Open studio access: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, 15 weeks + Spring Break, January 13 - May 2. (No access during Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 20.) 

Critiques:  Four individual critiques, by sign-up, with selected critic.  Dates TBA (one per month, January - April). See available days/times attached to each critic.  Bonus group critique and/or group events with the adjacent/instructed Taking the Leap studio program with coordinator Roger Chavez, subject to scheduling availability.   

Critics (students select ONE):  

• Jill A. Rupinski (Tuesdays, critique slots starting at 1 p.m.) 
• Peter Van Dyck (Thursdays, critique slots starting at 9 a.m.) 

Credit: Non-credit  

Maintain your studio practice and push your work to new levels amidst a thriving arts environment of classes and working degree students on PAFA’s campus – with the benefit of the expert advice of PAFA’s leading critics! Students participating in this program will pursue their own independent work under the focused guidance of one critic, PAFA appointed faculty Jill A. Rupinski or Peter Van Dyck (selected during registration), for one-on-one critique and discussion four times per semester (once monthly). Additional group critique and other opporunities will be available with the adjacent Taking the Leap studio rental program, coordinated by Roger Chavez.

Tuition for this fifteen-week/full-semester program will confer an individual studio space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building for self-guided studio time with monthly critiques from the selected faculty-critic. Studios for this program are approximately 9 x 16 feet (144 sq. ft.), white-walled, with an easel and stool provided (students are responsible for additional furniture or equipment needs). Students have two studio options (select preference during registration):  

• Studios within a group space are located side-by-side within a private, key-secured corridor for an engaging community atmosphere. Each space is curtained (no individually locked doors), opening out to the corridor’s large east-facing windows for the benefit of abundant natural light. 
  
  
• Interior studios spaces (not located along PAFA’s windowed exterior walls) offer increased privacy with individual lockable doors, without natural light. FULL -- Option not available at this time.
  

This studio-rental program is designed for experienced visual artists and alumni who can work independently and will benefit from constructive feedback on their artwork. For students needing more guidance in their individual studio practice or anyone preferring a format of weekly interaction, artistic prompts, and increased community support, PAFA’s alternative CE studio rental program, Taking the Leap to Start and Advance Your Studio Practice (with Instruction), is a great option with benefits designed to launch your studio practice!  

Note: Registration requires an additional $200 studio deposit that is refundable upon satisfactory return of the studio to its original condition at the end of the program. Students must agree to and sign PAFA’s studio agreement form. Membership and early registration discounts cannot be applied to course tuition. 

Image: Peter Van Dyck

Registration Deadline: Rolling, on a space-available basis. Late registration (after program start date) available. 

Materials List (PAFA-Approved Materials) 

Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies.  *Please note: A minimum 10% fee applies to cancellations any time after registration, including same day, to cover third-party processing charges -- please check your schedule before registering!

Open studio access: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, 15 weeks, January 13 - May 2 + Spring Break access, with weekly instruction on Thursdays. (No access during on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 20.)

Weekly Meetings/Studio-Visits:  Thursdays, January 23 - April 24, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (No class on March 6.)

Instructor/Lead Critic: Roger Chavez

Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credits (see description)

Taking the leap to start or cultivate an art-making practice in a private studio space can be both exciting and daunting. Learn how to create work and stay motivated on your own terms in this new and unique combination studio-rental and classroom course! Tuition for this fifteen-week/full-semester program will confer an individual studio space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, as well as weekly meetings for critique and instruction on a variety of artist’s concerns led by artist-instructor/critic Roger Chavez. Studios for this program are approximately 9 x 16 feet (144 sq. ft.), white-walled, with easel and stool provided (students are responsible for additional furniture or equipment needs). Students have two studio options (select preference during registration): 

• Studios within a group space are located side-by-side within a private, key-secured corridor for an engaging community atmosphere. Each space is curtained (no individually locked doors), opening out to the corridor’s large east-facing windows for the benefit of abundant natural light.
  
  
• Interior studios spaces (not located along PAFA’s windowed exterior walls) offer increased privacy with individual lockable doors, without natural light. FULL -- Option not available at this time.

Weekly meetings will feature both one-on-one in-studio critiques/discussions as well as group instruction on art topics designed to motivate and assist you in your work, including drawing sessions from models, assignment prompts, materials and techniques demonstrations, museum visits, and critiques from guest critics. This class is perfect for artists of varying levels of experience wanting to jumpstart or advance their personal practice, for students considering application to a studio-centered certificate or degree program, or for anyone lacking a home studio and seeking a space to pursue their work -- with the motivation and encouragement that come from being part of an artistic community! Participants will benefit from some prior art-making experience and the ability to work independently.

Note: Registration requires an additional $200 studio deposit that is refundable upon satisfactory return of the studio to its original condition at the end of the program. Students must agree to and sign PAFA’s studio agreement form. Membership and early registration discounts cannot be applied to course tuition.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $2,450. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: Instructor Roger Chavez in studio.

See Also:  Experienced studio artists intersted in a studio program with feedback but without the benefit of weekly guidance may be interested in CE Studio Rental: Advanced Studio with Critique, which offers self-guided studio time with monthly critiques with one of PAFA's esteemed faculty critics for periodic feedback and expert advice.

Registration Deadline: Rolling, on a space-available basis. Late registration (after first weekly meeting) available.

Materials List (PAFA-Approved Materials) 

Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies.  *Please note: A minimum 10% fee applies to cancellations any time after registration, including same day, to cover third-party processing charges -- please check your schedule before registering!

Saturdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Steve Nocella
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

This ten-week course teaches the basic skills needed for making metal sculpture. Learn fundamental methods of cutting, bending and welding metal such as sawing, heating, and MIG welding. Students will be encouraged to explore the medium with directness and spontaneity to gain a knowledge and understanding of its complexion. Open to all levels. Note: Tuition includes a $65 lab fee.

*Note: No class on March 8.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $660 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: January 24
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Tuesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Marguerita Hagan
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit

Explore a custom sculpture experience in clay with veteran ceramicist, Marguerita Hagan.  Learn various hand-building processes with an emphasis on abstraction. Create work that is either wall-hanging or free-standing, focused on 3D qualities or surface treatments, or both. Whatever you imagine will be supported with experienced individualized attention and specific hand-building and painting techniques to manifest your intention. Gain exposure not only to hand-building directions but also to many surface treatment methods including airbrush, underglaze paints, pencils, masking, resist, glaze, overglaze lusters, and waterslide and rice paper transfer decals. Instruction will be tailored to serve the individual whether for learning basic hand-building methods or realizing a work or series.  Come with no experience or translate your existing practice into the transformative language of clay. Note: Tuition includes a $30 lab fee. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $625, including lab fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 28
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Thursdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Dan Miller
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)  

Printing from a drawing carved into wood or a linoleum block is the oldest and most straightforward form of printmaking. The direct nature of this process makes it an ideal introduction to printmaking for beginners, while artists of all levels enjoy its potential for intricate detail and graphic impact. All aspects of the process will be covered, including drawing on the block, carving your design, ink brayer use and press operation, and printing in black-and white and color. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $30 lab fee.   

*Note: No class on March 6. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $625 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: Dan Miller, Leaning from the Sea, color woodcut.

Register by: January 31
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Thursdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Drawing from the portrait and life model is one of the most time-honored methods of art training at PAFA. Improve your observation-based drawing skills as you work in charcoal and graphite directly from life models in short and long poses, exploring gesture, proportions, anatomy and expression. All levels welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $65 models fee. 

Learning Objectives 

• Students will stretch the traditional definitions of portrait and life drawing to merge the two into personal statements. 

• Students will work with clothed and unclothed/life models who are diverse individuals. 

• Students will acquire a working knowledge of varied drawing materials, including charcoal, graphite and ink. 

• Students will acquire a working knowledge of form and structure in the body. 

• Students will develop the ability to better see the model rather than rely on schema. 

• Students will acquire knowledge of diverse artists and their ways of working. 

*Note: No class on March 6.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $660, including models fee. Select credit option when registering.

Image: Phyllis Laver.

Register by: January 30
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

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 setting a viable learning environment for your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.

Register by: March 3
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Richard Estell
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Explore the painting techniques of the masters who pioneered the 19th and 20th century American watercolor movement, including Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, and Charles Demuth. Characterized by bright color and bold handling that includes accents of opaque watercolor and loose washes, work in this tradition captures subject matter with dazzling light-filled effects. Practice these classic methods and learn to incorporate them into your own artwork to achieve a greater freedom of expression as well as adaptability and control in the way that you paint. Demonstrations and art historical discussions will be combined with short and more extensive still life and self-portrait exercises. This course is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels.

Register by: March 3
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies