Lifelong Learning Courses for Adults

Drop-In Figure Drawing: 8-Week Series

With Brian Murphy
When: Tuesdays, March 24- May 12 (8 weeks); 7 – 9pm
Location: 23 Essex Street, Room 303
Tuition: $20 per class, multi-class packages can be purchased in advance (preferred, spaces fill quickly)

Elevate your practice in a creative peer environment. These open sessions are designed for artists of all levels—whether you are a beginner, a seasoned professional, or building a portfolio.

Over the course of eight weeks, you will work with a variety of nude models in a focused studio setting. Instructor Brian will guide a sequence of short and long poses, allowing you to warm up before moving into more detailed, sustained work. This is a flexible space to experiment with your media of choice and deepen your technical skills.

• 8-week series; sessions led by Brian.
• Please bring your own drawing materials. Easels are provided on-site.
• Limited to 15 participants per session to ensure ample space.
• Book online to guarantee your spot. Walk-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis, space permitting.
• These sessions are designed for adults aged 18+.

Flow

With Sarah Slifer Swift
When: Saturdays, May 16, May 30, and June 6, 2–4pm
Location: The Bower Underground, 248 Cabot Street
Tuition: $115

Ready to shake off the static and find your rhythm? Join us for Flow, an energizing collaboration with MAGMA and instructor Sarah Slifer Swift that’s all about the joy of movement! This isn’t a rigid dance class—it’s a “limber” and welcoming space for everyone to build a deeper, more creative relationship with their own body. Through fun prompts and exercises, we’ll explore body awareness and rhythm while playing with big ideas like resilience, freedom, authenticity, and chance. Whether you’re looking for a boost of vitality or a new source of well-being, you’ll learn to navigate challenge and choice in a way that feels sustainable and supportive. Grab a friend and come discover how movement can unlock your creativity and help you feel more at home in your own skin. All levels are welcome.

Absolute Beginner Ballet: A Somatic Approach

With Sarah Slifer Swift
When: Wednesdays in May | 6:15 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: Movement Arts Gloucester Massachusetts (MAGMA),
11 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 
Tuition: $85

Discover the Joy of Ballet – No Experience Required!
Are you curious about ballet but don’t know where to start? Join us for an adult-focused course that prioritizes the body-mind connection. We’ll explore alignment, rhythm, and spatial awareness in a supportive environment, finding joy in movement while learning the foundations of classical ballet.

Cyanotype Sun Printing

With Patricia Scialo
When: June 18, 10am – 3pm
Location: Hardie Basement, printmaking space, 23 Essex St 
Tuition: $115

Dive into the world of historic and alternative photography with Cyanotype Sun Printing, a hands-on workshop led by Fine Art Photographer Patricia Scialo. Specializing in unique, handmade prints—from delicate paper works to large-scale silk murals—Patricia guides participants through the boundless creative possibilities of this classic process. You will learn to craft stunning imagery using cut paper designs, custom drawings, and your own personal collections, alongside natural materials gathered from the shoreline and processed in seawater for a truly organic finish. Whether you are an experienced artist or a curious beginner, this course offers an exciting opportunity to blend traditional techniques with the natural environment to create one-of-a-kind photographic art.  

June Immersive: Stone Carving

• With Jennifer Boisvert
• Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19
• 10am–4pm
• 301 Cabot Street
• Tuition: $775

A weeklong summer immersive taking place over five full weekdays. Learn how to use tools and techniques to carve a sculpture in marble. Discover the art of seeing sculptural form within a block of stone and understand how to remove the excess to reveal the form. Through demonstrations and guided practice, you will learn to utilize the subtractive method to make your sculpture. You will be introduced to specialist equipment in our sculpture workshop. Beginning with hand carving techniques, you will move on to using a pneumatic air hammer. Complete the week by grinding, sanding and polishing your marble sculpture to take home. This course is suitable for beginners and those who want to advance their skills further.

Are you an alum of stonecarving? Taken the course before? Contact [email protected] for discounts and availability.

June Immersive: Beading

• With Lisa Richardson Bach
• Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19
• 9:30am–12:30pm
• Tuition: $375

Stop wondering how intricate jewelry is made and start weaving your own during our Bead Boss Intensive, a high-energy, week-long deep dive into the shimmering world of beadwork! Designed for all levels in a stress-free, “mistakes-allowed” environment, this week-long journey kicks off with mastering the foundational Peyote stitch, moves into the elegant Herringbone and its funky variations, explores the structural power of the Right Angle Weave (RAW), and culminates in the stunning, textured Russian Spiral. On our final day, we’ll master professional clasps and finishing techniques to ensure your creations are runway-ready. While we provide a beautiful range of basic beads and all necessary needles and thread, you are welcome to bring your own custom colors after checking in with the instructor for sizing. Don’t worry about racing the clock—while your intricate bracelets may take longer than class time to complete, our “No-Stress” Guarantee ensures you’ll leave with the materials, professional know-how, and confidence to finish your masterpieces at home. Come find your rhythm and get “bead-y” with us!

Materials supplied.

June Immersive: What’s for Lunch?

• With Angela Glover
• Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19
• 9am–2pm
• Tuition: $225, + estimated $100.00 (est $25.00 per meal over 4 days)

What’s for Lunch? An Exploration of Gastronomy in Beverly, MA.   

What’s for Lunch will introduce participants to food writing by way of gastronomy; specifically, we will explore four restaurants in Beverly, MA, during the week of June 15-19 while reading, writing, and eating.

Morning discussions will focus on topics that include but are not limited to regional cuisine, public and private sphere influences, social media, and food reviewing before heading out to lunch between 11 and 11:30am Monday-Thursday. After lunch, we will write about our experiences integrating morning topics into our reviews.

On our last day, we will share a potluck on campus while reflecting on the reviews we’ve written during our week together. 

June Immersive: Oil Painting

• With Matt Dorado
• Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19
• 10am–4pm
• Tuition: $350

Unleash your creativity in The Painter’s Playground, a flexible and beginner-friendly course designed for everyone from absolute novices to seasoned artists looking to break out of a rut. This “no-judgment zone” prioritizes experimentation over perfection, offering you the freedom to mess up and discover your true artistic voice through a series of exciting hands-on adventures. Our journey begins with Coastal Plein Air sessions at the ocean to capture horizons with mess-free watercolors, followed by studio-based Still-Life studies using bold, layered acrylics to master light and shadow. You will dive into our Texture Lab to get tactile with liquids, gels, glazes, and powders, while our Medium Matchmaking exercises allow you to test-drive the unique qualities of watercolors, acrylics, gouache, and water-soluble oils. By the end of this course, you won’t just have a new set of skills; you’ll have a complete artist’s toolkit and the confidence of knowing exactly which mediums and textures make your heart sing.  

*Bring your own supplies; supply list forthcoming.

June Immersive: Navigating the Intersection of Photography and AI

• With Matt Cronin
• Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19
• 10am–4pm
• Tuition: $325

Photography and AI Generative AI isn’t just reshaping photography—it’s redefining how we think about and create images. This course explores the intersection of traditional photographic techniques and AI-driven tools, opening new creative possibilities. Through hands-on experimentation, students will generate and refine AI-assisted photographs while critically examining the implications of these technologies.  The rise of generative AI is transforming image-making, reshaping how photographs are conceived, produced, and understood. As AI-driven tools merge with traditional photographic practices, they expand creative possibilities while simultaneously challenging fundamental ideas of authorship, originality, and authenticity. This course provides both the technical skills and critical frameworks necessary to navigate AI-assisted image-making. Through hands-on experimentation, you will integrate AI-generated imagery with traditional photographic methods to expand the language of visual storytelling.. During this intensive workshop, you will create a body of work that blends AI-generated and traditional photographic methods, challenging and expanding the limits of photography in the age of machine learning. Beyond technical skills, the course investigates the ethical, philosophical, and aesthetic questions surrounding AI in creative fields, challenging ideas of authenticity, originality, and artistic intent.