Looking for more space to spread out and work on a project? Or maybe you want to work amongst other artists to feel inspired and get some helpful feedback on your work. Join other local artists any time between 9am-12pm, for Open Studio. Please pay $10 cash at the door. Bring all supplies you need to use, NRAS has easels available. 

No registration, drop in only, cash or check.

**NOTE: No open studio on March 14**

Expressive ink lines and colorful washes of watercolor are a perfect artistic match! In this class we’ll explore this pairing of mediums through fun and approachable studies across a range of subjects. Students will learn several different methods of pairing ink and watercolor through demonstrations and exercises, building skill and confidence with both drawing and painting. We’ll focus on observation and sketching, working with ink, paint handling and color mixing, and core watercolor techniques to help you gain comfort with this versatile medium.

Previous drawing and/or painting experience is helpful, but this class is suitable for those new to watercolor as a medium or experienced watercolorists looking to use their paint in a new way.

About the Instructor: Tara Connaughton

Tara Connaughton is an artist/illustrator & art instructor living near the coast in Scituate, MA. Her botanical and nature-inspired paintings have earned multiple awards, and she has exhibited her artwork through numerous local and regional galleries and venues around the Boston area. 

Tara teaches watercolor and botanical illustration through local workshops, privately, and at organizations around the Boston area and South Shore. She has a Certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration, and uses her passion for painting and love of nature to teach and inspire others to find their creative spirit and connect with the world around them.

Tara also creates custom art and illustration for clients across a wide range of subjects, with a focus on custom art for wedding invitations and stationery. 

Materials List: TC_NRAS_WatercolorMaterialsListWinter25.pdf

One great way to strengthen your skills, and hone a consistent voice around a subject is to do a series. In this 8-week class we will explore what it takes to develop a series of work based on your own interests and desires. Examples of this may be: skies, trees, critters, ocean, marsh, vessels, figures, tablescapes, abstracts …. Etc, etc. You will be guided and prompted to dig deep and yet stay within your subject. Any medium that you are familiar with is acceptable, as a matter of fact the series may cross mediums - for example you may enjoy watercolor AND acrylics, or pastels…or mixed media. All levels welcome. 

About the Instructor: Kelley MacDonald

After getting her Art History degree at Wheaton College, Kelley continued taking art classes at various Art Associations for 10 years before she started painting.  First with watercolor, then oil and now happily with acrylic and mixed media, it has been a lifetime of growing and exploring all things art.  

Kelley has won numerous awards, and has taught classes and workshops for many years.  While for the majority of her career Kelley has been a literal, representational painter, in the past 4 years she has been diving into abstraction, particularly Intuitive Abstraction.  The history involved on the canvas, the multiple layers, the reveal and conceal and push and pull are what attracts her to this method. 

A favorite thing to do is to travel, and be inspired by different landscapes and  cityscapes.  Kelley has traveled to Holland to paint, along with many places on this side of the ocean, namely Nova Scotia, Sedona, Santa Fe, St. Simon’s Island, Seattle, San Miguel de Allende, MX, California and Maine. 

In 2009 Kelley founded the Artists’ Challenge Group “Girls Just Wanna Paint” which is a collection of award winning artists  who post a response to a new topic every month consecutively since July of 2009. Aside from the Providence Art Club Kelley is a member of the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA.  She has taught at the Art Club, Bristol Art Museum, and at North River Arts Society.

Materials List - All, or as many as you can manage:

Materials List for Developing A Series Class

-Any size canvas (new one each week) you choose - from 6x6 to 30x30 - whatever you are comfortable with.  Canvas, board, canvas board… whatever you like to paint on.  Your goal is to start a new painting each week

Disposable Palette

Colors - whatever medium you choose (acrylic, watercolor, pastel, oil) I would suggest  at least this limited palette:

• Large tube of titanium white
• 1 warm and 1 cool tube of
• Yellow - (ex. Cad lemon and cad yellow medium)
• Red (ex. Cadmium red light and Alizarin Crimson, magenta or rose)
• Blue (ex. Ultramarine and pthalo)
• Neutral such as BURNT umber (not raw)

Brushes in an array of sizes - I use flats, but you may use whatever you are comfortable with, in a 1/4 inch size, a 1/2 in size and a 1 inch size.  Then a BIG one and a tiny, detail one.

At least one palette knife - any size

Water container such as a large yogurt or ricotta tub

Apron or overshirt - optional

Paper towels

Using Apple as Your Photography Platform

Shooting on an iPhone provides artistic freedom with a small, powerful camera that is always with you. The iPhone provides high technical quality -- your images are sharp and true to what you see and shoot. After you shoot, the iPhone and iCloud sync and make it easy to develop your iPhone images on any Apple tablet or computer. At the end of the process, you get excellent results for prints or digital display.

This class will cover the Apple platform to expand your artistic intention in photography. We will thoroughly explore the Apple Camera modes, controls, features and limitations. We will use the Apple Photos app to develop the image, export image files, and manage your image collection. We will also set image resolution and file size and convert Apple image files for exhibition prints or digital sharing. This 6 week class will cover shooting with your iPhone, storing and retrieving images, developing and editing images, exporting, resolutions size, printing and more.

About the Instructor: Mike Dick

Mike Dick has been shooting and displaying photographs for over fifty years. He has a BA in photography and video from the University of Connecticut, Inner College and also trained in photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY.

Mike is a Gallery Artist at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, Member of North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA and Member of Plymouth (Mass.) Center for the Arts.

South Shore Art Center presented two solo shows of Mike’s work, the first in December 2019 and the second in April, May, and June 2024. He has displayed work in juried shows at SSAC, NRAS, and Plymouth Center for the Arts. Mike took Best in Show -  Photography at the NRAS Festival in 2018 and First Place, Color Photography at the Fine Art of Photography Show, Plymouth Center for the Arts, 2024.

Mike lives in Cohasset, Mass. with his wife, Lisa; they have two sons and two grandsons. Lisa and Mike are active with community civic groups and local non-profits.

Whether you are new to writing, or you’re an experienced writer looking for a creative boost, this 4-week class will dive deep into craft and provide ample opportunity to put words on paper. We will look at examples of how successful authors have utilized different techniques including POV, showing vs telling, developing great interiority, writing effective dialogue, and more! 

In each class, participants can expect to discuss these techniques, and then implement what they’ve learned in generative writing sessions. Participants will be expected to share their work and provide constructive feedback to their peers. 
 About the Instructor: Danni Viafore 

Danni Viafore is the founder of the Duxbury Writers Society. She firmly believes in being a good literary citizen and finds true joy in fostering opportunities for writers to come together and for their work to be heard. Through the Duxbury Writers Society, Danni organizes and hosts open mic nights for writers living on the South Shore. She writes across genres and forms and is currently working on a historical fiction novel. Danni lives in Duxbury with her husband and children, and you can find her writing in the most recent edition of Artypants Magazine. 

Materials List: Your preferred writing instruments (laptop or pen and paper).

With one foot firmly planted in the representation of the landscape, Suzette’s other foot dances in the curious world of abstraction. Experimentation into the exaggeration of shape, the dynamics of color, and the use of lines and marks, will be demonstrated by Lebenzon in each session. Suzette will escort the group through a step by step creation of a piece. Then, participants will be guided on their own painting journeys, encouraged to adopt techniques revealed in this workshop. Bring photos of landscape that speaks to you, or use images provided by the instructor. Your pieces will speak to your feelings and memory of a place, not a recreation of a site. You will be painting, scratching, masking, blotting, and hopefully having lots of fun! It’s all about the expression of a loved environment, playing with the materials, and discovery. 

About the Instructor: Suzette Lebenzon

Suzette Lebenzon has painted since her childhood in Scituate, MA. She has kept a studio and shown in galleries most of her adult life. Her home and studio are in Wellfleet.

Suzette was a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council’s Unrestricted Artists’ Grants. In 2023, Suzette was inducted to the National Association of Women Artists, as a Signature Member. Her work has been curated into shows at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, the Scollay Square Gallery in Boston’s City Hall, and the Galatea Fine Art Gallery in SOWA.

She is represented by the  AMZehnder Gallery in Wellfleet, MA; and the BBLG Gallery in Smithtown, NY.

Materials List:

-Acrylic paint (starter set or bring what you have)

-3 brushes, different shapes and S, M, L. Have one be a 1-2 inch (cheap!) flat house painting brush, one be a rigger or round brush you like for detail, last one be a midsize brush (size 4-6, round or flat).

-Any tools with which you could create texture(palette knife, knitting needle, comb, toothpicks)

-straight edge you will get covered in paint (ruler, plastic sheet, cardboard panels)

-masking or painter’s tape and scissors of knife to cut

-5 cradled wood panels for painting surface (Micheal’s has inexpensive 5 packs, get a size you like: 10x10, 8x10, or 11x14)

-Pad of Bristol paper, velum surface or smooth. We will use 1-2 each class. 

-All the things you like in your paint kit: palette , paper towels, water container… you know the drill.  

In this 6-week class, students will learn the basics of clothing construction from threading a sewing machine and reading patterns to sewing seams and hemming a finished garment. This class is perfect for students who are complete beginners or have a few simple sewing projects under their belts and would like to learn more. 

This class is open to adults and high school students, please contact the office with any questions at northriverarts@gmail.com.

Materials List:

Material List Coming Soon

Olivia Harvey is an avid sewist and upcycler who first learned how to sew as a kid right here at NRAS with Brooke Stanton — and she hasn’t stopped since! Along with making and embellishing her own clothes, Olivia also sells her upcycled creations through her online shop OHpleeze. She believes that everyone should learn how to sew because it makes life (and your closet) a lot more interesting!

Embark on an exploration of creating a portrait with artist and educator, Lauren Bass. Portraiture, a time honored tradition, is commonly regarded as being exact and difficult. However. over the course of this 6-week class Lauren will breakdown the process into simple steps and tricks that make rendering the head easier and help achieve likeness. Students will enjoy gaining a solid foundation in understanding the structure and solidity of the human head. They will learn essential principles such as proportion, perspective, light logic and color theory. Also discussed will be gesture, composition, edge quality, planar division of the head, comparative measuring, the anatomy of the features and more. This class starts with drawing, progresses to monochromatic painting (grisaille), and culminates in the vibrant world of full-color painting. From week to week we will build our knowledge base. Clear instruction will be given weekly through demonstrations, lectures and handouts. Students can progress at their own pace and will receive individual critiques appropriate to their level.

Class price includes weekly live model fees. 

“Faces are the most interesting things we see; other people fascinate me, and the most interesting aspect of other people - the point where we go inside them - is the face. It tells it all.”  - David Hockney

About the Instructor: Lauren Bass

I have been an artist my entire life, but my path as an artist hasn’t been linear. Whether doodling in the margins of notebooks or sketching at home, I was always drawing as a child. However, the high school I went to didn’t offer art so I had no formal training until college. There I took my first painting class and was hooked. I would observe a still life setup, mixed colors, replicate the abstract shapes and then step a few paces back. Incredibly, there was the image on my canvas. It felt like magic! I found that time stood still when I was painting I was so absorbed! After getting a BA in Humanities, I got a BFA in graphic design and worked in advertising for several years. I put my career on hold when I had children but continued taking painting classes. As my children got older and more independent, I was able to be more serious, paint more frequently and study with many fabulous artists whose work I admired. I sought out some of the best artists in the country that work in my area of interest to study with. Luckily, many live locally.

Supply_list_portrait_class.pdf

This class will focus on the basic elements of design, values and color. It is open to all levels and any medium but some experience with painting is required. We will focus on how to have an interesting painting that reflects and elevates your personal style. The intention of the class is to have fun, keeping it simple like a kindergartener yet creating something worthy. Come with an open mind and a sense of humor

About the Instructor: Page Railsback 

Page Railsback has painted and taught in our South Shore community for many years.She received a Masters In Education and her natural talent as a teacher is a reflection of her ongoing workshops and classes here and in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.She was privileged to receive a Residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown in 2013 through the Copley Society.She is a Gallery artist at the Copley Societ,CO/SO and the South Shore Art Center  She also shows her work at Solace Gallery in Long Beach Island  New Jersey. She has a Studio at the Sandpaper Factory in Rockland and teaches private classes there . PageRailsback.com

Materials List:

• Canvas pad  16x20 or 4 small canvas boards ex. 8x8 12x8..
• Sketch pad
• Twig Charcoal and or Sharpie
• 4 Larger canvas 20x20, 20x16 or larger…one for each class
• Water container or turps
• Brushes 3 or more -1/2 inch, 1 inch ,2 inch…Big Brushes
• Palette knife
• Paints: 6 Essentials 
• Light yellow, medium yellow (or ochre)
•  Ultramarine blue and one other : Thalo blue,cerulean or manganese. 
• Alizarin red or deep magenta, Cadmium red light 
• Big tube of White titanium 
• Black, optional
• Any other color you like is optional…Viridian green, orange, pink etc
• Palette, paper palette is an option
• Water spray bottle for acrylics or watercolor
• Rags or paper towel
• Apron
• camera (phone)

This 3-week class will dive into the world of block printing, covering a crash-course on all things blocks for artists of all sorts who want to bring their creativity to life in the printed world. This class will cover techniques for drawing, carving, and printing block prints on a variety of mediums. Rachel will help you bring to life a block and a variety of prints in different mediums of your own imagination.

About the Instructor: Rachel Nerger (Ray Prints)

I started block printing in 2020 when I was looking to reconnect with my creativity outside of the everyday hustle and bustle and a full-time job in finance. I have always been an artist at heart, and have continued to explore new mediums even as I jumped into the professional world.

Over the past few years, all the hours of drawing, carving, and printing blocks has led me to “launch” Ray Prints where I’ve been able to share my love of block prints with the south shore at different pop ups and markets. I have fallen in love with block printing for the way that it fits into life - it is accessible, affordable and has provided me with hours of escape as I work through each step in creating totally unique pieces of art with each stamp and Speedball carve.

Materials List:

(1 per student) 8"x10" block, black ink, rollers and paper provided by NRAS. Students should bring a set of carving tools, Rachel recommends this one for beginners. Rachel also suggests bringing watercolor supplies, different ink colors if you want and any old clothing, canvas bags, etc. that you may want to play around printing on! 

This is a class for iPhone photographers who want to practice shooting and editing and then discuss their results in a collegial setting. Each week, each class member will present recent work and relate which Camera and Edit tools were selected and why.

Mike will lead the class in a conversation on the presenter’s choices for the final image. Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding for how different people use the iPhone and Apple Photos to drive the creative process. We welcome people with a wide range of Apple photo experiences -- from those who have recently begun to experienced users.
About the Instructor: Mike Dick
Mike Dick has been shooting and displaying photographs for over fifty years. He has a BA in photography and video from the University of Connecticut, Inner College and also trained in photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY.

Mike is a Gallery Artist at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, Member of North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA and Member of Plymouth (Mass.) Center for the Arts.

South Shore Art Center presented two solo shows of Mike’s work, the first in December 2019 and the second in April, May, and June 2024. He has displayed work in juried shows at SSAC, NRAS, and Plymouth Center for the Arts. Mike took Best in Show -  Photography at the NRAS Festival in 2018 and First Place, Color Photography at the Fine Art of Photography Show, Plymouth Center for the Arts, 2024.

Mike lives in Cohasset, Mass. with his wife, Lisa; they have two sons and two grandsons. Lisa and Mike are active with community civic groups and local non-profits.

Class members need to bring their own iPhones - updated with the latest iPhone operating system. If class members own an iPad or a Mac Notebook, they should bring one.

Transform an ordinary pair of shoes into a wearable work of art!

In this hands-on workshop, students will learn about prepping, painting, and sealing their custom shoe design!

We’ll begin by discussing composition and design, drawing inspiration from past examples, inspiration online and personal style - students are encouraged to come prepared with some ideas so we can get right into it during our limited time! You’ll learn essential prep work. Then, with guided instruction, you’ll bring your vision to life, experimenting with color, layering, and detail work. Finally, we’ll seal your finished design for long lasting durability, ensuring your custom shoes can stand the test of time!

This workshop is open to all levels—no prior experience necessary! Whether you're revamping an old favorite or starting fresh, you’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind creation and the skills to continue customizing on your own! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/981143820/custom-hand-painted-shoes-send-me-your?ref=listings_manager_grid for examples of Michaela’s work

Materials List:

Participants must bring new or pre-loved shoes (pre-cleaned if bringing in already worn shoes). White shoes work best, and both fabric/canvas and leather surfaces are ideal for painting. The process for leather versus canvas is very similar! More detail can be achieved on a smooth leather surface, but leather shoes are more susceptible to cracking overtime versus fabric.

Paint, brushes and containers will be provided.

If students anticipate needing specific types of paint brushes (ie. very small detail brushes), they are encouraged to bring what they will need for success.

About the Instructor:

Michaela is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute as of May 2024 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in Drawing and a minor in History of Art and Design. She is a business owner and designer at MichaelasArtSpace, Operating the Etsy shop since April 2021 and currently works as Office Administrator at North River Arts! Her work can be seen in the Franklin Furnace Artists’ Books Permanent Collection, she has also shown in galleries such as Dekalb Gallery, Las Laguna Gallery in California, Baws Gallery and more!

Is there anything more exciting and rewarding than painting plein air?  Join us as we navigate the thrills and challenges of painting in nature this Spring!  Learn or master the skills of judging the light, fending off the breeze, capturing that certain something that appeals to you in an outdoor setting!  This highly engaged, friendly and supportive group is intrepid and inclusive. 

Each week we are at a different location - we’ll paint the ocean, marshes, architecture and gardens!  Perhaps this year we will add a figure in the landscape?!?!  I will get all of your phone numbers so I can text you if there is a sudden change in location due to weather, or any other reason. Students can use any media they have familiarity with.  All levels, but I will be painting in acrylic or gouache.  I usually know where there is a nearby restroom.  Some weeks I will demo but will mostly be occupied with your progress and efforts.  

MATERIALS LIST: Materials List for Safari 2023.pages

About the Instructor: Kelley MacDonald 

After getting her Art History degree at Wheaton College, Kelley continued taking art classes at various Art Associations for 10 years before she started painting.  First with watercolor, then oil and now happily with acrylic and mixed media, it has been a lifetime of growing and exploring all things art.  

Kelley has won numerous awards, and has taught classes and workshops for many years.  While for the majority of her career Kelley has been a literal, representational painter, in the past 4 years she has been diving into abstraction, particularly Intuitive Abstraction.  The history involved on the canvas, the multiple layers, the reveal and conceal and push and pull are what attracts her to this method. 

A favorite thing to do is to travel, and be inspired by different landscapes and  cityscapes.  Kelley has traveled to Holland to paint, along with many places on this side of the ocean, namely Nova Scotia, Sedona, Santa Fe, St. Simon’s Island, Seattle, San Miguel de Allende, MX, California and Maine. 

In 2009 Kelley founded the Artists’ Challenge Group “Girls Just Wanna Paint” which is a collection of award winning artists  who post a response to a new topic every month consecutively since July of 2009. Aside from the Providence Art Club Kelley is a member of the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA.  She has taught at the Art Club, Bristol Art Museum, and at North River Arts Society.

In this class, students will explore and develop a deeper connection with their internal artistic voice—the inner guide that inspires, critiques, and shapes creative expression. Through a combination of abstract drawing exercises and exposure to influential artists from history, students will learn how spiritualism and other esoteric themes have informed artistic practice.

By embracing abstraction, students will experiment with mark-making, intuitive gestures, and freeform composition to access a more instinctual mode of creation. They will also study artists who used art as a tool for channeling subconscious thoughts, emotions, and mystical ideas, such as Hilma af Klint, Wassily Kandinsky, and Emma Kunz.

Through guided exercises, discussion, and personal exploration, participants will open new channels of creativity, deepen their artistic intuition, and discover fresh ways to engage with their own practice. Whether new to abstraction or looking to expand their creative process, students will leave with a greater sense of artistic freedom and connection to their unique visual language.

About the Instructor: Lindsey Caputo

Lindsey Caputo is an everywhere based artist. She graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in Art Education. During her time at Massart, she volunteered in several Boston Public Schools while earning an initial teaching license in K-12 Visual Arts education. Caputo received an MFA in Studio Art at Maryland Institute College of Art with a Certificate for College Teaching. Since then, she has been expanding her studio practice by engaging in her interest in “the weird” and the Avant Garde.

In 2022, she became an Adjunct Faculty member in the Arts and Humanities Pathway at Tidewater Community College where she taught Art Appreciation, 2D Design, and Foundations of Drawing. You can view her portfolio at knotlindsay.com

Materials: 

Charcoal (hard, vine, etc)

Charcoal pencils

Blending tool or rag

18x24 drawing paper

Drawing pencils

Sharpie

Drawing pens any brand

Newsprint paper