Painting Classes
Oil, acrylic and watercolor painting for beginners through advanced — learn colour mixing, composition and brushwork in our sunlit studio.
Every hands-on class we offer across painting, drawing, sculpture and pottery. Small groups, working-artist instructors, all materials included. Your first class is always free.
Each discipline has its own dedicated space, materials and instructor. Click any card to see the full syllabus, schedule and what you will make.
Oil, acrylic and watercolor painting for beginners through advanced — learn colour mixing, composition and brushwork in our sunlit studio.
From charcoal fundamentals to figure drawing — build the foundation every visual artist needs.
Work in clay, plaster and mixed media to create three-dimensional art you can hold.
Throw on the wheel, hand-build, glaze and fire — from your first bowl to a full dinnerware set.
Below is a detailed breakdown of each discipline: what you will cover, who it is for, what you will take home and how the sessions are structured.
Our painting classes are designed for complete beginners through to advanced painters looking to refine their practice. You will learn colour theory and how to mix any colour from a limited palette, composition and how to lead the viewer's eye, brushwork techniques for texture, depth and light, underpainting and layered glazing in oils, wet-on-wet and dry-brush technique in watercolor, and how to develop a painting from thumbnail sketch to signed canvas.
Classes run as 8-week structured courses (recommended for beginners) or single drop-in studio sessions for those who want to paint at their own pace with instructor guidance available throughout.
Classical technique, layered glazing, alla prima and palette-knife work. Slow-drying medium ideal for blending and rich colour depth.
Wet-on-wet washes, dry-brush detail, botanical illustration and loose landscape. A transparent medium that rewards confidence and planning.
Fast-drying and forgiving, acrylics are great for bold modern work, mixed media and experimentation. Perfect for beginners building confidence.
Seasonal outdoor painting sessions in parks and landscapes around Fargo. Capture natural light and atmosphere on location.
Drawing is the foundation of every visual art form. Our classes build skills you will use in painting, sculpture, design and beyond: proportion and measurement, value structure and shading, gesture and contour, linear and atmospheric perspective, and the confidence to draw from observation rather than copying. Figure drawing sessions use live professional models with guided critique from the instructor.
The drawing programme suits total beginners (our Charcoal Fundamentals course starts from zero) through to experienced artists in our weekly open figure-drawing sessions.
The best starting point for any beginner: learn to see value, gesture and form with the most forgiving of all drawing media.
Live-model sessions with timed poses, guided critique and anatomy reference. Offered weekly for intermediate and advanced students.
Storytelling through image: pen, ink, marker and mixed-media techniques for editorial, narrative and personal illustration projects.
A class dedicated to building a daily drawing habit: observational sketching, travel journaling and rapid-capture techniques.
Working in three dimensions changes how you understand form, weight, negative space and the relationship between light and surface. Our sculpture classes cover hand-building in clay (coil, slab and pinch), subtractive carving in plaster, mixed-media assemblage using found and fabricated objects, and armature and maquette construction for planning larger works.
Classes are project-based: you complete a finished piece every session (or across a multi-week project for larger works). All materials, tools and firing are included.
Hand-building techniques: coil, slab and pinch construction. Learn to join, texture and finish sculptural clay forms.
Subtractive sculpture from plaster blocks: planning, roughing, refining and finishing a carved form.
Assemblage, found-object sculpture and experimental three-dimensional work using wood, wire, fabric and more.
Build small-scale models and internal support structures for planning larger sculptural projects.
Pottery is meditative, tactile and deeply satisfying. You start with a lump of wet clay and end with a finished, glazed, food-safe piece you will use every day. Our studio has six electric wheels, a slab roller, an extruder, pugmill and two electric kilns. Classes cover wheel throwing (centring, pulling, trimming and turning), hand-building (pinch, coil and slab construction), surface decoration, glaze chemistry and application, and kiln loading and firing.
All clay, glazes, tools and both bisque and glaze firings are included in the class fee. Finished pieces are ready for pickup within two weeks of your class.
Learn to centre, open, pull and shape vessels on the electric wheel. From bowls to mugs to vases.
Pinch pots, coiled vessels and slab-constructed forms. A more sculptural, meditative approach to clay.
Colour, texture and surface: learn to dip, pour and brush glazes, and understand how kiln temperature transforms them.
Make a matching set of plates, bowls and mugs you will actually eat from. A multi-week course for returning students.
Arrive about 10 minutes early so we can show you around the studio and get you settled at your station. The instructor will introduce the project, demonstrate each step with clear explanation, and then you will work hands-on with guidance throughout. Classes typically run 2 to 2.5 hours. You do not need to bring anything — all materials, tools and aprons are provided. Wear clothes you do not mind getting a little messy (though aprons cover most of it).
At the end of the session you will have a finished piece (or, for pottery, a piece ready for firing that you pick up in about two weeks). The instructor will review your work with you, answer questions and suggest what to try next.
If you have never taken an art class before, we usually recommend one of these three as a first experience:
Still unsure? Send us a message or call the studio and we will help you choose. And remember: your first class is always free, so there is nothing to lose.
Our main schedule is designed for adults (16+), but we run dedicated Kids Art Camp sessions during school breaks for ages 7–15. These cover painting, drawing, clay modelling and mixed media in a fun, supportive environment. Keep an eye on the schedule for upcoming dates or register your interest.
"I tried painting, drawing and pottery across five weeks with the class pass. Every instructor was excellent and I discovered I love ceramics."
Priya N. · 5-class pass student
"My 14-year-old daughter and I take the Saturday watercolor class together. It has become our favourite weekly ritual. Maria is an incredible teacher."
Karen & Lily S. · Painting students
"The figure drawing sessions are the highlight of my week. Live models, expert guidance, a supportive group. I have improved more here in six months than in years on my own."
James C. · Drawing student
Try any class free with no commitment. Walk in with curiosity, walk out with something you made.
Book a free trial class