Studio Arts Programs

The studio arts program at MMAM give visitors a chance to immerse themselves in a new art-making form, and to learn a new skill. Different workshops are geared towards different art forms, ages, and skill levels.

Upcoming MMAM workshops:

 
Featured
Workshop: Willow Hamper Baskets with Zac Fittipaldi
Jan 18
Workshop: Willow Hamper Baskets with Zac Fittipaldi

Immerse yourself in the traditional art of willow basketry! Join us for a hands-on workshop where you’ll learn to weave your very own baskets using homegrown willow. You'll learn from Zac Fittipaldi, with nearly two decades of experience, he has guided students to create hundreds of beautiful baskets.

Craft + Cocktail: Block Print Bar Towels with Lindsay Krage
Feb 13
Craft + Cocktail: Block Print Bar Towels with Lindsay Krage

Join us for a fun night out at this Craft + Cocktail workshop on Thursday, February 13 from 6-8pm. You’ll craft unique cocktails with a Water Bar mixologist, enjoying each sip as you create a new craft. Under the guidance of Lindsay Krage, you'll also design and block print your own custom bar towel, perfectly paired with your cocktails!

→ Learn more and register.

Workshop: Creating Characters with Aimee Kuiper
Mar 1
Workshop: Creating Characters with Aimee Kuiper

This "Create a Character" workshop invites kids to unleash their imagination and bring unique characters to life through illustration. Through guided exercises and creative prompts, attendees will learn to draw characters with distinct personalities. We'll explore facial structure, how to incorporate unique features, and develop their character to enhance storytelling skills.

→ Learn more and register.

“Very pleasant experience. I was looking for an uplifting experience that lifted me to another level of understanding the creating process.”
— Workshop Participant

Scholarships

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum studio arts workshop scholarship fund has been made available thanks to a grant funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board. While anyone with financial need is welcome to apply, the goals of the scholarship program are as follows (in no particular order): to increase the diversity of age and race in our student body; to offer opportunities to local residents of the Winona area; to support the learning of those with professional aspirations in a particular craft area; and to make our programming available to those with financial need.

An individual may receive one scholarship per year maximum. Scholarships cover full tuition and materials fee, though participants are required to supply any additional required materials.

Support for the Studio Arts Program

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

hospitality partner

Previous MMAM workshops:

Featured
Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company
Nov 16
Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company

Unlock a lifetime exploring the quiet, waking river backwaters or northwoods lakes by learning to make your own canoe paddle with Sanborn Canoe Company and the Minnnesota Marine Art Museum.

Workshop: Clay, Assemblage and Contemporary Craft
Oct 25
Workshop: Clay, Assemblage and Contemporary Craft

This two-day workshop with instructors, Mary Beth Magyar and Lisa Truax, teaches participants to use press and texture molds, make sprig molds, incorporate natural objects, use templates, and hand building techniques to create unique pieces of functional pottery and sculptural objects.

Workshop: Ink and Watercolor Sketching with Kar-Keat Chong
Sep 20
Workshop: Ink and Watercolor Sketching with Kar-Keat Chong

Artist Kar-Keat Chong will lead a workshop on sketching with watercolor and ink. Participants will be exposed to multiple ink medium pens and learn how to sketch and shade with them. Once participants grasp the basic ink sketching techniques, they will learn how to incorporate watercolor into their ink sketches.

Weaving Water Workshop: Free Fiber and Indigo for All
May 18
Weaving Water Workshop: Free Fiber and Indigo for All

MMAM will host a public Weaving Water Workshop on Saturday May 18 from 3:00-5:00pm. Registration is preferred, but not required. Drop in and become a part of a pop-up public indigo and fiber art studio designed by Minneapolis artist Sarah Nassif. Sarah and her Weaving Water Workshops create space for people to gather, play with natural dye and fiber, and share personal connections to textile traditions, water bodies and the Mississippi River.

Weaving Water Workshop: Natural Plant Dyes
May 17
Weaving Water Workshop: Natural Plant Dyes

Learn the basics of natural dyeing and fiber art skills with MMAM exhibiting artist, Karen Goulet (White Earth Ojibwe Nation/Métis), Dr. Tammy Greer (Houma), and Weaving Water Workshop founder, Sarah Nassif.

Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company
Oct 14
Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company
From Borders to Betweens and Beyond: Plein Air as Information and Inspiration
Sep 29
From Borders to Betweens and Beyond: Plein Air as Information and Inspiration

In this deeply exploratory, yet hands-on plein air workshop, you’ll be mentored by two of Minnesota’s master painters, Fred Somers and Kami Mendlik, as they impart and share their philosophies and approach to studying directly from nature.

Watercolor Journey: Plein Air Workshop
Sep 29
Watercolor Journey: Plein Air Workshop

Join David R. Smith on a Watercolor Journey outdoors, learning the most valuable watercolor concepts and techniques.  This workshop will save you countless hours of trial & error by demonstrating an effective approach to painting outdoors that will open new doors of discovery and creativity. 

Plein Air Invitational Exhibition & Sale
Sep 28
Plein Air Invitational Exhibition & Sale

Twelve renowned plein air painters will display their work in the atrium and shoppe of the Minnesota Marine Art Museum Thursday, September 28 through Sunday, October 1, from 10am - 5pm each day. The Plain Air Invitational Exhibition is free to visit, but the galleries of MMAM do require admission.

Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company
Jun 24
Paddle Making Workshop with Sanborn Canoe Company
[SOLD OUT] Printmaking Workshop: Botanicals with Matt Wagner
Mar 25
[SOLD OUT] Printmaking Workshop: Botanicals with Matt Wagner
[SOLD OUT] Family Printmaking Workshop with Ian Hanesworth
Jan 29
[SOLD OUT] Family Printmaking Workshop with Ian Hanesworth

Artist, Ian Hanesworth, will lead a family printmaking workshop on January 29 from 1pm - 2:30pm. Hanesworth has an exhibition at MMAM titled Ian Hanesworth: Fragments of this Living Earth that is on view January 28 - April 30, 2023 at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.