PAFA Alumni

We extend our congratulations to Matt Chapman (MFA ‘15) and Nicole Duquette , owners of Curio Gallery & Creative Supply .lancaster , for the opening of Curio’s new location at 111 N Prince Street in downtown Lancaster, PA! 🎉

A growing pillar in the Lancaster art community, Curio has served not only as a creative hub for exhibitions, supplies, and workshops since 2019, but also a space for bringing people together. With their unique vision and dedication to the arts, Matt and Nicole continue to foster true, artistic heart within their creative community and beyond.

From Chestnut Street to Prince Street, we wish them an exciting new chapter in Curio’s expanding journey!

📷️ Matt and Nicole during Curio’s reopening on March 6th, 2026 💫

We are excited to share an exhibition featuring artworks by members of PAFA’s Alumni Council!  The Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Stewart Gallery presents “PAFA: A Current History”, on view now through March 28th. ✨

A survey of work by Alumni Council members, the exhibition is not only a showcase of the range of creative approaches and sustained studio practices of PAFA artists, but also an introduction to this dynamic group of dedicated alumni and art community supporters.  We hope you’ll join us on Sunday, March 15th from 1pm - 3pm for the Opening Reception. 

A huge thank you to the Philadelphia Sketch Club for hosting! 🙏

🖼️ Artwork install image:  Works by Brian Spies

Ready to make art, build skills, and work with your hands? Explore our Winter/Spring 2026 Continuing Education offerings—featuring in-person studio courses, weekend workshops, and skill-building art classes for adult learners. Limited spots still available.

Check out these classes starting soon:
› Ceramic Sculpture with Matthew Courtney | Hands-on clay sculpture using pinching, coil-building, slab construction, surface treatments, and ceramic firing techniques.
🔗 https://buff.ly/NBX1GmH

› Wood Studio with John Greig | Learn woodworking fundamentals including cutting, milling, joinery, lamination, and safe tool use while developing your own artistic voice.
🔗 https://buff.ly/SaYTOuV

› Color Woodcut Printmaking with Rebecca Gilbert | Create bold, layered color prints using reduction and multi-block woodcut printmaking—from carving to final editioning.
🔗 https://buff.ly/uAU6Q9H

Still room in these classes:

› Terracotta Figure Sculpture with Morgan Dummitt | Sculpt the human figure from a live model with a focus on gesture, anatomy, proportion, and classical form.
🔗 https://buff.ly/U4a1Bor

› Oil/Acrylic Painting: Abstracting the Real with Frederic Kaplan | Transform observed reality into expressive, symbolic paintings through color, composition, and energetic mark-making.
🔗 https://buff.ly/XjhFF7k

› Portrait in Pencil Weekend Workshop with RA Friedman | A focused weekend workshop covering likeness, structure, proportion, and tonal portrait drawing.
🔗 https://buff.ly/C79rcNN

Browse the full catalog to discover short and long classes, weekend workshops, in-person and online options, beginner through advanced levels in a variety of formats.

🔗 https://buff.ly/mJYUoyE

Space is limited in many of these classes—register soon.

New year, new studio energy. Whether you’re returning to painting, drawing, sculpture, or printmaking (or exploring a new medium) PAFA’s Continuing Education program offers in-person and online art classes in Philadelphia for adult artists of all levels.

🌟 Get into printmaking with Color Woodcut Printmaking (in person), taught by Rebecca Gilbert (). Learn woodblock printmaking techniques—including reduction and multiple-block methods—to create vibrant, layered color prints from start to finish. 🔗 https://buff.ly/KHulvzm

Classes are filling fast, but a few upcoming Continuing Education art classes still have space available this February:

➤ Painting over the Line (In-Person) with Kassem Amoudi | An intuitive painting course focused on developing personal visual language through open studio practice, critique, and contemporary art principles.
🔗 https://buff.ly/tUZAjMD

➤ The Art of Natural History Illustration (Online) with Kate Samworth | An intermediate course on the history and techniques of natural history illustration combining art history with hands-on printmaking practice.
🔗 https://buff.ly/Kwm8jSG

➤ Terracotta Figure Sculpture (In-Person) with Morgan Dummitt | A beginner-friendly course focused on sculpting the human figure in clay from gesture to finished form, including proportion, structure, and surface techniques.
🔗 https://buff.ly/Q7bMPWe

➤ Oil/Acrylic Painting: Abstracting the Real (In-Person) with Frederic Kaplan | A painting course using oil or acrylic to create expressive works through color, composition, and mark-making.
🔗 https://buff.ly/CiFhMfw

➤ Portrait in Pencil Workshop (In-Person) with RA Friedman | A hands-on portrait drawing workshop focused on achieving likeness and dimension through proportion, structure, and simplified anatomy using accessible materials.
🔗 https://buff.ly/xZd6KFF

🔗 Explore all classes: pafa-ce.coursestorm.com

🖼️ Rebecca Gilbert

Make 2026 Your Year of Art at PAFA! Kick off the new year with PAFA Continuing Education—art classes in Philadelphia for all ages and skill levels, in-person and online. Beginners welcome!

· Observational Drawing Practices (In-Person) with John Horn – strengthen your foundational drawing skills
· The Art of Natural History Illustration (Online) with Kate Samworth – learn traditional printmaking techniques online
· Painting Over the Line (In-Person) with Kassem Amoudi – explore intuitive painting and develop your personal style
· Oil/Acrylic Painting: Abstracting the Real (In-Person) with Frederic Kaplan – transform still lifes and photos into expressive paintings
· Color Woodcut Printmaking (In-Person) with Rebecca Gilbert – create vibrant, layered prints using reduction and multiple-block techniques

🖌️ Classes available for beginners to advanced artists. Find the perfect fit to refresh skills, learn new techniques, or explore a new medium.

📅 Courses start January & February 2026
🔗 Browse Classes & Register: https://buff.ly/QJieU1P




🖼️ John Horn, Figure
🖼️ Kate Samworth, Ch.7 - Why Fish Don't Exist
🖼️ Kassem Amoudi, Sea Change
🖼️ Frederic Kaplan, Neptune, God of the Sea
🖼️ Rebecca Gilbert, Quasar (Silver)

🛠️🎨 Reminder: PAFA Shops Membership Workshop – Woodshop & Printmaking | Don’t miss this three-session collaborative workshop exploring the intersection of printmaking and sculpture! Learn to use alternative tools like grinders, routers, and saws for relief printing, and experiment with inking, chine collé, and reduction techniques.

· Dates: Jan 7, 14, 21 | 1–4 PM
· Location: 6th & 7th Floors, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
· Includes: All Areas Membership for January

Wood provided | bring your own paper & newsprint.
🔗https://buff.ly/TUKk3gx

🖼️ Woodblocks by John Greig
🖼️ Prints by Christine Petty

Open Studio Night at PAFA, February 6, 2026, 5-8 PM | Experience PAFA’s most anticipated night of the year—Open Studio Night—with behind-the-scenes access to student studios and works in progress across painting, sculpture, printmaking, and more!

🔗https://buff.ly/OFPOZU7

📸 Madison Greiner in her studio

🖌️ 🎨 Ready to commit to your art practice in 2026? Registration is closing soon for PAFA’s Fifteen-Week Extended Studio Classes—immersive, studio-based art classes offering sustained focus, private studio time, and in-depth instruction from PAFA’s core faculty.

Designed for artists seeking advanced studio practice, expert critique, and a supportive creative community, these extended fine arts courses provide the time, structure, and mentorship to push your work further.

🗓 Registration closes January 2
🔗 Learn more & register: https://buff.ly/kShuymm




🖼️ Jill Rupinski

On Saturday, PAFA students went on a field trip to Lancaster! 🍂

First stop was .lancaster to talk with owners Matt Chapman (MFA ‘15) and Nicole Duquette who shared about their artistic and professional journeys and how they came to their thriving space and growing community in the heart of downtown. We learned about the power of community and connection through art and what makes Curio the gem that it is.

We then visited esteemed, longstanding faculty member Dan Miller’s studio. A prolific printmaker and sculptor, Dan gave us a special, inside look into his home and work space, sharing stories about his influences, his process, and the Academy. Between stacks of prints, piles of wood scraps, walls of trinkets and postcards, Dan’s legacy and devotion to his practice was awe-inspiring.

Matt, Nicole, and Dan - thank you for welcoming us into such meaningful, personal, and creative spaces where magic truly happens. ✨🙏