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Five Points Arts Center offers a variety of instructed workshops for all ages, skill levels and abilities across a wide range of media and techniques.
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Short workshops on practical skills for artists
Offers essential skills for beginners
Offered by well-known artists, followed by a public lecture
2026 SUMMER ART LABS
Save your spot in this summer’s youth program – ages 8 – 17 years
Tuesdays – Fridays
July 7 – August 7
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Uninstructed (moderated)
Sundays, Apr. 19, May 17 & Jun. 14, 2026
2 – 4:30 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $13.50 per session / Non-members: $15 per session
Practice your figure drawing skills in this monthly uninstructed workshop. Each session will begin with warm up gesture drawings and will include a variety of longer poses. Artists bring their own preferred materials. All skill levels are welcome!
MINI-SHOP
with Victor Leger
Saturday, May 2, 2026
9 AM – 4 PM
Ages: Adults
Members: $126 / Non-members: $140
Back by popular demand! Turn strips of wood into a beautiful frame for your artwork under the guidance of Vic Leger. Beginning with 5/4” x 4” poplar wood, participants will learn how to create a finished floating frame.
INTRO WORKSHOP
with Virginia Zimmermann
Thursday and Friday, May 7 & 8, 2026
2 – 5 PM
Ages: 15+
Members: $81 / Non-members: $90
Basket making is as old as humanity, and is an essential craft and art form. In this workshop, you will learn to make a small reed woven basket from beginning (bottom) to rim (border).
with Leslie Watkins
Fridays, May 8, 15, 22 & 29, 2026
11 AM – 3 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $223.20 / Non-members: $248
Learn the foundations of traditional watercolor through materials, limited palette color mixing, and essential techniques including wet-in-wet, dry brush and glazing. Working from life, students will develop strong observational skills while exploring value, form, atmosphere and multi-layered washes.
INTRO WORKSHOP
with MaryPat Leger
Saturday, May 9, 2026
9 AM – 4 PM
Ages: 15+
Members: $126 / Non-members: $140
The “Carpenter’s Star” is a great pattern to get a new quilter going! It looks very complex, but is made out of two simple blocks; one being a square, the other a “half-square-triangle” – a square made up of two triangles.
with Fruma Markowitz
Saturday, May 16, 2026
10 AM – 4 PM
Ages: 15+
Members: $114.30 / Non-members: $127
Open to all levels of experience, this workshop explores the process of cyanotype; known for producing rich blue and white prints on paper. Using an assortment of botanical specimens and household objects, you will experiment with mark-making and composition.
with Ellen Massee
Saturdays, May 16, 23, 30 & Jun. 6, 2026
10 AM – 2 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $270 / Non-members: $300
This workshop will explore the unique possibilities of slab-built ceramics – from plates, platters and bowls to cylinders and boxes. Practice using molds and learn the techniques of soft and hard slab construction. Texture and surface finishes will be explored with an emphasis on creativity and self-expression, introducing the use of oxide washes to personally enhance your glazes.
INTRO WORKSHOP
with MaryPat Leger
Saturday, May 23, 2026
9 AM – 4 PM
Ages: 15+
Members: $126 / Non-members: $140
This workshop will guide you step-by-step through the process of preparing a quilt top and constructing a finished quilt. Learn about basic plans for quilting designs, setting up your machine, and techniques for binding your quilt.
INTRO WORKSHOP
with Joan Kunsch
Saturday and Sunday, May 30 & 31, 2026
1 – 3:30 PM
Ages: 15+
Members: $67.50 / Non-members: $75
This workshop will provide a prompt-by-chance using watercolors; a practice of observation, developing images out of abstraction, for those of any skill level.
with Christine Mitchell, Caleb Portfolio, Sydney Samele & Jill Van Slooten
Tuesdays – Fridays, Jul. 7 – Aug. 7, 2026
AM Sessions: 10 AM – 12 PM (ages 8-12 years)
PM Sessions: 1 – 4:30 PM (ages 13-17 years)
Free registration
The 2026 Summer Art Labs have arrived! Designed to hone your artmaking, expand your creative problem-solving skills and build a strong portfolio, this fully funded program offers age-appropriate workshops in Ceramics, Printmaking, Photography, Printmaking, and Painting & Drawing. All materials are provided. Each workshop meets Tuesday – Friday. Attendees can register for any individual or all of the five workshops.
with Victor Leger
Saturday, Jun. 6, 2026
10 AM – 1 PM (Session 1)
1:30 – 4:30 PM (Session 2)
Ages: Adults
Members: $31.50 / Non-members: $35 (per session)
Bring your framing projects to the David Marks Woodworking Lab to get expert advice and assistance in furthering your frame building skills. These studio sessions are designed for those who have completed the “Building a Floating Frame” workshop with Vic Leger. Others with woodworking experience are welcome to enroll with the instructor’s approval.
SUMMER WORKSHOPS
ONLINE WORKSHOP
with Nels Highberg
Tuesdays, June 9, 16 & 23
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Ages: 16+
Members: $63 / Non-members: $70
Online Workshop
In this workshop, we’ll examine a range of artist statements from practicing artists and analyze the different opportunities (e.g., fellowships, residencies, and exhibitions) that their guidelines request. Participants will complete short writing exercises designed to help articulate process, intention, and evolution in their own practice. Participants will share and workshop drafts in small groups, receiving supportive feedback to help refine clarity, tone, and resonance.
INTRO WORKSHOP
with Bryn Brunnstrom
Thursdays, June 11, 18 & 25, July 2 & 9, 2026
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $162 / Non-members: $180
For those interested in improving drawing skills, this workshop will introduce the fundamentals of drawing the human figure. Although it will mostly focus on the basics of representational figure drawing, artists of any skill level are welcome! Through visual examples and demonstrations, we will build the skills of gesture and simplification, moving on to skeletal and muscular anatomy. Students will work from reference images and still life before working up to a live model in the final two weeks of the course, with participants using the fifth week to produce finished large-scale figure drawings.
with Leo Hein
Saturdays, June 13,20 27, 2026
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $243 / Non-members: $270
A Bellamy Eagle is a historical carving by John H. Bellamy, a very famous artist who worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard around the turn of the century. Over the course of his career spanning from the 1870s through 1910 or so, he designed and carved beautiful eagles out of wood. Honor the 250th anniversary of our nation by carving your own Bellamy Eagle under the guidance of a master woodcarver!
with Nick Colabella
Sundays, June 14 & 21, 2026
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $175 / Non-members: $195
Discover the unique process of screen printing a two color custom design on fabric using single-layer printing techniques. Open to all levels of experience, you will be encouraged to bring a variety of cotton fabric material to experiment with including tote bags, t-shirts and canvas.
with Kathy Cady
Wednesdays, June 17, 24 & July 1, 8, 15, 22, 2026
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $378 / Non-members: $420
Learn the fundamentals of wheel throwing and explore surface techniques such as sgraffito, slip trailing and glaze applications. This workshop is designed for beginners, intermediate and advanced potters. With the guidance of instructive technical support, all levels are welcome to participate in forming artistic creations from our earth’s wondrous properties. An emphasis will be on individual experimentation and expressive conceptual design.
with Sarah Paolucci
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $108 / Non-members: $120
This workshop is an invitation to slow down and truly see. The focus is not on detail or finished paintings, but on learning to trust your eyes and respond to what’s in front of you. We will practice identifying big, bold shapes, major value relationships, and overall form without getting caught up in the small details. We will be training your hands to translate what your eyes actually see, instead of what you THINK you see resulting in work that feels more alive, immediate, and confident. Through a series of short, focused exercises, students will build a collection of studies that strengthen the connection between eyes and hands.
The focus of the workshop is on observation and decision-making rather than technique. Participants may work in any medium they are comfortable with, especially those that allow for quick coverage and bold mark-making. Demonstrations will be done in oil paint, but a range of materials are welcome. If you are unsure whether your medium will work, feel free to ask.
with Thaddeus Kubis
Saturday, June 20, 2026
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $97 / Non-members: $107
Using your Smartphone and a provided Polaroid Lab device, you will transfer up to 8 of your photographs (archived or newly created) to instant film. Once converted to film, the class will be instructed to separate the film from the backing stock and create dynamic ethereal images. This is a time-consuming and potentially difficult process; results will vary!
MINI-SHOP
with Eric Benkiki
Thursday, June 25, 2026
5:00 – 8:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $63 / Non-members: $70
Don’t let poor presentation detract from your artwork! Learn from a professional how to cut a perfect mat, what tools and materials to choose, and how to determine the proper size for the piece. This hands-on practical workshop will save you time and money preparing your own work for presentation. Matted artwork is also the perfect gift for someone special on your list!
with Mary Beth Sasso
Saturday, June 27, 2026
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Ages: 18+
Members: $81 / Non-members: $90
This workshop is designed for artists with some experience in pastels (soft and hard). Through inspiring demonstrations and hands-on exercises, you’ll enhance your techniques, gaining greater control over color, texture, and composition in your landscape art. You’ll learn to create deep, atmospheric scenes with advanced layering and blending, add texture and details using varied applications, and choose the right balance of pastels for precise effects and structural integrity in your work. This workshop is ideal for those with beginner/intermediate drawing experience using pastels.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
Gift certificates can be used for Arts Center memberships, workshops, events and artwork purchased from Five Points Gallery
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