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Continuing Education at PAFA



CE Ten-Week Courses

in CE Courses by Format/Length

Woodcut and Relief Printmaking (In-Person)

$480

with Dan Miller

Calendar Next available session starts Feb 6, 2025 at 1 pm, runs for 10 weeks

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

Register by December 16 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.  

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

Portrait and Figure Drawing (In-Person)

$515

with Phyllis Laver

Calendar Next available session starts Feb 6, 2025 at 6 pm, runs for 10 weeks

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

Register by December 16 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

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 $65models 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

Introduction to Drawing: Colored Pencil (In-Person)

$475

with Michelle Oosterbaan

Calendar Next available session starts Feb 8, 2025 at 1 pm, runs for 10 weeks

Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Register by December 16 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

Learn the fundamentals of drawing with the vibrancy colored pencil! Work from still life objects and arrangements, natural and urban landscape window views, and clothed portrait/figure models to explore descriptive and expressive line quality, light/shadow, composition, color relationships, cross-hatching and layering methods, as ways to render scenic form and space. Instruction will guide students through observational sighting and measuring techniques and color theory essentials to achieve a sense of realism and to serve as a solid foundation for future study. Tuition includes a $25 models fee.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $620, including models fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

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

Masters' Guide to Abstract Painting (Online)

$395

with Susan Sullivan

Calendar Next available session starts Feb 15, 2025 at 1 pm, runs for 10 weeks

Saturdays, 1 – 3:30 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content)
Instructor: Susan Sullivan
Ten-Week Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Register by December 16 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

Abstraction in art can look like a variety of different things, from the painterly glow of a Turner seascape to the flattened patterns of a Matisse interior to Pollock’s nonobjective drip technique. But how does one get from painting realistically what one can see in the real world to translating it into invented color and shape or to abandoning form altogether? Learn from master artists throughout modern art history by trying on their techniques to find your own personal style! Explore different paint application methods, color interactions, and compositional tactics as you take on a variety of subjects, including still life, interiors, landscape, and the figure or self-portrait…using the examples of Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Mickalene Thomas, and other master artists to guide you. Each session will include lecture and artist examples, in-class painting time, and one-on-one feedback from the instructor. Whether you are seeking to drive your current work to a new direction or simply experiment with different ways of generating imagery, this is a great steppingstone to making abstraction – in whatever form it may take – personal, expressive, and satisfying. Open to all media and levels but drawing experience recommended.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: February 7
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide
, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses





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