Whether you are looking for a laid-back night out on the town or to pick up a practical skill or new hobby, there are plenty of classes and events running all year round for you to participate in. Regardless of the kind of class you want to find, CourseHorse has collected the best courses in Chicago for you to explore. Read on to learn more about some of the fun, unique and immersive classes in the Chicago area.
Cooking Classes at The Chopping Block Lincoln Square
One of the most practical skills you can learn is cooking food at home. Not only is it a good way to save money on takeout, but it can also be used to make healthier meals and impress guests. The Chopping Block Lincoln Square is one of the premier recreational cooking schools in the city, and it offers students the chance to learn practical, hands-on cooking techniques from experienced culinary experts. The school offers classes in basic cooking techniques, specific recipes, and regional cuisines, and the laid-back atmosphere of the courses make them ideal places for beginners to start learning to cook. Whether you have no experience cooking and want to learn how to save money on your food bill, are looking to prepare an exquisite feast for an upcoming social gathering, or just looking for a fun way to spend a date night, enrolling in a cooking class is a good way to cover all sorts of bases.
One of The Chopping Block’s most popular courses is their Hands-on Knife Skills class. Knowing your way around a knife can be the difference between a quick and easy cooking job and a laborious process that consumes your time and energy. This course will teach you how to perfectly chop, dice, mince, and slice vegetables and herbs and how to perfectly cut meat and fish as you are preparing it to be cooked. In addition to learning the art of using a knife, students will also learn how to select the right set of knives for their kitchen and how to care for their knife (including honing and sharpening) to stay with them for years to come. Learning the art of working with knives is a foundational skill for becoming a successful home chef, and students enrolled in this course will receive hands-on, directed instruction in handling a knife like a professional chef.Â
Another popular cooking course The Chopping Block offers is their Hands-on: Sushi Workshop. Sushi is a popular dish that may seem intimidating to prepare at home but is actually rather accessible with the proper training. In this course, students will learn various common techniques for preparing sushi, including the components of rice and seafood. Students will learn how to prepare sushi rice, purchase and cut sushi-grade seafood, and work with bamboo rolling mats. In this class, students will learn to prepare various sushi dishes, including maki rolls, inside-out rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and eel and salmon. Once you are done with this course, you’ll be ready to work on more elaborate handmade sushi rolls from the comfort of your own kitchen, which is a useful culinary skill for hosting events or just making easy, delicious seafood dinners.
The Chopping Block also offers seminars in specific cuisines and regional food traditions such as the Simple French Food course. While France is renowned for its complex and rich culinary traditions, not all recipes are so complex as to be inaccessible to a home cook. In this course, students will learn the basics of traditional French cooking concepts such as working with vinaigrettes, French sauces, and ingredients common in French cuisine. Students enrolled in the class will prepare a mixed greens and goat cheese salad, sea bass en papillote with leeks, a warm French lentil salad, and conclude with a dessert of cinnamon-sugar palmiers. This course provides students with an introduction to French cooking and attempts to make the techniques associated with this vibrant tradition accessible to everyone. Even home cooks with no prior experience will be able to learn the art of French cooking in this course.
Wine and Cocktail Classes at Discovery Center Chicago
If you are confident in your cooking skills, you may want to consider learning how to select and mix different kinds of drinks to pair with your meals, or you might just want to learn how to mix drinks to enjoy at social events and other special occasions. The Discovery Center Chicago offers various adult education classes, ranging from practical life skills like Excel to more casual, social courses teaching skills like mixology and wine tasting. The Discovery Center is Chicago’s longest-serving adult education center, so you can be assured that all classes are of the highest quality and that the instruction you receive will be thorough, accessible, and taught by expert instructors. While this article focuses on a narrow subset of their classes, students are strongly encouraged to explore all of the options the school offers since they have so many different classes, students are likely to find something that interests them.
Essential Mixology Bartending is the introductory mixology course offered through The Discovery Center, and the class aims to provide students with an understanding of the basic skills and technical science that underscores cocktail making. Students enrolled in this class will learn how to mix drinks at a home bar and get hands-on experience building various cocktails, including ones of their own design and creation. Students will learn common recipes for drinks like Martinis, Margaritas, and Old Fashions alongside the techniques used to give these drinks their distinct flavor profiles (giving students more room to experiment with different specs for their drinks). Students will learn how to use garnishes and why some drinks are shaken while others are stirred, for example. By the end of this class, students will have an understanding of the science of mixology, and they will be ready to impress their friends and colleagues with their delicious cocktail creations.
Once students have become familiar with the essentials, they can enroll in Discovery Center’s Mixology 102: Sophisticated and Complex Cocktails course. In this class, students will learn how to create elaborate mixed drinks and presentation techniques that make those mixed drinks look like works of art. Students will learn how to layer ingredients to create color patterns in cocktails, use exotic or uncommon ingredients, blend drinks, and even light drinks on fire as part of the presentation process. Over the four-hour course, students will get hands-on experience making cocktails like the Ramos Gin Fizz, a Red, White & Blue, a Frozen Daiquiri, a Goblet of Fire and a Rock Lobster. There is a material fee associated with the class, but students can use the course’s fully stocked bar to work with rare liquors and ingredients that might be too pricey for first-time bartenders to experiment with at their home bars.
Students who aren’t interested in spirits or want a drinking experience that doesn’t require 11 pieces of dishware, six different liquors, and fresh citrus may want to enroll in a class like Wine Tasting: Becoming a Wine Connoisseur. In this class, students will learn the basic techniques that professional sommeliers use to taste, sample, and pair wines. Students will get practical training in the act of tasting wine, and they will learn the history and vocabulary of wine. Students will learn how different kinds of grapes produce different kinds of wines and how regional variations impact the finished product (French, Italian, New York, and Californian wines are all different in subtle ways). Finally, students will learn practical skills like sourcing and storing wine. By the end of the class, students will be ready to host their own wine tasting events, and they will be prepared for social activities like winery tours.
Drink Making Classes at Beverage Art Inc.
If you are interested in wine, beer, or spirits, you may want to try making some of your own. Home brewing, distilling, and winemaking are becoming increasingly popular hobbies, and many students may be interested in taking the next steps to start making their own batches or improve the quality of their work. Beverage Art Inc. is Chicago’s premier winemaking and brewing supply company, and they offer several courses intended to help homebrewers and aspiring professionals learn the art of making their own beverages. Courses are taught weekly, and since Beverage Art Inc. Is a major supplier of ingredients, students will have the opportunity to work with high-quality materials and purchase more of the ones they like the most. In addition, Beverage Art Inc. Is partnered with Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery, meaning they supply things like grapes and honey.
Students interested in homebrewing should enroll in the beginner-friendly Hands-on Beer Brewing course. This course aims to provide students with hands-on training and access to brewing materials to help students create their own beers. When students enroll in the course, they will get to select the kind of beer they want to brew, with options ranging from light wheat beers to traditional IPAs to hearty stouts. Then, when they arrive at their scheduled class, all of the materials will be prepared for them, and they will spend the afternoon working with an instructor and preparing their ingredients for brewing and fermentation. Once the class has finished, students will leave their beer to ferment, and 3-4 weeks later, they will return to pick up and bottle their finished project. Students will produce a 5-gallon batch (about 48 bottles of beer) to share their unique creations with friends and family.
If wine is more up your alley, you may want to enroll in Beverage Art Inc.'s Wine Making course. In this course, students will learn the science of making wine and get hands-on experience with the process as they prepare to make their own wine. The first of the two-course sessions will involve preparing wines for vinting, and students will choose to make a Chardonnay or a Cabernet. Once students have completed this process, they will leave their wine to ferment. Weeks later, students will return and participate in the bottling process. At the end of the course, students will have produced six gallons of wine (about 25-30 bottles). Ingredients, bottling fees, and corking all cost extra and students are encouraged to participate in sustainable recycling practices and bring their own bottles.
Finally, Beverage Art Inc. Also offers a Moonshine, Cognac and Whiskey Making that teaches students how to start home and commercial distilling projects. This course covers the process of hand-mashing practices and techniques commonly used in producing whiskeys, brandies, and rums, all of which utilize easily accessible tools that home distillers can learn to utilize. The course provides students with an understanding of how different ingredients and distillation processes produce different spirits, and students will learn the difference between things like moonshine, whiskey, and bourbon. Students will learn how to build their own home stills and more about the commercial options available to them for distilling spirits. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to start making their own moonshines, whiskeys, and cognacs.
Gardening and Horticulture Classes at The Chicago Botanic Gardens
The Chicago Botanic Gardens have, for nearly four decades, been one of the largest and most elaborate botanic gardens in the nation. Made up of over 25 individual gardens on over 300 acres of land in the city, the Botanic Gardens represent one of the largest botanical collections in the world. With over 50,000 members and host to over a million visitors a year, the Chicago Botanic Gardens are one of the crown jewels of the city of Chicago, and they offer hundreds of classes, guided tours, and enjoyable experiences for students looking to learn more about the world of plants. Whether you want to learn how to garden, how to utilize flowers in creative projects or just walk around one of the world’s largest and most beautiful gardens, there is something at the Chicago Botanic Gardens for you to enjoy.
Students looking to start their own garden or improve the output of their existing gardens will be interested in the Botanic Garden’s Summer Garden Maintenance course. In this course, students will get hands-on experience in the foundational skills and techniques of building and maintaining a home garden. Students will learn the watering, fertilizing, pruning, edging, staking, and mulching practices that professional gardeners use to ensure the health and sustainability of their own gardens. This course will provide students with season-specific techniques taught by the experienced horticulturalists working at the Botanic Gardens, which means that students can be assured that they are getting quality education on the subject. This practical course will give students hands-on experience with the techniques they are learning, including the opportunity to work with real plants at the Gardens. Once you’ve completed this course, you’ll be ready to return home confident that your skills are up to the task of maintaining your garden through the summer months.
Most home gardens are intended to serve the practical purpose of providing families with herbs and vegetables. The experts at the Botanic Gardens know this and are here to help in the Growing, Using and Storing Herbs course. This class will teach students how to grow common herbs in various home locations (including on patios or decks for students with limited space) and how to ensure that you are harvesting the herbs at the proper time. Students will learn what kinds of herbs grow well in certain environments and how to maximize their yields from homegrown herbs. Then, students will learn how to harvest their herbs safely and effectively and store them in ways that maximize their longevity. This is a great, practical course for anyone looking to grow their own herbs and vegetables in a home garden.
The Botanic Gardens also offer many other practical courses for students looking to engage with nature and benefit from its bounty. They offer, for example, an Introduction to Beekeeping for students interested in starting their own hive and collecting honey. In this class, students will learn the practical art of starting a beehive, maintaining it, and expanding on your infrastructure as the beehives grow. Students will learn how to find a queen, attract bees to the hive and create an environment that encourages them to stay and remain productive. Then, students will learn how to handle important seasonal chores and perform the necessary maintenance to keep the hive safe and happy. The course concludes with lessons on harvesting honey in a way that does not threaten the hive so that beekeepers can keep their hives operating over many seasons. Students will need to supply their own beekeeping suits for the course.
Digital Photography Classes at The Digital Photo Academy
Given the rise of the smartphone, virtually everyone is currently carrying a digital camera that is far more powerful than most professional photographers used only a few decades ago. This means that digital photography has become an increasingly popular hobby, and many aspiring photographers have swapped their phone cameras for legitimate digital cameras. The Digital Photo Academy offers a range of courses for students looking to learn the art of digital photography regardless of their skill level. These classes are designed to take advantage of the unique affordances of the city of Chicago, and most of them will involve students going to famous locales to learn the art of photography.Â
Students who are new to the world of digital photography may find it difficult to transition from a point-and-shoot iPhone system to a real digital camera. For those students, The Digital Photo Academy offers a Master Your Digital Camera Controls course in which students will be guided through the proper use and maintenance of their digital cameras. In this class, experienced digital photography experts will guide you through all of the control and functions of your own digital camera, making the lessons personalized to your device and the capabilities offered by that camera. Students will learn what makes their cameras unique and how they can more easily take advantage of the tools and functions built into their cameras. By the end of this course, students will have hands-on experience working with their cameras, and they will be ready to start shooting more complex and elaborate photographers by leveraging the functionalities that their device offers.
Once students are comfortable with their cameras, they will be ready to start shooting some of Chicago’s most famous landmarks. The Digital Photo Academy offers various courses in which expert instructors take students to these sites to teach them the art of digital photography. For example, one of their seminars takes students to Millennium Park for three hours of guided digital photography instruction. On this outing, students will have the opportunity to receive expert instruction from digital photography experts on how to frame shots, isolate subjects, and master techniques involving lighting, scale, and compositional strategies like the rule of thirds. Students will learn all these lessons on a practical shooting excursion to Millennium Park, home to some of the city’s most vibrant natural landscapes and unique architecture. Other excursions include courses visiting Garfield Park, St. Nicholas Catholic Ukrainian Cathedral, Chicago’s Gold Coast, and the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Another service The Digital Photography Academy offers is private half-day tutoring or full-day tutoring sessions. These three and six-hour sessions give students a chance to work one-on-one (or in a pair) with a personal photography tutor who can help guide them through the process of taking professional quality photographs around the city of Chicago. Students enrolled in this class will get hands-on training in the specific functionalities of their digital cameras, meaning the lessons will be tailored to help them succeed in their future photography projects. With planning and some limitations, students can coordinate with their instructor to visit one of the many scenic Chicago locales that are perfect for getting experience with digital photography. This is a great opportunity for students new to the world of digital photography to get practical experience and guided instruction in their new hobby.
Dance Classes at Chicago Dance
Learning how to dance can be an enjoyable social experience that can help you stay active. There are so many different styles of dance you can learn, ranging from individual contemporary dances to traditional partner dances, and almost all of these styles are taught at Chicago Dance. Founded in 1976, Chicago Dance has become one of the most widely recognized dance studios in the city, and it has been named the school with the best dance lessons by Chicago Magazine. This school aims to provide students with accessible, enjoyable dance lessons taught by experienced instructors. In these classes, students will receive guided dance instruction, and they will learn the basic steps they need to begin learning more advanced techniques in intermediate and advanced classes. Whether you have an event that you need to prepare for or you are just looking for a fun way to spend a date night, taking a class at Chicago Dance can be a great experience.
One of the most popular partner dance styles for beginners is the Argentine Tango, a quick, fluid tango first popularized in Buenos Aires. In this four-session class, students will learn the basics of this style, which can seem intimidating at first but is rather accessible for new students. The class teaches students how to move their bodies in the fluid ways that make Argentine Tango a spectacle to watch, and they will master other fundamental tango dance steps such as forward ochos, backward ochos, and the sandwich. Over the four sessions, students will go from tango novices to experienced dancers ready to impress their friends on the dance floor or visit any of Chicago’s regularly operating tango clubs. Students who complete this course will be ready to learn more advanced tango skills in Chicago Dance’s Argentine Tango 2 course.
Another recent dance style that has grown in popularity is the Salsa, a Cuban variation of the mambo known for its rapid undulating body movements and fast, upbeat rhythms. In Chicago Dance’s Salsa 1: Introduction course, students will learn the basic skills they need to be comfortable dancing Salsa. This four-session course will cover the most common salsa steps, including the basic, side basic (Cucaracha), drunken sailor (cross-over), and partner dancing techniques like right turns for both leaders and followers and the broken left turn for both leaders and followers. Salsa dancing is arguably the most popular style of Latin dancing at American dance clubs, and once you’ve learned this style, you’ll be ready to go out for a night of dancing or you can return to Chicago Dance Studio to learn more complex Salsa dancing skills in some of their advanced classes.
If you are looking to learn more traditional partner or solo dance styles, Chicago Dance also offers an introductory Ballroom Moves 1 class. In this four-week course, students will learn the basics of the Waltz and the Foxtrot, which are very common ballroom dance styles. In this course, students will learn the long, elegant steps associated with these two styles and how to carry themselves on the dance floor. This course, which does have a prerequisite class (Dancing For Every Occasion), is open for students of all skill levels, so even if you don’t have a lot of experience with ballroom dancing, this course will provide you with the skills you need to start making a splash on the dance floor. Once you have completed this course, you’ll be ready to move on to Chicago Dance’s more advanced ballroom classes, including courses that teach specific variants and styles of waltzes and foxtrots and styles like tangos.
Floral Design Classes at The American School of Flower Design
Working with flowers can be an exciting and relaxing way to create beautiful decorations for various occasions. The American School of Flower Design, founded by world-famous floral designer Michael Gaffney, aims to introduce students to this time-honored artistic tradition, allowing them to learn how to express their creativity using flowers. Courses at this school are divided between introductory classes that introduce students to the art of flower design and the processes of constructing individual pieces or collections and advanced courses aimed at students looking to start their own flower design businesses. This means that the courses offer options for hobbyists and aspiring professionals, and in both levels of the courses, students will learn practical design techniques that they can use to create impressive and elaborate floral designs.
Students who are completely new to the world of flower design should consider enrolling in The American School of Flower Design’s Floral Design Sampler course. In this program, students will learn the basics of professional flower design, and they will receive hands-on experience through guided exercises. Students will create three sample designs utilizing American and European styles and all of the flowers you will need to work with are included in the course tuition. In addition, students will learn how professional flower designers prepare and keep arrangements healthy for weeks. This will help students ensure their arrangements remain colorful and vibrant for long enough to show them off to family and friends. Students will also be supplied with the tools and containers they need to start creating their own floral arrangements outside of the classroom.
If you are interested in a more elaborate flower arranging course, the school also offers an Introduction to Flower Design course, which takes place over two class sessions and teaches students the elaborate art of designing floral arrangements. The course covers ten different flower design styles, including American, European, and Bridal styles. The class consists of ten practical design exercises in which students will create their own floral arrangements to take home with them after the course. All of the materials, including the flowers and containers, are provided by the school, and students will receive expert instruction from Michael Gaffney, one of the most renowned flower designers in the industry. In addition to learning the art of flower design, students will be introduced to practical aspects of the process, including how to ensure that arrangements live as long as possible and how to best source flowers from wholesale suppliers. Students who complete the course will also receive a signed copy of Gaffney’s flower design book.
The school also offers options for students seeking a more professionally-focused education in their Flower Design Star: 1-Week Comprehensive class. In this weeklong course, students will learn 24 different styles of flower arrangements, including American, European, Asian, and Bridal styles. Each lesson will be accompanied by hands-on exercises in which students will create their own flower arrangements to take home with them at the end of the session to display at home or in promotional materials. The course concludes with a practical design challenge in which students will design a mock wedding ceremony, including all of the floral elements of the event. In addition to teaching students how to design flower arrangements, the course will also give students insight into the world of professional flower design, including a trip to a flower wholesalers market so students can learn the best practices for sourcing the large number of flowers they will need to create their own professional design studio. The tuition for this course includes nearly,000 dollars worth of flowers and all the tools you need to start a professional flower design enterprise.
Sewing Classes at Sew Anastasia
Anastasia Chatzka has been the proprietor of the Anastasia Chatzka Boutique and Sew Anastasia Sewing Studio for more than twenty years. As a professional fashion designer, she has decades of industry experience and has worked alongside some of the most prolific names in the fashion world. Her studio aims to provide residents of Chicago with a place to learn the art of sewing and fashion design in a comfortable and accessible environment. The courses taught at the school cover a wide range of different sewing techniques and styles, and several classes specifically aim to teach students how to sew certain garments. The courses offered at this school also include open studio hours for more experienced sewers to take advantage of the equipment and meet new, like-minded sewers with whom they can socialize. Sewing is also a very practical skill to learn, and students will learn everything from performing simple repairs to making their own clothing from scratch.
Students who are new to the world of sewing may want to enroll in an introductory course like Sewing 101 Basics. In this class, students will learn the basics of machine sewing and the process of making simple alterations and modifications to clothing. Students will receive expert instruction in the art of sewing, and they will learn the basic stitches and foundational techniques that more advanced sewing projects will require. The course is designed to help students become comfortable working with pre-existing sewing patterns, hems and seams and adding fasteners, zippers and snaps to their designs. This course lasts for six sessions, and by the end of the class, students will be able to work on different sewing projects. Each class involves a hands-on design demonstration, and over the course of the six sessions, students will build their own sample binder of seams and stitches that they can refer back to when they are working on their own sewing projects.
If you have practical sewing experience (or are planning to complete the Sewing 101 Basics class), you can learn more focused practical skills in courses like Dress Making 101. In this six-session class, students will go through the process of designing, preparing and sewing a dress that they will tailor to fit their body type. The course begins with a planning phase in which students learn how to sketch a pattern for a dress (several pre-existing sketches are available for students who aren’t comfortable with their drawing abilities). Then, over the next five classroom sessions, students will get hands-on experience creating and adjusting the pattern, cutting and sewing elements of the dress, and finishing their final dress. At the end of the class, students will have a functional everyday dress or simple cocktail dress to add to their wardrobe. All of the materials are included except for the final garment materials, which students can purchase after they select the fabric of their choice.
Sew Anastasia also offers regular open studio hours in their 3-Hour Wednesday Open Studio sessions. In these sessions, students will reserve parts of the sewing studio for six weeks and have the opportunity to work on whatever projects they aim to complete. Students who enroll in these sessions will not only be able to use Sew Anastasia’s machines and tools but will also have access to experienced sewing instructors who can guide them through completing their own personalized projects. The course is relatively freeform, and students are encouraged to take advantage of the community setting to meet other sewers. The supportive community aims to keep students motivated and engaged in their projects, and by the end of the six weeks, students should have completed their projects. If you can’t attend Wednesday sessions, the school also offers open studio hours on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays.
Painting Classes at Ingrid's Originals, Inc.
Ingrid E. Albrecht is a professional painter and art instructor with decades of experience. Having spent years teaching and working in South America, Albrecht’s personal style has come to emphasize recreations of lush natural beauty, and she brings these investments to her teaching at Ingrid's Originals, Inc. This fine art school has offered painting and art lessons since the late-80s, and it has grown into one of the city’s premiere private art lesson schools. While Albrecht’s work emphasizes natural splendor and is primarily done in watercolor, there is a range of different painting classes available to students of all skill levels. If you are interested in learning more about the art of painting, enrolling in a course at Ingrid’s Originals, Inc. Is a great way to get focused instruction from a talented artist with decades of teaching experience.
Students looking to learn the fine art of watercolor painting may want to consider enrolling in the Finding Your Light in Watercolor course. Taught by award-winning local artist Sarah Yeoman, this course will allow students to explore the artistic possibilities offered in the medium of watercolor. This course is open to students of all skill levels and is an ideal place for burgeoning artists to learn the intricacies of a new medium with the help of an experienced instructor. Students will learn the different paint application techniques that underscore watercolor painting, and they will learn how to apply the paint in complex lost and found edges. Students will also learn practical skills pertaining to the medium such as how to properly balance pigment-to-water ratios and apply paint accounting for the texture of the canvas. By the end of this day-long workshop, students will have produced several vibrant watercolor paintings and be ready to take their painting skills to the next level.
If you are interested in a different medium, Ingrid’s Originals has a scheduled Seductive Surfaces class to teach students the fine art of acrylic painting. This course, taught by local artist Jean Pederson, aims to teach students experimental painting techniques that let them build unique and interesting surfaces upon which to paint their work. This involves the process of building up layers of paint on a canvas or other surface and using that paint design as the backdrop for your work. This will create a base for students to create vibrant representational or abstract art and since this is an experimental class, students are encouraged to move out of their comfort zone and start trying new ideas, forms, and techniques. The workshop lasts for three full days and students' tuition will cover supplies, instruction, breakfast, and light lunch each day.
Ingrid’s Originals also regularly offers Chicago Open Studio courses for students who want to take advantage of the professionally lit art studio in which Ingrid’s more structured classes take place. Students can work in watercolor, acrylic, or whatever other medium they desire, and they can receive assistance from any of the art instructors available at the studio, including Ingrid herself. While these studio sessions lack focused instruction, they offer students an accessible opportunity to practice their painting skills and meet other artists in the Chicago painting community. Students will also have access to the studio’s various supplies and tools, allowing students to work on painting techniques that might be otherwise inaccessible to them when painting at home. In addition to studio access, Ingrid’s Originals supplies students with tea, water, and snacks.
Art Classes at The Evanston Art Center
Founded in 1929, The Evanston Art Center is a premiere art education non-profit that aims to provide Chicago residents with a welcoming set of public outreach art classes. The Evanston Art Center is one of the largest and most well-established visual art centers in the city. As such, they offer a wide variety of courses and training seminars for students looking to learn about art. They also offer many classes aimed at high school students and children. Students looking to learn more about artistic techniques and get hands-on experience working with expert art instructors are encouraged to explore the full catalog of classes offered at The Evanston Art Center. The Art Center also regularly holds art exhibitions, public lectures, and other community outreach events for students looking to learn more about the world of art.
The Evanston Art Center offers a range of specific art classes, including focused seminars like their Anatomy and Drawing the Figure in 3-Color Chalk class. In this program, students will learn the art of drawing anatomically correct figures, an essential skill for anyone looking to work in portraiture, figurative or historical painting. This class approaches this training by teaching students how to make complex chalk drawings using red, white, and charcoal chalk. Students will work on individual sketches of heads, torsos, arms, and legs and each drawing will aim to teach students how to properly sketch the function of bones, musculature, and tendons. These lessons will be practical examinations of the anatomy drawings as students sketch lifelike portraits of the parts of the body beneath the skin that give figures their form. The course will also cover issues like anatomical landmarks, intersections of muscles, pose, and surface anatomy.
Students looking for a more tactile artistic experience may want to enroll in a class like the Beginning Mosaics course. In this class, which is open to beginners and students as young as 16, attendees will be trained in creating stained glass mosaics. Students will get hands-on experience planning designs, cutting glass, and assembling a finished mosaic. Students will also learn important compositional techniques such as color theory and design clarity, allowing them to have a firmer understanding of why artists make their decisions when they begin working with a medium like stained glass. This course provides students with an art education that would be difficult to replicate outside of a live classroom. Taking advantage of the Art Center’s glassworking tools makes learning mosaic skills far more accessible than would be otherwise possible.
If you are interested in learning an artistic skill with some immediately practical applications, you may want to consider The Evanston Art Center’s Painting Furniture course. In this six-hour class, students will learn how to add an artistic flair to any piece of wooden furniture. Students will bring in their own small pieces of furniture such as a nightstand, end table, chair or coffee table, and engage in practical hands-on exercises in repairing, painting, distressing and staining wood. The course will give students the chance to express their own creative desires with the piece of furniture they paint, and instructors can even help students decide what the best possible design for their finished piece might look like. In addition to all of the materials needed for the course, students enrolled in the class will also receive a painting kit that includes a quart of paint (of their choice) and a brush and sanding block.
Why Enroll in One of These Courses?
Given how much there is to do in Chicago, you may wonder why taking a course like these is a good use of your time. Well, it depends on the individual class, but all of these courses offer students the opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people in a structured and welcoming environment. Some of these classes provide students with practical skills, like a home cooking, sewing, or gardening course. Some classes will teach you how to impress your guests at social events and host better parties. Other courses let students express their creative desires in ways that they might not otherwise be able to from their homes. Learning painting, photography, or mosaic design can help you discover a new creative hobby that can help you focus or relax. Learning skills like dancing can help you get outside and meet new people. Plus, at the end of the day, many of these classes are just a fun experience, so even if there isn’t a practical reason to enroll in a class, finding a fun, sociable way to spend an evening in the city may be more than reason enough for you.