About the class

This six-week studio course focuses on the fundamentals of drawing while exploring a variety of media, techniques, and subject matter from still life and landscape to the figure. We will use traditional and experimental approaches to drawing; students will develop an understanding of line, value, gesture, proportion, and form. Through demonstration, practice, and class discussion, participants hone the verbal and analytical skills necessary to critically examine their and others’ work. This course is appropriate for beginners and those wishing to further develop their drawing skills.

Please bring the following materials: 20″ x 26″ drawing board with clips, 18 “x 24” Strathmore drawing pad (other brands are fine as long as the paper is drawing quality), soft willow charcoal, compressed charcoal (Char-kole brand black), white plastic eraser, notebook, Staedtler drawing pencils 2B and 6B, Pigma micron pens black (one fine-tip and one medium-tip).

About the instructor

Melisse Herman

Instructor / Artist

Melisse Herman works with themes of Absence and Presence, compelling a dialogue in which the viewer draws their own meaning from each work – engaging with what is first unseen, then subtly visible, and finally clear. Melisse graduated with distinction from California College of the Arts, and received her MFA with honors in painting and drawing from Mills College. She has exhibited on both the East and West Coasts and has featured in a number of significant collections, including the Chevron Corporation and the United States Embassy in Hong Kong. She helped to compose a young adult novel, and has taught at both California College of the Arts and Mills College as well as other institutions for over 35 years.