A Gallery Learning Experience about the many different types of Buddha's that we have in our collection. ASL interpretation will be provided.
Join a friendly docent-led conversation that invites you to slow down and deeply connect with select works in the galleries.
4th Wednesday of the Month at 1:30 pm | Free
The docent will be in the lobby at 1:15 pm before starting the tour at 1:30 pm. Pre-registration is preferred.
Contact Jennifer Giddings-Essenmacher with questions.
Registration is through the Alzheimer's Association.
Each session starts at 1:30 pm in Isabel Hall for a 30-minute social.
Then we'll be in the galleries from 2 - 3:30 pm.
Cost: FREE
The Flint Institute of Arts is excited to announce a new shift for our Homeschool program from a weekly format to a once-a-month family experience.
Our new Family Homeschool Program will invite parents, caregivers, and students to learn and create together. Each monthly session will be held on a Wednesday, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. (any changes will be on the FIA website) and will feature a themed Gallery Learning Experience (GLEx) followed by hands-on art making in the studios, where families can work side by side.
This new model reflects the FIA’s mission to connect diverse communities through fun, creative, and inspiring visual art experiences.
Test
The challenge of painting a tree and capturing its structure and beauty can be overwhelming for a beginner. This workshop will teach you how to paint various trees using watercolors and ink. We will investigate trees in all four seasons. Supplies included.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Instructor: Igor Macherkevich
Learn to create printed silk fabric and scarves using a simple transfer method. We will use men’s ties and heat to produce beautiful designs. Students will finish the class with an accessory and additional fabric for use in other projects. Supplies will be provided by the instructor at a cost of $25 per student, paid directly to the instructor.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Ann Jacob
In this one-day workshop, students will learn the basics of hand carving while creating their own wooden fish. Participants will be introduced to carving tools, safety practices, and fundamental techniques, then guided step by step through shaping, detailing, and finishing their piece. By the end of the day, each student will have a hand-carved fish to take home. Supplies included.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Instructors: Courtney Hosler
In this one-day workshop, students will learn the basics of hand carving while creating their own usable wooden kitchen utensil. Participants will be introduced to carving tools, safety practices, and fundamental techniques, then guided step by step through shaping, detailing, and finishing their piece. Supplies included.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Instructors: Courtney Hosler
Students will learn how to design and create their own small zines, self-published booklets that combine image, text, and personal expression. Participants will be encouraged to explore different techniques such as collage, drawing, and mixed media approaches to bring their ideas to life. By the end of the workshop, students will leave with a finished zine to share, trade, or keep-and the skills to keep making more! Supplies included.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Courtney Hosler
Learn how to create landscape scenes with simple shapes organized in sequential layers of overlapping color. Multi-colored paper backgrounds provide the opportunity to explore value and color relationships in multiple drawings using colored pencil, soft pastel or oil pastel. Materials, visual aids and demonstrations of how to manipulate different drawing mediums are included in this workshop.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Rachel Reynolds Z
No matter what painting or drawing you wish to produce, it is vitally important to understand the basic principles of perspective. Linear perspective is an important part of drawing. It is a system that allows creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface. Learn how to recognize and apply 1-, 2-, and 3-Point Perspectives in Drawing. Supplies included.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Igor Macherkevich
Dive into the basics of cyanotype in this one‑day workshop. Students will learn how cyanotype images are created. Students will then prepare materials, create exposures with found objects or negatives, and develop their images. No experience necessary. All materials will be provided.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Kensie White
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Elena Esposito
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: George Lieber
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Maddie Draper
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Maddie Draper
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Maddie Draper
Students will get a taste of glassmaking during these brief, single-topic intro workshops. Participants will complete a project with instructor assistance, which they will get to keep. To ensure stability, all glass projects must go through a slow, careful cooling process; workshop students will be notified when work is available to pick up. Shipping is not available.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Mike Mentz
Curious students will be introduced to the art of melting glass rods with tabletop torches and using hand tools and gravity to create beautiful glass forms. This hands-on workshop will serve as the ideal introduction.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Anita Spencer
Dive into the basics of cyanotype in this one‑day workshop. Students will learn how cyanotype images are created. Students will then prepare materials, create exposures with found objects or negatives, and develop their images. No experience necessary. All materials will be provided.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Kensie White
Collage provides the opportunity to construct landscape scenes using "found" imagery of various colors, sizes, shapes, styles and does not require drawing or painting skills. Students will learn various approaches to composition and color schemes and are encouraged to create surreal, out-of-this-world garden landscapes or illustrate the garden of their dreams. Materials and visual aids are provided.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Rachel Reynolds Z
Learn methods of applying and subtracting modeling paste, experiment with texture as the focal point in your painting, and explore how surface quality enhances imagery within your artwork.This workshop will address how to use frisket paper, silicone spatulas, characteristics of different brands, combining found textures into your painting, and using sgraffito and scumbling to capitalize on and enhance the hand-crafted, unique textures in your painting. Materials and visual aids are provided.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Rachel Reynolds Z
Students will learn how to layer pastel colors to create a vibrant painting of a flower bouquet. We start with observation and analysis of the subject matter and then move through the preliminary sketches to a finished pastel painting. All materials are provided, and we will break for lunch.
Teens 15+ welcome.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Instructor: Alla Dubrovich
In this hands-on seminar, students will learn how rubbers, plastics, foams, and gypsums are used for a variety of applications. You will learn what mold making and casting can mean for your projects now and in the future. The seminar will cover how these materials are used for an endless variety of applications, and best practices when doing so.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Guest Lecturer
Led by Flint Institute of Arts Director of Education Matthew Osmon
This hands-on, experimental watercolor workshop builds teacher confidence through practical techniques, mixed media exploration, and classroom ready project ideas for multiple grade levels. Matthew will share his own process while guiding participants through approaches that balance control and happy accidents, with a focus on surrealism and the visual relationship between a subject and the space around it.
Using the FIA as our discovery zone, participants will draw inspiration from artists in the FIA collection, including Darius Steward, Wangechi Mutu, and Hilo Chen, while also exploring artists such as Sławomir Elsner, Ralph Steadman, Firelei Báez, Marcel Dzama, Walton Ford, and Layla Ali.
Teachers will leave with fresh, classroom ready strategies that make watercolor and surrealism feel more accessible, playful, and genuinely exciting for students.
FEE: $125