Workshop opinions?

[deant]

I have been thinking about starting to offer workshops in my studio and I would like to get some opinions regarding what people look for.

I have two ideas in mind:

1. A two day engraving workshop.
2. A three day Introduction to Lithography workshop.

In both cases attendance would be limited to two. I would supply all materials and there would be an opportunity to print an addition of 5-10.

The intent here is that they would be for both interested printmakers and other artists. Very little assumed knowledge.

Do these sound like they would be at all interesting? What do you think the going rate would be for this kind of workshop? Where would you suggest advertising? Any particular time of year that is appealing?

Tell me what you think (either here or in a private message)

Thanks,
Dean

[H2O_Baby]

Dean, when I lived in CO I didn't have access to a press etc. and would have liked to had access to workspace. I vote YES, but you have to keep your prices reasonable to not scare off people.

I am not sure of the following prices but they are ball-park.

The art center near here has un-tutored workshops (use of space & inks, brayers, press with minimal assistance needed by artists) for about 25/day.

With instructions on a specific technique the prices vary with the fame of the teacher, from about 90 for 2 days to 500 for a week (well known artists). Sometimes there is money for supplies needed if they are expensive, like photosensitive plates. The more expensive workshops throw in a few pieces of Rives BFK. Additional paper is at cost.

If I were doing that I would have an initial short "how to" session that teaches the basics about care & feeding of equipment. This would be required for the minimal assistance class, unless the person is a seasoned printmaker. You do want your equipment to survive...

Marissa Lee who has disappeared of late used to hold woodblock courses at her house, I always wanted to take one of her sessions and now I have new wood tools. Anyone in the MA area who does woodblock interested in showing me a little bit about cutting wood on the deck before going to check out the South Shore beaches?

[Diane Cutter]

Dean... I know that printmakers would certainly be interested and Barbara is right about a 1/2 day of printmaking intro if you have non-printmakers taking the course.

I'm thinking that, for a 2 plus day workshop $75-$100/day would not be out of line, especially if you are providing all materials and the class would be so very personal with only two students. You might want to go a little lower though until you have it well established. Check the prices versus class size with other printmaking workshops.

I'm wondering how large an interest base you have in Loveland. Make sure you advertize well outside your area. Truly interested artists will travel the distance and stay overnight (which, of course, adds to their investment in your workshop). Once you have the particulars worked out you can advertize on places like Baren.org. They now have a monthly notification of products and services that members are offering. That would pull people from beyond the Colorado area.

Barbara... You might pm Marissa or contact her through her Etsy shop. She's still around but is just extremely busy with her new baby. She might be giving classes again now that the baby is older.

Diane

[inkytoes]

I'd be interested in such a course, definitely. I think offering a workshop with this level of time and attention from the tutor is invaluable - I have done others where the numbers are much higher and it is certainly a benefit to have extra time for discussing the ins and outs of a process and problem-solving etc.

Workshops here range in price just as everywhere else, but a good standard range offered at open studios would be between £50-£150 for one to two days - the price goes up quite a bit for well-known artists, safe to double those prices.

Good luck, I bet it'll be a rewarding process.

Fi

[Wandering Blues]

By California standards, a two day class with only two students for $200 would be a huge bargain, especially given your expertise. Plus, you need to figure in your costs for the blocks, inks, paper, tools, press, etc. As I recall, you have a serious quality press. That alone runs about $40.00 an hour in open studio out here. With that, I'd shoot for up to 5 students to make it worth your time

In all sincerity, I found myself wondering what air fare was to Loveland! Best of luck!!!

[ploverwing]

I took an intro to litho with a friend at his studio, and all I supplied was the paper, for 5 days it was CDN$300. Of course, he's also got a smallholding farm, and it was spring, so there was some significant interruption to the process, although there are points at which the student can be left to work for a while.

A local printmaking workshop offers an eight week litho course, 3 hours per week, for CDN$310 plus $60 materials fee, just as a reference for you.

BTW - is the engraving an intaglio method (i.e. plexiglas engraving) or a relief (i.e. wood engraving)? I think your best bet as mentioned is to advertise outside your area. When you've got something available, contact community centres and libraries, schools and art supply businesses all around to indicate your offerings.

Good luck, I think it's a great idea.

[Eraethil]

Here is a link to SNAP's education page. I took an etching intro from them that was very good - 4 evenings / 12 hours for $220 including materials though prices have come down since. They are a local membership based not-for-profit studio. They don't typically run the classes if they have a small (<5) registration. Keep in mind that Edmonton has a fairly large base of printmakers, with a strong program at the University of Alberta, so it may not be the best indicator of the interests of artists in your area.

I think that is the key point, though. How have you determined what might be of interest in your area? You might want to talk to a local college/university professor or two and see what might be missing. Is there a local arts outreach program (gallery, post-secondary, or museum) that might have some indication of the demand? I'm guessing a few phone calls could save you a lot of time and expense setting up a curriculum and advertising.

I'm sure your future students are going to be very pleased Dean! Cheers!

[Room410]

Both sound like a lot of fun and sound interesting to me. wish i were closer Dean!

This is an interesting question for me because I feel that many artists dont realize how much they're worth. In RI, there are very few places to go and have press access. There is RISD of course if you want to pay hundreds of dollars for a graduate course, and a few state schools with real nice print shops, but still hundreds and hundreds for graduate work~!

There is one shop out here called AS220 in Providence. I use them to mimic pricing for my studio. They typically charge $100 or $130 for a 6 week intaglio type course. 2 hrs per week. approximately 5-6 students. You are expected to bring your own paper and materials (they supply inks, press, and clean up material). And they are usually run by recent RISD graduates who teach in exchange for studio time. Their studio is tiny and modest (and uncomfortably crowded).

I am teaching a mono print class right now with my tiny blick press and charged $140 (incl all materials) for 6 weeks (2.5 hrs per week) since my studio is very new and unestablished, I only have one student in the class....the parent of the college age student insisted on paying that fee every two weeks because of the one on one instruction and attention her son was getting.!! very generous.

I think a general guidline is to decide how much your time is worth on an hourly basis. I've decided $25 an hr for myself. so if I had two students for 6 weeks @ 2 hrs per week, I would charge $144 for 6 weeks. I think that is a very reasonable price. We, as artists have paid a lot for our education, our presses, our supplies, etc. Our time is very valuable.

Now for an all day or half day course that lasts for 2 days...I think 10-15 hrs in a studio with nearly one on one instruction and press access (with no lines) is well worth $200...it's actually a bargain! I would pay $250 or more...when you figure your hourly wage, think of prep time also, and clean up time.

Best of luck!
Doreen

[Room410]

oh and in terms of advertising. Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. Free and very popular in my area.

[CarolAnnH]

Don't under-value your time. If you start too low, it's difficult to set a higher price later. I know because I taught weekly evening classes in my home studio for 15 years and more than half those who started, stayed for years. They just kept enrolling which made it impossible for me to raise my hourly rate significantly.

If I were a beginner I'd probably prefer to do a course over a few weeks rather than a workshop. That way you can spread out the steps - introduction, care of tools etc I always made sure the first project was easy as this caused less stress and gave them confidence to go on and try something more difficult. Kind of a "monkey see, monkey do" situation to familiarise them with the process.

Of course you can do it in a 2-day workshop the same by splitting up the time into 2-hour parcels - stop for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. It will take a lot out of you though it will be all over in 2 days. I did it the other way around - I gave weekly classes then a few times a year I'd put on a weekend workshop.

You might think about an hourly tuition rate you feel comfortable with and then give a separate price for materials. That makes prospective students think the tuition is within their budgets and everyone accepts they have to provide materials one way or another.

Just don't undersell yourself. For a 2-day workshop I expect to get an advanced printmaker and pay top price. For a weekly class I don't expect someone who is under pressure to get students to perform at a high level - it's a more relaxed situation I've found and generally costs a little less.

CarolAnn

[Diane Cutter]

CarolAnn's point is well taken... If beginners you might want an intro and time between sessions so they can work on their project (especially if they are working adults). If they are seasoned artists, especially printmakers, a more condensed workshop would be good... with a lot of demos and assisted demos and probably less time for the students to actually work on their own pieces.

Diane

[CarolAnnH]

I came across this site today while looking for something else. Just for interest sake, you might like to take a look at her Tuition page. She only charges $25 Australian which is very reasonable I think for what she's offering. No doubt her workshop fees would be higher.

http://www.readdevine.com/

CarolAnn

[CarolAnnH]

I've had a couple more thoughts about this. Teaching from your home is infinitely better than teaching at a studio because you can cancel class at any time for any reason and just add those sessions onto the end of that term. Always charge a term fee, not a lesson fee, wherever possible. If you only charge by the lesson you never know who will turn up, if anyone, on any given night. If you charge by the term and someone doesn't show, you still get paid. A term can be whatever you choose - 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks etc.

If you start weekly classes, keep a file - one of those plastic boxes with cards in them. One card per student - enter their payments and any supplies you buy on their behalf and note the date when they pay. Don't rely on your (or their) memory. Give receipts for term fees or have them initial their card. Very important, put their work, home and cell phone numbers on the top of the card so you have these handy if you need to cancel a class.

Weekly lessons provide you with students for workshops. Alternatively, if you do a workshop first, you could gain those students to begin weekly classes. Weekly classes of 2-3 hours are your "bread and butter" - workshops are a bonus. I paid off a mortgage on my beach house giving two 2-hour classes a week so it's definitely worth putting your skills to work.

It depends how involved you might want to get with teaching but you might also think about some classes or workshops for kids during school holidays. I'm sure Brian would be happy to give you some tips.

Lastly, I found what most teachers say - you learn more from teaching than your students do! Why? In my case, which is all I know, I had to come up with solutions for fixing all their mistakes and this forces you to grow because they come up with some doozies. Through this process you learn so much and you end up a better artist than if you were a solo artist doing your own thing, without exposure to all the problem-solving students throw at you.

Go for it - I'm sure you will find it very rewarding in many ways.

Good luck!

CarolAnn

[Diane Cutter]

Originally Posted by CarolAnnH

I came across this site today while looking for something else. Just for interest sake, you might like to take a look at her Tuition page. She only charges $25 Australian which is very reasonable I think for what she's offering. No doubt her workshop fees would be higher.

http://www.readdevine.com/

CarolAnn

Very reasonable considering that 25 Aussie dollars is equal to just over $20.28 US.

Diane

[CarolAnnH]

There's always one more thing....

Taxes. If you teach on a regular basis and plan to declare the income, make sure you keep receipts for everything to do with your home - taxes, electricity, heating, lighting. Dedicate a room for the studio and in Australia we can claim that percentage of the floor space of the house for all the home expenses. Also depreciation on equipment, everything you use in the studio that involves teaching. When you declare extra income you need every deduction you can think of so make sure you keep receipts and records from day one.

CarolAnn