Classes
Classes are in-person at Gore Fuss Studio in Olympia, Washington.
The studio has bathroom amenities, ample parking and is handicapped accessible. The studio is located on a double lot with a beautiful garden and picnic area.
Fall 2024 classes are full.
Classes open again January 2025 - if you are interested in being notified about future classes offered at Gore Fuss Studio, sign up here.
Drawing Bootcamp
We sketched, doodled, and drew diagrams that ranged from the intricate to silly when we were young. And we did it effortlessly. This class is designed to combine the expressive self with core elements of art to build a drawing that engages excellence and one-of-a-kind mark making. Value, shape, line, volume, texture, and space are the visual tools to increase our skill sets in a friendly but swift crash course. Come prepared to take risks, experiment and zero in on your own personal drafting style. Classes will include demonstrations, time to work and the chance to share and get feedback on work.
Foundations & Practices
This eight-week class is for students working on increasing their knowledge and skills of painting techniques while establishing good studio habits. Utilizing direct observation, we will study the art of setting up a still life while mastering approaches required to produce successful paintings. We will continue to focus on value, shape, line, form, and texture while working from observation. The Seven Principles of Design will guide additional exercises in this spring session. Classes will include demonstrations, time to work and the chance to share and get feedback on work.
Independent Study
This course is designed for students to work on individualized projects with guidance, support, and mentoring. I will consult w/ students to review works in progress, offer guidance, and suggest other resources for additional study and research on-line. The class offers dedicated time for painting, guest artist presentations and group critiques. Group participation is highly valued in this course; attention will be given to sharing work along with working on increasing vocabulary and verbal skills to talk about the work.
Sketchbook as a Tool
Developing a personal style, a series, a body of work can lead us down rabbit holes that seem never ending. Take charge of your own creative development by creating a regular discipline with the sketchbook as your primary tool. This class will offer a series of specific assignments designed to help unearth ways to explore our interior relationship with our work. Be prepared to commit to drawing every day and embrace experimentation with a variety of mediums. Learning how to expand our tool kit so we can follow our unique pathway to personal expression is the goal; lean into this and discover a new part of yourself!
Figure Drawing & Painting
This class offers the opportunity to pursue the study of the human figure through a wide variety of materials. Using drawing as a starting point, the first half of the class will encourage students to explore measuring, proportions, scale, foreshortening, lighting, and drapery. The second half of the class will build upon the drawing techniques as students switch to painting and tackle the use of color to enhance the depth and emotional connection to the figure. Critiques included in the class to help expand our ability to “see”.
Drawing & Painting
Painting and drawing are two practices that support and inform one another. Drawing offers our first impression of seeing. Painting extends the gaze to incorporate our emotional frame of mind and experience. This course will focus on developing individualized drafting skills to assist in direct observation and expression. Increasing the understanding of shape, value and mark making can directly influence an approach to painting. Painting with drawings as an additional tool can enliven the painter’s awareness and experience. Classes will include demonstrations, time to work and the chance to share and get feedback on work.