Continuing Education Fall 2025
We bring creative minds together for professional development and personal enrichment.
Continuing Education Fall 2025
New trends, technology and challenges need new ideas, skill sets and relationships. MIAD’s Continuing Education helps meet these challenges through innovative programming that fosters:
• Interdisciplinary thought and practices.
• Re-envisioning of personal and professional creativity.
• Collaborative cultural and business relationships that enhance exceptional learning opportunities.
Fall Semester
Scholarship Portfolio is an opportunity for high school seniors to strengthen or build their portfolios across fine art and design disciplines for submission to college. Students complete five projects during the eleven-week course, strategically developed to provide ample opportunity for experimentation, discovery, diversifying, and adding to existing skills. Multiple prompts are provided for each project to allow students to make work relevant to their own technical and conceptual interests, regardless of discipline or media preferences. Group critiques, presentations, and individual feedback augment student growth, with support and access to the admissions team during the application process.
High school seniors who successfully complete the course receive a $10,000 scholarship ($2,500/year renewable for four years), to attend MIAD in the fall following their high school graduation. This is in addition to any other merit or need-based monies awarded. Attendance is required each week, along with project completion, to receive the scholarship offer. Learn more & register at miad.edu/spc
In-Person Scholarship Portfolio
Scholarship Portfolio is an in-person, eleven-session course at MIAD for current high school seniors, offered from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The course includes multiple project prompts to support various solutions and creative direction, group and individual critiques, and access to admissions counselors for support during the application process. Students are required to provide their own supplies based on their interests and guidance from the instructor.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. OR 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Oct. 11 – Jan. 10
(no class on Nov. 29, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27), 11 sessions
Tuition: $450 ($200 deposit non-refundable after Sept. 12)
Registration Deadline: Oct. 5
Instructor: Maddy Koltun
Online Scholarship Portfolio
This section of Scholarship Portfolio is an online, eleven-session course for current high school seniors, offered from 9 a.m. – 12pm or 1p.m. – 4 p.m. The course includes multiple project prompts to support various solutions and creative direction, group and individual critiques and access to admissions counselors for support during the application process. Students are required to provide their own supplies based on their interests and guidance from the instructor. For online options, students will be provided with access to software for the duration of the course to complete their projects as necessary.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. OR 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Oct. 11 – Jan. 10
(no class on Nov. 29, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27), 11 sessions
Tuition: $450 ($200 deposit non-refundable after Sept. 12)
Registration Deadline: Oct. 5
Instructor: Emma Rarick
Please note: Scholarships are not available to attend this class. Students must be entering or currently in their senior year to register. Students must have a cumulative unweighted grade point average of 2.0 or above to register for the course.
Left: Maisie Doyle, Scholarship Portfolio Class, 2024
OPEN FIGURE DRAWING
Open Figure Drawing is an opportunity to draw from a live model without instruction. One model provides a variety of quick and sustained poses. Participants can choose to pre-register: $50 for 10 sessions, or pay $6 per session at the door. Students under the age of 18 must have written parental permission to attend.
Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Sept. 9 – Nov. 11, 10 sessions
Explorations in Figure Drawing (NEW)
This class is designed to help artists seeking to push their observational drawing skills as well as explore media and expression through close observation of the human figure. Students investigate depicting the human form through live nude models and alternative approaches. Some prior experience with figure drawing, drawing media, and composition is helpful, but is not required. One-on-one instruction and in-progress feedback with the instructor will be available throughout the drawing sessions. Students under the age of 18 must have written parental permission to attend.
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Oct. 15 – Nov. 19, 6 sessions
Tuition: $235 ($215 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Ethan Krause
Prompt & Practice: A Weekly Photography Challenge (NEW)
Through weekly creative prompts, students explore a variety of photographic fundamentals and learn to build a consistent photo practice. Focused on individual interests and guidance from the instructor, each session starts with a review of the previous week’s work, followed by a new theme to explore. Prompts are open-ended and encourage experimenting with composition, light, and subject matter. Open to all levels - students must provide their own DSLR, mirrorless, phone, or film cameras.
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Oct. 15 – Nov. 19, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Kat Schleicher
SATURDAY MORNING CLASSES
Creating Characters (NEW)
Characters are embedded in the stories we tell. Creating characters is an essential part of being an animator, comic book artist, illustrator, writer, and working in advertising. Students are challenged to create “assigned characters,” reboot an “existing character,” and develop a completely “original character” of their own to support the stories they want to tell.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Rich Koslowski
Advanced Foundry (NEW)
Advanced Foundry offers students the opportunity to undertake an ambitious project while further developing technical skills. Deepening technical competence enhances mastery of the medium and invites broader exploration of personal inquiry and artistic expression. Methods of pattern making (modeling, shaping, molding, constructing) are used to translate ideas and feelings into form, and the foundry practices (multi-piece rigid mold making, metal casting, finishing, and patinas) make those forms richly permanent.
As an Advanced course, Advanced Foundry is offered to students who have completed previous Continuing Education Cast Metal Sculpture courses at MIAD, or foundry instruction received through MIAD’s degree program.
Critiques will serve as key milestones, with one held at the start to review project proposals and another at the end to evaluate the completed work.
Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sept. 27 – Nov. 22 (no class Oct. 4), 8 sessions
Tuition: $315
Instructor: Will Pergl
SATURDAY MORNING CLASSES
Risograph Printing and Publishing (NEW)
Risograph printing emerged in the 1980s as a digital duplicator for use in offices and schools. Artists and print houses have since utilized it as a means of creating vibrantly colored prints, books, and zines. Risograph printing has a low environmental impact and can be used to print large editions in short amounts of time. This class focuses on students producing prints, books, and zines through risograph printing, using both digital and traditional methods to create originals for duplication.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $235 ($215 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Cedar Meik
New Techniques in Acrylic Painting (NEW)
Whether you’re looking to refine existing skills or discover innovative approaches, this course provides the tools and inspiration to take your acrylic painting to the next level using both traditional and non-traditional methods. Explorations involve layering, carving, drawing, washes, mark-making, mixed media, brushstrokes, mediums, and more to expand painting vocabularies for students.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 11 – Nov. 22 (no class on Nov. 15), 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Beki Borman
SATURDAY MORNING CLASSES
Oil Painting from the Ground Up (NEW)
What is oil paint? How is it different from other painting media? Using specific palettes to paint color charts, simple still lifes, master copies, and a self-portrait, students may also explore making oil paint from raw materials. Gain historical context and a contemporary understanding of oil paint’s unique properties to put them to work in your own artistic practice.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Beth Stoddard
Textiles in the Home (NEW)
With textiles taking emergence in the modern art world, the concept of art and utility are being brought together using various fibrous practices. This course covers foundational approaches to textile-based work, such as sewing, quilting, crocheting and weaving. Examining how we can merge the utility of textiles you’d find in the home with a fine arts perspective, students are exposed to contemporary textile artists and conduct research for inspiration. By the end of this course, students are able to apply learned skills to create beautiful and functional works of art.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Makenna Schibler
Above: Makenna Schibler
SATURDAY MORNING CLASSES
Intro to Color with Pastels
Explore the fundamentals of color theory through still-life arrangements and photographic references. Beginning with the properties of color (hue, saturation, and value), participants work with limited color schemes in both mimetic and expressive studies to develop a fundamental understanding of color harmonies. Activities focus on mark-making, blending, and layering to investigate the properties of pastels. Students additionally test out wet uses of the pastel media on store-bought and self-primed paper substrates.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Mary Beth Drabiszczak
Explore the Luminosity of Watercolor
This course covers basic tonal and color mixing in watercolor, wet-on-dry technique, and various approaches to wet-on-wet. Instruction progresses from simple exercises in the first week, to painting simple still-life arrangements in weeks 2 and 3, floral painting in weeks 4 to 5, and landscape (from photo references) in weeks 5 to 6. No experience in watercolor or painting is necessary.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Rosalie Beck
Above: Mary Beth Drabiszczak
SATURDAY AFTERNOON CLASSES
Exploring Digital Painting and Illustration (NEW)
Gain a foundational understanding of digital painting and illustration as we examine the nuances of color, the recreation of texture, and environmental storytelling. The course also introduces mixed media, providing methods for digitally altering and enriching traditionally created artwork with various digital techniques, brushes, and effects.
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $235 ($215 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Emi Rutherford
The Styled Space: Interior Design Fundamentals (NEW)
This immersive course introduces students to the core principles of interior design—space planning, color theory, material selection, and visual storytelling—through a creative and sustainability-focused lens. Students explore how to design functional and stylish interiors while making thoughtful, eco-conscious choices with materials and layouts. Working both by hand and digitally using InDesign, students will create mood boards, floor plans, and concept presentations. By the end of the course, each student completes a room design that reflects their personal aesthetic, a strong understanding of design fundamentals, and a growing awareness of sustainable design practices.
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $235 ($215 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Chelsea Mody
Etching Open Studio
This class is for all levels. Beginning students will learn, from start to finish, how to make an etching. Plate prep, aquatint and stage-biting will be demonstrated and students will be able to experiment with color and selective wiping. More advanced students can continue their projects and try new methods through guided, small group demos. Everyone will go home with a small edition of completed prints.
Saturdays, 12 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $265
Instructor: Todd Mrozinski
SATURDAY AFTERNOON CLASSES
Painting Landscape Components
Focus on individual components to gain skill in painting naturalistic landscapes. With a split primary (warm/cool) palette, learn to use color temperature, simplification, and various forms of mark-making to create a naturalistic quality of light, illusion of depth, and sense of place. Each week focuses on a different element such as sky, water, land, trees, architecture, and placing figures in the landscape. Students receive individual feedback as they create sketch copies of master paintings from color prints provided by the instructor, and later work from personal photo reference if desired. Skills learned in this class provide students with a richer knowledge base for plein air painting.
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($215 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Beth Stoddard
Confidence Through Play (NEW)
Play is an important aspect of being an artist. Through play, we fumble, we discover, and we emerge from our perceived failures into something rich and valuable. In this course, students use mixed media to find that space of play. Utilizing techniques introduced by the Dada and Surrealist movements, artists recognize their inherent ability to experiment and gain confidence through strategies that foster a playful approach to making.
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Grace Umek
SATURDAY
Understanding the World Through Drawing (NEW)
Drawing is first about sensing. For this reason, drawing from observation is often one of the most rewarding activities for practicing artists. By reinforcing how drawing can connect us with the world, students work from still lifes and the human figures to let go of the pursuit for realism and discover what it means to respond intuitively to the object being depicted. Emphasis is placed on the impact of light, gesture, motion, mark-making and composition. By focusing on these qualities, students learn to experience the world more vividly and share with others how it feels to see the world from their perspective. This course is designed for beginning and experienced drawing students.
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Nov. 22, 6 sessions
Tuition: $225 ($205 before Sept. 21)
Instructor: Nathan Fetherston
Above: Todd Mrozinski
SUNDAY AFTERNOON CLASS
Lithography (NEW)
Through step-by-step demos, students prepare, process and print a stone lithograph. Working with their own drawing, design or photograph, students use a variety of crayons and tools to create value and textures in their drawing and complete the course with a small edition of prints. Note: a printing schedule will be developed once registration is complete.
Sundays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Oct. 19 – Nov. 23, 6 sessions
Tuition: $265
Instructor: Todd Mrozinski
TWO-DAY SATURDAY WORKSHOP
Contemporary Mosaics
In this two-day exploratory workshop, students are encouraged to experiment with color, texture, and flow to discover the endless possibilities of mosaic. Various tools and techniques used in contemporary mosaic-making are demonstrated, as well as proper adhesives, surfaces, design/layout, and grouting. Students are introduced to a myriad of materials and may complete one or two projects during the workshop. A visual mosaic presentation is used to help educate and inspire students. All materials, supplies, and the use of tools are provided.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (1-hour break at noon)
Nov. 8 & Nov. 15, 2 sessions
Tuition: $195
Instructor: Carrie O’Malley