Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours) 

Modeling the portrait in clay is a foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Working from a model, learn to create a portrait from composition to completed sculpture. Focus will include simple structural forms, proportion, anatomy, and technical best practices for clay sculpture. Work will be fired at the end of class. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $75 models fee. 

Student Learning Outcomes

• Gain a basic understanding of the osteology, myology, and morphology of the head
• Analyze and organize the various forms of the head and neck into simplified sculptural forms
• Understand various techniques for creating a “likeness” of the sitter
• Carry out best practices for modeling and maintaining water-based clay sculpture. 

Image: Morgan Dummitt

Register by: May 19 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Tuesdays, 6 - 9 p.m.  
Instructor: Shushana Rucker 
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours) 
No class on July 7 

This extended course explores landscape drawing and painting in the studio using reference photos and sketches. Students will learn how to create effective reference materials through photography, sketching, and observation, and how to translate these references into compelling compositions. Instruction will focus on principles of design, including balance, value structure, and spatial organization, alongside an in-depth exploration of color relationships, atmosphere, and light. Through a series of projects and critiques, students will develop technical skills and a personal approach to interpreting the landscape.

Image: Shushana Rucker, The Schuylkill, oil on panel, 10 x 20 in.

Register by: May 19 
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Weekend Workshop (One-Day, 7 Hours)
Rain Date: June 6* 

Capture the active life of the city and its rich architecture. This is an excellent workshop for anyone who wants to learn to sketch on the bus or train, in cafés and public parks, or while traveling abroad. Topics include perspective, gauging proportions by eye, gesture figure drawing, and methods for simplifying form. All levels welcome.

*Please reserve the rain date in your schedule when registering – no refunds for withdrawals less than one week prior to the original workshop date, including for students unable to attend the postponed date. See policy guide, below. 

Register by: May 22 
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Linda Gist 
One-Week Intensive (30 Hours) 

Explore flowers and other natural forms, beginning with line and value drawing and progressing to full-color rendering in watercolor and mixed media.  Topics will include sighting techniques, line quality, tone and value, creation of depth, composition, texture, and basic color. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $15 materials fee for floral subjects, provided.

Image: Linda Gist

Register by: June 15
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.  
Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell 
Weekend Workshop (12 Hours) 

Learn the techniques and tools of figure sculpture through demonstration and hands-on sculpting from the model. Explore anatomy, proportion, gesture, and design through the versatility of clay. Personal expression will be emphasized though representational and abstract approaches. Open to all levels and perfect for beginners. Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

Image: Colleen O’Donnell

Register by: June 18
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30 Hours) 

Energize and open up your approach to figure painting through rapid, loose oil painting studies from the life model. Learn tactics to avoid the tendency toward tightness and over-attention to detail too early in the process that can lead to work that lacks liveliness in gesture or mark and is difficult to adjust or correct. Through short, small-scale painting exercises from the model in one-day poses, learn new ways of approaching life painting with an emphasis on keeping compositions fluid, capturing the gesture and character of the subject before getting locked into its contours, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your color and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating sustainable methods for growth in your painting practice. Note: Tuition includes a $65 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: June 30
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.  
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30 Hours) 

Modeling the figure in clay is the foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Working from a model, learn to sculpt in clay from initial gesture to surface finishing techniques. Topics of study will include proportion, composition, structure, and simplified sculptural form. Students will complete two sculptures in the course of the class. All work will be fired after class. Beginners welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $65 models fee.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Gain a basic understanding of the osteology, myology, and anatomy of the figure
• Analyze and organize the various elements of the body into simplified sculptural forms
• Carry out best practices for modeling and maintaining water-based clay sculpture
• Understand best practices for creating ceramic sculpture

Image: Morgan Dummitt, Brittany, terracotta.

Register by: June 30
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.  
Instructor: John Horn 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

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. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

Image: John Horn

Register by: July 1
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.