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Continuing Education at PAFA



Abstraction

in Courses by Subject

Introduction to Foundry and Mold-Making

$750

with Pavel Efremoff

Calendar Current session started Sep 10, 2026 at 12:30 pm, runs for 12 weeks

Thursdays, 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM  
Instructor: Pavel Efremoff  
Twelve-Week Condensed Course (42 Hours)
  
No class on November 26 (Thanksgiving Break) 

Foundry metal casting is the process of creating metal objects by pouring molten metal into a mold and letting it cool to solidify. This course will cover all aspects of the foundry process with an emphasis on mold making as an essential element of a sculptor’s toolkit for both bronze casting and creating objects in multiples. Demonstrations and hands-on instruction will be given in wax modeling and casting, ceramic shell techniques, bronze pouring, metal chasing, TIG welding and patination. Course content will include step-by-step guidance in mold making production as students apply this process to their own projects. This class presents integral skills for any sculptor and is an excellent follow-up for students who have taken a clay-modeling class and wish to preserve their work. Beginner-friendly and open to all levels. Note: Tuition includes a $75 lab fee.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Intuitive Abstraction

$450

with Kassem Amoudi

Calendar Current session started Sep 16, 2026 at 12:30 pm, runs for 10 weeks

Wednesdays, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi  
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)  

No matter what your preferred subject matter or painting style, this class is designed to help you push your work beyond your preconceived notions of what it should be. One-on-one instruction will develop your unique artistic voice while exploring composition, color, space, rhythm, and technique. Work from personal subject matter (objects or reference materials) to learn how to begin a painting with confidence, trust your instincts, embrace spontaneity, and transform observed forms into a personal form of expression. This mentored studio environment encourages experimentation and intuitive decision-making while helping you both build skills and generate new ideas. Whether you recently started or renewed your painting practice, or are an experienced painter seeking to move beyond your comfort zone, you'll discover new ways to express yourself and find joy in the creative process.

Registration Still Open! 
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Painting Beyond Representation

$295

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Current session started Sep 25, 2026 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Fridays, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM  
Instructor: Roger Chavez  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  

Abstract or expressive painting often uses observable subject matter as a starting point or source of inspiration for color, form, and composition. Working from colorful still life arrangements, learn to move beyond identifiable objects and defined contours to explore more expressive or personal means of interpretation. Instruction will address redeploying or adapting observable shapes and colors toward abstract effect, manipulating visual elements to strengthen compositional balance and movement or to reconstruct pictorial space, and employing expressive mark-making for focus or emotional intent. Color mixing and basic oil painting techniques will also be reviewed.

Image: Roger Chavez

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List
   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Assemblage and Mixed Media Art (ONLINE)

$265

with Colleen O'Donnell

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 29, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell  
Six-Week Online Short Course (Zoom + Asynchronous Content; 18-Hour Equivalent)
 
No class on November 26 (Thanksgiving Break)  

Students in this online assemblage art course will master the foundational techniques of mixed-media construction from their home studios. Participants will develop a sharp eye for transforming everyday household or discarded objects into cohesive three-dimensional narratives, learning to evaluate items for both their structural integrity and their symbolic meaning. Beyond physical fabrication, students will cultivate critical thinking and visual literacy by actively participating in live Zoom critiques. By the conclusion of the workshop, learners will possess a portfolio of finished sculptures alongside the technical and creative problem-solving skills necessary to independently share, critique, and execute complex multi-material art projects.

Register by: October 22  
Materials List
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Mixed Media Collage Workshop

$195

with Anthony Ciambella

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 31, 2026 at 9 am

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM  
Instructor: Anthony Ciambella  
Weekend Workshop  

Mixed media art and collage offer a myriad of possibilities to combine papers, photographs, and 3D elements to make a statement, convey something personal, or create something textural, colorful, and beautiful. Develop rich and complex imagery finding inspiration from memory, literature, films, and other sources, while working in a variety of traditional and non-traditional materials. Sessions will discuss the characteristics of adhesives, paper and fabric cut-outs, wood, and plastics. Students will receive one-on-one instruction and participate in open discussions about their ideas and work. Topics include construction, storage and presentation strategies. Open to all levels.

Register by: October 23  
Materials List   

Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering. 

Paint-and-Print Monotype Abstraction

$315

with Justine Ditto

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 2, 2026 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Justine Ditto  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  

Learn to let loose, let go, and just make through the painterly medium of monotype! Explore the limitless possibilities of oil-based and water-based monotype, drypoint monoprint, and screenprint monotype through experimentation and spontaneous creation. Learn to break out of rigid thinking and just play with the materials with no judgment, no prerequisite skills, and no pressure. Work back into prints in mixed media techniques to expand the scope for abstraction and expression. Content includes technical advice from an artist-instructor ideally skilled in a variety of media, as well as critiques to expand your creative boundaries. Class time prioritizes access to the printing facilities, and students will be encouraged to continue developing their prints with the media of their choice outside of class. This class is perfect for painters/draftspeople seeking to expand their processes, printmakers seeking to employ painterly and mixed media techniques, and anyone with love of color and experimentation. Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.

Register by: October 26  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting

$310

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 3, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Instructor: Roger Chavez  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  

Cultivate fluid mark-making and bold approaches to subject matter through rapid and loose painting studies. Tight and precise painting, especially in the early stages of an artwork, can sometimes lead to work that appears stiff and over-labored, or to locked-in compositions that are difficult to change or correct. Working from the still life, cityscapes, and the life model, utilize short, small painting exercises to learn new ways of starting paintings, keeping compositions open to adjustment, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your forms and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating viablemethods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: October 27  
Materials List  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

The Personal Language of Color Through Painting

$295

with Kate Moran

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 4, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM  
Instructor: Kate Moran
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  

This six-week painting course invites students to explore color as a personal, sensory, and expressive language. Through sustained painting practice, students will investigate how color is shaped by what we see as well as by memory, emotion, place, atmosphere, and lived experience. 

Working in a variety of aqueous painting mediums, students will experiment with color relationships, expand beyond habitual palette choices, and develop greater sensitivity to the subtle shifts that make color feel luminous, unexpected, harmonious, or emotionally charged. The landscape, urban environment, photographs, and personal objects will provide starting points for paintings and opportunities to examine how observation can be transformed through individual perception. Photography, journaling, and close observation will be used as tools for gathering visual information and becoming more attentive to color in everyday life. Students will keep a color journal that may include photographs, written observations, collected images, painted studies, palette experiments, and other material that can be brought back into the studio and developed through painting.  Small-scale paintings and color studies will encourage experimentation, repetition, and risk-taking, guided by the examples of contemporary artists whose distinctive approaches to color reveal individual ways of seeing and interpreting the world.   

By the end of the course, students will have created a collection of studies that reflect an increasingly confident and personal approach to color.  No previous experience with color theory is required. All levels are welcome. 

Image: Kate Moran, Color Wheel, 2024, gouache on paper, 8 x 8 in.

Register by: October 28  
Materials List    
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.





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