What is the difference between Drawing Foundations and Drawing Studio?
In Drawing Foundations students begin building their drawing skills working in pencil/graphite as they learn how to draw accurately using value and form. Students are given both group and individual instruction and are free to progress through the foundations curriculum at their own pace.
Students work on drawing projects as well as learn how to keep and use a sketchbook as a tool to sharpen their drawing skills and explore their creative ideas.
Drawing Studio builds on the skills learned in Drawing Foundations. Students will begin branching out and exploring new drawing media including ink, pastel, colored pencil, and watercolor. Students will grow more proficient and confident in their drawing skills as they tackle more challenging subjects.
Both Foundations and Studio are offered as 5-8 week cycles. Most students will need to complete 2-5 cycles of Drawing Foundations before moving into Drawing Studio. You do not have to complete all the cycles back to back. We have designed our drawing courses into cycles for maximum flexibility for our students and their families. When one cycle ends the next begins at the same day and time. Students can have an uninterrupted experience, but the cycles also allow students to take breaks (during a sports season for example) and pick right back up where they left off.
All students will start in Drawing Foundations unless the student already has a mastery of the foundation skills as demonstrated by their drawings (photographs can be emailed or texted if you think your student should begin in Studio).
These are not “levels” but simply a tool we use to organize the art instruction in the most efficient way for each student. After a couple cycles of Foundations, students will often be in classes that have both Foundations and Studio students together in the same class- this has two benefits- it allows more scheduling flexibility for our students and it creates an art community where the more advanced students are re-exposed to the foundational concepts and the beginning students are inspired and motivated by the more advanced students’ work.
When scheduling your course online chose “Drawing Foundations” for your first two-three cycles. After that chose the “Drawing Studio” OR "Drawing Foundations/Studio" option whichever fits into your schedule the best.
What is a "cycle" and how does it work?
A "cycle" is our term for a multi-week course.
Rather than following a traditional monthly tuition model (like you might be familiar with from music lessons) we have chosen to organize our courses into cycles for the convenience of our long-term students. The cycles are offered as 4-6 week units and are ,more or less, continuous. The cut-off dates are designed around the local school schedules to accommodate for holidays and summers- and cut down on absences during these busy seasons.
While the drawing and painting courses are intended to be taken long-term, we understand that sometimes students need to take a short break. Our “cycles” and our emphasis on individual artistic development have the built in flexibility students need to make art a vital part of their lives. Students may enroll in back-to-back cycles for a seamless experience or they may “cycle- off” during a busy season and then “cycle-on” when they are ready to return to their art practice. We hope this flexibility allows our studio and art community to become a long-term partner in your artistic endeavors.
Do you have a waitlist for courses/camps that are full?
Yes- we do! Our website doesn’t allow you to sign up for the waitlist online- please call or email us with your first and last name, phone number, and which class you would like to be put on the waitlist for. If we have a spot open up we’ll call you.
What if myself or my student is not within the age guidelines for the course?
We have set age ranges for many of our classes. This ensures a quality experience for our students and that the class time can be used efficiently. Some classes are the same class but one time may be for teens and the other for adults. This is for the safety of our younger students.
We do sometimes make exceptions on age guidelines on a case by case basis. For example: If a parent would like their older teen to participate in a class labeled as an “adult” class or if an older teen would like to participate with a younger sibling in a younger class, or a parent wants to participate as a student with their child in a class. Please contact me with any questions about this and we’ll talk about finding the best class for you or your student.
Can I sign up for a class that has already started?
Maybe. Depending on the course and how long it has been running we may be able to get you into a course that has already begun. Please call or email with questions on joining a course that is already in session.
What if I want to sign up for a course but know in advance that I'll need to miss one or more class dates?
Life is busy! Don't let scheduling details stop you from pursuing your creative potential. We have designed our courses to be flexible and can pro-rate your cycle if you know you will be not be able to attend. Please contact us for payment details on your pro-rated tuition. We do, however, advise that if you know for sure you will miss more than 2 class days in a cycle that it would be better to wait until the next cycle or contact us a about starting a new class at a new time- we might be able to do it!
Do you offer private lessons?
Yes- we do! Lori is able to offer private lessons to select number of students who are motivated to accelerate their progress or want to go deeper into their artistic practice. If you are interested in private lessons please call or email directly and Lori will contact you about the details.
Do you offer any discounts?
Yes- we do!
We offer a multi-family member discount. If you have more than one family member who is taking a course or camp at the same time the first course is full price, then we offer 20% off the second tuition, and 25% off the third tuition. Please contact us if this is you and we'll let you know how to sign up to receive your discount.
We also offer a $25 referral credit for anyone you refer to us who enrolls in a multi-week course.
Just let us know your friends' names who signed up and we will give you a coupon code for $25 off your next course. Up to $50 referral credit can be used/ per course. If you have more than $50 referral credit, we will keep track of it and apply it to your next course. Referral credits have no cash value/ cannot be redeemed for cash and expire after one year. Referral credits are not available for summer camps.
What is your Payment Policy?
Cycle Based Classes
Payment must be collected in full prior to the first day if you are paying online.
If you are a new student and have arranged to pay in cash a 25% deposit will need to be mailed or dropped off to the studio and the remainder is to be paid on the first day of class. If you are not a new student and prefer cash pay you may pay in full on the first day of class. Please arrive a few minutes early to do so, so that we can begin class promptly at the scheduled time.
If the studio has to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment or another reason you will be refunded in full.
Camps/ Mini-Camps
Camp tuition must be paid in full online when registering for the camp.
If the studio has to cancel a camp due to insufficient enrollment or another reason you will be refunded in full.
What Is Your Make-Up Policy?
CYCLE-BASED COURSES
Most of our drawing and painting classes are offered in 4-6 week cycles through out the year.
We have designed these “cycles” so our students have the flexibility to make art part of their lives. The cycles are, more or less, continuous in nature so that students can develop their art skills without large gaps of time (taking back-to-back cycles is like being in monthly music lessons- but for art.). Students may “cycle- off” during a busy season and then “cycle-on” when they are ready to return to their art practice. We hope this flexibility allows our studio and art community to become a long-term partner in your artistic endeavors.
We ask that you fully commit to each cycle you sign up for and attend all scheduled classes.
However, We think of our regularly attending art students as an integral part of our growing art community and will work with you to try to accommodate make-up classes for classes missed due to illness, unexpected circumstances, etc. If a make-up class ins’t possible we may be able to pro-rate your tuition for the next cycle you enroll in. However, we are not able to refund you for any missed classes.
CAMP and MINI-CAMP
We do not provided make up sessions for missed camp or mini-camp days.
What Is Your Refund/Cancellation Policy?
Cycle Based courses and camps have different refund policies. Please make sure you check the correct policy. Thank you.
CYCLE BASED COURSES
In the case that you need to cancel/reschedule your cycle/course we will REFUND YOU IN FULL for cancellations made 14 days or more before the start date of class.
For cancellations made less than 14 days before the start of class we can transfer your full payment to another cycle beginning within 6 months for you or anyone in your family OR you may receive a 50% refund.
In the event the course does not meet the minimum enrollment and must be cancelled, you will be offered to switch to another time or be refunded in full.
CAMPS/ MINI-CAMPS
ADVANCE NOTICE of cancellation needed for PARTIAL REFUNDS on summer camp tuition.
Because of the high level of planning and overhead costs associated with running the half day summer art experiences we only offer partial refunds on summer camps. Please double check you availability before registering. Thank you!
REFUND SCHEDULE:
21 DAYS- If you need to cancel 21 days or more before the start day of camp you will receive a full refund minus a $25 administration fee.
20-14 DAYS- If you give notice of cancellation at least 14 days before the start day of camp you will be refunded 50% of the camp tuition.
3-13 DAYS- If you give notice of cancellation 3-13 days before camp begins you will be refunded 50% of the camp tuition ONLY IF the spot is filled. If the spot remains vacant you will be refunded 25% ONLY.
48 HOURS- Cancellations less than 48 hours before the first day of camp will NOT BE REFUNDED.
However, depending on the reason for cancellation you may be given partial credit towards another art class in the future.
NO SHOWS- No shows will not be refunded and will not be offered credit towards future classes.
PARTIAL ATTENDANCE- No refund/ pro-rate will be given if your student misses days of their camp session.
In the event the course does not meet the minimum enrollment or must be cancelled for another reason you will be refunded in full.
Do you offer other payment options besides pay online?
Yes. Please call us to discuss cash payment options.