Dating back centuries, artists have traveled from their home studios to rural artist communities in search of the time, space, and exchange needed to incubate new ideas and nurture their creative practice. PenArt is no stranger to this tradition. For over 50 years, beginning each June, hundreds of artists from across the country pack up their materials, travel to Door County, and join a group of similarly-minded creatives in one of our workshops. While many may cite building new technical or conceptual skills with the help of one of our established faculty members as their primary goal, there are many other benefits to joining and working in such a setting.

Maybe we're biased, but we believe a summer filled with art making is a summer well spent. While our youth and teen curriculum encourages students to enjoy the creative process from start to finish, our lessons run deeper than that. Instructor-led group discussions, technical exercises, and innovative projects introduce the principles of art and design and how to use them successfully, tools and techniques specific to a variety of media, as well as a creative toolkit that serves students far beyond the art classroom. Below are just a few of the transferable skills walk away with from our workshops. 

PenArt provides a range of summer workshops designed for the youngest of artists to unleash their creativity, develop their skills, and pursue new ideas. From drawing to printmaking to ceramics, there's an experience for everyone! But aside from the materials used and techniques learned, what does a typical workshop day look like at PenArt?

Each workshop season, we aim to strike a balance between returning instructors and instructors joining us for the first time. This makes for tough decisions in the planning process, but ultimately brings new and varied perspectives to our program; pushing the boundaries of our facilities, encouraging students to look at materials in new ways; and broadening the network of our growing community. This year, 46 of our adult workshops will be taught by new instructors.

Introducing each and every one of them and their workshops would make for a blog post nearly as long as our catalog, so we will begin with a selection of ten instructors from a variety of media. To see the full list of new 2019 faculty members, click here. 

2D | Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Book Arts

Kyle McKenzie
Kyle joins us from Joplin, MO to teach not one, not two, but three workshops this coming July! His thoughtful proposals were impossible to pass up. First Gouache: The Painting Medium You Didn't Know You Needed, followed by Art and Optics, and finally Using Gouache Color Studies to Improve Your Paintings. The common thread through all of these workshops? Kyle's expertise in translating classical painting techniques and theories into contemporary possibilities. Artist website.

   Jessica Caponigro
An interdisciplinary artist with extensive experience in print media, Jessica's practice is the embodiment of Experimental Printmaking. In fact, her response when I first asked her about the topic was, "I absolutely love teaching experimental printmaking!" Her workshop will encourage you to explore paper lithography, image transfers, monoprinting, screen printing, and alternative materials within the confines of your own artistic goals and practice. It's sure to be fast and furious, but with an instructor with such enthusiasm for the process, you can't go wrong. Artist website

Liz Miller
While Liz never set out to be an installation artist, her drawings and paintings slowly evolved into collage-based works on paper, architecture-dependent experiments, and eventually full-fledged installation works. Since making her first site-specific work in 2004, she has been hooked on not only how an installation can change the viewer's experience and movement through a space, but also the exhilaration and on-site problem-solving in the making of it. Dive in and make a collaborative work alongside other artists and Liz in her Introduction to Installation workshop this August. Artist website

3D | Ceramics and Metals
Jennifer Wells
Whether she's teaching workshops, continuing her own education, or producing new work, Jennifer has made a home out of the studio. Since earning her MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry nearly ten years ago, she has completed residencies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Pocosin Arts, and Jentel Foundation, taught semester-long courses with several universities, and led workshops across the country and abroad. Jennifer has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Discover just a slice of it in her workshop Put a Lid On It: Container Fabrication. Artist website

Lindsay Locatelli
Lindsay's education and career in design are multifaceted, including training in graphic design, a degree in furniture design, and a successful studio practice focused on wearable pieces made from polymer clay, metal, wood, and found materials. Inspired by the colors and textures of the landscape, her work pushes the boundaries of what many (including myself) thought capable of polymer clay. Learn just how versatile this medium is in her workshop Polymer Clay: Making Molds, Studs, and Pendants next fall. Artist website

 Kate Maury
Since a young age, Kate has been interested in surface and embellishment; from admiring her mother's stash of rhinestone jewelry to researching craft and artistic expression throughout other parts of the world post-grad. However, it wasn't until she assumed a full-time teaching position at UW-Stout and was gifted a set of commercial craft molds from a local business that her side-passion finally found a voice in her studio work. Explore the visual vocabulary of sprigs and molds to create complex motifs and surfaces in her workshop Ornate Surface: How to Creatively Embellish Forms Creatively with Commercial Sprigs and One-Part Molds. Artist website 

Digital | Photography, Video, and Digital Media

Allen Morris
To say Allen raised the bar on our collaboration is an understatement. I approached him about leading a digital photography workshop focused on creating a sense of place, and he responded with a workshop that combined digital captures of the landscape and the antique process of anthotypes, which uses photosensitive material from plants, to create photographic prints. If that process doesn't create a sense of place, I don't know what does! To learn more about this alternative method, join him for his workshop Place from Place: Anthotypes and Gum Bichromate Processes in July. Artist website

  Emily Scheider Berens
Having coined her work as tra-digital, Emily's practice blends tangible media, such as painting, printmaking, and fibers, with digital processes. Her work is first designed by hand, then digitally imported into Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator for further refining, and finally printed on textiles or paper. Emily's workflow moves from handcrafted to digital, ending with a fusion of both processes. Find out how digital tools can expand your fine art practice in Introduction to Adobe Photoshop or Introduction to Adobe Illustrator: Incorporating Digital Tools into Your Studio Practice.
Artist website

Barbara Diener
I first came across Barbara and her practice in her solo exhibition Phantom Power at UW-GB's Lawton Gallery last year. This body of images was presented on the wall in an engaging installation, as well as in a book with essays written by curators Allison Grant and Gregory Harris. While the scale of each format was completely different, they were equally impactful. Grab that collection of images you've been saving on your computer and discover not only how to technically assemble them into a book, but also how to apply conceptual thinking in the design and sequencing process in Barbara's The Photographic Book workshop. Artist website

Professional Development

 Stephen Anderson Story
A fine art photographer in his own right, Stephen also uses his technical and conceptual skills to capture professional portraits, weddings, design projects, and the work of fellow artists. Documenting artwork is often one of the most challenging aspects of an artist's professional practice. Join Stephen in his workshop Photographing Your Artwork with a Smartphone and learn how to create an easy at-home setup, edit for proper lighting and color, and size final images for submissions to juried exhibitions and other opportunities. Artist website

Over 100 instructors will pass through PenArt’s studios this summer; each one bringing a different approach to and perspective on art making. While this diversity creates an exciting and comprehensive curriculum, it can make answering the burning question of “Which workshop should I invest in this year?” even more challenging. We’re here to help!

There is a saying that 80% of success is showing up. How difficult could that final push across the finish line be? Yet, inspiration and drive vanish upon entering the studio. You're showing up! Why isn't the work following? While each and every artist has their own unique way of working and setting up a studio, here are a few quick and easy adjustments that may make all the difference in your productivity, or at least 20%.