Travel Learning

Take the creative trip of a lifetime!

Create art in some of the world's most inspiring places through the Worcester Art Museum's Travel Learning program. For more information call 508.799.4406 x3148 or e-mail transactions@worcesterart.org. Members of the Worcester Art Museum receive discounts on fees. Join today and support a world-class institution.

Abroad Excursions

Photography, Painting, Collage, and Bookmaking in Oaxaca, Mexico
February 13-21. 2010 - 9 days
Leave the cold New England winter behind and join this exciting class in culture-rich Oaxaca, Mexico. Work in painting, photography, or collage (2D and box sculpture) with Mexican painter/assemblage artist Humberto Batista and Worcester-based photographer/painter Mari Seder. New this year is a half-day workshop in bookmaking taught by master bookmaker, installation artist, and Oaxacan resident Judi Ross, preceded by a visit to a paper making factory. Fall in love with Oaxaca's unique culture, magical light, vibrant color, indigenous people, and mystical landscape. In addition to guided walks in the city, observe the work of Mexican painters, photographers, and collage artists in their studios and galleries; explore traditional Indian markets; witness the unique carnival celebration in a woodcarving village; and visit a Zapotec weaving village. Register today! Learn more…

Exploring Puebla with Mari Seder
February 21-24, 2010 - 4 days
Join this optional four-day trip to Puebla, home of Talavera, a type of Majolican earthenware introduced by the Spanish (see www.inside-mexico.com/art1 or www.talaverashop.com/shop). First stop will be Puebla's famous Sunday antique flea market, and on Monday we'll tour the Amparo Museum. Monday afternoon, we'll visit the factory of Uriate, famous for making Talavera pottery. Tuesday, we'll explore the nearby town of Chilula to visit Prehispanic ruins of a large pyramid and to see the unique church, Iglesia de Tonanzintla, which is filled with indigenous and vibrantly painted sculptures in the Indian Baroque style. Tuesday afternoon will be reserved for shopping! Wednesday morning, a special luxury bus will take you directly to the airport in Mexico City. Register today! Learn more…

Drawing and Painting in Italy with Nan Hass Feldman
April 18-25, 2010 - 8 days
Sponsored by the Worcester Art Museum with Toscana Americana in Cortona, Italy.
Get inspired by the artistic, historic, and aesthetic experience of drawing and painting under the Tuscan sun with accomplished painter and mixed media artist Nan Hass Feldman. Work in your favorite medium--oil paints (traditional or water-based), acrylics, watercolors, pastels, or mixed media--for eight days in the beautiful landscapes in and around Cortona, Italy. Bathe your creative vision in the unique light that has inspired artists for generations. Capture small vistas of the countryside and lakes, as well as the picturesque buildings and dramatic sculptures of Italy's past and present. Based in Cortona and within easy reach of some of the most beautiful Tuscan and Umbrian cities, work in a variety of settings including Lago Trasimento and Isola Maggiore, Florence, and Assisi. Register today! Learn more…

From Galway to Killarney--Painting in Ireland with Bill Griffiths
May 8-15, 2010 - 8 days
Finally, the opportunity of a lifetime that you've been asking for--traveling and painting with Bill Griffiths in Ireland! Discover and experience the luscious landscape of western Ireland, while learning from a master colorist and painter how to translate what you see into your own art. Create sketches along the way that will fuel your work for months upon your return. Work in your favorite mediums to capture a variety of stunning landscapes from Galway to Killarney. Enjoy a great sense of camaraderie as you start your painting tour at Galway Bay, a large bay on the west coast of Ireland with beautiful vistas, and then move on to paint in Old Galway, with its cathedral, castle, and pubs. From there you'll travel and sketch your way to Killarney via Connemara National Park, the home of the famous Connemara Ponies. Spend a day painting the quaint Irish village of Killarney, and travel along the Ring of Kerry to sketch and paint along Ireland's most popular tourist route that features breathtaking mountain and coastal views. Conclude this painting adventure with a visit to Ross Castle, built in the late 1400s by the ruling O'Donoghue clan. Register today! Learn more…

Painting on the Greek Island of Skopelos with Sue Swinand
May 18-28, 2010 - 11 days
Sponsored by the Worcester Art Museum with the Island Center for the Arts.
Join Sue Swinand, accomplished teacher and painter, for an art adventure that takes you to one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Aegean island of Skopelos. The famed light of Greece and ideal weather make Skopelos an artist's dream. Rising like an amphitheater over the harbor, the village is crowned with Byzantine churches and the ruins of a Venetian fortress. With its traditional architecture, charming village lanes lined with dazzling white houses, brightly colored window shutters, and flower-adorned balconies, Skopelos town is recognized by the Greek Government as a “National Treasure.” Sue will begin each painting day with a lecture and demonstration and follow up with individual instruction on location. Painting trips around the island will take you to breath-taking locales including pine-covered cliffs, pristine beaches with turquoise waters, and remote monasteries surrounded by olive groves and wild flowers. Register today! Learn more…

USA Excursions

American Impressionists: Following the Connecticut Trail with Martha Krom Chiarchiaro
May 14-15, 2010 - 2 days
Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to experience the sites of American Impressionist art colonies including the Bush-Holley Historic Site at Cos Cob and the Florence Griswold Museum at Old Lyme. The Cos Cob art colony was the first Impressionist art colony in Connecticut and its early members included Childe Hassam, Theodore Robinson, John Twachtman and J. Alden Weir. Their artwork, which we'll examine, illustrates how the house and setting inspired artists. Then, step back in time at the home of Florence Griswold in Old Lyme, which became known as the "American Giverny" and the most famous Impressionist colony in America. We'll also explore the collecting of American Impressionists works as shown in the collections at the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Hill-Stead Museum. Register today! Learn more…

Escape to Rocky Neck--Twenty-four Hour Writing Exploration
June 12-31, 2010 - 2 days
Make a date with your inner artist to explore one of New England's most dramatic coastlines, Cape Ann harbor of Gloucester. Whether you've always wanted to write or you're ready to take your prose to a higher level, this twenty-four hour retreat will give you the time, the support, and the inspiration you need. Writing exercises will be geared to all levels; some will include an advanced option. Individual meetings with instructor/fiction writer Laurel King will be available to those who wish to discuss their writing goals. We'll stay at Rocky Neck, America's oldest artist colony and inspiration to artists such as Winslow Homer, Fitz Henry Lane and Edward Hopper. For further inspiration we'll visit Dogtown Commons (setting of Anita Diamant's novel, The Last Days of Dogtown), Babson Boulders, and the Gloucester Art Museum. Register today! Learn more…

Landscape Painting--Searching for the Spirit of Georgia O'Keeffe
August 7-14, 2010 - 8 days
Follow in Georgia O'Keeffe's footsteps as we paint in many of her favorite locations in and around Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu) - including the spectacular White Place (Plaza Blanca) where she painted Blue Sky, owned by the Worcester Art Museum. Students will learn to create strong compositional studies, preparatory sketches, and color studies for on-site works. Work in your preferred medium - oil, acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, or pastel - and come with a basic understanding of that medium. Course instruction will include lectures, discussions, individual time with the instructor, museum tours, and critiques. Students returning to Ghost Ranch will work on long-term projects and paintings. This exciting travel course, co-sponsored with Lesley University, provides you with opportunities to paint in the magnificent New Mexico landscape while simultaneously absorbing the area's rich Spanish and Indian cultures. Residing at Ghost Ranch, you'll have ample time to explore the nearby hills, Kitchen Mesa, Chimney Rock, and the Pedernal, some of O'Keeffe's favorite painting sites. A subsequent visit to Santa Fe later in the week will focus on exploring its rich culture, food, and art scene, including sketching and visits to the O'Keeffe Museum, Canyon Road galleries, and Museum Hill. Register today! Learn more…