2026 Adult Class Schedule
Thank you to our spring adult education programming sponsor— the City of Grand Rapids Arts and Culture Commission!
Scholarships are available for all adult classes except Wine, Paint, Canvas & Bowls, Beer, and Bites. Click here for more information and to fill out a brief application.
Wine, Paint, Canvas!
Join experienced art educator, Victoria Kragthorpe, as she guides you from start to finish through the creation of a new painting. Two free beverages and appetizers are included, and there will be plenty of breaks to socialize! Absolutely no art experience is required, and all materials are provided. Come learn in a fun and supportive environment surrounded by your friends. Ages 21+
Instructor: Victoria Kragthorpe
Date: Friday, April 3, 6:00-9:00pm
Fee: $45
Bowls, Beer, and Bites
Enjoy a relaxing evening glazing pottery, drinking micro brew and tasting appetizers. Our resident potter will walk you through the process of glazing two pottery pieces of your choice, from mugs to bowls to plates. There will be plenty of breaks for socializing and enjoying beer and appetizers. Absolutely no art experience is required. Come learn in a fun and supportive environment surrounded by your friends. Two beverages are included in the class fee. Ages 21+.
Instructor: Bruce Bartos
Session 1: Friday, March 6, 6:00-8:30pm - SOLD OUT
Session 2: Friday, May 1, 6:00-8:30pm
Fee: $50
Intro to Wheel Throwing: A Beginner's Pottery Class
This six-week course emphasizes the basics of throwing on the potter's wheel, starting with centering clay and progressing to opening and shaping pots. Under the guidance of instructor Bruce Bartos, students will enjoy a fun and inviting atmosphere as they learn to create wheel-thrown pottery. Those with prior wheel experience can use this class to refine their skills as well. Students will also explore glazing techniques and will be able to take home their finished creations by the end of the class. All materials are provided.
Instructor: Bruce Bartos
*Date: Wednesdays, January 28 - March 4, 6:00-8:00pm (please note new class date!)
Member Fee: $240 Non-member Fee: $250
A Mini-Memoir and Photo Collage Workshop
Every photo has a story, but so many stories get forgotten. A collection of photos can become a memoir if we write a paragraph or two about each photo. In this class we will work on writing short annotations/stories with each photo to preserve your memories. For the first class bring 2-5 photos that have interesting, humorous, mysterious, or memorable backstories only you can reveal (or not). During the second class we will work to assemble our photos and written memories in a collage/junk journaling format. Examples will be provided. Coffee, fun, and friendship included. No negative feedback and beginners welcome!
Instructor: Judy Nelson
Date: Wednesdays, March 4 & 11, 10:00am-12:00pm
Member Fee: $55 Non-member Fee: $65
Throwing Big: Intermediate Pottery
This class is for those who have had some experience throwing on the pottery wheel and would like to expand their knowledge. Instructor Bruce Bartos will help student work to throw bigger pieces such as vases, bowls, and plate sets. Those with wheel experience may also choose to use this workshop as an opportunity for continued practice at the potter’s wheel with guided instruction from an experienced potter and educator. General class schedule will be as follows: Week 1 & 2- throwing large pieces, Week 3 & 4- making plates, Week 5 & 6 - glazing. A variety of clay will be available to purchase at the MAC for students to use during class.
Instructor: Bruce Bartos
*Date: Wednesdays, March 11 - April 15, 6:00-8:00pm (please note new class date!)
Member Fee: $240 Non-member Fee: $250
The Abstract Earring: A "Found Composition" Workshop in Clay
Treat clay like a canvas in this two-part workshop designed for "grown-up play" and creative discovery! Instead of the stress of decorating tiny individual pieces, we will use a "Found Pattern" technique. We’ll start by rolling out a large, thin ceramic slab and treating it as one big master painting—layering colors, marks, and patterns using curated underglaze palettes. Once your master painting is complete, the "treasure hunt" begins. You will "harvest" your favorite compositions using cutters to create 3–5 pairs of truly one-of-a-kind earrings. We will integrate high-temperature wire directly into the wet clay for a seamless look. After the instructor clear-glazes and fires your work to a professional gloss, we’ll meet back up for a fun assembly session. We will put the finishing touches on your dangles and studs and mount them on custom earring cards so they are ready to wear or gift right away!
Instructor: Jennifer Gorman
Date: Thursdays, March 12 & 26, 6:00-8:30pm
Member Fee: $105 Non-member Fee: $115
Norwegian Rosemaling Sampler Board
In this class you will learn Norwegian Rosemaling painting techniques to complete a sampler board. Norwegian rosemaling, or “rose paint,” is a traditional Norwegian folk art characterized by its colorful, stylized, and flowing floral and scroll designs. Provided with class: paints, brushes, and sampler board. Beginners and those with rosemaling experience are welcome!
Instructor: Michelle Carlson
Date: Saturday, March 7, 10:30am-3:30pm
Member Fee: $85 Non-member Fee: $95
The Blank Page – Getting Started on Your Next Story
The Blank Page is a class for adult writers struggling to think of their next big story. The class is designed to go through a series of exercises (as a group and individually) meant to help inspire and develop ideas that can lead to fully written stories. Participants will be given the opportunity to turn one of their ideas into a piece of micro fiction during the class, and will have the choice to share their work with the rest of the group. By the end of the session, participants will have a plethora of new story leads, ready to hit the keyboards!
Instructor: Mackenzie Grubbs
Date: Saturday, March 21, 10:30am-1:30pm
Class Fee: $10
Advanced Rosemaling: Bring Your Own Project
Advanced Rosemaling is for those that have had rosemaling classes with Michelle Carlson before and are ready to step beyond the beginning classes. Participants will bring their own woodenware project, oil paints, and brushes for their individual project. Michelle will then help prepare their project, assist with patterns and color design ideas.
Instructor: Michelle Carlson
Date: Saturday, March 21, 10:30am-3:30pm
Member Fee: $85 Non-member Fee: $95
Spring Blooms Cake Decorating
Welcome spring with a cheerful, hands-on cake decorating class! In this workshop, you’ll decorate your own 6-inch cake inspired by all things spring pastel colors, floral accents, and fresh seasonal designs. No experience is necessary just come ready to learn, get creative, and have fun! All supplies are provided, and you’ll leave with your beautifully decorated cake to take home and enjoy.
Instructor: Gabrielle Griffin
Date: Saturday, March 28, 2:00-4:00pm
Member Fee: $75 Non-member Fee: $85
Berry Picking Basket Workshop
Join master Basket Maker Shannon Lucas Westrum for a hands-on basket weaving workshop! This workshop includes weaving a round base, adding upright accent spokes, lashing with cord, cutting and riveting your own leather handle. Great for collecting berries and mushrooms, this piece has a lot of versatility. The finished basket will measure 7" across the base, 6 1/4” across the top, and 5” high (not including leather handle).
Instructor will provide all necessary tools (shears, weights, towels, wash tubs, etc). Hand dexterity required. Ages 14+. There will be a 1/2hr lunch break. Lunch will not be not provided.
Thanks to an Arts Education Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, participant cost for this workshop has been reduced by more than 60% and all materials are included free of cost.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Instructor: Shannon Lucas-Westrum and Jesse Westrum
Date: Saturday, April 4, 10:00am-4:00pm
Class Fee: $30
Gouache Painting 1
Learn to paint with gouache. Start the new year off with a day of creativity, exploration and connection. Pronounced ‘gwash’, this versatile medium is similar to watercolor but is more opaque. This medium is great for travel, plein air painting, color studies, nature journaling, and a wide variety of artistic styles. We will practice color mixing and a variety of painting techniques on watercolor paper and illustration board. Includes a short break for lunch. Materials are included.
Instructor: Nelia Harper French
Date: Saturday, April 4, 10:00am-3:00pm
Member Fee: $75 Non-member Fee: $85
Gouache Painting 2
For students who have taken Gouache Painting 1 or have experience with gouache painting. Expand upon what you learned from Gouache Painting 1 using gouache paints and techniques learned in the first class. We will work from your images/photographs/ideas to develop your painting. A materials list will be sent out prior to the class.
Instructor: Nelia Harper French
Date: Saturday, April 18, 10:00am-1:00pm
Member Fee: $65 Non-member Fee: $75
Honoring Our Animal Guides: Writing and Collage Workshop
Here in the north country, we are fortunate to live with wolves, deer, bear, beaver, and countless other animals. We know how wise they are and how they guide us. We all have stories about magical encounters and will work to capture these stories through writing and collage. Join this fun class to create a beautiful collage to honor our wild ones and your special guide(s). A detailed materials list, mostly made of found items, pictures, markers, poster board, and a reference list of books will be sent prior to the first class. No negative feedback and beginners welcome!
Instructor: Judy Nelson
Date: Wednesdays, April 8 & 15, 10:00am-12:00pm
Member Fee: $55 Non-member Fee: $65
Stackable Garden Art: Handbuilt Pottery
Build your own garden art piece and have it ready for the spring bloom. Using handbuilding techniques with clay, master potter Mike Jasper will help you make some amazing sculptural garden art. Price includes instruction, clay, glazes, firing and humor.
Instructor: Mike Jasper
Date: Thursdays, April 9-May 21, 6:30-8:30pm
Member Fee: $170 Non-member Fee: $180
Amazing You: Heart-Centered Spring Renewal
As spring energy rises, this heart-centered renewal session focuses on opening, growth, and new possibilities. Participants explore gentle movement, the Red Thread connection, intuitive creativity, and guided meditation to support clarity and blossoming from within.
Session Overview
Red Thread Opening Circle- Setting a heart-focused intention for personal renewal and new beginnings.
Heart-Opening Stretching, Breathwork & Tapping- Movement practices to refresh energy, release stagnation, and expand emotional spaciousness.
Intentional Creativity: “What Is Ready to Bloom in My Heart?”- A guided creative process exploring symbols of growth, emergence, and spring energy through intuitive painting or drawing.
Spring Affirmation & Journaling Practice- Participants write a “Blooming Affirmation” and reflect on what their heart is ready to invite forward.
Yoga Nidra: Seeds of Possibility (Possible Sound Bath)- Restorative guided relaxation planting inner seeds for the season ahead.
Closing Circle & Blessing- Reflection, gratitude, and connection.
Instructor: Stella Alpina Leone
Date: Saturday, April 11, 12:00-4:00pm
Member Fee: $55 Non-member Fee: $65
Drawing Right to Artistic Success
This lowkey 5-week drawing class will help you to start at square one toward a successful project and is perfect for beginners. Drawing is the foundation for many artistic projects and helps you to have a “road-map” to where you are going. This class will focus on designing your idea into a cohesive direction, and making use of space, values, texture, lines, mark making and more. If you can draw it, you can paint it or sculpt it. The focus will be on drawing what you see rather than what you think you see. We will use a variety of media such as pencils, charcoal, conte crayons, and colored pencils. You will learn to set up a blank sheet of paper into spaces for your concept and add large shapes first and then small, arranging darks and lights into a pleasing finished project. We will start with simple shapes and work toward more diverse shapes.
Instructor: Jan Stenson
Date: Tuesdays, April 14 - May 12, 1:00-3:30pm
Member Fee: $145 Non-member Fee: $155
Weaving Birch Bark Stars
Birch bark stars are a perfect decoration for a Christmas tree or for use throughout the year. In this class students will learn how to weave a birch bark star using a folding method from instructor Pam Burns. The materials used are all harvested from forests around Grand Rapids. All materials provided. Ages 16+
Instructor: Pam Burns
Date: Friday, April 17, 10:30am-2:30pm
Member Fee: $40 Non-member Fee: $50
Little Tin, Big Mosaic: Make and Take Class
Join us for a creative mosaic class where you'll learn to craft a small spring mosaic design in a little tin box. These can be propped up on a table or used as a magnet. This class will guide you through the process of creating a beautiful mosaic piece that you can take home with you that day. All supplies provided. Class will meet at Balsam Creek Mosaic Studio in Central Square Mall.
Instructor: Deb Buxengard
Session 1: Wednesday, April 29, 10:00am-12:00pm
Session 2: Saturday,May 2, 10:00am-12:00pm
Member Fee: $45 Non-member Fee: $55
Color, Composition, and Fearless Abstraction
Connect, collaborate, create – creating art together. This will be a workshop for artists of all levels to work together. The workshop will include information and shared discussion on the elements of painting, exercises, and hands-on painting. Class participants of all levels will exchange information, share how they begin a painting, how they work, and what artistry they want to acquire or refine. Each can bring a work they want to discuss. The event is for artists to create together learning, doing and sharing art and inspiring each other.
Instructor: Karlyn Berg
Date: Saturday, May 9, 10:30am-3:30pm (please note new date!)
Member Fee: $55 Non-member Fee: $65
The Painterly Plate: Patterns & Mark-Making
Treat clay like a canvas in this two-part workshop that merges the joy of surface design with the utility of handmade ceramics. Moving beyond basic pottery, this class focuses on intentional mark-making and repeating pattern design. Students will create a coordinating pair of functional serving pieces (snack plates, small charcuterie boards, or trinket trays) using professional slab-building techniques. We will begin by rolling and compressing our slabs, then dive into a guided design session. Using curated underglaze palettes, students will learn to build "all-over" designs through rhythmic mark-making and layered patterns. No drawing experience is required—the focus is on texture, movement, and color. After a slow-dry and bisque fire, students return for a second session to refine their work and apply a professional clear glaze, ensuring a food-safe, gallery-quality finish.
Instructor: Jennifer Gorman
Date: Wednesdays, May 13 & 27, 6:00-8:30pm
Member Fee: $125 Non-member Fee: $135
Keep it in Perspective Drawing Class
If you’ve ever wondered why a painting or drawing didn’t look right, it may have had to do with its perspective. In this class, you will learn how to create accurate 1pt, 2pt and 3pt perspectives. You will also learn the different measuring tools used to enlarge, reduce or maintain the size of your reference image. Supply list will be emailed prior to class.
Instructor: Julie Erickson
Date: Saturday, May 16, 11:00am-1:30pm
Member Fee: $75 Non-member Fee: $85
Discover the Joy of Watercolor
In this 5-week watercolor class, you will learn many ways to make use of watercolor using composition, color properties, and about the unique transparent effects of this media. Watercolor is easy to transport and is useful in capturing quick color sketches, but also adapts to larger paintings well. Watercolor’s impact can be soft or rugged depending on your color choices and subjects. How to gauge the quantity of water to use, designing the layout, mixing colors and drawing will be the primary focus for each session. Watercolor painting is a lifelong skill to enjoy from making cards to larger paintings and more. The class has a relaxed approach with time for all questions. Come for fun and a great learning experience. A supply list will be sent upon registration.
Instructor: Jan Stenson
Date: Tuesdays, May 19-June 16, 1:00-3:30pm
Member Fee: $145 Non-member Fee: $155
Introduction to Plein Air Painting
Learn the ins and outs of plein air painting with your chosen medium (acrylic, watercolor, pastel, oil, gouache, and drawing mediums). In this interactive, hands-on class, Nelia Harper French will share useful tools for working quickly outdoors. She will demonstrate how to simplify the landscape, and share her approach to plein air painting that works for all mediums. You are welcome to watch, ask questions, and bring your materials with to work outside with instructor guidance. Additional materials will also be available on-site. Age limits: 16+
Location: Blandin Beach, in case of rain meet at MacRostie Art Center
Instructor: Nelia Harper
Date: Saturday, May 30, 9:00am-12:00pm
Member Fee: $45 Non-member Fee: $55
Tuesday Open Pottery
Tuesday open pottery sessions are designed for beginners or advanced students to use our pottery studio. This is an open studio, which means it is not a class but free working time with an instructor to help with questions or limited assistance.
Please enter in the 3D door on the Highway 2 side.
Call 218-326-2697 or register online. Attendees may drop-in but space is not guaranteed. If dropping in, attendees must have exact cash to pay for registration.
Instructor: Bruce Bartos
Time: Tuesdays, 6pm - 8pm
Student price: $10 Adult price: $15
Tuesday Open Paint
Tuesday Open Paint is an informal, weekly drop-in session for anyone working in a 2-dimensional medium (painting, drawing, collage, etc.). While no instruction is provided, attendees benefit from sharing their projects and process and creating in a supportive and encouraging environment. Sessions are free for members and no registration is required. Please bring your own supplies.
Time: Tuesdays, 10 am - 1pm
Member Fee: FREE Non-member Fee: $5