Duration: Summer 2024 (Sunday, June 9 - Sunday, June 16, 2024)

Registrations for the Summer 2024 residential Oxbow Adult Art Workshop are open now!

REGISTER NOW!

Ages: 21+

Capacity: 21 participants. This is a special program with limited capacity; please complete your registration ASAP.

Cost: Summer 2024 program fees, including room & board, all supplies, mentorships, and much more is $3,000 for the 1-week session. Participants who register before MARCH 15TH will receive a discount, bringing the total for the 1-week program to $2,500.

Registration Process: Interested participants should complete the registration form here and select the courses they would like to take during their week at Oxbow. Each course must have a minimum of 5 registrations to run. Once the registration form is received, your spot is secured! We will follow up with payment instructions and further details after registration closes on April 15th.

Questions? Email admissions@oxbowschool.org!

DATE: Sunday, June 9 - Sunday, June 16, 2024

LOCATION: The Oxbow School, Napa, CA

CHECK-IN: 12pm - 4pm (Welcome wine reception at 4pm in 643 garden)

FINAL SHOW + CRITIQUE: Saturday evening, 6-7pm, followed by dinner in town

CHECK-OUT: Sunday, June 9th by 12pm (Grab and go breakfast available)

FEES: $3K (includes breakfast, lunch, wine reception, materials, private dorm room with shared bath. Early discount (before March 15th) is $2500. Please note: All net proceeds go directly to the scholarship fund for young artists in financial need to attend the Oxbow School semester program.

COURSE CAPACITY: Minimum 5 participants for a course to run (10 maximum course participants)

Professional development credit available for teachers!

Painting in Oil. Learn to oil paint or hone oil painting techniques. Participants learn to stretch and gesso a 24” X 24" canvas to create a painting (for example, the artist may consider painting a self-portrait portrait, either from a photograph of their own choosing or from life). To inform and inspire the painting, participants study diverse examples of oil paintings from art history and contemporary art.

Printmaking. Participants in the print course have the opportunity to learn various techniques within printmaking, such as: monotype, monoprint, chine-colle, transfer, and linocut. Participants work in collaboration to choose which techniques they want to learn. There are opportunities for both individual and collaborative work. Group walks and on-site drawing occur throughout the course.

Observational Drawing and Painting in Nature. We’re connected to the ecosystem all of the time. What are some of the ways that observational drawing can bring us deeper into this awareness? This course will primarily take place off campus in the local parks and nature preserves surrounding The Oxbow School. Some moderate walking and hiking will be involved in each class; appropriate footwear is suggested. Open to all skill levels, we will make plein air works primarily in pencil, watercolor and pastel with on-site demos. This course will dive into formal considerations, such as composition, light and color, alongside conceptual considerations of our act of looking at the landscape, prompted by readings and group discussions.

Darkroom Photography. In darkroom photography, participants become acclimated with film and the basics of analog photography. Working with 35mm black and white film, students will shoot, process, and print or digitally scan their final product. Once they master the basics of working in the darkroom, participants will have the opportunity to work in 120mm or other light sensitive materials. Alternative process workshops are available and often incorporate other techniques, such as cyanotypes or solar printing. This course is an intensive study of light, composition, and experimentation and provides participants with opportunities for individual work and group collaboration.

Social Practice. This class will delve into relational and socially engaged art. Through a series of performative experiments, collaborative activities, and short prompts participants will gain a repertoire of techniques to facilitate their own workshops, interactive experiences, and gatherings.

Animation. This class is an introduction to a breadth of animation techniques; tutorials will be led in hand-drawn animation, stop motion animation, and digital animation. Through short film screenings, students will learn about the history of animation and contemporary artists in the genre. After an introduction to the various animation techniques, participants will focus on one animation technique or combine techniques to produce a short animation.

Creative Nonfiction. This writing workshop is designed for writers and educators. The course centers on the genre of “creative nonfiction.” Works of creative nonfiction derive their subject matter from real life and emphasize storytelling, form, and voice over veracity. Through this exploration of this genre, participants ask themselves the following questions: What are my stories? How can I tell them? How can personal narrative address matters of universal import? By sampling a range of texts, writers come to understand the myriad ways in which personal experiences inform literary works. Participants engage with these texts through discussion. The course emphasizes collaboration, conversation, and critical thinking as much as dedicated time to simply write. Writers source inspiration from their own lives to craft a series of prosaic and poetic works. At the end of the workshop, writers will choose one creative piece to expand and revise into a polished final product.

All participants live in apartment-style dormitory suites during the summer program. Each dormitory suite includes three bedrooms, a common area, two bathrooms, a mini refrigerator, a microwave, and a washer/dryer combination. Participants will reside in their own room unIess they specify a roommate in the registration process. In addition to the communal living experience, we are committed to cultivating a healthy and active experience for all artists. To this end, summer participants enjoy breakfast, lunch, and a light reception on campus and the chefs serve the highest quality local, seasonal, and sustainable foods that guests rave about for years. Physical wellness opportunities include: hiking, kayaking, and yoga.

Daily Schedule, Monday-Saturday

• 8:00am Morning walk (optional)
• 9:00am Light breakfast
• 9:30am Directed studio time
• 12:30pm Lunch
• 1:30pm Directed studio time
• 4:00pm Wine reception
• 5:00pm+ Dinner on your own
• 7:00pm+ Open Studios for independent work