Classes
Currently I offer group workshops online through Case for Making, as well as my own private one-on-one classes, and creative mentoring sessions.
I have been teaching watercolor classes both in person and virtually over the last decade, as well as team building workshops for clients such as ActBlue, Adobe, Gap, Google, Meta, and Stripe. I’ve enjoyed connecting with thousands of students from all over the world, and I’d love to connect with you too.
Contact me for workshop inquires.
Upcoming Workshops:
Note: classes in October will be my last for 2024! I am taking a brief hiatus and will be back to teaching in 2025.
Mark Making: Hilma af Klint
Saturday, October 12, 2024 – 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET
This workshop draws inspiration from Swedish visionary artist Hilma af Klint. In her work, af Klint explores mysticism, duality, spirituality, and light & dark through abstraction. She was ahead of her time, painting in abstraction well before Kandinsky, Mondrian, and other modernists, and had the foresight to obscure her work from the world until society was ready to accept it.
In this session we’ll emulate af Klint's signature use of color blocking, symmetry, and simplified shapes to convey a sense of energy, and curiosity for the unknown.
"Those granted the gift of seeing more deeply can see beyond form, and concentrate on the wondrous aspect hiding behind every form, which is called life." - Hilma af Klint.
Mushroom Magic
Saturday, October 19, 2024 – 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET
It's mushroom season!! 🍄 If you've ever taken the realistic Fabulous Fungi workshop with Melanie before, this is the more playful technicolor counterpart!
In this mycology inspired workshop, we’ll be learning how to successfully layer our watercolors to illustrate mushroom caps, gills, and stems. We'll be painting mushrooms in a whole new way in order to create a world where fungi can bloom and blossom in a variety of shapes, colors, and configurations.
There are so many different kinds of fungi, so we’ll be looking at multiple varieties, exploring their shapes and forms. In her spare time Melanie has grown her own culinary mushrooms, and is fascinated by their colors, textures, aromas, and how fast they grow.
Past Workshops:
Some past workshops are available for purchase as recordings, please email friends@caseformaking.com to inquire about purchasing a recording.
Archways
This session utilizes 3 colors of your choice and explores the magical relationships between them. We will learn how to color mix until a smooth gradient is achieved, each swatch forming an arch, revealing the spectrum that exists within the triad.
The form of the archway invites participants to consider what kinds of doorways we’d like to enter or create in our own lives as we cultivate patience and curiosity for the marks we make. Slow and methodical, this session is as much a mindfulness meditation as it is about honing technique.
The practice of repetitive mark making is an excellent exercise for building strength and muscle memory in the fingers, and familiarity with your watercolor tools.
Balance
Cairn: (noun) a mound of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a navigational trail marker, memorial, or burial landmark. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn meaning "pile of stones."
This session is a meditation on balance; painting rock cairns as a symbol for finding equilibrium, we’ll combine intuitive painting exercises with short writing prompts to uncover how we bring balance into our own lives. How do we make space for everything we’re holding? This class is all about grounding and reminding yourself of your inner strength.
This workshop combines both my love for painting and my own personal practice in mental health and wellbeing. I aim to provide a safe space for reflection, introspection, and self care.
Botanical Brushwork Basics - in person
Location: Fox Fodder Farm, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
We’re so excited to be collaborating with Fox Fodder Farm for a painting event in Brooklyn, New York. Fox Fodder Farm is a contemporary floral design studio and flower shop offering fresh blooms and floral arrangements. Their spacious studio with beautifully curated flowers is the perfect place for watercolor painting and gleaning color palette inspiration.
In this workshop we'll be learning foundational watercolor techniques with a botanical twist. Melanie will guide us in building up our watercolor vocabulary as we observe how to paint petals, stems, and blooms using a variety of techniques such as wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, pulling, charging, and glazing. We'll practice color mixing exercises and observe how pigment and water glide across the paper. We'll learn how to capture the magic of flowers with graceful, confident marks and play with the delicate balance of control and letting go.
Botanical Studies: California Poppies
One of the many things I miss about living in San Francisco are the vibrant California poppies! Their shape, color, and plentitude brings so much joy. In this session we’ll be using our observation skills to paint this beautiful flower in the style of old botanical studies, everything from the buds and blooms to the leaves and seed pods. We’ll learn how to color mix to find our preferred oranges, golds, and greens, and hopefully everyone will come away with a poppy portrait that brings them a little bit of sunshine.
Botanical Studies: Nasturtiums
My favorite edible flower! Recently I caught a glimpse of Matisse's Nasturtiums with The Dance (1912) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and remembered that the thing I love so much about this plant are its playful circular leaves. The bright red, orange, and yellow blooms are a delight as well, and go great in a salad.
In this workshop we'll be painting nasturtiums in the style of old botanical studies, but with a whimsical twist. We'll work more loosely with the brushwork and enjoy how watercolors have a life of their own. We’ll learn how to layer, color mix, and play with paint!
Botanical Studies: Pansies
What I love most about pansies is that they look like little faces. Pansies come in a wide variety of colors and are always super vibrant and fun to paint. In this workshop we’ll be using our observation skills to illustrate this beautiful flower in the style of old botanical studies, learning how to hone technique and precision. We’ll learn how to layer, color mix, and come away with a pansy portrait to celebrate the spring.
Botanical Studies: Tulips
We’ll be celebrating this Earth Day by painting tulips. I absolutely love this flower for the sheer variety of colors and its deceptively simple shape that has come to symbolize the arrival of spring. In this session we’ll be using our observation skills to paint this flower in the style of old botanical studies, and learn how to use our paintbrushes to tease out little details like the edge of a tulip petal. We’ll learn how to color mix to find our preferred floral hues, and how to layer paint to add depth.
Celestial Bodies
In this class we’re learning all about watercolor resists. There are multiple ways to create a resist; using wax, tape, masking fluid, etc. While we’ll experiment with different techniques, the main focus will be on demystifying how to use masking fluid! We’ll create celestial bodies like stars, moons, and planets, focusing on simple shapes that will give participants an idea of how to wield masking fluid and how to layer paints using resists.
Color Theory Basics
This session is a deep dive into the principles of color theory, We’ll be creating a traditional color wheel and learning basic terminology: what are primary, secondary, and tertiary colors? What’s the difference between tint, hue, and shade? What makes complementary colors charged while analogous colors are smooth?
We’ll learn how to understand and organize colors, and become aware of how they sit in relation to one another. We'll be color mixing and exploring the magic of creating a wide spectrum from just a few paints.
This class is perfect for beginners, and great for all levels that want a refresher on color theory!
Dusk & Dawn
In this workshop we'll be exploring sunsets and sunrises, playing with gentle gradients and rose-tinted clouds. Rather than attempting to paint something entirely photo-realistic or representational, we'll embrace the fluid qualities of watercolor and attempt to capture the colorful energy of "golden hour." We'll be learning how to mix and blend our paints while appreciating the beauty of skies during dusk and dawn.
Exploring Gradients
In this session, we’ll learn how to create simple and beautiful gradients and ombrés using round brushes, large flat brushes, foam brushes, and even kitchen sponges. We’ll learn how to gradually build up color, how to make sunset hues fade seamlessly into one another, and play with saturation and dilution. This is a great exercise for beginners and perfect for those who want to practice working on technique.
Fabulous Fungi
In this mycology inspired workshop, we’ll be learning how to successfully layer our watercolors to illustrate mushroom caps, gills, and stems. We'll be painting mushrooms from both real and imagined worlds in order to hone our technique as well as open up our sense of play.
There are so many different kinds of mushrooms, so we’ll be looking at multiple varieties, exploring their shapes and forms. In her spare time Melanie has grown her own culinary mushrooms, and is fascinated by their colors, textures, aromas, and how fast they grow!
Gratitude Circle Meditation
This is the first workshop I ever taught, and it continues to be a gift that keeps on giving. This session is all about grounding, taking pause and taking stock in all that we have to be thankful for. Less about the outcome and more about the process, participants are guided through a meditation on the subject of gratitude. Each color will build around a core circle as we intentionally thank and show gratitude to different facets of our lives. This mindfulness practice was inspired by numerous studies that explore the many positive benefits of gratitude.
Horizons
Horizon: (noun)
1. the line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet.
2. the limit of a person's mental perception, experience, or interest.
This session explores mountain ranges, and the endless ways the earth meets the sky. Playing with atmospheric perspective, we'll experiment with loose, gestural watercolors and learn how to layer our landscapes. Oftentimes in watercolor, less is more: we'll be utilizing minimal strokes so as not to overwork our pieces. In this class participants are encouraged to broaden their own creative horizons by cultivating a sense of curiosity, courage, and flow.
Introduction to Watercolor
This class will help you develop a glossary of tools, techniques, and textures, and is perfect for beginners that want to learn the basics. What is a wash, what does wet-on-wet vs. wet-on-dry mean? How much water is needed and how do we incorporate all these techniques into a painting?
We'll start with learning essential watercolor vocabulary, and by the end of class we will end up with a 3 panel landscape painting. This class is structured with beginners in mind, but all levels are welcome if you’d like a refresher.
Linescapes
This class draws inspiration from acclaimed artists such as Agnes Martin, Bridget Riley, and Alma Thomas, who all used lines in their artworks in a variety of ways. This workshop isn't so much about emulating their work; rather it is a celebration of diversity and about finding your own personal happy place when creating a "linescape."
Through the process of painting long, deliberate lines, or quick short strokes, we'll explore how our hands hold our brushes and discover what suits our personalities. We'll play with our own unique way of mark making and learn how to fill a page with a simple gesture.
Mark Making: Etel Adnan
Mark making describes the different lines, dots, marks, patterns, and textures we create in an artwork. It can be loose and gestural, or controlled and neat. We each have our own unique way of mark making, and discovering the limitless possibility is part of what makes art so immensely joyful!
Etel Adnan was a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist who called the Bay Area home. In this workshop we'll be emulating her luscious use of color and observing how she made bold, simplified shapes to represent landscapes. There is a glorious sense of play in Adnan's paintings. In this class we will do our best to nurture that same simple spirit of joy in our creative practice.
“Colors exist for me as entities in themselves, as metaphysical beings.” - Etel Adnan, 1925 - 2021.
Mark Making: Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe is best known for her radical oil paintings of flowers, desert landscapes, and New York City skyscrapers, but did you know she also created free-flowing watercolor paintings as well?
This class was inspired by a trip to view the exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: To See Takes Time at the Museum of Modern Art. In this workshop we'll emulate her works on paper, her watercolor landscapes, and her free flowing abstracts, and we'll observe the way she would study a single subject in multiple iterations.
"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986)
Mark Making: Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase
Klimt's name has long been associated with gold paintings. His "Golden Phase" lasted from 1901 to 1909 and represented a relatively small group of works compared to the whole of his productions. However, it is these iconic golden paintings that are most associated with Klimt and have earned him a permanent place in art history.
This class will focus largely on how to successfully layer metallic watercolors, and how to make the most out of our glimmering gold paint. We'll be observing Klimt's paintings and how he used other colors to make the golden accents stand out. It's amazing how a touch of golden shimmer can transform any painting into one that feels resplendent.
Mark Making: Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler was an American artist who drew on influences across mid-century abstraction throughout her career. Typically identified as a Color Field painter, Frankenthaler is known best for her pioneering “soak-stain” technique, in which she used thinned paint on unprimed canvas to create flowing dimensions of color.
In this workshop we will explore Frankenthaler's methods of abstract color field painting, focusing on the gestural textures in her artworks. We will observe the rich jewel tones she used for color blocking, and learn how to paint from a place of impulse and spontaneity. Her large-scale paintings embodied a wonderful sense of energy and play, which we too will try to emulate!
"There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules." - Helen Frankenthaler
Mark Making: Hilma af Klint
This workshop draws inspiration from Swedish visionary artist Hilma af Klint. In her work, af Klint explores mysticism, duality, spirituality, and light & dark through abstraction. She was ahead of her time, painting in abstraction well before Kandinsky, Mondrian, and other modernists, and had the foresight to obscure her work from the world until society was ready to accept it.
In this session we’ll emulate af Klint's signature use of color blocking, symmetry, and simplified shapes to convey a sense of energy, and curiosity for the unknown.
"Those granted the gift of seeing more deeply can see beyond form, and concentrate on the wondrous aspect hiding behind every form, which is called life." - Hilma af Klint.
Mark Making: Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith, a German-born American multidisciplinary artist, uses a broad variety of materials to continuously expand and evolve a body of work that includes painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, drawing, and textiles.
In this workshop we will be emulating the raw, bare-bones energy of Kiki Smith's drawing style, combined with watercolor washes in order to create mixed-media pieces. We will study Smith's ability to create artwork that's simultaneously fierce and tender, while exploring subject matters that feel personal and authentic to us.
"Artists live in unknown spaces and give themselves over to following something unknown." - Kiki Smith
Mark Making: Marlene Dumas
There is something undeniably haunting about Marlene Dumas's striking portraits. Widely regarded as one of the most influential painters working today, Dumas is known for probing the complexities of identity and representation in her work.
In this class, we will be studying and emulating the gestural, fluid, and often spectral nature of her painting style. We will create a few loose portraits that stretch beyond representation and into the realm of blurring the boundaries between external and internal worlds.
“Painting is about the trace of the human touch.” - Marlene Dumas
Mark Making: Matisse
The enormous range of Matisse's vast artistic life's work would be impossible to cover in a single class. This workshop will focus on the vibrant colors and playful shapes of Matisse's cut-outs. Once he found that ill health prevented him from painting, Matisse turned to paper cutting. His "cut-out" phase (artworks involving cut paper) was the crowning final chapter of his long and brilliant career.
In this session we will combine painting, sketching, and paper cutting in order to emulate Matisse's expressive shapes and vivid hues. The way we choose to interpret his cut-outs with our own choice of colors will be uniquely our own.
Mark Making: Monet's Water Lilies
Claude Monet was the founder of Impressionist painting, as well as the creator of the iconic Water Lilies series. These paintings are famous for their dynamic interplay of analogous colors and rich textural qualities. From afar, the paintings appear as serene lily-ponds, yet up close they are an explosion of energetic lines, marks, and brushwork.
In this workshop, we'll explore the gestural quality of Monet's brushstrokes, translating the visceral oil paint markings into watercolors. We'll study his signature color palette using blues, greens, purples, and pinks, and create water lily filled ponds of our own.
Mark Making: Rothko
Mark Rothko was the pioneer of "color field painting" which he first developed in 1947. Through painting variously sized abstract swaths of color without a defined focal point, Rothko's paintings explored the limitless possibilities of color combinations and tonal relationships. Color became pure experience; wavelengths of light to immerse oneself in.
In this workshop we will emulate Rothko's immersive interplay of color by observing his work and creating color fields of our own. We'll come away with a better understanding and appreciation of the relationships between hues.
“A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.”
― Mark Rothko
Mark Making: Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa was a Japanese-American artist known primarily for her abstract wire sculptures inspired by natural and organic forms. Despite her fame as a sculptor, she was also a prolific painter and explored many types of media, including watercolor.
In this workshop we will practice the art of watercolor glazing to explore the way Asawa layered her sculptures. This class is a wonderful way to play with layering and painting from light to dark. We will also observe her beautiful paintings of the natural world.
"Art is not a series of techniques, but an approach to learning, to questioning, and to sharing." - Ruth Asawa
Mark Making: Samia Halaby
Samia Halaby is a renowned Palestinian-American visual artist, activist, educator, and scholar, and is recognized as a pioneer of abstract painting. In this workshop, we will observe Halaby's exploration of vibrant hues and dynamic shapes. Using rich, opaque layers of color, we will emulate the way she uses paint as a means for freedom of expression.
"As a painter, I want my work to be investigative and at the leading edge of discovery. That is why I make abstract painting. The study of history has shown me that abstraction is the most promising area for future meaningfulness." - Samia Halaby
Mark Making: Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, the famous Dutch post-impressionist painter, was known for his dynamic swirling brushwork, as well as his landscapes both terrestrial and celestial. The marks he made took his viewers on a journey with their energetic movements, twists, and turns. This way of painting also served to outline and contour his subject matters.
In this workshop, we'll explore these bold, directional brushstrokes and vibrant colors. We'll translate his impasto way of oil painting into layers of watercolor that emulate the sense of movement and space in his paintings. Above all, we'll seek to find a sense of aliveness in our own paintings.
"It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning. ”
– Vincent van Gogh
Mark Making: Yayoi Kusama
This workshop draws inspiration from monumental Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. Kusama famously uses dots in her work as a way to convey infinity, a concept that’s nearly impossible to grasp let alone see. The repetition of endless dots can be as disorienting as it is intriguing, leaving viewers to feel as though they are a speck amongst something greater.
In this session we’ll emulate Kusama’s signature way of making marks by painting dots using both negative and positive space. We’ll learn about layering, brushstrokes, and color theory as well.
"Our Earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos." - Yayoi Kusama
Millefiori Gardens
This class is inspired by a combination of Gustav Klimt's garden paintings, Kandinsky's abstracts, and Millefiori; or Venetian glass beads. The word Millefiori comes from the Italian "mille" and "fiori" meaning "a thousand flowers" which is the name of a distinctive style of glass bead making that dates back to ancient times.
In this workshop we'll practice layering, pattern making, and playfulness above all. This is a time to celebrate a variety of shapes and color, and the joy of spontaneity.
Naturalist Studies: Crystals
It's hard to capture the glittering facets of crystals and all their geometry when we ourselves are shaped so differently. Which is why in this class we'll be working with how to capture the essence of crystals rather than trying to paint them exactly as we see them. Learning how to translate our skills of observation into watercolor techniques, we'll explore ways of illustrating gems and geodes while maintaining a sense of play and curiosity.
Naturalist Studies: Eggs & Feathers
During my 2022 residency in Iceland I developed a fascination for arctic seabirds and their eggs. The abundance of speckles, the variations in size, and the beautiful markings on the eggs and feathers inspired me to observe nature more closely.
This workshop is an introduction to naturalist illustration where we'll be practicing common watercolor techniques such as wet into wet, layering, glazing, and more. We'll be honing our technique and learning how to paint with precision.
Naturalist Studies: Northern Lights
The Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis, is perhaps my most favorite natural phenomenon of all. After spending 10 weeks in Iceland last year, I was extremely fortunate to witness the aurora a dozen times and knew I had to share this incredible natural wonder in a painting class the following winter.
Caused by particles from solar storms interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, the dancing Northern Lights possess a fluidity that is perfect for practicing wet-on-wet watercolor techniques. This subject matter is also a good teacher when it comes to letting go and knowing when to move on.
This workshop is taking place on the day of the Winter Solstice, and I can't wait to celebrate with you!
Naturalist Studies: Whales
For those of you that have taken a class with me before, you've probably heard me say that I love whales. Well, I love whales!! They are magical creatures, and in this class we will be learning how to translate something so enormous and vast onto a tiny piece of paper.
There are many varieties of whales, so we'll be focusing on just two or three species. We'll be painting these whales more loosely, learning how to capture their essence and form in a few simple lines and brushstrokes.
Painting Portals
This workshop is a meditation on intention and bringing to light all the ways we can grow portals of positivity in our lives. Playful and exploratory, participants are encouraged to experiment with layering, fluidity, and assigning meaning to colors.
We'll be diving right into painting without the use of preliminary sketching or making any guide marks beforehand. We'll learn how to build confidence in our ability to make beautiful shapes and patterns without plans or expectations.
This session is all about reflection and direction. We will bring a sense of mindfulness to the process - cultivating an awareness of our own individual energy, and curiosity as to where we'd like these portals to take us.
Pattern Play
This workshop is all about having fun and experimenting! We'll be playing with color combinations using a limited palette, and exploring how to create a variety of patterns by hand. By the end of class we'll have come up with our own personal pattern library. It is truly a creative brain exercise to see how many different combinations you can come up with using just a few colors: the possibilities are endless! We'll be celebrating playfulness here: there are no right or wrong answers.
Petal Pattern Flow
Have you ever felt stuck or unsure of where to begin? How do you harness a sense of flow? This workshop helps to provide a nature-inspired method for painting in order to generate energy and overcome a creative block.
We’ll practice intuitive painting: rather than focusing on how we want our painting to look, we’ll pay attention to how our hand wants to move. We’ll explore mark making, ending up with a playful composition by using patterns and the power of repetition to create a sense of flow.
This class is about stirring creative energy, loosening up, and letting go of expectations. We'll be making one mark at a time and engaging how to work with the ebb and flow of creative movement in painting, using a petal shape or our paint brush's "footprint." This process is all about trusting that each step we take will inform the next step, and the next, and so forth, to completion.
Playful Faces
Did you know that humans are biologically hardwired to see faces everywhere? It's called "face pareidolia" – seeing faces in random objects or patterns of light and shadow.
We'll be exploring this tendency to see patterns in randomness, painting a series of playful faces using a limited color palette. To get the creative juices flowing we'll be painting these with a spirit of spontaneity.
This exercise will utilize a wet on wet technique and culminate in layering techniques. We'll also learn how to gain confidence in painting without preliminary pencil sketching, just dive right in!
Playful Trees and Treescapes
This workshop is a celebration of woods, forests, and trees! Autumn and spring are my two favorite seasons to paint trees, to study their leaves and trunks and branches, and to observe the changes in these magnificent organisms.
In this class we’ll be playing with negative and positive space, utilizing pattern and texture. We'll be painting mostly from memory to create individual trees and treescapes.
This class is more focused on play and intuition rather than painting from reference, and participants are encouraged to bring a sense of curiosity and exploration to the process.
Shadow & Light
When applied carefully, paint can create the illusion of dimensionality. In this workshop we'll be using shadow and light to explore specific shapes like water droplets and glass marbles. This is a chance to hone our observation skills as well as our ability to control the spread of pigment. We'll be practicing watercolor techniques like pulling and lifting in order to create works that demonstrate the power of shadow and light.
Spring Greens
This workshop combines color theory with leafy brushstroke exercises. We'll be diving into color mixing all sorts of verdant greens: from earthy cypress to vivid emerald, to the softest greens of spring ferns unfurling. We'll experiment with our color swatches in order to paint a variety of leaves and foliage.
Flexibility is key here. This session is less about botanical precision and more about the fluidity of paint. We will be exploring how it feels to make natural brushstrokes that capture the gentle yet lively energy of spring greens.
Watercolor Brushwork Basics
If you have never picked up a paintbrush before, this is a great place to start. This workshop is intended for those that want to learn basic foundational watercolor techniques.
We'll be building up our watercolor vocabulary by doing exercises like pulling, washes, wet-on-wet vs. wet-on-dry brushing, blending, and lifting. We'll practice how to make watercolor glazes and experiment with layering, including how to incorporate all these techniques into a painting.
This class is structured with beginners in mind, but all levels are welcome if you’d like a refresher!
Year of the Dragon
Happy Lunar New Year — 2024 is the Year of the Dragon!
In this workshop, we will be honing our technical skills and learning how to be courageous in our creative practice. In Lunar New Year cultures, the Dragon is a symbol of power, prosperity, and nobility.
Together we will explore how to paint this auspicious mythical creature, and make space to set intentions for the year ahead.