Collection: Short Courses

Learn how to throw pots with a strong architectural form to create objects of simplicity and beauty. Explore the basic structures, movements and techniques of wheelforming in this hands-on course and become proficient on the potter’s wheel.

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. 

Explore the potential for chance encounters between images and words inspired by the art of Rene Magritte. Increase your painting skills to create original imagery with dream-like associations and meanings.

Photo credit: Art Gallery of NSW, www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/magritte/ 

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 popular course combines the fundamentals of painting with an emphasis on creating original artworks from real life subjects. Enjoy taking chances and moving out of your comfort zone as you gain confidence in your art practice!

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the Australian art world, a rich and complex ecosystem that bridges public exhibitions and collections, commercial galleries, university and art school galleries, art fairs, artist and community run initiatives, and private collections.

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 acclaimed Australian artist Juz Kitson’s two-day experimental porcelain masterclass and delve deeply into the making process, exploring new ways of manipulating and pushing the porcelain to create challenging and innovative objects. 

Do you want to learn to draw in a way that’s responsive to the unique qualities of your subject? and to the expressive effect of your drawing’s abstract elements? Discover how to draw with graphite pencils, chalk and ink from subjects such as the still life, the life model and on-location at the historic NAS campus.

Are you short on time but eager to learn how to take great photos? In this week-long photography workshop, you'll break free from automatic settings and master the fundamentals of manual exposure, enhancing your creative control over your shots.

Discover the sensuous beauty of classical oil painting techniques and be guided through a series of structured exercises and demonstrations of methods and specific ways of using materials. 

Ignite your understanding and enjoyment of watercolour drawing and painting by learning traditional methods and contemporary mark-making techniques. Learn to paint the colours of changing light and to capture its beauty with transparent watercolour painting methods, both in the studio and at outdoor locations.

Learn everything there is to know about welded steel sculpture, and the safe use of oxy acetylene, arc and MIG welding techniques. With demonstrations of joining, cutting, shaping, grinding and bending steel to produce successful sculptures.

Develop skills, techniques and insights while drawing the three dimensional world of the urban environment. Deborah Marks will guide you through the fundamental drawing concepts that enable a responsive approach to the drawn environment: line, scale, perspective, volume in space, positive/negative spatial relationships, value and composition.

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.

Immerse yourself in the world of photographic portraiture with renowned photographer Anne Zahalka. Explore your own visual language while composing contemporary, staged portraits in both professional studio settings and outdoor environments.

Explore the art of monoprinting and the creation of original prints using stencils and drawing techniques, with a variety of textured materials. Learn simple bookbinding methods and delve into the nuances of layering, printing, and colour processes to produce unique and dynamic prints. 

Enhance your expressive capabilities and expand your visual vocabulary with a focus on drawing and mixed media. Learn to use collage as a dynamic tool to explore subject matter, balance compositions, test colour and spatial relationships and venture outside your comfort zone. 

Learn the art of clay modelling and create a life-size portrait bust that captures both likeness and character. Discover the techniques and principles of working with clay, exploring its plastic properties to sculpt a 1:1 scale portrait. 

Are you interested in the history of drawing and would like to refine your skills? Learn the classical drawing techniques of silverpoint on prepared paper, red and black chalk on tinted paper and ink drawing with reed pen, quill and brush. With demonstrations and practical methods to inspire your contemporary drawing practice.