This adult workshop series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite, and ink. Open to all levels, including new students, the series focuses on exploration, play, and the process of making rather than finished outcomes. Participants will experiment with a range of techniques across sessions, including acrylic and watercolor painting, pastel work, ink practices, drawing with graphite and charcoal, and creating sculptural forms from paper, while also engaging with relevant art history and contemporary art. Each class invites a meditative and attentive approach, encouraging students to discover inspiration from both inner and outer worlds. Sessions conclude with supportive group reflections that honor each participant’s process and discoveries. As part of the experience, students will also explore the 3rd floor gallery exhibition “Inside Voices, Outside Light: Perspectives on West Nordic Art.”
In this course, students will explore and experiment with using various pastel chalks on paper.
The series can be taken as a full progression or as individual classes, with participation limited to 12 students aged 20 and above.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Margrethe Aanestad is a Norwegian visual artist working between Norway and New York City. Her practice explores abstraction through mainly drawing, painting, and sculpture, with a focus on materiality, space, and intuitive expression. In addition to her studio work, Margrethe is a seasoned Teaching Artist with over a decade of experience leading art workshops for children, teens, and adults. She has taught in a wide range of settings—from art colleges and cultural institutions to public schools and independent initiatives—consistently fostering creativity, experimentation, and personal expression through hands-on art-making. Based in Brooklyn, she currently works with KokoNYC, and recently founded her own platform offering creative coaching and guided art-making sessions for adults. Margrethe led this well-received workshop series at Scandinavia House in the summer of 2025 and winter of 2026, is excited to return to share it with a new group of students.