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DRV Gallery provides a space where artists can connect with art enthusiasts and collectors seeking original artworks for home and office.
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This session blends collage, paint, and texture to create expressive mixed media artwork. Explore personal symbolism while enjoying calming music and a relaxed, social atmosphere.
- Spark your imagination in a beautiful, welcoming space
- Make memories with a friend, partner, or loved one
- Explore creativity in a no-pressure, guided environment
- Enjoy a delightful, sensory-rich experience that relaxes and uplifts
Instructor: Michele Renee Stone
Monthly class on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. $160 for 4 classes. Single class is $45.
Materials: Students bring their own paints, palette knives, surfaces, and tools
January 13th – Fresh Starts: Intuitive Abstraction
Kick off the year by loosening up and letting go of expectations. Students explore mark-making, gesture, and movement through guided exercises designed to tap into intuition and creative freedom.
February 10th – The Language of Color
Dive into color theory for emotional impact. Learn to build expressive color palettes that convey mood and meaning, and create a painting based on a single emotion or memory.
March 17th – Texture and Dimension
Explore acrylic mediums, gels, and impasto techniques using palette knives and mixed tools. Experiment with layering, scraping, and building tactile surfaces that bring abstract work to life.
April 14th – From Nature to Abstraction
Use natural inspiration (landscapes, botanicals, or seascapes) as a starting point. Simplify and abstract organic forms into rhythm, shape, and color.
May 12th – Music & Movement
Paint to rhythm! Use music as your muse to explore movement, tempo, and flow through expressive marks and composition. Students create one large energetic piece.
June 9th – Minimalism & Space
Explore the power of restraint. Focus on negative space, limited palettes, and balance to create elegant, contemplative abstracts that breathe.
July 14th – Abstract Landscapes
Translate the feeling of place — real or imagined — into abstraction. Focus on horizon lines, atmosphere, and layered color fields to suggest land, sky, and emotion.
August – Break
No class this month — a time for reflection and new inspiration.
September 8th – Collage & Mixed Media Abstraction
Incorporate paper, fabric, or found materials into your compositions. Learn how to integrate texture and mixed media with paint for depth and narrative.
October 13th – The Power of Contrast
Play with light and dark, rough and smooth, sharp and soft. Learn how contrast drives visual energy and creates drama within abstract compositions.
November 10th – Layers of Meaning
Work in layers—both visual and conceptual. Explore transparency, glazing, and veiling techniques to create complexity and mystery in your work.
December 8th – Reflection & Series Building
Conclude the year by reviewing your artistic journey. Students refine one or more ongoing works or create a small cohesive series. End with a relaxed group sharing and discussion and group exhibition at DRV Gallery on Dec 19th.
Seashells on wood, painted with acrylics and coated with UV resin. 16 × 17 inches.
Oil on Canvas. 12 × 16 inches. Scarlet is a perfect name for this stunning red Macaw! Number 2 in a series of exotic birds.
Bronze and copper braze welded mobile with bird, cloud and sun. 33 × 25 inches.
Workshop Date & Time: January 24, 2026, 1-4 PM
Learn to make a painting with no paint. You’ll be introduced to two-dimensional needle felting, with instruction on how to replicate a realistic image in fiber. Create something unique for yourself or create a gift unlike any other.
What You Will Learn:
You will learn how to use fiber, mostly wool, and a felting needle to create a two-dimensional painting.
Who Should Participate:
Anyone intrigued by this art form can participate. No prior experience is necessary. Students should be mature enough to handle a sharp needle.
Participant Limit: 15
The following supplies will be provided: foam, batting, fiber, needles
Participants should bring the following supplies: An image from which to work, either printed out on paper or on a tablet, phone, or laptop. If you are not sure what image to create, the instructor will provide a choice of images. A favorite felting needle if you have one and/or wool of your choosing, although this is not necessary, as supplies will be provided.
Equipment/Special Considerations: Felting needles are barbed and very sharp, but when you remain aware, there should be no issues.
About the Instructor:
Dawn Waters came to create art relatively late in life after an advertising career. She is self taught and lives in Gulfport, Florida. Since she began making fiber paintings in 2017, Dawn has received the first place award in Florida CraftArt’s 2021 Members’ Show and in Fearless Fiber at Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa FL, as well as four awards of distinction. She served as juror for Felt: Fiber Transformed 2020, Fiber Art Network, and has had her work featured on the cover of Fiber Art Now. Dawn’s felted creations have been shown in numerous galleries across the country.