June 1–12, 2026 (class meets daily, excluding the weekend June 6–7)

Course Description

This Marathon will encourage students to explore abstraction and color. Week one will begin with the immediacy of aspects of drawing and collage, students will be encouraged to break down the image(s) that they begin with and explore ways to push this image further into abstract parts, focusing on how one image can inform the next. Various approaches to drawing will be explored; including, and not limited to, expanding ideas of shape, line, intersections, scale, collage and mark making. Towards the end of the week, we will move into paint and color. Color has the ability to create mood and harmony, discords, light and surprise. Various limited palettes will be explored along with challenging ideas on texture, shape, mark making and beyond. Color will be explored in terms of light and the range that color can have within images. Curiosity and play will underline most image making of the Marathon. This course is for anyone with a curiosity to explore and the work created will develop differently for each participant.

Course Outline

A study on the first day will begin the process, with an emphasis being placed on producing a substantial quantity of drawings to find surprising images from the source material. Studies may be reworked, reinvented, combined and/or are the starting point for a series of images. These works may be reinvented over time. Exploring mark making, collage and extreme scale change. Students may find that they bring in one of their own previously produced images to work from as the source material. Various artists contemporary and historical will be discussed and analyzed as to their working habits and developments of bodies of work. Individual and group discussions will occur on an as needed basis. Students may (if they wish) use their own subject matter as the catalyst. Most days will have an element of being introduced to artists, critiques within the group and individual meetings as needed.

Course Syllabus