These fun and creative workshops offer opportunities for you to view artworks and work on art projects while exploring and developing your creative spirit.
Saturdays 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Programs fees
Members: FREE; Non-Members: FREE with Museum Admission.
Ask about special group rates.
All workshops are FREE to students and their families in the Philadelphia School District!
For more information please call 215-972-2061.
Saturday, February 6 Skulls and Bones - so sorry - cancelled due to snow
Learn about the artwork of artist Georgia O'Keeffe who was fascinated by the animal skulls that she encountered while exploring the southwest landscape. Draw from PAFA's anatomical collection of animal skulls and bones and try your hand at techniques to develop your ability to effectively draw what you see. Explore shape, value, line and creating volume using a variety of drawing materials.
Instructor: Fred Kaplan
Saturday, February 13 Valentine Decoupage Jewelry
Discover beautiful paintings in the Museum galleries as well as architectural details of the Furness Academy building. Utilize reproductions of favorite paintings and ornate architectural details to create decoupage handcrafted bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pins. Also make decorative gift boxes to present your jewelry to a loved one.
Instructor: Teresa Atkins
Saturday, February 20 Musical Relief Prints
View prints utilized in a stop-action music video by Tromarama, an artists' collective from Indonesia, in Philagrafika 2010: The Graphic Unconscious. In the studio learn the process of relief printing by trying your hand at linoleum block printing to make your own music inspired graphic print. (please note that we will use sharp lino cutters at this workshop - may not be suitable for younger children)
Instructor: Stephanie DeJarnette
Saturday, February 27 Dream Worlds
Create a futuristic, fantasy, dream world beyond your imagination. Using photographs, pictures from magazines, colorful and decorative paper, paint, scissors, glue, and your imagination, learn techniques to combine materials into a colorful, dream world collage. Use your imagination and be creative! Create new life forms, new worlds, new people, and new places. (bring in favorite photos and we will also provide images)
Instructor: Asher Barkley
Thursday, March 4 Flower Painting at the 2010 Flower Show 12 noon
Please note that the workshop this week will take place on Thursday rather than Saturday and will be held in the Family Lounge at the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Penna. Convention Center, 12th and Arch Street. Admission to this workshop is free with admission to the Flower Show. Special time: 12 noon
Can you think of a better place to paint beautiful flowers than at the Philadelphia Flower Show? At this special family workshop, learn basic watercolor techniques to paint lovely flower still lifes and bring the beauty of spring blossoms home with you.
Instructor: Charles Hankin
Saturday, March 6 No Workshop (due to Thursday workshop at the Flower Show)
Saturday, March 13 Cool Caps
Design, decorate, and construct your own stylish wearable art. Learn how to transform a variety of materials, including fabric, buttons, ribbons, sequins, and more, into your own cap to keep you “cool” in chilly weather.
Instructor: Patricia Taylor
Saturday, March 20 Flying Prints
Celebrate the arrival of Spring! View prints in PAFA's Philagrafika 2010: The Graphic Unconscious to discover the variety of different printing processes. In the studio, try your hand at making monoprints - a printing process in which no two prints are alike. Next - transform your print into a diamond two-stick classic style kite. Finallly, attach the tails and the kite string and take your one-of-a-kind kite out and watch it soar.
Instructor: Tad Sare
Saturday, March 27 Leather Jewelry and Accessories
Using leather, simple leatherwork tools, and paint, glue and fasteners, create leather accessories. Participate in a demonstration with leather tools and a hot press machine to create, design, paint and construct one or more of the following: a bracelet, necklace, earrings, belt, head ties or rings.
Instructor: Serena Saunders
Saturday, April 3 What's Up Doc?
Meet Bunny Boo - a white rabbit with a black nose and red eyes who loves to eat carrots and surf the web. Hear further adventures of Bunny Boo while learning to draw bunny portraits and create your own clay bunny figurine.
Instructor: Teresa Atkins
Saturday, April 10 Trash to Treasure - Found Object Art
Discover the contemporary movement to transform trash into treasures. Bring in favorite found objects - skateboards, chairs, hubcaps, etc. Try out unconventional techniques using non-traditional artistic materials, such as house paint, scrapboard, duct tape, glue, staples, and nails to creatively transform your object into a work to treasure.
Instructor: David Solan
Saturday, April 17 Animation Toys
The persistance of vision is a process by which a series of still images appears to move when seen in quick succession. In the 19th Century, optical toys used this process to startling effect, and these toys were a popular way of animating images. Learn to construct a phenakistoscope in which images on a slotted spinning disk appear to move when their reflection is viewed in a mirror. Also make a thaumatrope, or "turning wonder." As the thaumatrope spins, the series of quick flashes is interpreted as one continuous image.
Instructor: Tad Sare
Saturday, April 24 Poetic Portraits
Celebrate the art of poetry during National Poetry Month! View Thomas Eakins' portrait of poet Walt Whitman. In the studio try some simple formats for writing your own poem, then add the text of your poem to a silhouette self-portrait.
Instructor: Serena Saunders
Saturday, May 1 Bag It! with The Handwork Studio
In this special workshop in partnership with The Handwork Studio, learn the art of needle-felting, embroidery and machine sewing, resulting in a bag that can be used for everything from food shopping to sleep-overs.
Instructor: Julia Yosen, staff from The Handwork Studio
Saturday, May 8 Family Portraits
Families will work together to design, paint and compose a group family portrait. Participate in a portrait painting demonstration, then try techniques to create a multi-media painting. What will result is an exciting family collaboration of faces, styles, and expressions.
Instructor: Serena Saunders
Saturday, May 15 A Leaping Lizard and a Wise Old Owl - Animal Drawing
Take a look at some of Pafa's great artwork of animals - Winslow Homer's Fox Hunt, Charles Willson Peale's Noah's Ark, Edward Hick's Peaceable Kingdom and others. In the studio develop your drawing skills while learning animal anatomy. Draw portraits of a visiting Iguana and an Owl on loan from the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Instructor: Tad Sare
Saturday, May 22 Life in the City
Check out paintings in the museum gallery depicting life in the city. Take a walk to Logan Square park to observe the diversity of activity in the city. Paint your own scenes of skyscrapers, fountains, picnickers, skateboarders, sculptures and so much more.
Instructor: Fred Kaplan