Courses & Workshops

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Find Your Passion

Marwen offers an average of 35 courses per term so there’s something for everyone! Our 2018 terms run in three phases: Spring (January 30 - April 14), Summer (June 25 - August 3), and Fall (September 25 - December 8). Filter the course list to find classes that meet your criteria.

Have a story to tell? Share it with the world! Blend comics, text, and image to create a unique book through the portable and shareable format of an artist zine. Develop characters and storylines and print multiple copies to share.

COMICS & ZINES

Molly Colleen O’Connell

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Tue

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

New to Marwen? New to art? Just want to try new things? Explore various ways to make art in one course and discover what you like. Play with color using cut paper, then learn sculpture techniques, and finish the course by creating animations!

EXPLORING MARWEN: SCULPTURE, COLLAGE, & ANIMATION

Chelsea Welch; Tanner Bowman

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Fri

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Pens to Pixels: Character Design and Development

Animation

Street Art: Stencil, Stamp, Spray

Mixed Media

Fashion Lab

Fashion & Fiber

Pens to Pixels: Character Design and Development

Animation

Street Art: Stencil, Stamp, Spray

Mixed Media

Learn how to design your own clothes! Create fabric through dyeing and printing and sew basic garments that can be customized with your own style. After a fun fashion photoshoot, you will leave with an original, ready-to-wear garment.

FASHION LAB

Nora Renick-Rinehart

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Work individually and collectively to develop art that creates dialogue and awareness around an important issue or topic in your life. Experiment with cards, zines, comics, illustration, and community engagement to create activist art.

ACT NOW! ART AS ACTIVISM

Eddie Morfin

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Tue

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create one-of-a-kind clothing using a combination of found clothes, draping, altering, and hand- and machine-sewing. Use pre-existing garments, fabric yardage, found objects, and more to make your own fashion statement.

RECONSTRUCTED FASHION: ALTERED GARMENTS

Elise Bergman

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Learn to paint on fabric! Experiment with silk dyes to create watercolor-like designs on scarves and fabrics. Create your own patterns and images – abstract or figurative – to design one-of-a-kind, wearable art.

SILK PAINTING: WEARABLE ART

DJ DeGayner

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Fri

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Have you ever wondered what you would look like as a computer-generated character? Learn the techniques used in film and game industries, such as Blender’s 3D modeling software and photography to create your own digitally modeled self-portrait.

RENDER IN BLENDER: 3D PORTRAITS

Roosevelt Pittman

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

This workshop will focus on all the steps involved in applying for financial aid, researching scholarships, and submitting the FAFSA application for college. Open to Marwen students and families.

FINANCIAL AID

Sarah Atlas; Lauren Jackson

Grade: N/A

Thu

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

New to Marwen? New to art? Just want to try new things? Explore various ways to make art in one course! Discover what you like through drawing, then learn sculptural techniques, and finish the course creating digital photographs.

EXPLORING MARWEN: DRAWING, SCULPTURE, & PHOTOGRAPHY

Liliana E Alfaro; Andrés Lemus-Spont

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Tue

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create your own swag! Develop unique logos and images to reproduce onto buttons, totes, patches, and more! Make multiples of your art to give as gifts, or decorate your bookbags and jackets with your personal brand of art.

BUTTONS & TOTES GALORE: DIY SWAG

Katie Romans

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Make larger-than-life versions of your favorite everyday objects, like a gummy bear as big as your head or a giant pencil that you have to hug in order to draw with! Learn how to use paper-maché, plaster, and paint to create realistic 3D sculptures.

LARGER THAN LIFE: 3D SCULPTURE

Lauren Carter

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create beautiful and complex images and patterns on fabric using the Japanese tie-dye art of Shibori. Learn how to stitch, tie, clamp, wax, dye and more to develop mesmerizing images, color patterns, or narrative designs on fabric.

SHIBORI: JAPANESE PATTERNS & DESIGN

Rachelle Hill

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

Explore the world of printmaking by learning to make multiples of your artwork that can be reproduced on paper, totes, patches, and posters. Keep some for yourself, share with friends and families, or sell them during Marwen’s Art Fair!

PRINT IT SHARE IT, SELL IT: PRINTMAKING LAB

Melody Chang Snyder

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Design original characters using the techniques and software used by professional comic book, video game, and animation designers! Design a hand-drawn character from scratch, then use Photoshop to refine and enhance your designs.

PENS TO PIXELS: CHARACTER DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

Nicholas Meier

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Fri

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Become a master of color! From sketches to photorealism, explore the effects you can achieve through colored pencil. Discover how to layer, blend colors, make marks, and mix different media to express your own style.

LAYER BY LAYER: COLORED PENCIL TECHNIQUES

Lyndsay Murphree

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Interested in creating a portfolio for college or art scholarships? Get feedback from professional artists and admission counselors. You’ll get tips and recommendations for next steps and how to make your portfolio stand out.

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Sarah Atlas; Lauren Jackson

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Fri

4:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Photograph your friends and family like a pro! Explore techniques for posing and lighting people while experimenting with black and white photography. Learn to operate a digital camera, create digital negatives, and print in the darkroom.

PORTRAIT STUDIO: INTRO TO DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY

Phillip Dembinski

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Tue

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Explore the environments you live, study, and play in, then redesign them with your own personal twist! Learn the basics of architectural design to illustrate and build models of reimagined spaces in your home or community.

DREAM IT, DRAW IT, BUILD IT: ARCHITECTURE LAB

Paul Dean

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create ceramic objects and vessels to store your things! Make a bowl for your coins, a tall vessel for your paintbrushes, or a piece that hangs off the wall to hook your jewelry on. Whatever the object, design a vessel for it.

DECORATIVE VESSELS: INTRO TO CERAMICS

Holly Holmes-Burtonwood

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Fri

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Bring your sketches to life through animation! Start by developing images in your sketchbook, then scan and put them into motion using After Effects. Learn everything from storyboarding to Photoshop to transform your drawings.

DRAWING IN MOTION: INTRO TO 2D ANIMATION

Megan Diddie

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

Learn to design and construct your own accessories with leather, vinyl, and metal jewelry materials. Work individually or as a creative design team to come up with a cohesive, wearable, collection of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

DIY COLLECTION: ACCESSORY DESIGN

Alexis Ellers

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Tue

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Explore your life, family, and heritage by creating a photo archive using personal objects and stories. Learn to tell a story using studio lights and digital cameras to document 2D and 3D objects from your home, experiences, and memories.

PHOTO STORIES: DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Aidan Fitzpatrick

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Learn basic and advanced Adobe Illustrator techniques by creating vector-based portraits. Reclaim your yearbook photos by creating new portraits in the photo studio, then use professional tools to transform them into graphic illustrations.

PORTRAIT DESIGN: INTRO TO DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION

Rosalia M Marzullo

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Construct your own cameras from scratch using soda cans, cardboard, tape, and other materials. Play and experiment to learn the basics of black and white photography, and become a master of the darkroom!

DIY CAMERAS: DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY

Eileen Mueller

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

We will go over every step involved in the college process, including researching schools, filling out applications, writing essays, and more! Open to Marwen students and families.

COLLEGE RESEARCH & APPLICATIONS

Sarah Atlas; Lauren Jackson

Grade: N/A

Thu

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Discover how images can tell a story. Learn to make your drawings and paintings communicate a story through color, mood, and gesture to create visual narratives through genres like comic books, children’s book illustration, and poster design.

DRAWING STORIES: INTRO TO ILLUSTRATION

Jade Rector

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Learn how to work with clay through handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques. Make functional pots for you to use at home, or create beautiful sculptures that explore texture and form.

FINDING CENTER: INTRO TO CERAMICS

Kathlene M Powers

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Explore Chicago’s landscape while learning the basics of black and white photography. Gain techniques to photograph buildings, streets, and the city in new and interesting ways. Then develop the images in the darkroom, and share your view of Chicago!

CITYSCAPES: INTRO TO DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY

Matthew Crowther

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

What would happen if you took the Mona Lisa and combined it with a scaly dragon? Mash together creatures and figures of your choice, and experiment with combining existing images and your personal art to create something new and unique.

MONSTER MASH: EXPERIMENTAL DRAWING

Keaton Bell

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

Using a variety of darkroom and digital photo processes, create a series of photo collages that envision an alternate universe of Chicago! Experiment with photograms, transfers, solarization, and cyanotypes to create your ideal version of the city.

CHICAGO REIMAGINED: DARKROOM EXPLORATIONS

Kathryn Rodrigues-Knox

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Cut and shape glass to fit into lines, shapes, patterns, and text. Or explore design by using stencils and spray paint to create unique tiles. Create tight, clean, and artfully-designed compositions to build your own unique glasswork art.

GLASS MOSAICS & SPRAY PAINT TILES

Andy Bellomo

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Learn techniques for hand building clay, then break the rules and create your own techniques! Challenge the ways you are “supposed” to use clay and see how rolling, slopping, and slapping can lead to your own style of art.

MAKE & BREAK: HANDBUILT CERAMICS

Elizabeth McCarthy

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Take the practice SAT for free! Students should arrive on time with No. 2 pencils and a non-graphing calculator for the math section. Exam will include the essay portion of the SAT. We’ll score your test and email you the results!

SAT: PRACTICE TEST

Sarah Atlas; Lauren Jackson

Grade: 10, 11, 12

Mon

9 AM - 1:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create a community altar that honors your ancestors and celebrates life inspired by indigenous Latin American Día de los Muertos cultural traditions. Food will be served. Open to Marwen students and families.

FAMILY ALTAR BUILDING WORKSHOP

Grade: N/A

Sat

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Course Description+-

Create your own creatures! If you are a Star Wars, Adventure Time, or character and fantasy fan, this class is for you. Draw and paint robots, dragons, or fire breathing unicorns with laser eyes. The only limitation is your own imagination.

FANTASY CHARACTERS: PAINTING EXPLORATIONS

Ennis Martin

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Stop time right in its tracks! Become a master of time and space using a digital camera to freeze motion. Photograph liquids in mid-air or people and objects in motion, paint with lights,then use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to enhance them.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHY IN MOTION

Alexis Ellers

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Make animations even if you don’t know how to draw! Learn the fundamentals of 2D digital animation. Starting off with basic shapes, learn to create exciting environments, special effects, and even animated characters.

INTRO TO SPECIAL EFFECTS: DIGITAL ANIMATION

Diana Torres

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Love drawing people? Take your figure drawing skills to the next level by exploring oil paint. Learn to draw the figure in proportion and the basics of color mixing for skin tones to elevate your ability to work with the human form.

COLORFUL FIGURES: PAINTING FOUNDATIONS

Melissa Cook

Grade: 6, 7, 8

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

Animate your life using the Rotoscope technique! Learn how to operate a video camera, edit video, and use Photoshop to digitally draw, manipulate, and alter each frame, inventing new actions and creating your own fantastical landscapes.

IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS: DIGITAL ANIMATION

Jesse Avina

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Wed

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Explore the many ways artists create ideas for artwork and develop your own artist practice. Experiment with pencils, pens, markers, and watercolors to explore personal stories, memory, and imagination to create abstract or realistic imagery.

DEVELOP YOUR ARTIST VOICE: DRAWING EXPLORATIONS

Jeffly G Molina

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Thu

5 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Learn how to draw, paint, and sketch the figure with confidence by developing new techniques, practicing creative concepts, and making work ready to add to your portfolio. Never drawn the face or body before? No worries! All levels are welcome.

HAND, FACE, & BODY: PORTFOLIO PREP

Carris S Adams

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Description+-

Who needs brushes to paint? Explore non-traditional painting techniques such as pouring, splattering, dripping, wiping, and more. Bring your personal style – abstract, graffiti, figurative – and see how your work transforms when you experiment.

SPLAT, DRIP, POUR: EXPERIMENTAL PAINTING

Michelle Bolinger

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sat

1:30 PM - 4 PM

Course Description+-

Curious about high school options in Chicago? Come learn about the CPS high school application process, including selective enrollment schools, charter schools, and high schools with strong art programs. Open to Marwen students and families.

HIGH SCHOOL OPTIONS

Sarah Atlas; Lauren Jackson

Grade: N/A

Thu

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Course Description+-

Become a student

Do you want to take a course at Marwen? Come to our next orientation.

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College & Career

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