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Continuing Education at PAFA

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CE Courses by Medium/Discipline

Drawing: Essential Figure Structure and Anatomy (In-Person)

$615

with John Horn

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 23, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 12 weeks

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: John Horn
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)  

Develop your ability to render the human form through the time-honored combination of anatomical study and life drawing.  Learn the methods and technical skills of traditional figure drawing, such as measuring, capturing gesture, anatomical structuring, and tonal rendering. Through lectures and demonstrations, and work from the life model, learn the structural aspects of the human form: bony landmarks, simplified volumes, and proportional relationships. Progress to the skeletal framework and superficial muscles to identify their surface effects and how they influence mass and movement. Incorporate your knowledge of figure anatomy to capture the fluidity, vitality, and subtleties of the human form while working from the life model in short and extended poses. This course is ideal for anyone interested in strengthening their figure drawing, painting, or sculpture skills, as well as for those interested in future medical illustration.  Note: Tuition includes a $75 models fee. 

*Note: No class on March 6. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $770, including models fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Screenprinting and Beyond (In-Person)

$570

with Tony Rosati

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 23, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 12 weeks

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Tony Rosati
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

The versatile nature of screenprinting lends itself to printing on paper, fabric and other surfaces. For the beginner, this course will cover all aspects of the process including screen preparation, image development, and printing techniques. Printmakers with experience may propose independent projects. Note: Tuition includes $30 lab fee. 

Learning Objectives: 

  • Students will gain a basic understanding of the screenprinting process.  
  • Students will acquire technical experience with screens, squeegees, ink, tools, and equipment.  
  • Students will learn basic screenprinting techniques including image development, coating and processing screens, mixing ink, and printing.  
  • Students will acquire technical expertise by way of printing various stencils from fine detail images to flat broad areas.  
  • Students will learn printmaking professionalism including printing editions on clean registered printmaking paper, signing and numbering editions appropriately.  
  • Students will learn the importance of image development through individual reviews and by exploring various possibilities with the process.  
  • Students will develop critical visual and verbal skills by way of individual discussions with the instructor and with their peers. 

*Note: No class on March 6.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $725 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: April Flory [CE Student], Afternoon Center City, 2023, Screenprint, 15 x 22 in.

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide,
including withdrawal/refund policies

Drawing Fundamentals: Line and Form (In-Person)

$295

with Phyllis Laver

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 23, 2025 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

If you’ve never drawn before, or your skills are a little rusty, then this class is for you! Learn to draw what you see with confidence. Work from simple forms, still life arrangements, and interior and exterior spaces to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and dark, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, gauging value, and ways of defining form and space. This course is excellent as a foundation for future study, as a precursor to more advanced drawing study or to painting and other disciplines. Note: This part 1 course does not include work from models. 

This class is part 1 of an optional 2-part course! See also Drawing Fundamentals: Cast and Figure for continued instruction. Students are welcome to enroll in either or both parts; Line and Form is not required as a prerequisite to Cast and Figure but is recommended for students with little or no drawing experience. 

Image: Ellen R. Warren, Begonia, ca. 1880, pen and black ink on white wove paper, 2 x 3 1-4 in. Collection of PAFA.

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Introduction to Foundry and Mold-Making (In-Person)

$750

with Pavel Efremoff

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 23, 2025 at 12:30 pm, runs for 12 weeks

Thursdays, 12:30 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Pavel Efremoff
Twelve-Week Condensed Course (42 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)

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.

*Note: No class on March 6.

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,070 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide
, including withdrawal/refund policies

Foundry: An Introduction/All Levels (In-Person)

$750

with Pavel Efremoff

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 23, 2025 at 6 pm, runs for 12 weeks

Thursdays, 6 - 9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Pavel Efremoff
Twelve-Week Condensed Course (42 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)

This course will cover all aspects of the foundry process. Demonstrations and hands-on instruction will be given in wax modeling and casting, ceramic shell techniques, bronze pouring, metal chasing, TIG welding and patination. All levels welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $75 lab fee.

*Note: No class on March 6.

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,070 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide
, including withdrawal/refund policies

In-Depth Watercolor, Section 1 (In-Person)

$675

with James Toogood

Calendar Next session starts Jan 24, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 10 weeks

Fridays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques from your choice of landscape, still life, portrait, and figure subjects. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.    

Learning Objectives   

  • Students will learn about color theory as applied to watercolor.   
  • Students will receive a comprehensive explanation of watercolor materials and tools, with particular focus will be paid to the properties of paint and pigments as they interact with the paintbrushes and paper.   
  • Through both discussions and demonstrations, first time participants and beginners will learn a variety of techniques that are fundamental to watercolor, presented in a systematic step by step method. Participants can expect to have regular individual instruction, given at their current skill level. 
  • Focus also will be paid on acquiring the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.   
  • Participants will work from direct observations from the still life and model, or from their own source material.  Those not taking the class for credit will have the option to work on landscape, still life, portrait and figure or abstraction, as they wish.   
  • Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover one’s own personal aesthetic.   

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $995. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Full Course

Stone Carving (In-Person)

$570

with Steve Nocella

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 25, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 12 weeks

Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Steve Nocella 
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Explore the possibilities of stone carving by using traditional and nontraditional methods. All processes from rough carving to polishing will be covered, and various tools and techniques will be demonstrated. Open to all levels. Note: Tuition includes $30 lab fee.

Learning Objectives

  • Develop proficiency in basic tool use including manual carving, pneumatic carving, sawing, grinding, and sanding.
  • Learn the methods of stone carving beginning with "roughing out" a form and finishing with sanding and polishing.
  • Develop a perceptual ability for spatial relationships of the elements that constitute a sculpture or a three-dimensional image.
  • Learn to use creative and critical thinking in the process of carving sculpture.
  • Gain an appreciation for the influence and informing effect that medium and process have on image making.
  • Acquire an introductory understanding of the history of stone carving and the capacity to conceptualize context for the student's sculpture.

*Note: No class on March 8.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $725 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image:  Joseph McGrath [CE Student], Pointing to Princton, Alabaster.

Register by: January 17
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide
, including withdrawal/refund policies

Figure Painting: Alla Prima and the Limited Palette (In-Person)

$330

with David Wilson

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 25, 2025 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only (see below for combined 1.0 credit option)* 

Painting the human form from observation is one of the cornerstones of PAFA's long tradition of rigorous instruction. Working from the nude model in poses of varying lengths, investigate color mixing, proportion, and composition using oil paint as a medium. Focusing on alla prima painting techniques and a limited flesh-tone palette, learn to model the human form through gesture, shape, volume, and temperature – excellent for painted sketches and preparatory studies, foundations for extended work, or an introduction/refresher to figure painting. Intended for all skill levels, this course also offers the valuable opportunity for more advanced students to continue to hone their skills to deepen their understanding of the language of painting.  Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students may draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

*Optional combined-course 1.0-credit offering:  Students wishing to earn 1.0 undergraduate credit may combine this class with the Extended Pose course, for a 12-week credit-bearing course by registering here.  See academic credit policies in the CE Policy Guide, below. Note: Because changes in academic status must occur prior to the third class for 12-week courses, credit registration is only available through February 7. See credit course description.

Register by: January 17
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies





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