CAMBRIDGE — Back to school is in the air, and registration for the fall session at Dorchester Center for the Arts will soon be underway. With the ongoing pandemic limiting the number of onsite pro-grams, DCA will offer a full roster of online courses as well.

The session will feature a “Visiting Artist Series” with professional artists from several states as well as Canada, teaching in their area of expertise via the Zoom platform. Experience new instructors and new ideas all from the comforts of home!

Classes will be conducted live with the ability to engage with the instructor and other students. Supply lists will be provided. Courses will include:
Naturally Dyed Wool — One-day workshop with Chicago, Illinois artist Amy Taylor.

Learn how to naturally dye wool yarn with food-safe ingredients from the kitchen and discover a beautiful range of colors from onion skins, coffee grounds, turmeric, and more.
Amy will guide participants through each step as they dye their own yarn for future projects and learn about additional dye supplies that can be found in the grocery store or garden.

Amy Taylor is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and creates exquisite textiles using only natural dye materials such as plants, insects, and mineral salts. With a passion for eco-friendly materials and ethical fashion, her work focuses creating high quality, one-of-a-kind garments.

Scratchboard — One-day workshop with Ontario, Canada artist Alex Boersma.
Learn how to create dramatic black-and-white images using scratchboard. The board itself is a panel covered with a thin layer of white China clay, and then coated with black India ink.
Scratching tools are used to scrape away the ink layer, revealing the white underneath. A great experiment for those with experience in pen and ink who wish to add to their toolbox, and those who are interested in the style of woodcuts, but without the printing process.
Alex Boersma is freelance scientific illustrator and designer. Having completed a Master’s in Science Illustration at CSU Monterey Bay, Alex is currently based in Chicago with a work focus on using visual storytelling to engage the public in scientific ideas and the natural world.
Fundamentals of Self-Portraiture — Six-week course with Morehead City, N.C. artist Emily Hobgood Thomas.

This course will teach students about the history behind the self-portrait and how to use the basics of drawing to construct the head. Includes history and variations of portraiture, contour line drawings, spatial head drawings, making a portrait using an eraser, abstracting the traditional portrait, shading, charcoal drawings, and a share and compare session.
Emily Hobgood Thomas received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Greensboro. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from UNC at Chapel Hill. She is a current Lecturer and Teaching Fellow for Drawing I and Color Theory, The Dept. of Art and Art History, UNC at Chapel Hill.
Additional online courses will include writing, art history, color theory and collage. Watch for the full fall catalog with onsite and online programming on the DCA website in the coming weeks.

Dorchester Center for the Arts is dedicated to enriching Maryland’s Eastern Shore community through high quality, engaging programming in the visual, literary, musical, and performing arts.
For current updates visit online at dorchesterarts.org and on social media. Programs at DCA are supported by the Maryland State Arts Council.