Ox-Bow Summer School of Art and Artists Residency

Glass Beadmaking with Jessica Bohus
June 29-July 2, four mornings 10 am-12:30 pm
$175

Using lampworking techniques, learn the basics of making, shaping, and decorating unique glass beads. Explore techniques in-depth through demonstration, hands-on classroom time, and personalized instruction. Beginning students will focus on forming round beads, as well as pulling stringers and decorative cane. Advanced students can focus on intricate surface techniques and creating jewelry and sculpture that incorporates beadwork. Materials included.

DIY T-Shirt Bonanza with Nick Stockton
July 6-July 9, four mornings, 10 am-12:30 pm
$150

Screenprinted t-shirts are an easily accessible, but also underground art form for a long time. Today, stores sell graphic t’s that mimic the artist made ones. This intense 4-day workshop is a great chance to learn how to print you own. Students will learn the basics and applications of screen printing on t-shirts, paper, and poster through lo-fi hand drawn one-color stenciling and screenprinting techniques. Please be prepared with ideas for a one-color print. Some materials included.

Textures in Clay with Jeff Blandford
July 13-July 16, four mornings, 10 am-12:30 pm
$175

Perfect for painters and those interested in exploring clay! This multi-level course will involve clay slab and tile decoration. Emphasizing surface texture and treatment, the students will be given the opportunity to add colored under- glazes to their wet or dry works of art. Students are asked to bring their own textured materials to press into the clay for unique and interesting designs. Other texturing techniques explored will include, sgraffito, press molding, carving, and tool work. Each student will also be given the chance to learn about the pottery wheel and attempt to create a vessel on the wheel. On the last day of the course we will have a Raku demonstration and lessons in kilns and firing. Some materials included.

Special Lecture
From Furniture City to Sculpture City: Grand Rapids and the Emergence of Cultural Capital
Tuesday, July 14 (one day only), 11:30 am-2 pm
$35, includes lunch

By the early 1960s, Grand Rapids, Michigan was fading as America’s Furniture City and the urban core was in desperate need of transformation. Good fortune and a new direction intervened in 1967 when the city was awarded the first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for public art resulting in Alexander Calder’s majestic La Grande Vitesse. The stabile soon became an icon for the city and an inspiration for later projects by Mark di Suvero, Robert Morris, and Maya Lin. Independent yet parallel has been the international success of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park which, with a collection ranging from Rodin to Moore, Goldsworthy to Plensa, has helped solidify the community’s reputation as a cultural center. This talk examines the course of the last forty years in this thriving community and examines its widely celebrated artistic patrimony. From the arrival of the Calder in 1969 to Maya Lin’s millennium project to the birth of Meijer Gardens and the re-birth of the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, a unique cultural capital has been given life. Combined, these elements nourish the community and, increasingly, serve as a destination for national and international cultural tourism.

Painting/Drawing in the Landscape with Dawn Stafford
July 20-July 23, four mornings, 10-12:30 pm
$130

In this workshop students are invited to explore Ox-Bow’s historic setting and natural environment of woodland, meadow, and dune as inspiration for drawing and painting. Students will be guided in developing their understanding of light, atmospheric illusion, composition, and the subtleties of the color palette through individual and group demonstration, experimentation, and discussion. Prior experience is helpful, but not necessary.

Botanicals and Beasts with Michael Pfleghaar
August 3-6, four mornings, 10 am-12:30 pm
$130

This four-day workshop will focus on the themes of plants, nature, and flowers as well as the creatures that inhabit them. Artists will be encouraged to think outside the traditional painting and drawing methods by mixing media: collage, prints, photographs, drawing, painting, fabric or any other materials the student brings to create exciting new compositions. Because of limited time, the participants should bring a wide range of materials related to the workshop theme.

Between the Lines with Meridith Ridl and Jack Ridl
August 10-August 13, four mornings, 10 am-12:30 pm
$200

How might your art be influenced by writing? What if writing were re-imagined as visual art? From found poems to the book as art, from poems painted to sculpted words, come join us and explore the intersection of words and art. Bring your exploratory self and a willingness to make words something to see. Good spelling not required!

Monotype: From Painting to Print with Brett Colley
August 17-August 20, four mornings, 10 am-12:30 pm
$130

This course should appeal to those who enjoy drawing or painting, and have an interest in printmaking. The monotype is a dynamic hybrid - it is neither a print nor a painting, but a unique combination of both. The process is aptly named, as it involves a single image drawn/painted directly on a thin plate with paint or printer's ink, which is then transferred to paper upon passing through a printing press. In other words, it is a one of a kind, printed impression. This class will explore several ways of generating monotypes, working with both oil and water-based media. Techniques will include direct painting, trace drawing, collage, frottage, and stencil. Materials included.

Weekly Workshop:
Painting in the Landscape with James Brandess
Tuesdays: July 21, July 28, August 4, August 11 6:30-8:30 pm
$170 for 4 weeks, $50 per session

As the summer light softens into evening, painters from beginner to advanced will paint directly from Ox-Bow's dramatic landscape. Workshop participants will learn of the relationships of color, of value, and of form within the borders of their canvas. There will be demonstrations, individual instruction, and examples shown of renowned landscape painters.