Vitality Arts at Mia

Join visual and teaching artist Sophia Weisensel in this hands-on workshop designed to introduce you to pastel drawing. Learn fundamental techniques, including creating expressive lines, blending, and layering.

You’ll also have the opportunity to explore the galleries and connect with Mia’s collection for inspiration. See how artists have used pastels throughout history, and gain a deeper appreciation for why pastel works are often referred to as paintings.

Wednesdays, 1:30–4 p.m.
January 8–February 5, 2025

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Teaching artist Michael Gaughan guided students in traditional and non‐traditional approaches to watercolor painting, including how to transfer an existing drawing to be used as the base for a painting, how to execute washes and blends, and how to achieve a variety of textures. Students worked from observation, photographs, and their imaginations to create vibrant, delicate, and luminous works using this translucent medium. Students learned techniques such as wet on wet, wet-on-dry, and dry brush.

Artist Luis Fitch introduced students to the history of graffiti and street art—and guided them as they made their own. Students created tag names then illustrate a canvas using spray painting, wheat pasting, graffiti, stenciling and tagging techniques. The workshop began indoors in the Mia studios and then transitioned to an outdoor space, allowing for an authentic street art experience.

Led by local artist and educator Cadex Herrera, students expressed their creativity by painting a 3 x 5 foot landscape acrylic painting on Polytab—each artist sharing a common horizon line. These individual contributions were then integrated into a collective mural, connected by the horizon line, to form a single vibrant and cohesive landscape painting.

Artist and educator Michael Gaughan guided students through the skills needed to start a drawing practice. Students explored Mia’s vast collection, using the wide range of artworks as reference for drawing from observation. Each week students focused on a different essential drawing skill: composition, measuring and proportion, perspective, line and mark making, and value and shading.

Teaching artist and museum educator Ilene Krug Mojsilov guided students as they experimented with color, texture, line, and shape to create paintings that reflected their personal style. Students learned about early abstract artists, including Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian, as well as contemporary artists like Frank Stella, Grace Hartigan, and Yayoi Kusama, among others. Students also toured the museum’s galleries for inspiration.

Mia’s beginner portraiture class helped students gain the skills and confidence to succeed at drawing the human face. Each week students created gesture drawings, contour drawings, and even collage from a live model. The class explored a range of drawing styles, such as cubism, realism, and cartoon art, and took short tours of Mia’s galleries for inspiration.

Visual artist, designer, and tapestry weaver Lynda Monick-Isenberg taught students how to weave patterns and pictorial designs in brilliant colors and textures. Students learned how to prepare the frame loom, practiced fundamental weaving techniques, and finished their textile in a collaborative learning environment. The class visited Mia’s galleries to view works in the museum’s textile collection and learn about tapestry’s place in historical and contemporary art.