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.

Create a meaningful work of art from a favorite photo in this supportive, all levels painting class. Work at your own pace while receiving individualized instruction throughout each session. In addition to personalized guidance, the class will explore essential artistic concepts including composition, color theory, value and techniques for creating depths and the illusion of light.

Whether your photos captures a beloved family member, pet or a memorable place or moment, you'll create paintings that celebrate your subject.

Materials List: Supply list for Paint from your Photos.pdf

Lauren Bass is an oil painter working in the realist tradition. Dedicated to the continual pursuit of her craft, she has studied with many prominent local and nationally recognized artists, building a strong technical foundation through years of disciplined study and careful observation.

Lauren's artistic voice is shaped by two distinct traditions: the Impressionist Cape Cod School, with its emphasis on luminous color and the effects of natural light, and the Boston tradition through her studies at the Academy of Realist Art which teaches classical realism. She further expanded her training during four months of intensive study in France, focusing on portraiture and the human figure.

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

In this 6-week class, students will learn the basics of clothing construction, from threading and using their sewing machines to reading patterns and sewing garments from start to finish. This class is perfect for those who are complete beginners or have a few simple sewing projects under their belts and would like to learn more. Prior students are also welcome!

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

Materials List:

• Sewing machine (North River will have a few machines for students to share if you do not have your own machine.)

• Fabric scissors

• Pins

• Seam ripper

• Soft measuring tape

• Pencils/sketchbook

• After students learn the basics, they will be asked to purchase a simple pattern and fabric for a project

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!

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Join North River Arts for Figure Drawing!

Settle into a relaxed, creative atmosphere and spend your Monday evening drawing or painting from a live nude model. Each session begins with a series of short, dynamic poses designed to help you warm up, loosen your hand, and explore gesture. We then transition into longer poses, giving you the opportunity to dive deeper into proportion, anatomy, shading, and more refined detail at your own pace.

This is an uninstructed studio session, making it a wonderful option for artists of all levels who are looking to practice, build confidence, or simply enjoy dedicated time to create in community with others. Bring your preferred materials and enjoy a supportive, inspiring environment to grow your figure drawing skills.

Easels provided by NRAS. $20 drop in fee at the door, cash only. Space limited to 14 students. 

No registration required – all are welcome! $10 cash only 

Looking for a creative way to kick off your week? Join us every FIRST and THIRD Monday night at North River Arts Society for Drop-In Craft Night! Bring your own project—whether it’s knitting, sketching, embroidery, sewing, collage, or any craft you're working on—and enjoy a relaxed, welcoming space to create alongside fellow makers.

All skill levels are welcome. This is an informal, social night perfect for getting inspired, sharing ideas, and making progress on whatever you're into. Come solo or with friends—stay the whole time or just pop in!

This group is open to all ages, levels, skills and crafts. 

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

In this popular class each student will decide on a subject or theme to explore. I have found that working in a series is one of the best ways to truly understand your subject, as well as your medium. Using whatever medium you are comfortable with, you will push the boundaries of your subject, and let yourself be inspired by artists in the class, as well as in a weekly slideshow of examples of artists painting in a series. This is an excellent way to improve your skills, and learn to stretch your 'painting vocabulary'.  If you can dream it, you can paint it.  All levels welcome, just paint what you love!

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

-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

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. 

]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.

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

This 4-week Introduction to Drawing course provides a supportive and engaging environment for developing fundamental drawing skills. Through weekly 3-hour sessions, students will build hand-eye coordination and sharpen their observational abilities while exploring essential techniques such as perspective, shading, composition, and visual observation. Whether you're new to drawing or looking to strengthen your foundation, this course will help you gain confidence and improve your skills. 

Materials List:

  - Strathmore drawing pad paper pad 70 lbs.  12'' x 18" or larger

  - Pencils: Standard graphite set (2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B).

  - Erasers: One kneaded eraser and one white vinyl eraser.

  - Extras: Metal pencil sharpener, artist tape, and a 12-inch metal ruler.

About the Instructor: Sue Casey

Sue Casey is a local artist and educator who studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and earned her degree in Art Education from Rhode Island College. She taught art in the Attleboro Public Schools for more than 30 years, inspiring generations of students through her passion for creativity and learning. Today, Sue devotes much of her time to her own artistic practice while teaching art classes and workshops throughout the South Shore.

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

This four week mixed media course is built around process, instinct, and the layered painting.  Working intuitively, you will develop a series of paintings that incorporates acrylic paint, printed collage materials, and a close study of how your materials behave.  Along the way you will sharpen your eye for value and design, practice self-editing, and participate in supportive critiques designed to make you a more confident and independent painter.

Materials List: Materials List for Layers, Color, Instinct.pdf

Nancy Cloonan is an abstract painter based in Plymouth, MA whose paintings are an amalgamation of the shapes, lines, and ordinary gems she sees while walking each day.

Cloonan earned her BA in studio art with a concentration in printmaking and photography from Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York.  She has consumed an abundance of courses and workshops in a variety of mediums since her undergraduate degree.  She now focuses mainly on acrylic/mixed media on wood and paper.

Lifelong learning is imperative for Cloonan.  In addition to her daily painting practice she has facilitated workshops for adults and children, taught in public and private school, artist in residence for K-5, and has experience mentoring and being mentored.

Cloonan's work has been exhibited and collected throughout the USA.  She has been featured in Artypants Magazine twice.

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Stuck on a sewing project and need some guidance or motivation? Come to the Open Sewing Studio every second Monday of the month to work alongside other sewing enthusiasts! Hosted by NRAS sewing instructor Olivia Harvey, you’ll be able to ask questions and receive assistance, if desired, to help fine-tune your skills. Bring any project, your sewing machine, and the supplies you need, and let’s get sewing! Please note, this is not a structured class and is intended for those with some prior sewing experience.

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!

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Every great piece of fiction is just a bunch of tiny scenes, and if you can learn how to write a great scene, you can write anything. In this four-week class, learn the fundamentals of building a scene—including dialogue, action, interiority and more—by reading from the masters, practicing as a group, and getting feedback in a judgment-free space. You’ll leave the class with tips and techniques for elevating your writing, as well as a workshopped scene of your own. 

Materials

• Laptop or writing materials
• Reading materials will be provided by the instructor 

Justine Sullivan is a writer and editor who lives on the South Shore with her family and two dogs. She has written for The Boston Globe, Literary Hub, and her debut novel, He Said He Would Be Late, was published by Macmillan in March 2023. 

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

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 Bruce (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! 

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Discover the poetry of layers, texture, and imperfect beauty through the art of image transfers. In this mixed media class, we'll explore four unique transfer techniques, each offering its own surprises and character. We'll celebrate the unexpected—the faded edges, worn textures, and beautifully imperfect marks that bring depth and soul to your artwork. Whether you're adding vintage charm, personal imagery, or abstract elements, you'll leave with new techniques, fresh inspiration, and a collection of transfers ready to weave into your creative practice.

Materials List: Image Transfer Workshop supply list.docx

Mandy Fariello is a mixed media artist who has focused on collage, acrylic painting, and MailArt for the past 20 years. She is inspired by contrasts and juxtapositions- bright colors and rusty bits, shiny and dull, smooth and textured-all with a healthy dose of humor thrown in for good measure.

Much of Mandy’s art revolves around finding new life for discarded books and objects. Her art journey has led to teaching workshops, being published, winning awards and supporting other artists as a member of the board of trustees of the Duxbury Art Association.

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

We will discover how to lay out, design, and paint a portrait from your photo or copy a Zorn portrait using the Zorn limited palette. Work to gain confidence in portraiture, whether your first or after many - we will work in layers to achieve luminosity in flesh tones while using only four paint tubes.

Materials List: Zorn portrait materials list.rtf

About the Instructor: Ann Musto

Ann began her art career studying with various artists at North River Arts Society, and then completed the full atelier at Boston Academy of Realist Art.  She is an award winning artist in both figure and landscape locally and in national competitions.  Currently she displays her art at NW Barrett Gallery in Portsmouth, NH, and at the Copley Society in Boston where she is an artist member.

annmustofineart.com

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Stuck on a sewing project and need some guidance or motivation? Come to the Open Sewing Studio every second Monday of the month to work alongside other sewing enthusiasts! Hosted by NRAS sewing instructor Olivia Harvey, you’ll be able to ask questions and receive assistance, if desired, to help fine-tune your skills. Bring any project, your sewing machine, and the supplies you need, and let’s get sewing! Please note, this is not a structured class and is intended for those with some prior sewing experience.

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!

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.

Stuck on a sewing project and need some guidance or motivation? Come to the Open Sewing Studio every second Monday of the month to work alongside other sewing enthusiasts! Hosted by NRAS sewing instructor Olivia Harvey, you’ll be able to ask questions and receive assistance, if desired, to help fine-tune your skills. Bring any project, your sewing machine, and the supplies you need, and let’s get sewing! Please note, this is not a structured class and is intended for those with some prior sewing experience.

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!

Additional Information:

Please help us be respectful to our neighbors.
Do not park in front of neighbors or turn around in their driveways.