Learning for Adults

Through guided instruction, students will learn to craft basic three-dimensional shapes from two-dimensional material. Starting with paper and working towards the use of recycled cardboard, students will create sculptures of their own design and desired scale within a two-hour time frame. These sculptures might range anywhere in topic from up-scale cassette tapes to small scale fairy homes. The only things you can’t build out of cardboard are the things you can’t think of.

At a young age, Samantha Soper knew she wanted to be an artist. Samantha was born and raised in the mountains and has always been strongly inspired by her natural surroundings. An avid adventurer, Samantha has traveled to destinations as far reached as Italy, Scotland, Ireland, and Thailand and draws inspiration from both the fantastic stories told across the globe, and those told close to home. As an interdisciplinary artist focusing largely on the world of fantasy, she hopes to share with others a unique view of the world and of the magic she perceives as existing within it.

In this class, students will learn case bookbinding techniques from local artist Ellen Wilkins. Each student will be able to fully customize their notebook to create a sketchbook, diary, or travel journal specific to their needs and practices. We will also discuss daily writing, sketching and planning practices in this class.

Ellen found herself in Jackson four years ago after graduating from Clemson University during the pandemic. She quickly fell in love with skiing, the access to the outdoors and the beauty of this place. Her interests can be linked through a web of art, science, community, and continual learning; and have manifested in organic farming, gardening, printmaking and landscape design. Her favorite food is anything pickled, and one thing she truly misses about her home in South Carolina is her nieces and nephews.

In this class, instructor Dahee Kim will guide you through the fundamentals of drawing with pencils. We’ll focus on using just pencils and erasers—sometimes even without an eraser—to explore the versatility of this medium.

Throughout the course, you will learn essential techniques for creating value, texture, and contrast. We’ll discuss how to observe your subjects closely and translate those observations onto paper, bringing your drawings to life. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this class will provide you with the tools and confidence to express your creativity through pencil drawing. Join us for an engaging and inspiring artistic journey!

Dahee Kim is an aspiring artist with a passion for pottery, painting, and drawing and based in Jackson Hole, WY, originally from South Korea. Drawing inspiration from nature and emotions, Dahee seeks to express the special and unique beauty of nature that surrounds us. Dahee believes in the power of art to connect people and evoke emotions. Currently, Dahee is excited to explore new techniques and push creative boundaries in this class.

In this fun, hands-on online class (via Zoom), we will do some gesture drawing exercises together. You will learn to make quick, simplified sketches of an animal subject. This process will improve your perception and skill in capturing what is essential about the subject. You will learn to capture energy, movement and action with a minimal amount of detail. This class will benefit you as an artist, no matter what your preferred medium and subject matter might be.

The artwork of Kathryn Mapes Turner is closely tied to the mountain valley of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She was the fourth generation raised on the Triangle X Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. Here her consciousness of the natural world began.
Turner began studying art in her teens from noted local painters. She attended the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Studio Arts. She spent an influential semester in Rome, Italy, and studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. Turner has a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Having been passionate about painting since childhood, Turner is now nationally recognized with top honors from the American Impressionist Society and the National Academy of Equine Art and the Southeast Wildlife Exposition as the 2017 Featured Artist. Her list of awards and recognitions continues to grow.

Turner owns and features her work at Turner Fine Art Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. www.turnerfineart.com

Greta Gretzinger has worked as an artist in the Jackson Hole, Wyoming/Driggs, Idaho area since 1988. She is known primarily as a muralist but also does a variety of other custom painting and portraits as well as graphic design and illustration. Her work is whimsical, colorful and fun. The use of local characters, humor and situations are trademarks of her art. She particularly likes to add something that has a humorous twist on traditional themes or subjects. She has painted murals in many local businesses and homes in addition to creating work throughout the western United States.

Greta's murals can be seen in Jackson, Wyoming at the New York City Sub Shop, The Merry Piglets, The Rocky Mountain Oyster, Pearl Street Bagels and the biggest one, in the alley beside the Sundance Inn.

Greta became a muralist more by chance than deliberate choice. Working as a sign painter for several years, she became comfortable with large format work and wanted to create her own, original work. It seemed, for her, a natural progression to creating outdoor murals. She derives joy in the making of her work and the anticipated pleasure it will give others. She injects humor and whimsy into her work as a way to create an immediate connection with her viewers. “Humor”, the artist explains, “is a way to draw people in so that they might first enjoy the artwork without feeling it’s too cerebral or inaccessible. No one has to worry about whether they understand.”

Gouache painting with Ben Walter

Benjamin Walter is a young landscape artist in Jackson Hole. He started drawing as soon as he could hold a crayon and discovered landscape painting during a summer class at the age of 11. Mentored by a painter in Philadelphia from the ages of 11-18, he learned the fundamentals of classical art. After receiving a master’s degree from the University of Oxford in Classical Languages and Literature, Benjamin moved to Jackson, Wyoming in 2015. Since then he has participated in local plein air festivals, taught art, held private shows, and painted commissions.

Create a beautiful, one of a kind landscape in mixed media. Learn how to use acrylic and other water based media to design an expressive, colorful landscape on a wood block. We will observe and explore basic forms through drawing exercises.

We will then layer transparent, fluid colors to create a unique landscape. Experimentation for a loose, abstract style is encouraged. This creative approach will energize each student’s unique style and produce expressive results.

BIO: Sue Tyler’s images reference the Western landscape: its seasons, light, geology, inhabitants, and history. Sue was born in Idaho and began exploring the landscape at an early age. In 1983 Sue settled in Teton Valley, Idaho, and taught high school art for 25 years. In 2013 she began painting full time.
Sue paints plein air and studio landscapes in acrylic, watercolor and mixed media. Her work has shown throughout the Western states, winning awards in state, local and national shows.

Sue continues to enjoy teaching art to others and creating partnerships with nonprofit agencies, especially conservation groups, through her art.
https://suetyler.com

This class is for those interested in self expression using the beauty of color with water. It is perfect for those wanting to paint more loosely, or wanting to try painting for the first time. This class is great for beginners, but intermediate and advanced artists are encouraged to join who want a relaxing time full of inspiration and creativity.

The class will also include fun color mixing studies, drawing, personal style development, how to get out of an artist’s block, and ways to love your own art!

By the end of this class you will feel like you can do this on your own and will have the confidence to add more art into your life. Which leads to feeling better all around, so let’s make art!

BIO: Shana Stegman is an artist representative as well as Gallery owner. She offers art classes and one-on-one painting sessions at her studio and gallery. She has helped multiple artists get their start in different mediums, as well as helping them learn how to sell their work. She works in several different media such as acrylic, pen & ink, linocuts, fabric design, and of course watercolor.

We will begin with a discussion of sculpture, media (from wood to metal to stone to mixed media), and the tools used. You will be shown how to carve a simple wooden shorebird. You'll see examples of the bird at various stages and there will be a few choices for the finished bird. We will go through the steps along the way, talk about wood grain, species to use, tools, etc.

Participants will not have time to complete a finished sculpture during the class, but they will receive enough information to start carving. Following the online class, I will be available via emailed photos of their work to give input on progress and field questions.

BIO: After earning degrees in Conservation from Purdue University, Dan Burgette worked twenty-seven years as a park ranger in Grand Teton National Park. He retired in 2004 and now lives near Tetonia, ID. He has been creating bird sculptures for over forty years using wood, metal and stone with an emphasis on interpretive pieces. In 2001 and 2011, he won the Best in World Interpretive Wood Sculpture award at the Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championship. In 2022 he will receive the Living Legend award from the Ward Foundation. He is a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists and Artists for Conservation, and is an Elected member of the National Sculpture Society. His piece “Peep Show” is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY.
http://burgetteart.com

Coyote Shook is a cartoonist and Ph.D. student in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin where they make comics about disability and American aquatic environmental history. Coyote’s comic art frequently includes wildlife, such as bears, moose, turkeys, vultures, turkey vultures, and bison. Their comics have been featured in or are in publication with South Dakota Review, Shenandoah, The San Antonio Review, Honey Literary Magazine, The Ransom Center Magazine, The Puritan, The Florida Review, North Dakota Quarterly, The Carolina Folklore Journal, and Camas magazine. Their debut graphic novel, Coyote the Beautiful, was the winner of the 2020 Jeanne Leiby Chapbook Contest with The Florida Review (the first comic to win). This summer Coyote is working for the National Museum of Wildlife Art as the Lillian Thomason Gemar Education Intern.

Recent honor: published in Camas Magazine

Wendell Locke Field was born in 1965 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and raised on a dairy farm. It was there on the farm, in the woods and lakes that he began to observe, sketch, and develop a deep curiosity and love of the natural world.

Supposing that it shouldn’t be possible to do your life for a living, Wendell graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1987 with a degree in agriculture economics. It didn’t take him long to realize that ignoring his true calling would be his soul’s death.

For the better part of three decades, Field has created art that reflects his deliberately simple life in Jackson Hole while also traveling extensively in Asia, Africa, and South America. A profound recognition of spirit is always present in Wendell’s work. His mountains reflect authority, his villages appear as places of soulful refuge and throughout all, there is a collective grace. www.wendellfield.com

The artwork of Kathryn Mapes Turner is closely tied to the mountain valley of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She was born as the fourth generation to be raised on the Triangle X Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. Here her consciousness of the natural world began.

Turner began studying art in her teens from noted local painters. She attended the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Studio Arts. She spent an influential semester in Rome, Italy, and studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. Turner has a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Having been passionate about painting since childhood, Turner is now nationally recognized with top honors from the American Impressionist Society and the National Academy of Equine Art and the Southeast Wildlife Exposition as the 2017 Featured Artist. Her list of awards and recognitions continue to grow.

Turner owns and features her work at Turner Fine Art Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. www.turnerfineart.com

Andrew Kneeland is a wildlife and outdoor painter from southwestern Wyoming. Privately tutored as a young student, he has now spent 6 years as a professional artist. Andrew has won several state and national awards and competitions for wildlife art, including the National Junior Duck Stamp and the Wyoming Conservation Stamp. As well, he is a craftsman and local potter. He has a passion for teaching audiences of every age to explore their own gifts and abilities. His approach to painting is simple and easy to follow, inspiring beginners as well as cultivating new concepts in wildlife art with experienced
artists.
www.andrewkneelandart.com

Jennifer L. Hoffman’s oils and pastels often evoke a quiet meditation on the land that surrounds her home. Born and raised in eastern Pennsylvania, her earliest artistic inquiries were attempts to capture the landscape and birds around her. Her inspiration still comes from the nature and wildlife around her home, now in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Hoffman gathers her ideas on location, then uses those studies to create larger work in the studio. Hoffman has twice won the George Inness Jr. Memorial Award for Pastel at the Salmagundi Club’s annual open juried exhibition, and in 2018 was awarded Best Body of Work at both Yellowstone Plein Air and Plein Air for the Park (Grand Teton National Park). Her work is in the permanent collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Her work is represented by Turner Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming, and on her website, www.jlhoffmanfineart.com.

Illustrator Tim Musso is our 2024 Bull-Bransom winner for his woodcut illustrations in "Chasing the Sun", a children's book also authored by Musso. In this introduction to block-printing class, Musso demonstrated different carving and printing techniques using rubber blocks and ink. Students sketched their own design or used a transfer before carving into their blocks. By the end of the class, each student produced a set of prints to take home.

Tim Musso is an artist and naturalist who exhibits his work internationally. The themes of his artwork are inspired by remote cross-country backpacking trips around the world. It was on one of these trips in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that he first encountered the Arctic tern. His fascination with nature, innate curiosity, and preferred medium of relief printing coalesced in the creation of his first picture book, "Chasing the Sun".

The floral portraits that Mary Lohuis creates allow for close inspection of and an opportunity to enjoy the intricacies of our broader landscape. Through close observation, Mary is able to enjoy and appreciate the colors, shapes, seasonal rhythms and interactions in individual blooms and stems. In this live class, we used line and color to explore the shapes and flow of the smaller segments in our natural world.

Mary moved to Jackson Hole in 1971. Her career and life work developed as a commercial and graphic artist. Since retirement, she has been active in the Plein Air Painting Group through the Art Association.

Learn or improve your tapestry skills while surrounded by the natural beauty of the National Museum of Wildlife Art. While weaving on a Navajo-style loom, you will have the opportunity to select fibers hand-dyed by Doris from the plants and minerals that will play an important part in your tapestry design. Weaving en plein air allows you to capture the effects of weather and light that would otherwise be difficult to produce in a studio environment.

Doris Florig began a lifelong quest seeking out people with a cultural history of textile arts starting in the early 70s. Through travel, teaching, and exhibiting, her weaving art skills have evolved like our changing environment. With a focus on Plein Air, Doris weaves people and nature together.

In this class, participants learned to paint with paper to create a winter forest scene. They utilized texture and layer paper using Kris’s paper collage technique to create an almost three-dimensional landscape.

Kris Batchelder is a self-created artist specializing in paper collage works. Before opening into her own artistic expression, she was able to absorb many of the world's finest artists' works firsthand through her extensive travels and adventuring. After becoming certified as an Integrative Life Coach, Kris decided it was time to “walk her talk” and reclaim the personal creative talent she had always projected onto others. What has resulted are a collection of works into which Kris has woven her passion for nature and the great outdoors. This class will take place from 6-8 p.m. on March 12, at the Museum.

In this class, participants learned to create winter wonderlands with different techniques and variations in watercolor. They concentrated on developing snow touched mountains, frosted trees, frozen lakes, and different snowy effects. Lots of play and lots of painting!

Shana Stegman has been a teacher and supporter of the arts for the majority of her career. Originally a screen printer, she has studied various art mediums with a concentration in watercolor. She developed a mobile art business, yellowHOUSEcollective, where she teaches art classes, promotes locally made artists, and offers pop-up events. Her goal is to always create art while providing an outlet for other artists to expand their style and skills. This class will take place from 6-8 p.m. on February 13, at the Museum.

The Floral Portraits that Mary Lohuis creates allow for close inspection of and an opportunity to enjoy the intricacies of our broader landscape. Through close observation, Mary is able to enjoy and appreciate the colors, shapes, seasonal rhythms and interactions in individual blooms and stems. In this fun, live class, we will use line and color to explore the shapes and flow of the smaller segments in our natural world. You will learn some natural history about our subjects along the way.

Mary moved to Jackson Hole in 1971. Her career and life work developed as a commercial and graphic artist. Since retirement, she has been active in the Plein Air Painting Group through the Art Association. This class will took place from 6-8 p.m. on January 9, at the Museum.

In this class participants designed, carved, and printed their own linocuts to create a set of identical relief prints. Experimenting with color layering through either multi-block or reduction printing, as well as different methods of hand printing.

The class began with an introduction to the process and materials, and then a demonstration of different carving and printing techniques. By the end of this class, participants had their own edition of matching prints.

Liz is a recent graduate of the University of Wyoming, where she received her BA in Studio Art. She fell in love with printmaking for its versatility, and it's deep historical connections and traditions. Bright colors, strong shapes, and whimsical, dream-like imagery feature in much of Liz’s artwork (as well as quite a few birds). Liz is working from the National Museum of Wildlife Art as the Lillian Thomason Gamar Education intern this summer.

Participants joined local artist and author Amy Ringholz to create and paint tiny animal mounts out of air dry clay. Ringholz guided attendees as they explored color, pattern, and design while shaping sculptural wall mounts.

Known for her atypical color combinations and bold, saturated colors, Ringholz’s palette begins with earth tones and then often advances to bright hues. In addition, her animal subjects seem to display human qualities that engage the viewer through the power of personality and eye contact. Her unique process; drawing in ink then adding colors inspired by the west, brings her renditions of the animal kingdom to life. Ringholz was chosen as one of Southwest Art Magazine’s “21 Under 31 Emerging Artists” of 2005.

In this in-person class, attendees learned Connor’s process for the creation of an abstract work of art. The goal was for each participant to complete a sketch and begin experimentation with oil paints to create their own piece. No experience with oils was necessary. Come and learn from and enjoy the process of abstraction!

Connor Liljestrom (b. 1995, Jackson, WY) Graduated with a BA in fine art from the University of Wyoming in 2019, where he gained recognition through scholarship awards, portfolio review, and residency selection. Since then, his works have sold out at solo exhibitions and been collected privately nationally, and internationally. His standout emergent success has supported the establishment of an exclusive partnership with New West Fine Art. His solo exhibitions with New West Fine Art include ‘The Last of the Old West’ (2020). His work references mythologies, Hollywood and pop culture, natural history, colonialism, and the canon of Western-centric art history. Liljestrom layers these references such that a platform for the viewer is created to either enter conversation centered around these subjects or be introduced to them for the first time all together. He works primarily in oil and mixed oil media. He lives and works in Jackson, Wyoming.

Are you curious to try oil painting but don’t know where to start? Maybe you have some experience with oil paints but want to remove the need for harsh solvents? Water-Mixable Oils are a fun medium to experiment with, for beginning and professional artists alike. In this class, you will have the opportunity to try this medium in a playful environment.
You’ll learn:
– Methods of paint application & basic rules to follow
– How to use painting mediums, including Cold Wax
– Go beyond canvas & hear about the many options of painting diverse surfaces
– Advantages of a simplified color palette & color harmonies
– Learn about the flow state & how to forgo the rules and find your own expression

This is an in-person only class (no virtual options). Aside from occasional workshops, Rachel is largely self-taught. She studied Art History and Anthropology, and her work is greatly influenced by Anthropological perspectives - Postmodernism, particularly the idea of binary oppositions (beauty/ugliness, light/dark, warm/cool, smooth/rough, shiny/dull), is a recurring theme in her art. The beauty in seasonal contrasts inspires Rachel; her paintings are often tonal or monochromatic. Mountainous landscapes with trees, clouds, snow, and water are her favorite subjects.

Achieving a mental “flow state” is the most important part of her creative process; she believes flow to be a cause of success, in the end, results in her paintings and a key to finding happiness. Painting and downhill skiing are the only two activities that thrust her into a flow state. Rachel is originally from Rockford, Michigan, and she has called Wyoming “home” since 2011.