Individual + Small Group Classes
Ages 5 - adults. Our individual and small-group art classes offer a variety of foundational and specialized art courses that combine exploratory experience with art materials, concepts and art historical context. Each course is scaled to the age and experience level of the students. We prioritize the student’s development of rich, experiential knowledge over a uniform project result. This exploratory process will develop in you/your artist the confidence to approach new techniques and materials with patience and intuitive knowledge. They will walk away with the experience and patience necessary to tackle new challenges and bring their unique artistic ideas to life!
The course fees include all materials. The materials we use are kid-safe, yet sophisticated, high-quality pigments, clays and fibers. Why? Because the difference between the pleasure of working with a high-quality material vs a low-quality kid version is significant. And, of course, the results are far superior. No waxy crayons, pale watercolors and crumbly clay for us! Making artwork should feel as good as it looks.
Classes are held in my studio at Mana Contemporary in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. (parking is plentiful, and the Cermak bus stops right in front). We also offer free, optional meet-ups at art museums and galleries around the city to have fun together and broaden our arts knowledge.
Course Format
Sewing Lessons (Beginner-Intermediate) guide students through the basics of machine sewing, pattern use and fabric knowledge. Student interests will guide our project-based learning and each 6 week class will culminate in a take-home project including options of household items, clothing, toys and gifts. This is a wonderful opportunity for students 5 years old and up to learn an invaluable life skill with countless practical applications!
Kids’ Painting Classes introduce a variety of water-based paint media including gouache, neopastels, acrylics and more. Through our media explorations, we’ll learn about color theory, shading and perspective and have the opportunity to learn about and experiment with different stylistic applications that will introduce unique brush strokes, uses of color and light and scale (ie Impressionism, Fauvism and Abstract Expressionism). Students will produce a finished work on canvas over the course of each 6-week course.
The Foundations Courses I & II prioritize knowledge of, and experience with, a breadth of artistic concepts, techniques and materials in order to lay the foundation for further development of these skills in subsequent courses and independent practice. Each lesson will include Art historical references so the student gains context for their work. As they say, every good artist is a good art historian!
The courses will result in student artwork that will be both fun and deeply satisfying for the student as they build upon their progress. The student will end the course with reference notebooks for further independent practice. The students will walk away from Foundations I + II with a rich toolkit for further artistic growth.
Foundations I explores a variety of 2D drawing and painting art media; and foundational drawing techniques, like figure composition, perspective drawing, shading, color theory, etc.
Foundations II explores a variety of 3D materials and techniques. We’ll sample hand building with clay, found object sculpture, and fiber techniques like weaving and machine sewing.
Materials Survey takes students on a deep dive into all sorts of materials. We’ll explore in further depth a variety of wet and dry media, fiber, clay and building materials. The purpose of this course is to develop fluency for the sensory experience of each material, and the possibilities and limitations of a wide variety of materials. This is a crucial segment of knowledge for an artist and it plays a significant role in how an artist develops their practice. The student will end the course not only knowing how to work with various materials, but also how to combine materials, adhere and construct them, and how to safely store artworks made from them. They will end the course with an invaluable library of options to choose from when beginning a project. This is the class that, in college, I always wished I would find!
Fiber studies will introduce students to a variety of skills and fiber materials to build a strong foundation for future art and craft practices in the realm of fiber. We will sample machine and hand sewing, a variety of weaving practices, natural dye processes and leave room for further investigation based on the student’s interests.
More classes added periodically.
Looking for a specific practice but you don’t see it here? Contact me!
Schedule + Pricing
All class pricing is inclusive of high-quality materials to use in class, resources and student sketchbook.
Small Group (2-3 students): $ 175/ 6 week session (1 hour classes)
Individual Study: $200/6 week session (1 hour classes)
Individual Study: $30/half hour class (4-6 years old only)
Individual Study: $50/1 hour lesson (7 years old and up)
Each course is intended for a school semester-long duration and is broken down into TWO 6-week sessions. Start date is decided based on your desired start date and scheduling availability.
If you’d prefer to start by dipping your toes in, I also offer Individual Study on a per-week basis. Just mention your preference in your email via the Interest Form below!
About Me
Hello! I’m Natalie Eva Clark, a working artist with over 25 years of experience making and teaching art. I’m a mom of two kids and auntie to many more, and have developed an original arts curriculum for them (and you!) to address the deeper experiential, contextual and exploratory knowledge that I found missing in many other kids’ art classes.
I am a patient, enthusiastic teacher and I truly love nurturing the joy of art making in the next generation of artists. As an experienced art student and teacher, I know what works and doesn’t and am adept at being flexible and adaptive to students’ needs and interests.
I’ve taught a variety of formal and informal arts classes for PreK- Grade 12 at public institutions and schools in Chicago and it’s suburbs. I have a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Edgewood College and a Masters Degree from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. You can check out my work here: