Needham Community Education

Not sure if acrylic painting is for you? Please join us for a single class, (with all materials supplied), designed for beginners who have very little or no experience and want to explore the beauty of acrylic paint. Enjoy an educational, relaxed, and fun evening creating an acrylic painting from start to finish. The instructor will talk you through everything you need to know, from how to mix paint colors to what sort of brush strokes to use.

Spend two relaxing evenings crafting a hand-built vase, bowl, platter or project of your choice, embellished with floral and leaf imprints. The instructor will teach you various ceramic hand-build techniques (including coil, slab and pinch), along with glazing options. You can choose which techniques to incorporate into your piece. Pieces wiil be fired in the instructor’s kiln between classes, so that it will be ready to glaze on the second evening. Note: A $40 materials fee is payable to the instructor in class.

“We need to remember that we are all created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed.” ― Maya Angelou Spend a morning savoring the wonder of summer flowers, meadows and woodlands, and creating art from your experiences. When you draw closer to nature through art, you also draw closer to yourself. You uncover an innate connectedness that is part of being human and being creative. Engaging our various ways of knowing with, mind, body, and spirit, and incorporating elements of forest bathing and expressive arts, you'll work with simple materials and methods to reflect upon and create from what you are noticing in nature and yourself. Registration includes all supplies and tools for the workshop. No previous art experience is necessary.

Working with new materials has never been this fun or vibrant! In this workshop, you will learn how various art supplies, when used with acrylics, can enhance your paintings, including sand, glass beads, gloss, matte, crinkle etc. The mediums will enable you to add texture and work colors together. The instructor will provide demonstrations and opportunities for students to experiment with the mediums for effects including, building up surface, impasto, texture, gloss, matte, embedding objects into paints, and more. You will love experimenting with these exciting art supplies and you will discover tips on how you can develop your own unique painting approach. All supplies will be provided for this class; students are welcome to bring their own art supplies or small table easel.

Are you fascinated with abstract art but just don't know where to begin? This class will explore abstract painting concepts for artists of all levels. Come experiment with your artwork and expand your visual boundaries! Explore the visual language of painting in a non-objective, non-figurative fashion and interpret what you see or feel around you as a reflection of your feelings and mood using acrylics. You will learn new ways to view and interpret the world and discover how to make compositional choices through line, form, shape, color, texture, and more. All supplies will be provided for this class, but students are welcome to bring their own art supplies or small table easel. You will be guided through a series of exercises designed to master these important abstract painting concepts and create your own masterpiece to take home with you.

Experiment with your artwork by incorporating mixed media and collages into your paintings! This class, for artists of all levels, will explore the various acrylic and mixed media techniques, and provide tips, and pitfalls to avoid. You will learn new ways to view and interpret the world, and discover how to make compositional choices through line, form, shape, color, texture, and more. All supplies will be provided for this class; students are welcome to bring their own art supplies, unique materials for collage, or small table easel.

Whether a beginner or an avid artist, this workshop will provide exercises in strengthening your observational drawing skills. You will learn new ways to view and interpret the world around us, discover how to make compositional choices, and depict form, light and shadow. We will be working from life, drawing objects in our environment, learning that to draw something is to truly know and see it. With mostly pencil and charcoal, we will focus on the use of line, mark, and value for ways to add depth and interest to your work. A combination of group and individual instruction in a supportive atmosphere will help students develop at their own pace. Returning students are encouraged to participate to further advance their observational drawing skills. A materials list can be found here.

This program provides a “real-time” instructor-guided studio opportunity for artists of all levels who wish to develop their artistic skills. If you want to cultivate your own style and vision, work on independent and personal projects, discover new ways to draw and paint, and enjoy the company of fellow artists, the open studio is perfect for you! Individual instruction in a supportive atmosphere will enable you to advance your skills at your own pace. Returning painting and NCE drawing students are encouraged to participate to build upon what you learned in class. Please bring all materials you wish to use in class.

Have you ever wanted to draw something in 3-D? In this introductory class, you will learn how to create amazing depth effects and master perspective drawing. Every object has three dimensions: height, width, and depth. Yet, in drawing, the artist only has a flat, two-dimensional surface to work on. This class will help you better understand perspective drawing, starting with exercises on basic shapes, landscapes, interior rooms, or cityscapes. Topics such as viewpoints, one-point perspective, two-point perspective, and three-point perspective will be covered, and maybe even a few optical illusion drawings. You will be guided through a series of exercises designed to master these important drawing concepts. Artists of all levels are welcome. A materials list can be found here.

NCE's talented art instructor, Eddie Bruckner, offers private/semi-private lessons both online via Zoom and in-person at your home! Lessons are a minimum of 2 hours long, and each registration allows for 1 person (or 2 people together) to schedule either 4 hours or 8 hours of lessons directly with Eddie. Open to students of all levels who wish to improve their artistic skills in the medium of their choice. Eddie is typically available for private lessons weekdays during the day as well as some evenings and weekends. Lesson packs are valid through June 30, 2024. There are no refunds or credits for unused time.

Private Art Instruction in Pencil Drawing, Acrylic Painting, Colored Pencils, Watercolor Pencils, Watercolor Painting and More In person or virtual NCE's talented art instructor, Eddie Bruckner, offers private/semi-private lessons both online via Zoom and in-person at your home! Lessons are a minimum of 2 hours long, and each registration allows for 1 person (or 2 people together) to schedule either two 2-hour lessons or four 2-hour lessons directly with Eddie. Open to students of all levels who wish to improve their artistic skills in the medium of their choice. Eddie is typically available for private lessons weekdays during the day as well as some evenings and weekends. Lesson packs are valid from July 1, 2024-September 30, 2024. There are no refunds or credits for unused time.

Gather friends and family members, or participate on your own and meet some new people in this fun evening of Zentangle drawing. Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun method of creating beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It heightens focus and creativity, while providing enjoyment and an increased sense of personal well-being. No artistic ability is required! You will learn a variety of “tangles” (patterns) and combine them in their own unique way. All supplies will be provided, including extras so you can continue drawing Zentangles at home.