2023 Summer Workshops

This workshop is part of our Social Justice Week.
As a visual artist, drawing can be one of your most useful tools. The history of drawing is rooted in urgency, in thought formulation and preparation for something larger. However, the process can also be a radical creative practice in itself. Working from observation and photographic sources, with an emphasis on mixed media strategies and image transfer techniques, this course will explore figuration and personal narrative as a space for political reflection. Parallel to our conversations about how these subjects relate to our personal histories and current political climate, we will emphasize a sketchbook practice as a space to explore various mediums such as graphite, ink, watercolor, acrylic, and marker, as well as develop subject matter and composition. For the final project, each participant will use their individual visual research to create a larger mixed media narrative work on paper using the techniques of your choice.
Biography
Esteban del Valle received his M.F.A. from RISD and has exhibited his work and produced murals internationally. His work has been featured in various publications, including HiFructose and Washington Post. Del Valle has been the recipient of several visual arts residencies and fellowships including Skowhegan, FAWC, and Smack Mellon. Del Valle also has original work in several permanent collections including the Urban Nation in Berlin, Germany and The Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ.