Tag Archives: Beginner

Wednesday Drawing I & II

Are you interested in learning how to draw? Has it been years since you practiced and you feel rusty? In this class you will familiarize yourself with the core fundamental aspects of drawing; contour, shape, and value. Through fun and practical drawing assignments you will learn a set of foundational skills that will allow you to explore art on your own.

*For those who have taken Jesse Smolover’s previous class, this continuing class will have different exercises and a new syllabus for you to expand and continue your journey.

The fee for the 5-week course is $120 which includes pencils and erasers.

Students are required to bring a 11 X 14 spiral bound sketchbook – not high quality.

***Students must be registered and paid in full three business days before the start of the class/workshop. Exceptions only with permission from the Director of Fine Art/Photography.

Jesse Smolover graduated from RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) in 2004 with a BFA in Illustration. Since then he has worked as a freelance illustrator, graphic designer, and as an on-site illustrator for an archeological dig. For the past fifteen years he has taught traditional and digital art to students of all ages in subjects ranging from beginner drawing, to figure drawing, comic book art, to sculpture.

COVID POLICY : Until further notice, proof of vaccination is not required to attend classes. Masks remain optional.

Beginning Colored Pencil Class – May 2023

This is a 2-day, 4-hour, colored pencil workshop with award-winning artist Sandie Daignault and is designed for beginners. Students will work in a small group setting and will start with value exercises and basic layering techniques that will serve as a foundation for more advanced work. This is not an adult coloring activity.

Once basic skills are taught students are welcome to join the intermediate and advanced workshop where students work more independently on their own work. Each student will receive their own box of 23 Prismacolor colored pencils for the class, which can be used in future classes.

The fee for the 2-day class is $130 which includes all supplies. 

Workshop is limited to 6 students. 

Sandie has had a passion for art and art education since college. After retiring in 2011 from a 35-year corporate career, she began teaching art education in Loveland, Colorado to middle school students in after-school programs. She was a substitute teacher there for two years from 2012 – 2013.

In 2013, she came back to CT and began volunteering in the ASAP (After School Arts Program) in Washington, participating and assisting teachers in Region 12 primary school. She became involved with Washington Arts Association, volunteering at art shows and events.

Sandie began taking art classes through WAA, Silvermine Art Center, Rowayton Arts Center, Brookfield Craft Center and several other adult education programs across New Haven and Litchfield Counties. Most recently she has been with Arts Escape since 2018 taking classes in Colored Pencil and Pastel with Rita Paradis, Watercolor with Betty Ann Medieros, and Acrylic with Anda Styler and Souby Boski.

Her art has been awarded prizes during the Threads member juried shows at Arts Escape in 2019 and 2020. Several pieces were published in the 2019 Fresh Ink annual journal of Naugatuck Community College. Her work has been shown at WAA and at the 275th celebration event at Averill Farm in Washington, CT.

She has self-published two books of her poetry and artwork, Poetry Expression I and II.

Sandie has two works in acrylic accepted into the 2021 Ridgefield Guild of Artists 44th annual juried show.

***Students must be registered and paid in full three business days before the start of the class/workshop. Exceptions only with permission from the Director of Fine Art/Photography.

COVID POLICY – Until further notice, proof of vaccination is no longer required to attend classes or workshops. Masks remain optional.

Beginning Colored Pencil Class

This is a 2 day, 2-hour, colored pencil workshop with award-winning artist Sandie Daignault and is designed for beginners. Students will work in a small group setting and will start with value exercises and basic layering techniques that will serve as a foundation for more advanced work. This is not an adult coloring activity.

Once basic skills are taught students are welcome to join the intermediate and advanced workshop where students work more independently on their own work. Each student will receive their own box of 23 Prismacolor colored pencils for the class, which can be used in future classes.

The fee for the 2-day class is $130 which includes all supplies. 

Workshop is limited to 10 students. 

Sandie has had a passion for art and art education since college. After retiring in 2011 from a 35-year corporate career, she began teaching art education in Loveland, Colorado to middle school students in after-school programs. She was a substitute teacher there for two years from 2012 – 2013.

In 2013, she came back to CT and began volunteering in the ASAP (After School Arts Program) in Washington, participating and assisting teachers in Region 12 primary school. She became involved with Washington Arts Association, volunteering at art shows and events.

Sandie began taking art classes through WAA, Silvermine Art Center, Rowayton Arts Center, Brookfield Craft Center and several other adult education programs across New Haven and Litchfield Counties. Most recently she has been with Arts Escape since 2018 taking classes in Colored Pencil and Pastel with Rita Paradis, Watercolor with Betty Ann Medieros, and Acrylic with Anda Styler and Souby Boski.

Her art has been awarded prizes during the Threads member juried shows at Arts Escape in 2019 and 2020. Several pieces were published in the 2019 Fresh Ink annual journal of Naugatuck Community College. Her work has been shown at WAA and at the 275th celebration event at Averill Farm in Washington, CT.

She has self-published two books of her poetry and artwork, Poetry Expression I and II.

Sandie has two works in acrylic accepted into the 2021 Ridgefield Guild of Artists 44th annual juried show.

COVID POLICYOnly fully vaccinated students will be permitted to attend classes. Physical proof of vaccination will be requested on the first day of class or you may email a copy of your card prior to the class by sending it to: info@artsescape.org. Masks are optional.

Start Writing Right Now

Via Zoom

Have you always wanted to try your hand at writing, but never took the leap? Perhaps you’ve put down your pen for a while and need a jumpstart. Or maybe you like the camaraderie and accountability that come with being part of a workshop.

Come experiment in this low-stress, generative class! You’ll kindle your imagination with fun prompts to get those gears moving. Then, if you choose, you’ll share your work in a supportive environment and receive positive feedback. You’ll walk away each week with a new piece of writing—maybe even something you’d like to build on. 

Open to fiction, poetry and memoir, and appropriate for all levels, beginner to advanced.

The fee for this 4-week class is $120. Class size is limited to 8 students and requires a minimum of 4 students to run.

Students must register by Tuesday, January 17, 2023, to receive the Zoom link.

About the Instructor:
Tina Tocco’s writing for children has appeared in Highlights, Highlights High Five, Cricket, AppleSeeds, Humpty Dumpty, Turtle Magazine for Preschool Kids, Pockets, and other children’s publications. She is the author of the children’s poetry collection The Hungry Snowman and Other Poems (Kelsay Books, 2019). Tina’s fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have also been published in various literary journals and anthologies, such as New Ohio Review, Crab Creek Review, Potomac Review, River Styx, Harpur Palate, Ovunque Siamo, Best Small Fictions 2019, and Wild Dreams: The Best of Italian Americana. In 2019, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in fiction. Tina earned her MFA in creative writing from Manhattanville College, where she was editor-in-chief of Inkwell, the college’s national literary journal.