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Experience a personalized learning journey
Dive into a medium of your choice, no experience required. Everything from ceramics and beginning painting to puppet making and stone carving! Continuing Education classes are available for youth and adults.
- Fall Adult classes begin September 8
- Young Artist fall classes begin Saturday, September 12
Have questions or need help registering? Check out our FAQ page or Contact the Continuing Education office at ce@cia.edu.
Discounts
CIA is proud to offer discounts to veterans, alumni, CMSD students, and educators—email ce@cia.edu to learn more! Any tuition discount must be entered at the time of purchase.
Interested in more than one class? Use code MULTI0122 when registering for 2 or more classes to receive a 10% discount!
check out our FAQ page for more details.
Fall Young Artist Classes
Classes begin Saturday, September 12. K-4 classes run for 4 sessions. 5-8 and 9-12 classes run for 8 sessions.
Saturdays, 9-11am | $250
In this painting class students will participate in various projects that will teach them different techniques and color theory.
Saturdays, 11:30am – 1:30pm | $250
Students will learn how to draw a portrait of themselves, or someone else, in a realistic art style. Students will learn how to utilize photos for reference and how to create a value scale using different types of pencils to use as a tool for shading. Students will learn essential drawing skills and techniques such as blending, shading, outlining, and layering.
No class held October 3 + 17
Saturdays, 9-11am | $250
Characters play an important role in storytelling – whether it’s for animation, comics, or game design. This new class is perfect for anyone interested in cartooning, concept art, character design, and 2D and 3D design. Students will create a 2D character design model sheet with unique and expressive body poses and facial emotions as well as a poseable, 3D version of your character made of Sculpey polymer clay.
Saturdays, 9-11am | $250
What can a button, a piece of cardboard, an old sweater, and a bottle cap become? In this hands-on maker class, students will design and build original characters using recycled and found materials. Through sketching, construction, painting, and mixed-media techniques, participants will transform everyday objects into imaginative creatures. Students will explore character design, creative problem-solving, and three-dimensional construction while learning how artists turn ordinary materials into extraordinary creations. By the end of the course, each student will take home a unique character of their own design.
Saturdays, 2-4pm | $125
October 10-31
Students will learn how to make a tote bag without using a sewing machine.
Saturdays, 2-4pm | $125
September 12- October 3
Young Artists will explore self-expression through drawing and painting, creating unique works of art.
Saturdays, 2-4pm | $250
Intro to 3D Animation explores keyframes, camera and lighting animations, manipulating a rig in pose mode, and final rendering for animation. A basic understanding of Blender is strongly encouraged.
Saturdays, 11:30am – 1:30pm | $250
Whether you’re interested in animation, comics, or video games, cartooning can play an important role in visual storytelling. This class dives deeper into character design, stylization, world building, and more than previous Cartooning 101 classes for students looking to expand their skill set and learn more about these exciting industries.
Saturdays, 11:30am – 1:30pm | $250
In this class students with get to experiment & work with different materials and means when it come to abstract painting.
Saturdays, 11:30am – 1:30pm | $250
Students will work with various types of fabrics to make jacket of they’re favorite monster.
Fall Adult Classes
Adult classes meet once a week beginning Tuesday, September 8. In observation of Labor Day, Monday classes will begin September 14.
Tuesdays, 6-9pm | $495
In this introductory painting course, students will learn the fundamental techniques and processes of painting with acrylic paint. Class projects will target basic painting principles and guide students to develop a better understanding of tools and materials, acrylic paint and mediums, basic color theory, and two-dimensional design concepts. Discussions, demonstrations, and handouts will provide students with valuable resources to facilitate good painting practices and artistic growth.
Open to students 16 +
Tuesdays, 6-9pm | $595
The goal of this course is to explore the endless possibilities in working with clay both on and off the pottery wheel. Together we will go over basic to advanced techniques to achieve your artistic goals. By the end of the course students will have a complex understanding of how to manipulate clay on and off the wheel at all different stages of the making process. We will glaze and fire our work using multiple firing methods. The majority of supplies for this class are included with the tuition fee.
Waitlist
Tuesdays, 6-9pm | $495
Students will explore the bones and muscles that shape the human face while learning how artists and forensic specialists reconstruct facial features from a skull. Through lectures and hands-on projects, students will create facial reconstructions in two ways: sculpting with clay on plaster skulls and drawing from skull images. This course is a great opportunity to build sculpture and drawing skills while gaining a deeper understanding of how the face is formed, making it valuable for artists, illustrators, and painters alike.
This class introduces the fundamental skills needed to create jewelry and small metal objects using the casting process. Students will use found objects/materials, wax carvings, and casting machinery to create projects using sawing, filing, carving, soldering, polishing, and casting. During the course, students will complete projects and samples. Open to beginners as well as intermediate students. More advanced students will be encouraged to work on independent projects.
Waitlist
Thursdays, 6-9pm | $495
This class focuses on the principles of drawing, guiding students, from beginner to advanced, to become masters of observational drawing. Students will work with a variety of materials, gaining confidence in finding their artistic voice.
Open to students 16 +
Thursdays, 6-9pm | $525
Sculptural forms in hot glass will consist of various techniques to make both blown and solid works out of hot glass. Beginners, starting with the bubble or simply a gather of solid glass, will learn ways to develop sculptural forms out of glass, while intermediate/advanced students explore more techniques and more challenging functional forms. Each class will add a different skill to the making process. Students are encouraged to lean into the abstract, and fluid nature of glass. Natural fiber clothing is mandatory, nothing synthetic may be worn (Jeans and cotton T-shirts are recommended). Protective eyewear (safety glasses) and closed toe shoes are mandatory.
Open to students 16 +
Saturdays, 9:30am – 12:30pm | $595
Lithography is a planographic print process that utilizes slabs of limestone as drawing surfaces that are then etched and printed. From artists like Toulouse-Lautrec to Kathryn Polk, lithography is unique in its image-making capabilities and quite rare! This class will cover the basics of lithography, from stone graining, etching, to operating the press.
Artists of all levels are welcome. Whether you are new to printmaking or a practiced printmaker looking to get your hands on some limestone, students will leave this class with some newfound knowledge and beautifully crafted prints!
The majority of supplies for this class are included with the tuition fee.
Open to students 16 +
Mondays, 6-9pm | $495
Learn to draw realistic portraits in a welcoming eight-week class designed for adult artists of all experience levels. You’ll practice observational drawing from reference, shading, value, and blending techniques while learning how light and shadow create depth and dimension. With step-by-step instruction and individualized guidance, you’ll build confidence, improve your drawing skills, and complete a finished portrait to take home.
Open to students 16 +
Wednesdays, 6-9pm | $495
In introduction to sewing students will complete a series of projects over the course of 8 weeks that will teach the basics of sewing. Class will focus on learning pattern making for garments, and how to sew different seams. This will all accumulate to a final project where students will make their own garment to take home from the course.
Open to students 16 +
In this hands-on Jewelry & Metals course, adult learners will explore the fundamentals of metalsmithing, from basic techniques like sawing, soldering, and shaping to creating simple jewelry pieces. Using non-ferrous metals, students will gain an understanding of tools, materials, and design principles while developing their own unique creations. Whether you’re looking to start a new hobby or begin building a jewelry portfolio, this course offers a supportive environment for creativity and skill-building. All levels welcome.
Waitlist
Wednesdays, 6-9pm | $395
This course teaches artists of all disciplines — painters, photographers, and mixed-media makers — how to prepare digital files for professional-quality printing that meets museum, gallery, and collector-level standards. Over eight weeks, students build a color-managed editing workflow, apply global and targeted color correction using selections and masks, and prepare files to meet resolution and output requirements. The course includes hands-on testing across multiple paper stocks, culminating in final print production.
Open to students 16 +
Prerequisite: beginner-to-intermediate Photoshop experience.
Tuesdays 6-9pm | $495
Explore design through hands-on experimentation with collage, printmaking, typography, stitching, and mixed-media techniques. Students will learn how artists and designers use composition, contrast, texture, layering, and visual communication to convey ideas. Through guided projects, studio exploration, discussion, and critique, participants will develop their creative process while creating a series of studies and a final mixed-media artwork. No prior art or design experience is required; open to all skill levels!
Open to students 16 +
Fall Instructor Series
Starting in November. Descriptions coming soon!