Summer Art Classes & Workshops at Sedona Arts Center
Sedona is surrounded by a magical landscape of red rock formations and high desert hills with beautiful Oak Creek meandering through it all. Come experience the Shangri-La of the Southwest, a beautiful learning environment with Art Colony roots going back nearly 100 years. Click here to see all of our classes and workshops
FIELD EXPEDITIONS
Travel to beautiful locations to paint en plein air and learn from talented instructors:
Grand Canyon: Painting From the South Rim with Bill Cramer
June 6 – 8 ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!
Attention Plein Air Painters! Don’t miss this GRAND Opportunity!
Nothing really compares to painting at the edge of the Grand Canyon. This three-day intensive offers: master instruction with professional artist and instructor Bill Cramer .He teaches various approaches to working on-site and how to efficiently compose and complete plein air paintings. Emphasis will be placed on how to effectively translate the often complex three-dimensional landscape onto a two dimensional plane using thumbnail sketches, limited palettes and thoughtful use of colors, values, shapes, edges and textures. Further emphasis will be placed on the creative process to make paintings that are more than strict representations of the landscape we see. Multiple demonstrations will be complemented by individual attention and group learning.
Click the “Learn More” button below for more details and to register.
Guanajuato, Mexico Plein Air Workshop with Gretchen Lopez
September 17 – 23, 2023
The spirit, history and colors of Guanajuato come to life as we explore and paint cafes, beautiful fountains, Spanish Colonial architecture and gardens. Our five-day workshop also includes an optional day-trip to wonderful San Miguel de Allende (there will be an extra nominal fee per person for transportation.)
This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to gather info from your oil studies and drawings done in plein air. I will show you how to capture the vitality of what you see with oil sketches, so you can create larger paintings in your home studio and also keep the experience and memories of your visit to Mexico alive and vibrant. With daily demonstrations, learn to compose, find your focal point and mix color from a limited palette.
Click below for more details about this workshop in Mexico!
Workshops at the Sedona Arts Center offer an intensive experience that will provide inspiration and information to distill and practice for months and even years afterwards. Instructors are experts in their fields.
Baggage Claim: Mixed Media Art Journal with Jesse Petersen
July 12 – 15 ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT!
“Baggage Claim” is a mixed media art journaling workshop. It is your passport to creating a unique handmade journal as a way to unwind and look inward.
As we explore the theme of “Baggage Claim” together as a class, Jesse will offer creative prompts paired with mixed media techniques to help you access your own personal stories and inner wisdom as you expand your skills as an artist. Through these creative prompts we consider all that we are carrying, what we want to let go and what we’d like to claim for our future adventures ahead. Jesse will act as your creative guide. This process will work for a totally new beginner or a seasoned artist looking for fresh inspiration. She will meet you where you are and take you on your own creative journey.
Online: Watercolor Secrets Revealed with Tom Lynch
August 2 – 3
The first day, you will paint ‘with ME. You will learn how to paint: mountains, fields, trees, rocks, skies, clouds and more. I will demonstrate each part on separate sheets of paper, then allow you time to practice under my watchful eye. The beauty of this format is you don’t have to worry about a finished painting in the morning as we just practice a variety of watercolor techniques on loose sheets of 140# watercolor paper. In the second session we will put all the parts together in a new effort and have a completed painting at the end of the day.
This workshop is being offered online only via Zoom. You will need to have Zoom installed in your device.
A Sense of Place with Diane Williams and Chuck Potter
August 18 – 20
Whether a world traveler or a homebody, a sense of place naturally finds its way into our painting. Social isolation has allowed us to consider our internal space more than ever. In this 3-day workshop we will examine the concept of “place” by painting the essence of landscape-both internal and external. You will practice abstract acrylic painting techniques that are connected to the spirit in nature. Abstract painting is often misconstrued as an unrecognizable style of painting where no standard rules of perspective, color theory, or composition exist. We will dispel that myth.
Sedona Fall Colors with Betty Carr
September 13 – 15
Learn to capture the beauty of light in this three-day workshop! Betty Carr teaches students to accurately portray the effect of light on any subject in watercolor or oil. Students can work in either watercolor or oils and will explore a variety of locations in beautiful Sedona.
Online – Abstract Figurative Workshop with Robert Burridge
September 29 – October 1
This workshop pushes you out of your safe zone and into a brand new, looser, abstract direction drawing and painting the contemporary nude. You will learn expressive painting techniques for the modern painter. If you ever wanted to learn how to paint the freestyle abstract figure, this workshop is for you. Color is explained and explored. You will learn the 12 Design Compositions for a successful painting.
The Sedona Arts Center’s Ceramics department has a variety of classes from which to choose. These classes are very popular, and the Ceramics Studio is always bustling with creativity and lots of fun! Instructors include Dennis Ott, Neil Kennedy and Lolo Aileen. See below for the different offerings by each instructor.
Ceramics for All Levels with Dennis Ott
Through demonstration and one-on-one instruction, students will learn to throw a variety of forms on the potter’s wheel or techniques to create hand-built works. Slab roller, extruder and forms are also available to create functional and decorative pieces.
Tuition includes the first 25-pound bag of clay, firings and glazes, and one open studio session per week. Additional bags of clay may be purchased during class for $35 per bag which includes glazing & firing fees. Enrolled students may also participate in one open studio session per week.
June 14 – July 19, Wednesdays – All Levels
July 26 – August 30, Wednesdays – All Levels
*Note that the Monday class is reserved for experienced ceramicists! Beginners are welcome in Dennis Ott’s Tuesday or Wednesday classes. See more classes with Dennis Ott by clicking the button below.
Ceramics for All Levels – Thursdays with Lolo Aileen
This six-week course focuses on developing, strengthening and advancing one’s skills using the potters wheel, as well as understanding the properties of clay in order to expand one’s potential to architecturally create a version of what one envisions. Have fun, gain knowledge and confidence.
Small class size ensures that each student receives personalized, one-on-one instruction and encouragement. Open for ages 12 through adult. Tuition includes the first 25-pound bag of clay, firings and glazes, and one open studio session per week. Additional bags of clay may be purchased during class for $35 per bag which includes glazing & firing fees. Enrolled students may also participate in one open studio session per week.
Come play in the clay! Tap into your creative self and experience various hand-building techniques. Make bowls, boxes, sculptures, and tiles, using slabs, molds, and textures. The possibilities are endless. Open to all levels, beginners welcome!
The Sedona Arts Center’s ceramic department operates free from the constraints of grades and benefits from the talents of its ceramic faculty and assistants as well as nationally recognized guest instructors. This combination allows our department to offer flexible and diverse programming in both traditional and contemporary techniques.
Tuition includes the first 25-pound bag of clay, firings and glazes, and one open studio session per week. Additional bags of clay may be purchased during class for $35 per bag which includes glazing & firing fees. Enrolled students may also participate in one open studio session per week.
Ceramics – Pottery Wheel for Beginners with Neil Kennedy
This six-week course is designed exclusively for those who are new to wheel work and is open for ages 12 through adult. Have fun while gaining confidence on the potters wheel. Small class size ensures that each student receives personalized, one-on-one instruction and encouragement for a fascinating hands-on experience that will bring out the potter in you.
The Sedona Arts Center’s ceramic department operates free from the constraints of grades and benefits from the talents of its ceramic faculty and assistants as well as nationally recognized guest instructors. This combination allows our department to offer flexible and diverse programming in both traditional and contemporary techniques.
Tuition includes the first 25-pound bag of clay, firings and glazes, and one open studio session per week. Additional bags of clay may be purchased during class for $35 per bag which includes glazing & firing fees. Enrolled students may also participate in one open studio session per week.
Taking classes on our campus in Uptown Sedona affords the opportunity not only to explore the arts, but also to meet new neighbors and immerse yourself in the Sedona arts community. Ongoing instruction is available and donors at the $60 Friend level and above receive a 10% discount.
Painting Crash Course with Gretchen Lopez
May 25 – 26
Perfect for the beginner who wants to learn how to paint with traditional oils, water-soluble oils, or acrylics. Get to know your brushes and how they can work for you, with a bolder and looser approach to painting. If you want to loosen up and learn to build your skills of observation, this crash course is for you. Learn how simple shapes and a limited palette of color, can help build a landscape. Students will leave with small studies and a finished painting, and also with the inspiration to paint more.
With materials included, all barriers have been removed so that you can explore the fun of painting! All you bring is yourself and clothing that you could get some paint on!
No experience is necessary – just the student’s willingness to learn to paint with watercolors & ink.
Kids will learn and have fun exploring the many techniques of watercolors and ink to create their own unique paintings. Each student will leave with a fun body of work and knowledge of watercolors.
Sign up early as class is limited to 10 participants.
Click the “Learn More” button below for more information and to enroll your child.
Painting: Design & Composition with Gretchen Lopez
August 4
In this class, shape plus values of light and dark are keys to success in your painting. We will play with various shapes and have fun with color to build small paintings! This is a great way to get your painting started! Instructor demonstrations and lots of individual attention provided. Beginning to intermediate – some prior drawing is required.
Painting: Celebrating Summer with Gretchen Lopez
August 18
Learn to paint water and experience the joys of summer, with shape and color mixing! Photo reference will be provided! Instructor demonstrations and lots of individual attention provided. Instructor demonstrations and lots of individual attention provided. Beginning to intermediate – some prior drawing is required.
Watercolor Crash Course: Capturing Luminous Light with Betty Carr
October 4 – 5
This class welcomes beginners who have some drawing experience and want to learn how to paint with watercolor, as well as the more experienced painters who want to learn more watercolor techniques.
Our class will focus on the “how to’s” of brushes, mediums, paper, seeing and painting light on form, understanding temperatures of light and shadow, and working with edges in painting a variety of subjects. I’ll be demonstrating exciting ways to create effects in watercolor using impressionistic, painterly brushwork. How to paint in watercolor using glazing and textural techniques, incorporating frisket (don’t worry if you don’t know what that is – you will find out and it’s fun), and applying a value sketch will be covered. When completed, we will all have painted some exciting and beautiful watercolors.
With materials included, all barriers have been removed so that you can explore the fun of painting! All you bring is yourself, a lunch or snack, and clothing that you can get some paint on!
Our mission is to connect, enrich, educate and lead through the inspiring power of the arts and creative discovery.
Sedona Arts Center is one of Northern Arizona’s most well-established cultural organizations and serves as the creative heart of Sedona. Founded in 1958, the nonprofit is based in Uptown Sedona and offers year-round classes, exhibitions, festivals, and cultural events that enhance the creative life of the Verde Valley.
