2025 Art Classes at OMAA
Check out our full list of classes below! In 2025, OMAA is pleased to offer its art classes free of charge to all participants for the first time, expanding accessibility and engagement. This is made possible with generous support from the Nine Wicket Fund.
Pre-registration is required for all classes unless noted otherwise.
Maquette Building with Brian Smith
RESCHEDULED : Thursday, May 29, 4pm-6pm
In this workshop we will take a look into some of the early process artist Brian Smith uses as he conceptualizes his sculptures that are frequently beaded, wrapped, or surfaced in other repetitive heavy texture processes. For many of his works, the surfacing can take months to complete, so this workshop will be a peek behind the curtain of the more fast-paced/exciting process of maquette building and problem solving that Brian uses as a map before beginning the longer-term projects. Please note that this class uses Apoxie putty which may not be suitable for younger children.
This class is free and open to the public and all materials will be provided. Registration required. Max Capacity 10 Attendees.
Brian Smith is a Maine based artist who works in sculpture, painting, and drawing. Through meticulous surface treatments, his work utilizes queer ecological theory to challenge traditional views of nature as separate from human society. Smith received his BFA in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA from Maine College of Art & Design. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions across New England and nationally, including recent exhibition, “As We Are,” at the Portland Museum of Art.
Landscape Painting with Tessa O’Brien
Thursday, June 26, 2pm-5pm, (Rain Date: Friday, June 27 from 2pm-5pm)
Weather is the “x” factor in any landscape, controlling light & shadows, obscuring the view, and creating drama or a heightened sense of clarity. What does warm summer air look like? How does fog land on trees? What color is an April rainstorm? Asking these questions of a painting can open up one’s approach to landscape painting, making space for invention, play, and perception within the acts of direct observation & translation.
In this 3-hour workshop, the class will explore the Ogunquit Museum grounds as a group, evaluating different sites for their merit as painting subject matter, and using simple viewfinders to choose individual painting sites. Once situated, participants will spend roughly 90 minutes painting independently, with one-on-one guidance from the instructor. The final hour of the class will be spent together in a group “critique” of the new work.
While this class is open to all levels, participants should have some familiarity with their materials and be comfortable working outside.
This class is free and open to the public and all materials will be provided. Registration required. Max Capacity 10 Attendees.
Tessa Greene O’Brien is an American painter exploring themes of place, folk spirituality, and human relationships. O’Brien has exhibited nationally and her practice has been supported by numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies. She lives and works in South Portland, Maine.
Creative Inspiration and details with Carly Glovinsky
Thursday, July 10, 11am-1pm (Rain Date: Friday, July 11 from 11-1pm)
Carly will lead an interactive demonstration in the Museum’s gardens, activating the sculpture grounds as a space for creative inspiration. Drawing on OMAA’s history as the site of two significant art communities—where artists studied and interpreted the natural landscape to process contemporary world events—this class will explore how the micro (flora, snippets of color) can help us make sense of the macro through en plein air painting.
This class is free and open to the public and all materials will be provided. Registration required. Max Capacity 20 Attendees.
Carly Glovinski makes work that explores the make-do, resourceful attitudes associated with domestic craft and a reverence for nature and the great outdoors. The elements of time and place are embedded in her work, measured by tides and seasonal flower blooms, and marked by labor and repetitive process. She received her BFA from Boston University and is represented by Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York. She has had solo exhibitions at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA and Colby Museum of Art, Maine. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions has been published or reviewed in, New American Paintings, ArtMaze Magazine, and Hyperallergic, and is held in collections such as Farnsworth Art Museum, Cleveland Clinic, and Fidelity Corporation.
Registration coming soon.
Printmaking Process with Crystalle Lacouture
Friday, July 25, 10am-1pm
LOCATION: Chases Garage in York, ME
Join artist and printmaker Crystalle Lacouture for a one day workshop to learn general information about different printmaking techniques and how to identify prints. She will briefly describe intaglio (etching, engraving), lithography, silkscreen, and woodcut (relief printmaking) methods using reference materials and prints. Using examples of her recent woodblock prints, Lacouture will demonstrate the techniques in her own works of woodcut, jigsaw, and multiple block printmaking. Following this overview and demonstration, participants will create their own single color relief prints! We will learn how to transfer a drawing to a block (it must be reversed), simple carving techniques, ink and color mixing, and printing methods that include using the Chase’s Garage etching press as well as a table top etching press. Each class member will leave with at least one relief print of their own making.
This class is free and open to the public and all materials will be provided–PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE AT CHASES GARAGE IN YORK. Registration required. Max Capacity 12 Attendees.
Crystalle Lacouture (American, born Montreal, 1978) is an artist who works conceptually across disciplines including painting, printmaking, and sculpture. She received her BFA in Painting/Printmaking from Skidmore College and has exhibited throughout New England, New York, and beyond. She is represented by Praise Shadows Gallery, Brookline, and is based in Boston and North Adams, MA.
Registration coming soon.
Hair Braiding Circle with verónica a. pèrez
Thursday, August 28, 2pm-4pm
verónica will be leading a hair braiding circle, an intimate community gathering focused on braiding a three-strand braid while conversing about identity, experience, and belonging. The sculptures that emerge from these are all organic and engender the same feelings that the stories exude.
This class is free and open to the public and all materials will be provided. Registration required. Max Capacity 15 Attendees.
