Sonoma Community Center

Enriching lives through education and the arts — for Sonoma Valley and beyond

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Observational Drawing: Learning to See like an Artist

January 9, 2025 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

$240

Date: Thursdays, January 9 – February 27, 2025
Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
This class meets weekly for 8 weeks
Instructor: Melisse Herman
Location: Room 208, Print Studio
Ages: Adults
Skill Level: All Levels
Registration Fee: $240

Financial Aid Register Here

About the class

We all look at the world around us but we often don’t spend the time to carefully observe and see. When practicing observational drawing techniques we have the opportunity to elevate the skill of seeing and translating what we see to the page.

Students will be looking at how shape and value help to understand perspective and foreshortening. The most interesting subjects are those around us. We will study the Community Center, its garden, and each other. Once you see the shapes and values, you will draw in a new way.

Through demonstration, practice, and class discussion, participants hone the verbal and analytical skills necessary to critically examine their and others’ work. This class is excellent for students with any level of drawing ability.

Please bring the following materials: 18” X 24” drawing paper, charcoal (vine, willow, compressed), erasers, chamois, stumps, and a variety of pencils and markers.

The Sonoma Community Center is committed to creating an accessible learning environment. If you require any special considerations(medical, physical, learning) please share them with Sean Baskin, Program Associate, by emailing him at sean@sonomacommunitycenter.org so that he can forward them to the relevant Program Director and Instructor.

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.

https://www.melisseherman.com/

    Questions and Answers

    • All Levels
    • Welcomes participants from beginning through advanced. Instructor provides a balanced and flexible curriculum suitable for participants with any level of experience.
    • Beginning
    • Participant has little to no experience with this medium and needs or expects guidance at every step during the class. Participant wants to learn about materials, techniques, and vocabulary of the medium.
    • Intermediate
    • Participant is comfortable with the medium and expects both guidance and time to work alone with the medium.
    • Advanced
    • Participant is very confident with all aspects of the medium. Participant is self-motivated; ready to experiment and develop their artistic voice.

    You can click on the images below to expand them.

    We ask that you notify us at least 10 days in advance of a class if you need to cancel your registration. You may cancel by phone or email and we will gladly offer you a refund or credit toward a future class. If you cancel with less than 10 days’ notice, we will not be able to provide refunds, due to our contractual obligations and material purchases for each class. 

    Sometimes, the Sonoma Community Center has to cancel a class due to low enrollment or unforeseen circumstances, such as a natural disaster or health emergency. If this happens and we do not offer a reschedule date, you will be refunded 100% of your registration fee, or credit towards a future class. If we are able to offer a reschedule date but you are unable to make the new date, we will gladly offer credit towards a future class.

    Late additions to any program, class, or workshop that has already begun will be allowed on a per-case basis depending upon the Program Director & instructors approval. Late additions will have to pay the full registration cost of the class, along with any materials fees, and will not be prorated for the time missed. You may reach out to the program directors directly, or the Program Associate Sean Baskin at sean@sonomacommunitycenter.org to request a late addition.

    We are always looking for new instructors. You can find more information about the process here, or fill out the form directly here.

    You can view our full class policies and guidelines here.

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