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  • Adult & Teen Programs | Creative York

Adult & Teen Classes

Creative York offers art classes in a fun and supportive environment. Come learn a new skill and connect with your innate creative self!
Creative Classes  | Drawing | Painting |  Clay
 Fibers | Art Parties |  Team-Building Art Classes

In the best interest of our community’s health and safety regarding the COVID-19 virus with the input of State and York City Departments of Health, Creative York has postponed all in-person classes, community outreach programs, and events. For more information, please view our health and safety plan. We look forward to being able to gather together soon! In the meantime, please consider our online and outdoor class options below.

Outdoor Classes

To protect the most vulnerable in our community, students and staff are required to wear facial coverings during Creative York’s in-person classes as well as keep social distancing guidelines. For more information, head here to view our Class Policies.

Watercolor Foundations in the Park

Join us at John Rudy Park for this open air painting class inspired by nature. This four week painting course is a perfect entry point for beginners. It provides a basic understanding of how to paint with watercolors. Students learn about specialty papers, different types of paintbrushes and tools, color mixing, and application techniques. All art supplies provided by Creative York, but bring your own apron or wear clothing that can get messy!
Instructor: Elizabeth Morrison
Location: John Rudy County Park at the Douglas Fir Pavilion at 400 Mundis Race Road York, PA 17406
Saturdays (4), October 3-24 • 10-12 pm • $150 • Ages 15+ CLOSED

Online Classes

Private Online Drawing Lessons

In response to postponed in-person classes, Creative York has launched new online private art lessons, a learning option that will put you in a custom video conference with one of our talented teaching artists! Improve your drawing skills from the comfort of your home with tailored lessons that match your skill level and goals. We have teaching artists who specialize in the Basics of Drawing, Figure Drawing, Drawing Portraits, and Animal Anatomy. Online private art lessons are available for kids starting at age 8 as well as adults of all ages. Lessons are typically scheduled once a week but can be customized.
Instructor: Kate Rush, Annelise Vuono, or Cait Deane
$40/1-hour lesson • Ages 8+

Email info@creativeyork.org with questions and to schedule your online lessons.

Digital Painting in Photoshop

Learn how to paint in Photoshop with the guidance of a professional teaching artist as well as the support of a small class of like-minded peers. Key skills covered in this course include knowing your tools and experimenting with various brush styles; color mixing, matching, and blending; how to incorporate traditional drawing into your digital painting; and techniques for bringing your ideas to life. All skill levels are welcome.

Students join the classroom via Zoom and will be working on projects between classes. Required software is Photoshop CS2 or higher. A suggested but not required tool is a digital drawing tablet. Students are responsible for procuring software and tools. (Find Photoshop for $9.99/mo in the “Photography Plan” on Adobe’s website). Registration closes on September 30.

Instructor: Annelise Vuono
Wednesdays (4), September 23-October 14 • 5-6:30 pm • $90 • Ages 13+ CLOSED

Character Building Online Writing Workshop

This stand-alone class helps you flesh out your characters, so to speak, with lots of fun, engaging writing exercises! Everybody gets stuck on characters once in a while, so this is an all skill levels class. Learn how to take a break from writing your story and really get to know your characters. Discussion topics include how a character’s home life influences their decisions, how characters relate to conflict, what motivates them and why character arc is so important to your story. Come to class with a character in mind that you would like to work with more.

Students join the classroom via Zoom. Students should bring a notebook and a favorite writing utensil. Registration closes on October 19.

Instructor: Lara McKusky
Wednesday, October 21 • 6-7:30 pm • $30 • Ages 15+ CLOSED

World Building Online Writing Workshop

This ninety-minute class is open to all skills levels! You do not need to have a written piece; this will be a “teaching-with-some-writing-exercise-and-a-Q&A-at-the- end” kind of class. Please do bring your questions with you. This class is also appropriate for all genres, although most helpful for those writing “other world” type stories like fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction. This stand-alone class will help you add detail to your world/setting, fully integrate it into your story, and even use it as a part of the story like another character, if that’s an element you are seeking to add. You will also be taught how to reveal information about your world without writing an “information dump” on your reader.

Students join the classroom via Zoom. Required supplies includes a notebook and a favorite writing utensil. Registration closes on October 21.

Instructor: Lara McKusky
Saturday, October 24 • 2-3:30 pm • $30 • Ages 15+ CLOSED

Mixed Media Vision Journaling

This class includes an intro to vision boarding using a journal instead of a board, a short Q&A time, time to jot down your wants, needs and goals for 2021, and time to play! This is not about resolutions or holding you to your word, it’s about a total vision of your life, getting it out of your head and onto paper while having fun.

You will be writing, cutting and gluing a collage spread covering at least two pages (a second spread will be done if there is time). There will be examples for you to look at and help along the way, with time for sharing. This class is great for people who normally use traditional vision boards, people who like to journal, people who may have a day planner obsession that includes color-coding and stickers, and artists!

Students join the classroom via Zoom. Students can provide their own supplies or purchase an Art Supply Kit from Creative York. Required supplies are a blank journal no smaller than 5.5” x 7”, a glue stick or double stick tape, and a variety of mixed media supplies (examples include colored pencils, gel pens, stickers, brush markers, scrap booking paper, magazines, photos, printed images from the internet, ribbon, and more – basically, bring your favorite art and craft supplies). Registration and art supply kit orders close on December 23.

Instructor: Lara McKusky
Wednesday, December 30 • 6-7:30 pm • $30 • Ages 15+ REGISTER

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Teaching Artists This Session

Holly Davis

Holly Davis BWHolly Davis is an artist, wife and mom from York, PA. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Beaver College, completed her PA Art teaching certification through Millersville University, and received her Masters in Education from Wilkes University. She also studied at Glasgow School of Art in Scotland and Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Holly has exhibited work throughout Pennsylvania, in Scotland, and in North Carolina, and she was the recipient of a PA State Grant for the Arts. Holly loves clay and teaching art, especially ceramics. She has taught artists of every age and has a passion for sharing her appreciation of clay with those she gets to work with.

Cait Deane

Cait Deane is a multi-media artist from Carlisle, PA. In 2017 she graduated from Arcadia University with a BA in Fine Art ceramics, and a minor in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship. While her primary love is ceramics, Cait also regularly works in a variety of other mediums, such as ink, watercolor, and acrylic. Cait has experience teaching both adults and children, and enjoys assisting students of all ages and abilities as they navigate their creative journey.

Amy Diamond

Amy Diamond is a graduate of Millersville University, with a degree in Art education with a concentration in Inclusive Education. Her main focus is in ceramics, and Amy has attended multiple National Conferences dealing with ceramics and art education. While working with her own peers in class and her students in her middle school internship, she’s grown to appreciate the studio culture of collaboration. Amy enjoys learning through play and the educational and cultural benefits of creating art with others. She believes that all individuals have the ability to grow and learn and that art is a pathway to do so.

Jennifer Hall

Jennifer is a graduate of the Tyler School of Art at Temple University where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts along with her PA teaching certification. After teaching art full time in Philadelphia for 4 years, she is thrilled to come back to her roots and teach for her Alma Mater, York Suburban School District. Growing up in York County, Jennifer interned at Creative York and spent many summers taking their classes. As an artist, Jennifer practices multiple mediums focusing primarily on clay and watercolor, and is also working on illustrating her first children’s book! She is looking forward to contributing to the thriving arts community at Creative York!

Ellen Ehlenbeck

Ellen Ehlenbeck BW

Ellen Ehlenbeck holds a BFA in painting from Penn State and a MA in graphic design from Savannah College of Art and Design.  A working artist, Ellen has exhibited her work widely in the region, in both solo and group shows, as well as juried exhibitions.  She loves to teach, and currently serves as a Resident Teaching Artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as well as teaching at Harrisburg Area Community College, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Creative York.

 

Cassandra Horn

Cassandra Horn is a graduate of Kutztown University, where she studied art education while also earning a minor in crafts that focused on ceramics. After graduation she has had many different experiences working with school-age kids as a day care teacher, summer camp facilitator, a substitute teacher, and a middle school and high school art teacher in York city.

Elizabeth Morrison

Elizabeth Morrison has been a watercolor artist for 50 years and counting.  Also working as a classroom teacher for 17 years, she has had a great deal of experience teaching beginners the ins and out of this fascinating material. At Creative York she has teaches fibers and painting classes in the Teen Art House program, leads Arts Discovery Camps over the summers, and holds art classes for adults and children.

Gabi Portelles

Gabi Portelles is a Millersville University graduate with a BA in Fine Art. Growing up as an artist in York, she has been collaborating with Creative York since high school. In 2017, she interned as the assistant coordinator for for Creative York’s Art In the Parks program. Following her passion for empowering the creative minds of York city’s youth, Gabi is now one of our summer camp instructors in addition to other classes she teaches during the year. She is also working with The Parliament Arts Organization as gallery assistant to curate exhibits and plan events that encourage community collaboration. Having a creative background in both fine art and music, Gabi encourages students of all ages to have fun by boldly experimenting with materials and ideas during their creative process.

Evelyn Price

Evelyn Price is a York native. She enjoys traveling and has kept a written journal since she was very young. She has been teaching the Artworks program at Creative York since 2014. The program focus is to help students on probation with life and social skills through art projects. Her passion is to inspire students through different mediums, including yoga. She earned her 200 hour yoga teaching training in 2017 and teaches locally in downtown York. Evelyn’s favorite artists include Salvador Dali, Georgia O’Keefe, Diane Arbus, and Dan Eldon.

Ivy Rodgers

Ivy Rodgers is a graduate of York College’s Fine Art program, where she focused on painting and printmaking, as well as minoring in Art History. She has had a studio at Marketview Arts in Downtown York for 2 years, and was the Gallery Assistant to Matthew Clay Robison for 2.5 years.  She had her first solo exhibition of her work at the age of 21, and has shown regionally at numerous galleries and institutions in group shows and juried exhibitions alike. She has experimented with many different mediums such as, collage, letterpress, charcoal drawing, ceramics and assemblage sculpture. Ivy is very involved in the downtown York arts scene, including designing the logo and branding for Paco’s in Royal Square District, as well as running York’s first-ever art criticism site entitled CritiqueYork. She listens to a lot of hip hop and eats a lot of noodles.

Kate Rush

Kate Rush CookKate is a mother of two daughters and a self-taught artist who resides in York, PA. She has been an active member in York County and the State of Pennsylvania as a Crime Victim’s Rights Advocate and  has recently returned to her artistic roots. Kate enjoys working with a variety of artistic mediums, designing adult coloring book pages, and creating custom art pieces and commissions.  Kate regularly participates in group exhibits at Hive artspace and other artistic opportunities as they become available. She loves sharing her passion for the arts with children and teenagers. Presently, Kate is working as a program monitor for Teen Art House and teaching private art lessons through Creative York.

Allison Seitz

Allison received her Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education from Towson University and a Master’s from Millersville University. She lives in Southern York County with her family and has been an elementary school art educator for 20+ years. Currently she teaches for Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland. Although, Allison has experience in teaching all areas of art, her passion is working with clay. She taught for the Baltimore Clayworks for several years and spent many summers running her own Creative Clay Camp for kids.

Annelise Vuono

Annelise Vuono is an artist whose style is characterized by figurative elements within abstract environments. Her paintings in particular feature strong color schemes and an emotional presence. Originally based out of Central Pennsylvania, Vuono is the daughter of an art educator and designer. She began drawing at a young age finding inspiration from fantasy films, music, graphic novels, and nature. Later, she graduated with a BFA from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. Vuono has been working for the past decade in various visual arts fields, has been published in books and magazines, and worked as Program Coordinator for Creative York’s Art in the Parks Program. Annelise has a passion for community involvement and raising awareness in the arts.

Leah Limpert Walt

LeahLimpertWalt_Headshot_2018 (2)Leah Limpert Walt is a York based painter and draftsman known primarily for her nocturne landscapes and surreal figurative oil paintings. She studied art at The University of Delaware and Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, but ultimately received her BFA from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in Lancaster. She has shown her work across south central Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley and in New York City. She lives in York City with her husband Craig and their dog, Monk.

 

Carol Clark Williams

Carol Clark Williams is poet laureate emeritus of York, Pennsylvania and a rostered artist for the Arts in Education StART Something. She teaches poetry workshops in high schools, libraries, prisons, support groups, and halfway houses. She has recently received the Above and Beyond award from the National Federation of State Poetry Societies for her work with young people. Carol’s poems have been published in print and online journals including Mad Poets Review, Margie, Byline, Passager, Fledgling Rag and Broadkill Review, and Bent Pin Quarterly. She has authored two poetry books: Escaped Without Injury and Stories of the Tribe.

Class Registration

Registration is open until one week before class begins. Early registration is suggested. Students may register online or by phone.

By registering for a class with Creative York, you have agreed to all class registration policies.

VIEW CLASS REGISTRATION POLICIES.

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