Avant GardenAn Enchanted Forest of Workshops & Happenings

About the workshop

Collage: A Story Through Photos invites you to create a visual story using everyday collage materials. Cut, layer, rearrange, and combine paper, textures, words, and found images to explore how visual elements can capture a memory, express an idea, or spark your imagination. No experience is needed; just bring your creativity and see what story unfolds!

About the educator

Aeysa Nixon-Bright is a multidisciplinary artist and documentary photographer born and raised in Hampton Roads, Virginia, with deep family roots in Norfolk's historic Berkley neighborhood. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design & Media Arts. Her work explores identity, memory, cultural heritage, and the everyday moments that shape our lives. Through photography, collage, and writing, she creates visual narratives that honor personal and collective histories while encouraging reflection and connection. Aeysa has exhibited her work in galleries and community spaces throughout Virginia and is an active member of the Generation MOCA Advisory Council and Black Women Photographers. She is passionate about making art accessible through hands-on learning experiences that invite people of all ages to see, create, and tell their own stories.

About the workshop

We will be making floral design for greeting cards that could be used for different occasions. I will teach a number of basic but effective quilling shapes that would be used to create the flowers. All the materials and tools will be provided.

About the educator

I am a self-taught quilling artist who never stops to learn more. I can’t draw or paint to save my life but give me paper and glue and magic will happen. I am certified by the North American Quilling Guild.
My medium is very humble and very simple - paper. Strips of paper in myriad of colors, thickness and weights. There’s no better feeling than creating something amazing out of such a versatile material.
Mother Nature is my biggest inspiration, be it flora or fauna, or underwater world.
I have been quilling for almost 2 decades but I went public with my art only about 10 years ago. Since then I have participated in numerous events locally and nationally, and on occasion won different awards.

About the workshop

Scribble & See is a playful, imagination-based art workshop that encourages participants to discover images hidden within abstract shapes. Each participant begins by making a random scribble on a 4” × 4” piece of cardstock. Then, much like finding animals or pictures in the clouds, they look closely at their scribble and transform what they see into a recognizable image
a bird, person, object, creature, or anything their imagination discovers.

Using acrylic markers and colorful embellishments such as gem stickers, googly eyes, glitter pens, and other shiny materials, participants bring their discoveries to life.

This open-ended activity encourages creative thinking, observation, pattern recognition, and self-expression while celebrating the many different ways we see and interpret the world. There are no wrong answers just possibilities waiting to be discovered.

About the educator

Lynette Hulse is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and founder of Inspired Visions with Lynette. With over a decade of experience teaching art, including her work as an instructor with Painting with a Twist, Lynette specializes in creating engaging, hands-on art experiences that encourage creativity, confidence, and self-expression.

Her artwork has been exhibited locally and internationally, including at the American Embassy in Rome, the NEON Festival, Creative Well Arts Foundation Gallery, and Contemporary Arts Network.

Lynette especially enjoys working with children and creating welcoming environments where young artists feel comfortable experimenting, using their imaginations, and discovering their own creative voices. She believes everyone is creative and that art should be accessible, joyful, and open to all skill levels.

About the workshop

Participants will learn how to create an artist’s star book as a stand-alone sculptural object or as a 3-d book with personalized content. The unique interactive structure invites both visual and tactile engagement in playful, nonlinear, and immersive ways. Techniques: Artist's book - diamond fold. Materials: Precut 6" squares of assorted papers and glue sticks. Concepts: Artistic expression achieved through tactile and visual engagement, nonlinear narrative, craftmanship, and interactive intentionality.

About the educator

Reni Gower is an artist, curator, educator. Her artwork is represented in many prestigious collections and has been exhibited at international and national venues for over 40 years. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a 2023 Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship for Works on Paper and a 2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. In 2017, she was awarded SECAC’s Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. In 2014, she received the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teacher of Art Award, as well as distinguished teaching awards from Virginia Commonwealth University and VCUarts. In addition to her painting practice, she curates award winning traveling exhibitions. After 37 years, Professor Emerita Gower retired from Virginia Commonwealth University in December 2018. Gower is represented by Chroma Projects, Charlottesville, VA.

About the workshop

Make Artwork inspired by the bold designs of Mali Mudcloth using recycled brown paper bags, markers, crayons and Art Stix. The completed paper Artwork is then softened by crumpling the paper multiple times to create a fabric-like surface. I have used this process successfully with third graders for years, but it is adaptable and fun for all ages!

About the educator

Robert Oppecker is an Artist/Art Educator with teaching experience dating back to the early 1980s when he taught Metalsmithing classes at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. In 1993 he was hired by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as a Silversmith/Designer in the product division. He has received Individual Artist Grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts. His artwork is in private collections including those of Jann Wenner and Bette Midler. For the past quarter-century, Robert Oppecker has taught in Hampton City Public Schools and Williamsburg-James City County Schools, most recently at Matthew Whaley Elementary School.

About the workshop

Drop in and discover the art of origami through this fun, hands-on workshop! Learn to fold colorful paper into flowers, animals, hearts, and more while exploring creativity, symmetry, patience, sequencing, and problem-solving. Create something to take home, give to someone, or make a flower to add to our community bouquet, inspired by the event’s garden theme. All ages and skill levels are welcome!

About the educator

Lien Day is a Williamsburg local with a B.A. in Art from Covenant College and a concentration in graphic design. As a homeschooling mom and art educator, she helps students train their eyes to observe carefully by drawing from life. She believes that learning to truly see can shape the way we understand and appreciate the world around us. She also loves pairing hands-on art creations with gift-giving to encourage generosity, build connection, and make creativity meaningful and fun for all ages.

About the workshop

Participants will learn the basic skills of coiling pine needles: preparing pine needles, maintaining a consistent coil, stitching, shaping, and finishing. Starting with a prepared nut shell center, they can work to create a small basket or trivet, or contribute to a larger community project if desired. A variety of materials will be available. Finished examples will demonstrate how these basic skills can be expanded and refined to create artistic sculptures, wall art, and even wearable art.

About the educator

Becky Butler is a self-taught coiled basketry artisan. She has enjoyed various forms of needlework since childhood, but her creative energies have been dedicated to coiled basketry since 2009. She began teaching in 2017. During the pandemic she decided to turn her classes into kits. In 2020 she started her ETSY shop: BeckysBasketsShop. Through her kits, she has had the privilege of teaching coiling to people in every state in the US as well as Canada, Great Britain, the EU and Australia. This year, she began creating YouTube videos to teach coiling skills. Her videos can be found by searching @BeckyBasketmaker on YouTube.

One of the things she loves about coiling is the feeling of working with natural materials. Each piece has its own voice. She may start with a plan, but the materials have their own ideas, and the final product feels like a collaboration. She finds joy in turning other people’s yard waste into something beautiful!

About the workshop

Make your own work of art on a greeting card to send in the mail! Paint a painting, draw a drawing, or create something else and take it home! Cards and envelopes provided.

About the educator

Genevieve D. Franco is a writer, artist, and knowledge explorer. Her work varies in nature, but primarily focuses on vibrantly depicted impressionist landscapes, often adorned with gold leaf to symbolize the beauty and value of our world. Her central goal is to use color to enhance the places she explores - in a way that is both realistic depiction and fantastical.
Aside from traditional oil on canvas pieces, she works with water-based media on paper, and creates digital paintings of imagined landscape scenes utilizing Photoshop, along with logos and asset design.

About the workshop

In this workshop we will use materials that might have otherwise been discarded to create art! There will be opportunities to use textiles, wood, plastic straws, and a variety of found materials to create one of a kind works of art. Techniques like printmaking, weaving, and collage can come together in a creative way to inspire young artists to look for art materials in the world around them.

About the educator

Beth has been exploring art and creating for as long as she can remember! She is passionate about using the supplies she comes across naturally and upcycling them into her projects. Her enthusiasm for creating with found objects is something that fuels her creativity. With a background in education and a love for art, she finds endless joy in teaching young artists to problem solve and break the rules to expand their way of thinking.

About the workshop

Come and learn about the colorful, mythical Alebrijes (Mexican Folk Art sculptures). Use paper folding techniques and lots of imagination to create your own colorful, fantastic creatures.

About the educator

Megan Countiss is an elementary art teacher and has recently retired after 30 years in public education. She continues to teach classes through the Parks and Recreation Department in New Kent, as well as Arts Alive in West Point . Her teaching practice focuses on helping children find their creative voice and encouraging exploration of media. In her own artistic journey, she is inspired by nature and enjoys photography and mixed media collage.

About the workshop

Participants will explore the creative possibilities of relief printmaking through hands-on experiments using accessible materials such as foam plates, foam shapes, and recycled cardboard. They will design, carve, ink, and print their own relief plates. Through this process, young artists will discover how line, texture, pattern, repetition, and layering can produce unique and unexpected results. Press…print…play!

About the educator

Angela Walters is a multidisciplinary artist and elementary art teacher in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her creative practice explores a variety of media and processes, with a particular interest in printmaking, painting, fiber arts, and mixed media. She is passionate about making traditional art processes accessible and engaging for children through hands-on exploration and creative discovery. Angela especially enjoys helping young artists discover that sometimes the most magical results begin with a mistake.

About the workshop

Create a miniature ocean-inspired textured artwork using sculpting tools, color, and natural coastal materials. Participants will explore dimensional texture by shaping waves, making impressions, and adding elements such as shells, small sticks, pearls, and sand to create a one-of-a-kind piece to take home.

About the educator

Oksana Cheng is a self-taught mixed-media artist and founder of Inner Space Art Studio in Williamsburg, Virginia. With more than 13 years of experience creating art, her work includes textured painting, coastal-inspired pieces, murals, portraiture, and hands-on creative projects.

Her current practice focuses on dimensional texture, natural materials, movement, and ocean-inspired color. Oksana especially enjoys making art approachable for beginners and encouraging participants to experiment freely with materials and develop their own creative style.