Finally, the perfect opportunity to express all those creature images that you hold in your imagination! Join master potter Lisa Himmelstrup to learn some of the basic techniques of clay-rolling, pinching, scoring, and bonding pieces of clay together; using clay tools to create texture and details; and, selecting and applying glazes to add color to your creature. Let your creature dry for 2 weeks, then bring it to ArtStart to be fired.

All materials provided. All class instruction will be on Zoom. You will be provided with a link after registration. 

Ages: 5 and up
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2022  
Time: 4:00-5:15 pm

Avoid the fuss and muss of carving a pumpkin. Instead, work with artist Linda Jensen to paint your pumpkin! You will need to bring your own pumpkin(s). Linda teaches you how to create an expressive face on your pumpkin from the mouth to the eyes using acrylic paint markers.

Then choose bits of fabric, yarn, over-sized googley eyes and lots of fun do-dads from ArtStart’s ArtScraps for pumpkin details. Finally, add the magic touch – glow-in-the dark mylar shapes so your pumpkin gives off that spooky glow on Halloween!

All materials, except pumpkins, are provided. Please wear a mask during in-person classes.

Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022
Time: 1:30-3:30 pm 
Ages: 6 and up (including adults)

ArtStart cordially invites elementary and middle school educators to a 2-day arts and ecology staff development workshop, October 20 and 21 from 9:00 am-3:30 pm at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. CEU credits available.

Join poet Marie Olofsdotter and visual artists Jeanette Dickinson, Julie Boada, Gustavo Boada and naturalist Logan Sauer for an exciting hands-on art and science adventure into the world of pollinators. Explore concepts like migration, hibernation, and pollination as you create pollinator poetry and artworks from a scientifically and aesthetically beautiful bee house to a gorgeous Monarch Butterfly tapestry banner. Sessions reinforce science concepts with art projects that translate directly into the classroom for students to make. Leave with science and art resources.

Then find out more about ArtStart’s Phenomenal Pollinators program that brings an artist-naturalist team into the classroom for a 4-5 day artist residency.

Join artists Gustavo and Julie Boada for a 2-day experience in creating art work from a special cultural celebration that occurs in the autumn of the year. First learn about Día de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, also known as All Souls Day. Work with artist Julie Boada to create a skeleton puppet inspired by La Calavera Catrina. Then join artist Gustavo Boada to create a colorful paper version of the Sugar Skull, a reminder that the holiday is a time to recall special ancestors who have passed away and a time to enjoy life. 

All materials provided. Please wear a mask during in-person classes.

Thursday and Friday, October 20 and 21, 2022
9:00 am-12:15 pm
Ages 6 - 12 years

Work with artist Laurie Witzkowski to create a diorama inspired by the music of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, "Night on Bald Mountain" that paints a picture musically of a wild party that happens only once a year. All Hallows Eve or Halloween is when witches, ghosts, and other spirits come out from hidden places in the mountain to celebrate and dance. When morning breaks and the church bell chimes, all the spirits return to where they came from for another year. Using all sorts of fun and funky materials from ArtStart’s ArtScraps, work with Laurie to create your version of this wild party night as you listen to the music Night on Bald Mountain!  

All materials provided. All class instruction will be on Zoom. You will be provided with a link after registration. 

Ages: 6 and up (with help of adult as needed)
Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2022  
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm

Work with artist Jeanette Dickinson to turn the gourd from the garden into a work of  art. Inspired by gourd arts of Mexico and Latin America, design and paint your own gourd using paint pens and other decorative materials. Then use it as a Fall centerpiece  or decorative feature around the home. All materials provided.

All class instruction will be on Zoom. You will be provided with a link after registration.

Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
For adults

Back by popular demand, Art Club is a gathering place for young aspiring artists to socialize and learn art skills and handy tips working with a professional artist. During each class, explore a new skill and art technique, as you create artwork guided by the artist. You'll receive an art kit filled with the art materials you need for each class.  

Cartooning is an elegant way to describe the world through humor and satire. Artist Karen Anderson teaches drawing and illustration skills that come in handy for those who love to create cartoons. Because cartooning is a form of art, like painting or sculpting, it takes practice to learn and improve drawing and illustration skills. Work with Karen to learn a variety of ways to create humor in art, exaggerating images as one technique. Then invent your own cartoon characters, give them all names, and draw your favorite characters in a situation they must solve. Finally, share your finished cartoons with the class.  

All class instruction will be on Zoom. You will be provided with a link after registration. 

Ages: 6 and up
A 3-part series  
Dates: Thursdays, November 3, 10, and 17
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm

Fall is the time of change and transformation. Here is an idea for transforming a common object, perhaps set to be discarded, into a thing of beauty. If have a shelf full of clear glass vases that have just piled up over the years that you no longer use, here is an idea that will give pizazz and new life to your vase collection. Artist Allison Metzger guides you in designing, colorizing, and transforming your vase into one of exceptional beauty using alcohol paints You will be amazed at the outcome! Fill with flowers or greenery and use as a centerpiece for the holidays or as a focal point in a room.

All materials provided. Please wear a mask during in-person classes.

Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Time: 1:30 - 3:30pm
For adults