Northern Illinois University
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Office of External Programs

Drawing and Design Exploration

Alexis Estrada & Lynn Stockton

For the beginner level student, this class explores drawing and design at a foundation level focusing on composition, layout, color, and texture, using concepts and techniques such as collage, symmetry, photography. With step-by-step guidance, students will be introduced to drawing and design thinking including creative problem solving skills using imagery that reflects student interests.

Colored Pencil Exploration

Cindy Hellyer-Heinz

Using colored pencil, campers will experiment with a number of rendering techniques as they develop surfaces and implied textures to replicate objects from nature. Composition, concept and expression will be explored through creative representation.

Creating With Color

Samantha Haring

Explore unexpected and inventive uses of color in drawing. Students will learn to build visually powerful surfaces with layered color in both representational and non-traditional ways. Using chalk pastels, we will play with a variety of color palettes to express different symbolic and personal ideas.

Painting Unbound: Experimental Approaches

John Zilewicz

Students will challenge conventional approaches to painting by exploring unconventional tools, expressive mark-making, color relationships, and layered surfaces. Through a series of hands-on investigations, experimentation and material exploration, students will discover new ways to generate imagery and develop an individual approach to painting. Students will learn to embrace uncertainty, respond to unplanned results, and transform experimentation into expressive works of art.

Figure Sculpting

April Macatangay

Students will learn accurate human proportions and how to sculpt the human form with modeling clay. This class includes experimenting with sculpting muscle structures, clothing, textures and different postures to create figures that show depth and narrative.

Life Drawing

Ailysh Cooper

Students will learn to draw the human figure while being introduced to college-level life drawing concepts and techniques. A variety of materials will be used while working from a live model within an art studio setting.

Comic Art/Graphic Novels

Abigail Krodel

Students will work to develop original characters and stories using ideas from tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) like dungeons and dragons, as well as drawing, and design techniques associated with comic arts. Illustration tools, techniques and materials will be introduced, practiced and applied as students create finished sample graphic novels or "zines".

Portraits in Acrylic

Tim Roloff

Students will explore portraiture and personal narrative as they combine traditional and experimental painting techniques to create expressive self-portraits on canvas. Color and textures will be addressed specific to acrylic techniques. 

Drawing Realism

Becki Miller

Using a variety of drawing materials, campers will build mixed media still-life drawings replicating realistic imagery that addresses both composition and concept. Techniques are explored that allow artists to render images expressively or precisely, using layers of ink, colored pencil and graphite. Mark making, visual texture and subtle gradations will be a focus.

Pastel Drawing

Ashley Martinez

Students will be introduced to the responsive and subtle surfaces created by pastel. Using artist quality hard and soft pastels, this class will explore developing transitional layers of color to build smooth surfaces as well as expressive mark making. Developing detailed color transitions, realistic skin tones, and textural surfaces, portrait drawings will focus on capturing expressions, facial details, volume, and structural depth.

Dramatic Drawing Studies

Elizabeth Nache

Go big, go bold, and unleash the dramatic range of charcoal. Dive into extreme contrast and velvety blacks as you develop high-contrast drawing techniques. By achieving accurate scale, proportion, and expressive depth, you’ll build visually striking, high-impact artwork that demands attention.

The Figure Unbound: Mixed Media and Experimental Figure Drawing (Live Model)

John Zilewicz

Explore the human figure through experimental drawing and mixed-media processes. Students will investigate gesture, movement, proportion, and expressive mark-making while combining drawing, painting, collage, and unconventional materials to create dynamic, layered works of art. Through direct observation, experimentation, and chance-based techniques, students will challenge traditional approaches to figure drawing and discover new ways to interpret the human form. Emphasis will be placed on creative risk-taking, material exploration, and developing a personal artistic voice through a combination of representational and abstract approaches to the figure.

Photography: Explore and Experiment

Amy Leuhrs

Explore photography as an art form that tells stories and addresses concepts through lighting. Using personal phones or iPads, the photo assignments in this class will challenge students to create images that address composition and value scale as they progress from the photo shoot through the editing process. Students will explore historical processes through photography. In addition to digital photography, students may experiment with cyanotypes, pinholes, and lumen prints. In addition, students will gain experience using LED lights in the lighting studio.

Printmaking

Ava Simons

Students will explore a variety of printmaking techniques and experiences. The focus of this class will be to develop a series of prints using a variety of printmaking approaches. Drawing and illustration techniques, along with concept development, will be emphasized.

Acrylic Painting

TBD

Learning traditional and expressive acrylic painting techniques, students will create dynamic and dramatic paintings that reflect technical excellence while experimenting with color and surface textures.