Instructor:  Rebecca Hutchinson, UMASS Dartmouth Faculty 

This workshop is intended to provide support for building skills and bettering skills in handbuilding to pursue a personal direction with your work.

Mentorship will include in-depth conversations on concept and technique and demos will be presented to support the development of both the form and surface of your work. Participants will be encouraged to develop individual ideas and conceptual directions exploring the rigor of personal development and one’s individual voice. The workshop will be balanced between demo watching, conversations, and studio construction time. All skill levels welcome. 

Tuition: $480 per student   

Additional $50 Fee for Clay (per box):  Please add number of boxes of clay requested to your enrollment form (3 box maximum) 

Housing Options for 4-Day Workshop for additional fee. Select from the below options:   

Rooms at NISDA's Atlantic House at our Offshore Artist Residency (approx. 1 mile down the road from Seaview Farm school campus) can accommodate 10 students total. Each room has its own private bathroom and a small efficiency in-suite kitchenette, There is a common living room/dining room and large full common kitchen: 

• Smaller shared room (Capacity 2) – Accommodates 2 students – Room has two single beds – $400 per person
•  Larger garden level room (two rooms – Capacity 8). Each room accommodates 4 students – four beds in each room – $400 per person 

Rooms at NISDA's Seaview Farm Rustic Dairy Barn can accommodate 6 students total and would allow students to be on site near long shed ceramic clay studio. There is a shared bathroom for all rooms and a shared kitchen: 

•  Smaller rooms -  each with a single bed  (two rooms – Capacity 2) – Each room accommodates 1 person – $280 per person 
•  Slightly larger shared room  (one room)  (Capacity 2) Room has two single beds – Accommodates 2 students – $240 per person will accommodate 2 people
• Larger shared room  (one room – Capacity 2) Room has two beds – Accommodates 2 students – $260 per person   

Other considerations: 

•  Use of the NISDA 10 passenger school van and additional 6 seat mini-van included 
•  Students are to bring sleeping bags and pillows, and recommended to pack and bring food.
• College Credit Option - Prior to course registration, contact your individual university for course credit.  Additional questions can be directed to instructor Rebecca Hutchinson at rebeccahutchinsonstudio@gmail.com
• Transportation to and from Nantucket is not included, and arrangements may be made directly with ferries at www.steamshipauthority.com or www.hylineruises.com

Instructor: Manioucha Krishnamurti, Ceramic Artist

Featured in The Artist’s Guild in Woodstock, and Dean & DeLuca

Learn the basics, or expand your skills, working on the potter’s wheel. 

The key to a good pot is mastering techniques such as wedging clay, centering and trimming the pot, as well as basic glazing techniques. Experienced potters are welcome, as instruction will be individualized for each student. Each student purchases clay from NISDA (25 lb box). The fee includes the cost of firing.

Instructor: Manioucha Krishnamurti, Ceramic Artist

Featured in The Artist’s Guild in Woodstock, and Dean & DeLuca

Students with a basic knowledge of centering and trimming will expand their repertoire of forms. 

Demonstrations will include throwing of vase shapes, plates, lidded forms. Each student purchases clay from NISDA (25 lb box). The fee includes the cost of firing.

Instructor:  Penny Hanson, BFA Integrated Studio Arts 

Handbuilding is the art of using our hands and tools to create ceramic pieces instead of using a wheel.

The sculpting of cups, bowls, containers, and choice objects will be demonstrated and are the basic options to create in this course. Guidance and support will be provided to make, and have fun. Each student purchases clay from NISDA (25 lb box). The fee includes the cost of firing.

Primary ceramic techniques such as coiling, slab, and pinch pot construction, along with ceramic vocabulary will be taught and explored to create effective artworks. 

• Slip: watery clay mixture used as “glue” and texture 
• Score: the act of creating a rough edge/texture to connect, close, or add clay with slip 
• Wedge: the act of preparing clay to reduce air bubbles and soften 
• Slab: flatten or spread clay from a lump to an equal & even squared slice 
• Coil: the fundamental act of rolling clay to use to build/create 

Instructor: Manioucha Krishnamurti, Ceramic Artist

Featured in The Artist’s Guild in Woodstock, and Dean & DeLuca

Learn how to throw “off the hump”. This technique makes the throwing of small pieces and all the elements of a teapot (the spout, the lid and the body of the pot) a breeze.

The assembly of all the elements will be covered.  Students will also learn to make finials and all manner of lids. Students will participate in a glaze demonstration using studio bisqueware. 

• Students can arrange for additional studio time (a week later) to fire & glaze their teapot at an additional charge.

Instructor: Laura Herhold

Explore texture, repetitive pattern, drawing in clay, as well as slab, and handbuilding techniques in clay as we learn to create tiles for installation or as objects of beauty.

Tiles can tell a narrative story... and tiles can reveal impressions and patterns from nature. The studio is equipped with a slab roller and the required hand tools. We will also explore surface treatments and simple glaze options. Bring your ideas! Beginners are welcome. Each student purchases clay from NISDA (25 lb box). The fee includes the cost of firing.

Instructor: Christa Wetlaufer

Local potter Eve Christa Wetlaufer's course will introduce wheel throwing to the beginner, and mentor the more experienced potter as well.  Learn the basics such as wedging, centering, throwing, and surface decoration. Intermediate students will continue with more advanced skills throwing larger or more complex forms.

Inspired by the hues, flora, and fauna of Nantucket’s singular beauty, Eve Wetlaufer creates functional wheel-thrown ceramic art in forms and colors meant to both delight and soothe. Eve is taken with the healing and grounding power of clay, and embraces pottery as an active meditative practice. 

Instructor:  Elizabeth Congdon, MFA Honors Laguna College of Art and Design 

Explore the art of color while painting a still life of summer flowers and fruit with Elizabeth Congdon.

The interplay of reflection and luminosity will serve as the departure point for inspiration in this fun and informative class. You will learn how to evaluate light and shadow in terms of value, the graduation from light to dark, and how this insight brings deeper appreciation of color as a driving force in your painting practice. By investigating the range from vibrant saturated pigments to subdued muted hues, warm to cool temperatures, and the full arc of light and dark, Elizabeth helps students gain a stronger knowledge of the dynamics of oil painting, and its power to convey a natural sense of space through the mixing and application of pigments. Whether you approach color with enthusiasm or trepidation, you will come away with a deeper appreciation not only for what color does, but what you can do with it. 

• A Supply List Will Be Provided By The Instructor

Instructor:  Elizabeth Congdon, MFA Honors Laguna College of Art and Design

Join Elizabeth Congdon for an experimental experience with the dynamic tools and techniques that have taken the world of representational painting to the new level.

Students will start their canvases with an image of their choice, then develop its surface using rollers, scrapers, oil crayons and wedges. Through this process of addition and subtraction, students will work with spontaneity as they search out general abstractions to specific details that reveal, and conceal, the narrative of a representational painting. Through “in class” demonstrations and individual instruction, Elizabeth will work with students at a pace that suits their temperament and style, creating one artwork or many studies. The goal will be to enliven your work through innovation, learn about new materials and techniques, and get inspired by the limitless possibilities of painting.

• A Supply List Will Be Provided By The Instructor

Instructor:  Elizabeth Congdon, MFA Honors Laguna College of Art and Design

Enjoy studio time with like-minded artists and receive constructive feedback.

Elizabeth will work with painters of all levels to pursue their individual goals, deepen their understanding of painting, and develop a painting practice that brings personal satisfaction, as well as mindful wellness to their lives. Artists of all levels and styles of painting are welcome in this class, whether you are a curious novice looking to begin painting, a “sometimes” painter with a painting that you’d like to finish, or a professional painter needing time and space to work. 

Come for one evening, or come all summer!

• Bring Your Own Materials 
• $50 for one session
• $135 for 3 sessions

Instructor:  Michael Frassinelli, Visiting Resident Artist 

This studio course will take students through the basics of painting with acrylic paint.  

Designed primarily for beginners; more advanced students can receive additional one on one coaching.  The course will take place in the studio or on a covered outdoor deck at NISDA. A list of materials to gather will be provided by the instructor prior to the beginning of the course. Studio brushes, easels and basic studio supplies are available for use.

Instructor:  Michael Frassinelli, Visiting Resident Artist

This course is open to all interested 9+, Teen, and Adults. Great for a family!

Assemblage is a technique that allows the artist the latitude of using found or upcycled objects, parts, or materials, to create something altogether new and inventive. The resulting object(s) can celebrate pure form or refer to something meaningful, symbolic or known. As described on the MOMA site: "Assemblage art gives objects new meanings, makes creative connections between disparate elements, and elevates non-art materials into the realm of art."  No prior experience or art training is required to participate. Tools and supplies are provided by NISDA. Students may bring in their own items, bits and pieces, and recycled materials of interest to use.

Extra Studio Time for Registered Students

Registered students are welcome to have access to, and use of studio space outside of scheduled class times to further their work.  This access is included in the tuition for the duration of the course.  A schedule of “open studio” times for each space is available. Under some conditions, use of a studio during a scheduled class might be arranged, with the consent of the faculty member.

Community Open Studio Membership

Island community members may pay a fee to use studio space at NISDA’s Seaview Farm Studios. Fees and guidelines differ from studio to studio.  Community members can have access to, and use of studio space outside of scheduled class times.  A schedule of “open studio” times for each space is available.  Community members are self-directed and work independently, providing their own materials and supplies. They follow school guidelines and policies, and clean up & maintain the studio space they use after each work session. 

• Long Shed Clay Studio
• B/W Darkroom
• Textiles
• Painting

Long Shed Clay : 

Open Studio Community Membership

Adult + Young Adult Teen Open Clay Studio by Application + Registration

• Space is limited. Members please notify the studio manager of expected hours of use to avoid overcrowding.
• Fees:   Full payment due in advance. 
• Members buy and use NISDA clay.  Cone 06-04 terracotta  or Cone 6 white body.  A 25 lb. box Is $50.00, includes firing.
• Members need to have prior experience and will work independently. 
• Instruction is not included in the membership fee. 
• (Tutorials/courses are  available.)
• 2 Week minimum: $250
• 1 Month: $450
• 2 Month: $800
• Community Members may use the studio during Open Studio hours only.