Continuing Education at PAFA

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!