday Cards
Why buy holiday cards when you can make them yourself? During this session on November 14, Moira McCauley will teach you to use metal type to design and print up to 30 cards. The class, intended for beginners, teaches students to use a Vandercook press. Tuition is $120, and the class runs from 10 to 4. For more information, call 301-608-9101.
Glen Echo Park
Venetian-Glass Beadmaking
Need an accessories spruce? At Glen Echo Park’s Venetian-Glass Beadmaking workshops, which are being offered twice this fall and winter, you can use Venetian flame-work techniques and decorate beads using latticino, a Roman technique in which spiraled threads of glass are incorporated onto pieces of crystal and jewelry. The two-session class taught by Marilyn Nugent, an expert in glass work for more than 25 years, is being offered October 17 and 18 from 9:30 to 3:30 and December 19 and 20 at the same time. Tuition is $200. There’s a minimum age requirement of 14.
Beginning Glassblowing
Glen Echo Park has become one of the premier locations for glassblowing, with its frequent beginner workshops. Instructor Paul Swartwood will teach you how to incorporate color into glass creations. Dates are available through February, with classes coming up Thursdays from 6:30 to 10 PM between October 20 and November 17. Tuition is $365. Students are instructed to wear cotton clothing rather than synthetics for this five-session class.
Stone Carving
This class is designed for beginners and advanced stoneworkers alike. Instructor Nizette Brennan will show you techniques—such as how to finish the surface of a stone—and she works individually with students to help them master the methods. The six-session class will be offered Wednesdays October 21 through November 25 from 6 to 9. Tuition is $280 plus a $45 tool-rental fee and $75 stone cost. For more information, call 410-903-5474. Check out this catalog (*PDF) for details on all of Glen Echo Park’s classes.
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
Flower Arranging: Fall Harvest Arrangement
Just in time for Turkey Day, the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop is offering a one-day session on how to make your own centerpieces. Under the direction of Derya Samadi, you can learn to use fruits, vegetables, and other plants to make displays for your dinner table. Tuition is $100, which includes a materials fee for flowers, vases, and potting materials. The workshop will be offered Tuesday, November 17, from 6:15 to 8:45.
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