Adult & Teen Classes

Felted Slippers

March 7

Saturday, 12:00-4:00pm

These felted slippers will keep your feet cozy during the cold months! You'll use durable fibers like Shetland and Corriedale and Merino for a soft interior to make your very own pair of slippers! You will learn about making correct foot sizing for a resist template, fiber types and layout, rolling, cutting and healing edges, fulling, and shaping. You can use the on-hand Merino prefelts to add embellishments once your slipper is shaped. You'll also learn how to properly care for and maintain your slippers.

Beginner to Intermediate. Ages 14+

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $72 ($69 LowellArts Members) Materials included valued at $15

Felted Jewelry

March 28

Saturday, 11:00am-4:00pm

Discover the endless possibilities of felt jewelry! Using various colors of merino batting and roving, you will learn to design and create necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. During the first half of class, you'll learn the basics of wet felting like making flat felt, cords, and felt beads. You'll also learn techniques to add surface design. In the second half of class, you'll piece everything together to create your one-of-a-kind jewelry item. Jewelry examples will be available in class.

Beginner to Intermediate. Ages 12+

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $72 ($69 LowellArts Members) Materials included valued at $10

Napkin Basket Workshop

April 4
Saturday, 10:00am-1:00pm

This workshop begins with a prewoven base. You will learn the basics of working with reed including weaving, twining, rimming, and lashing the rim onto your basket. You can add some detial with a decorative bow!

Ages 10+

Instructor: Laurie Zientek

Class Fee: $42 ($40 LowellArts Members)

Felted Succulents

April 25

Saturday, 10:30am-12:30pm

Working with prefelts opens up a host of creative possibilities, and that's what this class is all about. You'll work with fine merino handmade prefelts, needles, and thread to create succulents of varying sizes, shapes, and colors. You'll focus on honing the skills of fulling (shrinking and strengthening), healing cut edges, and molding felt into your desired shape.

Beginner. Ages 14+

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $35 ($33 LowellArts Members)

Ice Dyed Scarf Workshop

May 9
Saturday, 10:30am-12:00pm

Not dyeing ice! Dyeing WITH ice! Use ice as part of the dyeing process to make beautiful, colorful silk scarves. Ice-dyed scarves are incredibly fun to make and make wonderful gifts.

Ages 14+

Instructor: Julia Voake

Class Fee: $40 ($38 for members) Materials included valued at $10

Felted FolK Dolls

March 21

Saturday, 12:00-4:00pm

So many techniques are packed into this 4-hour workshop! You'll learn sculptural wet felting, needle felting, mini garment making on a resist, and hats and boots. During the first half of class, you'll construct your doll. The second half of class will include designing and wet-felting doll clothings and making finishing touches to your dolls hair and face. You'll have the option to get creative with accessories for your doll. Make it simple with a tunic, or add a little more with items like vests, pants, boots, hats, and scarves!

Beginner to Intermediate. Ages 8+

(Children 8-12 may be accompanied by an adult at no extra cost.)

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $65 ($62 LowellArts Members) Materials included valued at $10

Beginning Watercolor

April 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8

Fridays, 2:30-4:30pm

In this six-week class students will be introduced the techniques and beauty of watercolor. Students will learn about watercolor paper, tools, paints, and techniques. Watercolor skills taught in this workshop will be used to create completed projects. Drawing skills are helpful but not necessary.

Ages 14+

Instructor: Jennifer Helner

Class Fee: $140 ($130 for LowellArts Members)

Needle Felted Owls

April 11

Saturday, 10:30am-1:00pm

These adorable, fun owls are a great introductory project for those interested in needle felting. There are so many possibilities: ear tufts, no ear tufts, large or small eyes, feather patterns, and different face designs in varying colors. We'll go over wool breeds, needle types, safety precautions, sculpting bases with core wool, and "painting" the design with colorful MC-1 wool. Examples will be provided.

Beginner to Intermediate. Ages 8+

(Children 8-12 may be accompanied by an adult at no extra cost.)

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $33 ($31 LowellArts Members)

Felted Vessel Experiment

April 25

Saturday, 1:00-4:00pm

In this class, you'll use the resist techique to create a three-dimensional vessel using fine merino roving and batting. You'll receive demonstrations and instruction on fiber layout, resist material options, rolling, fulling, and shaping. You'll also learn about surface design techniques to add to your vessels.

Beginner. Ages 14+

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $46 ($43 LowellArts Members) Materials included valued at $10

Felted Spring Flowers

May 16

Saturday, 12:00-3:00pm

In this class, you'll explore the art of wet felting by creating a colorful spring flower. These flowers make lovely pins and can be added to hats, handbags, or other accessories as a beautiful embellishment. You will be instructed on fiber types and differences, layout, creating prefelts and felt balls, fulling, cutting and healing edges, sewing on beads, and shaping your finished piece.

Beginner. Ages 14+

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $38 ($35 LowellArts Members)

Playing with Poetry: Whose Line Break is This Anyway?

March 26

Thursday, 6:00-9:00pm

In this workshop, you'll look at examples of traditional and contemporary poetry and learn to determine how poets decide what form a line of poetry takes, that is, where to "break" or end a line. You'll complete exercises and prompts that will challenge you to think outside of traditional forms, like the sonnet, and consider alternative line lengths in revision. You'll have the opportunity to share a poem with your peers for critique.

Age 14+

Instructor: Phillip Sterling

Class Fee: $30 ($28 LowellArts Members)

Beginning Italic Calligraphy

April 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8

Fridays, 6:30-8:30pm

Learn the art of calligraphy with instructor Jennifer Helner. In this six week course, you'll learn how to hold a calligraphy pen and control the flow of ink onto a page as well as how to form upper and lowercase letters in modern style and join them together to create beautiful words and phrases. This class is perfect for beginners and includes exercises to practice your new skills. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to apply calligraphy to anything imaginable: quotes, envelope addressing, cards, and more! Left-handed? Please let us know!

Ages 14+

Instructor: Jennifer Helner

Class Fee: $150 (LowellArts Members $140)

Needle Felted Whale

April 11

Saturday, 1:30-4:30pm

You'll see different examples of whales and use them as inspiration to create humpback whales, narwhals, sperm whales, and beluga whales. These lovely miniatures are great introductory projects for those interested in needle felting. We will go over wool breeds, needle types, safety precautions, sculpting bases with core wool, and "painting" design with colorful MC-1 wool.

Beginner to Intermediate. Ages 8+

(Children 8-12 may be accompanied by an adult at no extra cost.)

Instructor: Samantha Coon

Class Fee: $33 ($31 LowellArts Members)

Cheesecloth Scarf Workshop

May 2
Saturday, 10:30am-12:00pm

In this workshop, you'll color a long cheesecloth scarf by brushing on liquid fabric dyes in your own unique pattern. After dyeing, you'll wrap and fold your scarf in plastic to cure for 24 hours before rinsing and drying. Your end result will be a soft, gauzy scarf that is wonderful for warmer weather and comfortable for the cooler months. This simple yet, fun technique creates vibrant colors that show beautifully!

Ages 12+

Instructor: Julia Voake

Class Fee: $35 ($33 for members) Materials included valued at $6

Instructor Bios

Samantha Coon

Samantha is a self-taught artist working in both wet and needle felting. She was introduced to both types of felting in 2009 while living in Mid-coast Maine. She has taught classes to both children and adults that including projects using resists both sculptural and wearable, surface design techniques, working with pre-felts, and introductory needle felting. She has taught classes in a variety of settings such as summer camps, nature centers, fiber festivals, homeschool groups, private lessons and gatherings, and at LowellArts.

Jennifer Helner
Jennifer is an art instructor and custom framer who lives in Lowell. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Wayne State University. Jennifer teaches calligraphy, watercolor, drawing, modern and creative lettering, and pastels at LowellArts and the Northville Art House. She also offers private lessons. Jennifer was the Featured Artist at the Northville Art House, and has been in numerous art competitions in Northville, Lowell, and Livonia. She has been custom-framing for 24 years and currently has a framing studio business at her home. Some of Jennifer’s framing clients include: Madonna University, Northville Public Schools, Kenwal Steel in Dearborn, Mood Events, and The China Closet in Birmingham.

Phillip Sterling
Author, Phillip Sterling, writes fiction and poetry. His published works include In Which Brief Stories Are Told, And Then Snow, Mutual Shores. His next book will be released in November 2019. He has won contests including 2015 Monstrosities of the Midway, 3rd Annual Dickens Christmas Fiction, and was selected for Best Small Fictions 2017. His awards include the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two Fulbright Awards, and the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. He founded the Literature In Person Reading Series at Ferris State University, where he is Professor Emeritus.

General Info
All classes / workshops require students to preregister. Walk-in registrations cannot be accommodated. Payment for the class / workshop must be received to reserve a spot in the class / workshop. Each class has a predetermined minimum and maximum enrollment. LowellArts reserves the right to cancel a class/workshop if the minimum enrollment has not been met. In the event of cancellation, students will receive a full refund.