Collection: Short Courses

Enrol in an immersive and dynamic workshop that explores three-dimensional slab construction with terracotta clay. The emphasis is on developing experimental slab forms with an orientation towards vessel structures. An extensive variety of in-depth surface embellishment techniques will be explored.

Explore a range of monoprint, papermaking and bookmaking techniques; transforming existing papers into surfaces for drawing, painting, printing and collage to create artists’ books; incorporate various materials to reimagine and repurpose visual ideas.   

This painting intensive draws inspiration from two major exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW. Through guided gallery visits and studio practice at the NAS campus, students will develop new perspectives in concepts, colour and depth in their paintings and mixed media. 

Curious about exploring wool as a sculptural material? Learn the core techniques of feltmaking to create seamless hollow three-dimensional forms using resists, and how to shape solid felted pieces directly in your hands and transform them into strong, tactile, and richly textured artworks. 

Ready to take your drawing skills to the next level? This course is designed to deepen your observational and expressive abilities, expand your perception and unlock new possibilities in your drawing practice. 

This exciting course combines textiles with creative drawing using diverse techniques with paper, fabric, collage and assemblage. In this course you will explore the materiality of different surfaces.  Students will be guided in sketching, painting, weaving and embroidering lines on the surface of papers and textiles.

Are you curious about working with clay and eager to try the pottery wheel? This course offers an immersive, hands-on introduction to wheel-throwing, designed especially for beginners to build a strong foundation in traditional techniques while exploring the creative forms. 

Learn the fine art of copper plate etching, a medium both steeped in tradition and one that allows for exciting approaches to contemporary art making. Discover the wonderful array of marks, tones and working processes that are possible in this alluring and engaging art form. 

Work directly from the nude figure to understand the balance between observed figuration and abstract formal qualities. All fundamental drawing elements are considered, including compositional issues of the human form, space and structure.

Explore contemporary landscape painting through a balance of outdoor drawing and indoor painting practice. On location you’ll make sketches that capture shifting light, colour, and atmosphere. In the NAS studio, you’ll experiment, reflect, and transform these studies into painted works, developing confidence through spontaneous observation and thoughtful refinement.

Are you inspired by photography and eager to take your skills to the next level? This immersive workshop will help you move beyond your camera’s automatic settings, develop creative and technical control and build the confidence to create photographs that reflect your personal vision. 

Engage your five senses in the act of drawing and experience a fresh, personal and perceptive approach to art making. From initial idea generation to the creation of resolved drawings, this course provides a pathway to dynamic and personal expression.

Learn to draw forms and structures of the human head, facial features, body dynamics and discover the connection between the ‘character’ and the ‘face’. Using pencil, charcoal, ink, wash and collage, to make quick sketches and sustained drawings from plaster casts, live models and a self-portrait.

Learn basic anatomical concepts that will enable you to grasp the essential structure and action of the figure in a few lines, leaving you free to focus on the individual character and expressive effect of your drawing, instead of struggling just to make it look like a figure!  A life model poses in each session, alternating with group and individual instructions and demonstrations referring to the model, skeleton, anatomical diagrams and master drawings.

Discover the full spectrum of screenprinting in this hands-on course for beginners which also offers new challenges for those with prior experience. Start with stencil-based techniques to build a strong foundation before moving into more advanced photographic processes, opening up wide creative possibilities.

Learn fundamental welding skills and complete small-scale welded steel sculptures. With demonstrations and techniques for using arc and MIG welders and oxyacetylene to cut, shape and bend steel, as well as ways to grind steel and use surface treatments suited to steel.

Join a comprehensive, foundation course in figure drawing to develop your technical skills and gain confidence in capturing the human form in dynamic poses in the drawing studio and in real-world environments. 

Learn to see beyond the bewildering details of your subject to gather the colour information you need to get your painting off to a great start! Discover how to think of colour in a way that enables you to mix the exact colour that you want confidently and directly, every time. The course assumes no prior knowledge and has given great results with students from beginner to advanced levels.

Learn fundamental welding skills and complete small-scale welded steel sculptures. With demonstrations and techniques for using arc and MIG welders and oxyacetylene to cut, shape and bend steel, as well as ways to grind steel and use surface treatments suited to steel.

This beginner course introduces the essentials of oil and acrylic painting through direct observation. Explore light, colour, and form in still life, landscapes, and portraits while learning composition, proportion, perspective, colour theory, and technique. Progress from monochrome studies to full colour works, building confidence and foundational painting skills. 

Curious about drawing but unsure where to start? This course is designed for beginners and those wanting to refresh their skills, offering an entry point into the fundamentals of drawing. Practical exercises will introduce you to the expressive possibilities of different media, including graphite and charcoal. 

Develop and refine your painting skills in abstraction using acrylics through the exploration of artistic techniques including style, colour and composition, resulting in visually inspiring, abstract works that are developed out of engagement with representational imagery.