Over the years, capturing the unique beauty of the Brandywine River has been a staple for many Wilmington artists. In this program, you will paint alongside your fellow artists, finding your personal interpretation of our local treasure. The first day of each week will be a short lecture/demonstration on painting in the Loper tradition, which will guide you in picking a location, designing your canvas and how to get started. We will meet up at the end of every day and do a group discussion of the day’s work.
First day lectures: 8:30 am June 8, June 15, July 6 and July 13 at the fountain in the park at the crossroads of N. Van Buren St. and N. Park Dr.
Daily critique/discussion 12:30 pm at the Fountain in the park at the crossroads of N. Van Buren and N. Park drive
Bring along what ever beverages and food you need to stay hydrated and fed while you paint.
June 8–12 weather makeup dates: June 22-26
June 15–19 weather makeup dates: June 22-26
July 6–10 weather makeup dates: July 20-24
July 13–17 weather makeup dates: July 20-24
Discover the vibrancy and realism you can achieve with colored pencil! Topics in this class include structural and expressive line quality, color relationships, layering and blending, capturing light and volume. We will be drawing from still lives, botanical subjects and your favorite photographs from your photo collection, and art history master copies. Learn about the science of color theory and diverse applications of colored pencil. Previous drawing experience required. We will also experiment with watercolor pencil brands that mix with water and “paint” with watercolor pencils.
Additionally, the class will focus on exercises to build and polish your drawing skills introducing the next steps from drawing to beginners. Each session will include demonstrations to improve your hand-eye coordination and learn the steps and tools to create your drawing masterpieces! Intermediate level suggested.
Enjoy the fun of painting “en plein air”—painting directly from nature on location using the medium of your choice. Instructor Charley Parker will demonstrate in water mixable oil, but he is also experienced in traditional oil, gouache, acrylic, ink and watercolor.
Topics include: finding a landscape subject and creating a composition; starting a painting; understanding value and edges; creating textures to suggest foliage, tree trunks, grasses, and other surfaces; brush handling; paint mixing; understanding the color characteristics of hue, value and chroma; and mixing a wide range of colors from a simple, limited palette. The class will include demonstration by the instructor as well as individual instruction at each student’s level of experience.
Join us for relaxed summer mornings of painting in nature in beautiful surroundings.
Do you feel overwhelmed by the digital landscape? Here’s your sign to put your screens to sleep and reawaken your senses in the natural world. Pack your favorite sketching supplies and your sense of wonder for weekly nature journaling excursions with award-winning illustrator Kate Garchinsky. In these casual sketch meetups, Kate will provide step-by-step strategies for effective and rewarding nature journaling in the field. Part art class, part scientific process and part mindfulness practice, you’ll learn journaling prompts, fine-tune your observation skills, and ground yourself in the present moment. Discover a visual language to create poetry and stories. No prior art experience or skills are required—just a sense of curiosity about wild plants and animals. There are hardly any straight lines to draw in nature!
Note—First class meets at the Delaware Art Museum education wing. Subsequent classes may meet in outdoor locations such as Brandywine Park, Wilmington Waterfront, or Brandywine Creek State Park, weather permitting.
Kate Garchinsky is a professional illustrator and painter with roots in the tidal marshes of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She is the illustrator of seven children’s books and an Eckelberry Fellow at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia.
For seven years, she illustrated the award-winning The Secret Life series of narrative nonfiction picture books, written by Laurence Pringle (Boyds Mills Press, Astra Books for Young Readers, 2017-2023) and Belle’s Journey: An Osprey Takes Flight, written by Dr. Rob Bierregaard (Charlesbridge, 2018). Her atmospheric, realistic depictions of mammals in these books have received recognition from the National Science Teachers Association, the California and New Jersey reading associations, School Library Journal, and the Animal Behavior Society, among others.
When she’s not teaching, birding, or making art, Kate enjoys live music, native gardening, hiking, and traveling with her husband and best friend, Brian. Together, they live with their two indoor kitties, Julia and Spenser, and their rescue pittie mix, Ruby Roo, in a little blue house in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. Visit her website at kategarchinsky.com, and find her on social media as @kategarchinsky.
Singing Clay explores ancient clay hand-building techniques through the creation of sculptural and functional ceramic works inspired by contemporary and historical folk-art traditions. Students will learn and practice three foundational hand-building methods—pinch, coil, and slab construction—used for thousands of years across cultures.
The course places special emphasis on the creation of folk-art ocarinas, examining their historical and cultural significance as sound-producing objects. Students will learn how to construct functional ocarinas and creatively incorporate sound elements into dishes and vessels, allowing ceramic forms to quite literally produce a voice. Through hands-on making, historical references, and guided experimentation, students will create works that merge functions, sculpture, and sound.
This course invites students to explore the dynamic intersection of function and sculpture through the art of Scopin pottery. Emphasizing both wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques, students will learn to create functional pieces—such as bowls, cups, and vessels—while incorporating sculptural elements that elevate their work beyond traditional pottery.
Through a combination of guided exercises, demonstrations, and individual projects, students will develop skills in wheel-thrown forms, hand-built attachments, and surface treatments. Special attention will be given to integrating functional design with expressive, sculptural forms, allowing students to experiment with creative approaches inspired by the rich heritage of Scopin pottery.
By the end of the course, participants will have developed a versatile skill set, enabling them to produce functional ceramics that are both practical and artistically compelling.
Are you interested in taking your passion of photography to the next level? This 8-week course will include hands-on photography skills such as bracketing, Panoramas, night photography, use of different types of lighting sources and more. It will include advanced processing techniques such as focus stacking, merging bracketed photographs into an HDR image, and merging photographs into a panoramic image. It will also include discussion and demonstrations of different types of equipment. At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to capture photographs that you will want to hang on your walls.
Prerequisite class or experience – Basic photography or equivalent
June 15, 6 pm – 9 pm – Class in Conference Room
June 20, 1 pm – 4 pm– Field trip to Hagley Museum
June 22, 6 pm – 9 pm– Class in Conference Room
June 27, 1 pm – 4 pm– Field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary
June 29, 6 pm – 9 pm– Class in Conference Room
July 4, 8 pm – 11 pm – Fireworks in Camden with Philadelphia Backdrop (BONUS FIELD TRIP)
July 6, 6 pm – 9 pm– Class in Conference Room
July 13, 6 pm – 9 pm– Class in Conference Room
July 20, 6 pm – 9 pm– Night Photography Field Trip – TBD
July 27, 6 pm – 9 pm– Class in Conference Room
Aspiring young illustrators will share their stories with original cartoon creations! The museum’s one of a kind illustration collection will serve as inspiration as the campers create artwork full of imagination. Projects include illustrated color cartoons and 3D characters made out of clay.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Campers will go on an epic adventure and envision their own fantastical worlds as they delve into stories from all across the globe and deep dive into the Museum’s most beloved paintings of pirates and mermaids. Projects include “far far away” landscapes, mythological sculptures and magical clay creations.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
This session is all about Things That Move! Campers will find inspiration all over the museum in sculptures that spin, paintings of animals. And illustrations of vehicles. Campers will use a variety of materials to create their own kinetic sculptures and other works of art featuring THINGS THAT MOVE!
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, and even the Museum’s outdoor sculptures will serve as inspiration for this session. Campers will capture the beauty of nature with a variety of mediums.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Create one of a kind treasure from ordinary materials! Campers will reconfigure everyday objects with creative twists to make unique works of art.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Students will develop their leadership, communication skills, and creative thinking through engaging activities. From learning the fundamentals of projection, articulation, and dramatic movement to building self confidence through imaginative character building and group scenes, our class offers a fun and educational experience.
This session is all about carving, building, forming, and sculpting! Campers will find inspiration in a variety of three–dimensional artworks on display in the Copeland Sculpture Garden and inside the Museum. Using various materials from cardboard to clay, campers will make nature installations, leaning towers, ceramic sculptures, and much more!
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Campers will go on an adventure through the Museum exploring animals in some of our most beloved works of art and will be inspired by all kinds of creatures, both real and imagined! Projects include fantastical ceramic figures, cut paper designs, and creative creatures large and small.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.
Travel the world through art! Campers will learn about a variety of cultures and locales creating everything form ceramic vessels inspired by Ancient Greece to contemporary painted folk art.
The Delaware Art Museum’s summer program provides a creative experience with professional instruction in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Young artists explore drawing, painting, ceramics, and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio as well as throughout the Museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is from 9 am – 4 pm. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends.
We are pleased to offer before and after care for our students and their families. Before care is from 8–9am and costs $15 per day or $75.00 per week. After care is from 4–5:30pm and costs $22 per day or $112 per week.