Sedona Arts Center — Your Artistic Journey Begins Here!

Join award-winning artist Joe A. Oakes for a fun, info-packed, painting experience. Learn to take an ordinary image and transform it into an extraordinary, finished, VIBRANT painting. Valuable art principles and important acrylic painting techniques will be discussed while we work through and complete a finished piece. All painting styles and skill levels are welcome. Also open to oil and pastel painters.

For centuries, creating art, and writing poetry in particular, has served as a form of healing for pain and grief. In this workshop, we’ll discuss examples of celebrated poems that tackle these difficult topics and study effective techniques for channeling our challenges into poetry. Then, through a series of writing prompts, we’ll delve into our own experiences and turn them into powerful, effective poems. This workshop is for anyone who is interested in the incredible transformative power of poetry to heal our wounds, whether emotional or physical.

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.

There is a sweet spot of overlap between the traditions of abstraction and contemporary landscape painting where mark-making and the implications of planar structure combine with color and light to create a magical realm of newly discovered space.

This workshop will help you transform Sedona’s beautiful scenery into loose and expressive abstract landscape paintings. Amanda’s approach to abstraction is both structured and intuitive, meant to give attendees the tools and confidence to take risks and make informed decisions on the canvas, both in the workshop and long after the class. Each morning the workshop will open with warm-up exercises, and each afternoon will be used as open studio time with ample individual attention. All artists can expect to leave the workshop with several color studies, a series of miniature abstracts, and 1-2 larger abstract landscape paintings; all led by demonstration.

Watercolor is a popular, flexible medium, and suitable for anyone that travels and would like to capture the beauty of their surroundings. In this workshop we will explore watercolor basics, using a journaling/sketchbook approach. We’ll cover the basics of composition, value, brushwork and color relationships, experiment with color mixing and ink drawing, and finish by working with the living landscape to create sketchbook paintings that can stand on their own or serve as inspirational notes for later studio works. At the end of the workshop, you should have begun a sketchbook of your own that you can carry virtually anywhere, which will allow you to record your travels, and your progress in this medium. Suitable for beginners and more experienced painters alike.  

This class also takes place on July 13 – click here

In today’s technological world, even professional photographers and artists are recognizing the iPhone as a useful (and even practical) photographic tool. Join photographer artist, Kelli Klymenko in his one-day class for beginner and advanced students and you’ll go beyond the basics and learn to shoot professional quality photographs with your iPhone.

You will learn how to shoot, edit and share remarkable landscapes, portraits and the macro world around you using only your iPhone. Kelli will guide you through simple tips and tricks that will take your photography to the next level. Discover how to capture the essence of a place and your subjects rather than just taking a picture. You will also learn basic video and video editing techniques for use with apps such as Facebook and Instagram.

• Learn how to get the highest resolution images on your iPhone and apps
• Practice creative techniques including HDR (High Dynamic Range)
• Shoot panoramas
• Learn about the latest editing, filters and stylizing apps
• Learn about iPhone equipment: remotes, tripods and more
• Learn how to use the hottest new tools on your iPhone

This will be an In Person class, to join this class virtually, please visit:

iPhoneography ONLINE Class

Get to know what your brushes can do in this one session course.

Your brushes are an extension of you.  Gain more confidence in your paintings by understanding all the techniques which go into the handling of your brushes!

Instructor demonstrations and lots of individual attention provided. This class is online – enrolled students will receive an email invitation with a link to join the Zoom meeting platform from Gretchen Lopez a day or two before the class.

In today’s technological world, even professional photographers and artists are recognizing the iPhone as a useful (and even practical) photographic tool. Join photographer artist, Kelli Klymenko in his one-day class for beginner and advanced students and you’ll go beyond the basics and learn to shoot professional quality photographs with your iPhone.

You will learn how to shoot, edit and share remarkable landscapes, portraits and the macro world around you using only your iPhone. Kelli will guide you through simple tips and tricks that will take your photography to the next level. Discover how to capture the essence of a place and your subjects rather than just taking a picture. You will also learn basic video and video editing techniques for use with apps such as Facebook and Instagram.

This will be a LIVE class with virtual students Zooming in (NOT prerecorded)
If you wish to join us in the live class; please register for the In Person Class: iPhoneography In Person Class

Learn how to paint reflections in water, by navigating with shape and values!  We will also experience mixing rich color to reflect sky, streams and even atmosphere!

Please have a canvas no larger than 12×16. Fredrix canvas pads are great for exercises!

Instructor demonstrations and lots of individual attention provided.

Enrolled students will receive an email invitation with a link to join the Zoom meeting platform from Gretchen Lopez a day or two before the class. Be sure you have an internet connection and Zoom installed on your device before the day of the class. 

Sedona Arts Center’s ceramics instructors are all highly skilled artists and experienced teachers!

Neil Kennedy – Instructor

Ceramics – Pottery Wheel for Beginners
May 25–June 22 : Saturdays from 9am to 12pm
Click here to learn more and sign up

Ceramics – Hand Building
May 21–June 18 : Tuesdays from 1 to 4pm
Click here to learn more and sign up

Dennis Ott, Instructor and Head of the Ceramics Dept

Ceramics – Advanced
May 20–June 17 : Mondays from 4 to 7pm
Click here to learn more and sign up

Ceramics – All Levels
May 21–June 18 : Tuesdays from 9am to 12pm  
Click here to learn more and sign up

Ceramics – All Levels
May 22–June 19 : Wednesdays from 9am to 12pm
Click here to learn more and sign up

Lolo Aileen – Instructor

Ceramics – All Levels
May 23–June 20 : Thursdays from 4 to 7pm
Click here to learn more and sign up

Creative Aging is “the practice of engaging older adults in participatory, professi onally run arts programs with a focus on social engagement and skills mastery,” according to the non-profit organization Lifetime Arts.

This program is intended for people ages 65+ and is also open to participants and their caregivers.

Explore creating visual stories guided by Storyteller Claire Obermarck with artists Jan Quisumbing and Mary Helsaple.  Claire will lead the group through prompts and “beautiful questions” to engage the imagination and teach participants how to weave individual and group stories together. Jan and Mary will work with the group on techniques to build mark-making skills through pencils, colored pencils, markers and more with fine arts materials. A celebratory exhibit of the work completed during the six-week program will occur on the last day. Sign up