Virtual Nordic Handcraft Workshop: Castle in the City – Playing with Architecture with Tara Sweeney

This online class takes place Tuesday-Thursday, January 12-14, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day

Are you ready to doodle and explore playful lines, simple shapes and lively colors? Close out the yearlong run of ASI’s homegrown exhibition, extra/ordinary: The American Swedish Institute. At Play. with featured artist Tara Sweeney in this fun three-day class. Perfect for anyone who needs a little artistic energy or is looking for new practices to spark creativity, this workshop uses numbers and letters to provide surprising starting points for assembling architectural details large and small in ink and watercolor. Students will follow Tara’s exercises to build a city and imagine a castle on the page, including inspiration from the Turnblad Mansion, leaving class with delightful illustrations that can provide the base for further study or be displayed or shared. All levels of ability and experience with drawing and painting are welcome.

This workshop is taught virtually over Zoom through daily live stream demos, step-by-step guidelines and templates, class sharing time, and personalized instructor feedback. Students provide their own materials; please see the materials list below, which includes a sample daily schedule. Students must have access to strong internet, a computer or tablet with video and audio capability, and will need a free Google account to join the workshop’s Google classroom.

Castle in the City materials list

Castle in the City materials list

We believe that everyone’s home is a castle worth protecting: A portion of the tuition fees from this workshop will go to the ASI Community Fund, to directly support relief efforts in the Phillips West neighborhood, which has been deeply affected by both COVID-19 and civil unrest in 2020.