Please note adult courses are designed for ages 18 and up.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected] or 978.921.4242 x1152
All Courses
Cultivating a Journaling Practice
With Aly Pierce
When: Wednesdays from 7–9pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Start date: Wednesday, January 15 2025
Final Class Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Tuition: $150
In the new year, focus on expanding your journaling practice with us in this four week course. Whether you’re looking to improve your mental health, boost creativity, or gain clarity in your life, journaling can be a powerful tool. In this course, we will begin by employing various journaling prompts and strategies to develop a personal journaling practice. Then we will use our individual practices to explore the benefits journaling can offer us: emotional release, self-reflection, self-discovery, creative expression, and goal setting. Over the final sessions, we will interrogate and reflect on journaling’s ability to influence our memory, mindfulness, creativity, communication skills, and gratitude with the intention of enhancing the positive impact of this practice in our lives.
This course is suitable if you want to begin journaling for the very first time or are looking to deepen your journaling practice.
Artist Biography: Aly Pierce is a local poet and educator. Her debut collection The Visible Planets (Game Over Books) asks what astrophysics and celestial bodies can tell us about our own experiences of love, grief, and thermodynamics.
Drop-in Figure Drawing
When: Tuesdays from 7–9pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Start date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Final Class Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Tuition: $20 per session
We are holding drop-in figure drawing sessions with a live model over eight weeks. Whether you’re a beginner, experienced artist or looking to develop your portfolio, these open sessions allow you to draw freely and experiment. A variety of nude models will be available over the eight weeks. A member of staff will guide shorter and longer poses to enable you to warm up and work in more detail. There is no instructor present, this is your space to develop and deepen your practice in a peer environment. Bring your own drawing materials; easels are available.
Book online to guarantee your place. Sessions have a maximum capacity of 15 places; you can also pay on the door, space permitting.
Please note Montserrat courses are designed for adults aged 18 and up.
Printmaking: An Ecological Approach
With Len Thomas-Vickory
When: Saturdays from 11am–1pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915; Room HB-3
Start date: Saturday, January 25, 2025
Final Class Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025
Tuition: $320 including materials
This eight week course explores the possibilities of printmaking using environmentally friendly techniques. You will explore alternative materials and processes including intaglio (where paper is pressed into the carved areas of a surface to pick up ink) and relief (where ink is transferred to paper from cut raised areas on a surface). Make unique monoprints by painting and collaging onto gel plates, printing your image by pressing paper onto the surface. Experiment with silkscreen printing, applying stencils to a fabric surface to block the ink. You will use a range of tools and techniques to make marks, including etching with fine tools and roulette printing to create texture. Come away from this class with practical applications you can recreate at home, that use environmentally friendly materials and equipment that are easy to attain and clean up.
This course is suitable for beginners and continuing students alike.
Artist Biography: Len Thomas-Vickory graduated from Montserrat College of Art in 1995 with a B.F.A., and earned a M.F.A. from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Initially a painter in trade and training, Len would later abandon painting in exchange for his preference in printmaking for its social influence, addressing his images and ideas to the public more effectively. In 2003 Velvet Pelican Projects was initiated, producing silk-screened hand editioned booklets in large runs. These booklets covered topics from third party candidacy to the value of particular education levels. Since 2011 Len Thomas-Vickory has worked on both public art projects and displaying works in various exhibitions between the left and the right coasts. In 2008 Len began annual trips to Japan that would influence his prints for many years to come. In particular the ideas of Zen philosophy, temples, and the Japanese landscape. The notions of being in the here and now and moments of repast have become central to his artwork.
Pinhole Cameras
With Patricia Scialo
When: Saturday February 1, 2025; 9:30am–1:30pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Tuition: $80
Rain date: Saturday February 8
Discover hands-on early photographic processes in this workshop making unique prints using a pinhole camera. Craft a working camera using a light-proof cardboard box with a pinhole aperture. Head out and take photographs, making black and white paper negatives and positives while working with cameras of various shapes and sizes. Return to the darkroom to process your images. You will come away with unique photographic prints bearing the dreamy hallmark of the pinhole process.
No experience required.
Please bring a container for camera making. A small oatmeal tube is ideal.
Artist Biography: Originally from Long Island, NY, Patricia Scialo currently lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts. She has been practicing in the field of fine art photography since 1979. Influenced by her experience of living and working in a craft community early in her photographic career, she was challenged to experiment with historic processes that included hand applied light sensitive chemistry and view camera work. Patricia’s concentration on historic and alternative processes in photography has led to the creation of handmade, unique prints that combine mixed media techniques such as hand-tinting, encaustic, and hand paper-making. Patricia has exhibited at numerous art centers on the east coast and internationally. She has been awarded state fellowship grants, several Best of Show Awards and she is the 2020 winner of the Women in Photography, 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Gala Awards, Barcelona, in the categories of Abstract, Alternative Processes, and Children.
Plushies
With Emma Oliver
When: Saturday February 8, 2025; 10am–12:30pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 248 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Tuition: $40
Make your very own plushie friend as a gift for a loved one or for yourself! Cut, stuff and customize your very own soft animal toy in this introductory workshop. Working from a pattern, make your creature unique by using a range of fun fabrics. Add eyes, hair and embellishments from our supply of decorative beads, threads and other accessories. You’ll come away with a new friend and the skills to make more plushies at home!
Artist Biography: Emma Oliver grew up in Marblehead, MA and is a practicing artist and instructor. She earned her BFA from Alfred University in 2018 and her MFA from Illinois State University in 2022. While she is interested in sculpture techniques ranging from ceramics to wood, she has a soft spot for fiber and primarily creates knit, crochet, and woven sculptural works.
Sgraffito Plates
With Jennifer Boisvert
When: Saturday February 15, 2025; 10am–1pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Tuition: $60
Sgraffito is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting color. The technique is subtractive in nature, enabling the artist to work imagery into the surface of unfired clay. The technique was first popularized in 16th Century Italy and can be found in African artworks and used in many other cultures throughout history.
In this workshop you will be provided with a pre-dried slab of stoneware clay which has been shaped into a round plate form. Using the sgraffito process, you will apply glaze and use tools to scratch a pattern, design, words or drawings onto your piece of leather-hard greenware clay. You are welcome to bring a sketch design idea with you or free draw during the class. The decorative plates will be kiln fired ready for pick up the following week. All skill levels are welcome.
Artist Biography: Jen Boisvert is a native North Shore area artist who explores visual relationships between humans and nature using sculpture. Jen received her BFA concentration in Sculpture from Montserrat College of Art, and an M.Ed. from Plymouth State University. She is an artist member at two local art associations, a recipient of the Mary Arakelian Foundation Award for best work in sculpture, and her artwork has been featured in galleries and exhibitions throughout New England.
Ceramic Sculpture
With Jennifer Boisvert
When: Saturday March 1, 10am–12pm; Saturday March 8, 10am–12pm; and Saturday March 15, 10–11am
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Tuition: $105
Make a small ceramic sculpture by hand in this introductory course taking place over three Saturdays. You will learn handbuilding techniques – pinch, slab, and coil; with the potential to make vessels that are open or completely enclosed. You will then design and make your sculpture using these techniques. The final class (1 hour) is dedicated to glazing, after which your piece will be fired and ready to collect after two weeks.
Artist Biography: Jen Boisvert is a native North Shore area artist who explores visual relationships between humans and nature using sculpture. Jen received her BFA concentration in Sculpture from Montserrat College of Art, and an M.Ed. from Plymouth State University. She is an artist member at two local art associations, a recipient of the Mary Arakelian Foundation Award for best work in sculpture, and her artwork has been featured in galleries and exhibitions throughout New England.
Figure Drawing and Painting
With Maria Malatesta
When: Saturdays 10am–1pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Start date: Saturday, March 1st, 2025
Final Class Date: Saturday, April 5th, 2025
Tuition: $350 including materials
This six week course begins with quick studies of the model and moves into longer concentrated poses. There will be demonstrations of various ways to mark marks and apply paint. You may use acrylics or other water-based paints and add various drawing materials including charcoal, graphite, and pastel. You may choose to work in representation or move into abstraction. This is a fun class where exploration, staying open and play will be encouraged. The addition of collage and photographic transfers may be integrated into the work. Painting and drawing materials will be provided, and you are welcome to bring other materials you like to work with.
The course is suitable for beginners and provides an opportunity to deepen practice for those who are more experienced.
Artist Biography: Maria Malatesta lives on Cape Ann. It is this spectacular and changing landscape that contributes to her artistic sensibility. She studied in Massachusetts receiving a Diploma and Fifth Year Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and a Bachelor of Science from Lesley College, Cambridge. Maria has shown her work extensively in Boston and the North Shore including many solo exhibitions. She teaches and attends residencies locally and internationally, and twice received a grant to the Vermont Studio Center..
To Write a Life: Memoir Course
With Julianna Thibodeaux
When: Fridays from 10am–12pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 248 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Start date: Friday, March 21, 2025
Final Class Date: Friday, April 11, 2025
Tuition: $150 including materials
Everyone has a story to tell. In this memoir short course, we’ll define the genre and explore the process of memoir writing – finding a focus and themes, generating drafts and revisions, confronting writer’s block, and more. Bring your existing ideas and drafts or just come with an open mind to write something new. You’ll come away with a draft of at least one brief memoir and a roadmap to write more. Writers of all levels are welcome.
Instructor Biography: Julianna Thibodeaux is an assistant professor at Montserrat College of Art and has taught creative writing for more than a decade on the North Shore in a variety of settings, from college classrooms to community centers. Her creative writing and journalism have appeared in numerous publications and earned several awards. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College.
Mixed Media Painting and Collage
With Maria Malatesta
When: Saturdays from 10am–1pm
Location: Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Start date: Saturday May 10, 2025
Final Class Date: Saturday May 31, 2025
Tuition: $230
This four week course introduces techniques to add depth and interest to works on paper using water-based paint and mixed media. Experiment with stained paper to unify and add surface texture to the base paper; make gelli prints where paper is pressed onto a painted gel plate manipulated with stencils or objects to add pattern and image; and transfer images to layer designs. Add collage to build dimension, using old books, letters, papers, found objects and other personal materials to incorporate into the work. The course encourages the expression of personal ideas and vision, with weekly thematic assignments given as a prompt. You will look at the work of mixed media artists for inspiration and context about this technique.
No experience is required. The course encourages experimentation and trusting the process for all levels.
Artist Biography: Maria Malatesta lives on Cape Ann. It is this spectacular and changing landscape that contributes to her artistic sensibility. She studied in Massachusetts receiving a Diploma and Fifth Year Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and a Bachelor of Science from Lesley College, Cambridge. Maria has shown her work extensively in Boston and the North Shore including many solo exhibitions. She teaches and attends residencies locally and internationally, and twice received a grant to the Vermont Studio Center.
