In Cool Springs
Call or Text 615 678 6745

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Foundational Art

& Cartooning – Schoolyear

Summer Art

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Workshops

Weekend Focus

Art Buffet

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Firstlight Art Academy

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Summer Art

Camps

Workshops

Weekend Focus

Call Us

Overview

Start Here

Foundational

(And Cartoon Art)

Schoolyear Program

Art Buffet

Day Classes

Information

Everything Else

Text Us

Summer

Workshops, Classes, & Retreats

For Teen and/or Adult Students

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MAY

MAY 31 – JUNE 1

Encaustic
Painting

New Two-Day Workshop

One-Day option also available for Saturday only

Saturday 10 to 5
Sunday 12 to 4

At Firstlight in Cool Springs

What Is Encaustic?

Encaustic paint is an ancient medium composed of beeswax, damar resin and pigments. Worked from a molten state, this versatile paint makes richly colored paintings and is a superb vehicle for mixed media exploration.

The Encaustic workshop introduces you to a variety of mixed media processes. You get the basics of working with this expressive technique: using temperature controlled electric griddles as palettes, heating and fusing layers of wax with heat guns, making homemade encaustic medium, preparing painting surfaces, brush application of paint, creating a variety of encaustic surfaces, mark-making with a variety of tools, image transfer, and incorporating collage elements into your design. It is a weekend of fun and play, expressing yourself in new ways.

Location at Firstlight Art Academy, Brentwood (Cool Springs)
Presented by and in partnership with: Fly Forward Studios

Some personal materials you’ll need to bring:

A variety of collage elements and photo-copied or laser-printed images (NO INKJET prints or copies) – small, high-contrast images are the easiest to begin with. Some suggestions for collage materials include: papers (scraps are excellent) such as tissue, magazine images, newspaper, old prints/drawings, photographs, lightweight fabrics and thin scrapbooking papers. When selecting collage elements, look for materials that are somewhat permeable. Color, composition, texture, translucency and individual exploration will be emphasized as you transform your collage and image transfer elements into your own piece of art!

Supplies included

All the rest of the supplies needed for encaustic will be provided for you, and are included in the cost of the workshop. Just be sure to bring any special items from home that you have been saving and would like to use in some form of artistic application, such as the above suggested list.

 

11 hours Of creativity

Adults & Teens

Saturday, May 31
10 am to 5 pm

Sunday, June 1
12 to 4 pm

 

Encaustic Workshop

$225 for Full Workshop ($150 for Saturday only) – includes all supplies and materials except for personal items (see above).

Please note that the link above will take you to the Fly Forward Studio Website for registration.

CREATIVE GROUPS

MAY – AUGUST

May 27- August 19

WORKING ARTIST INITIATIVE

Tuesday 6:30-8:00

1710 General George Patton Dr  Suite 109 Brentwood, TN (Next door to Firstlight)

June 3 – August 12 

OnO Society Creative

Tuesday 6:30-8:00

1710 General George Patton Dr  Suite 109 Brentwood, TN (Next door to Firstlight)

 SUMMER PAPER SERIES WORKSHOPS

ATTEND ONE, TWO, OR BUNDLE ALL THREE

 

 Papermaking Workshop

Handmade paper! What could be better? This paper is versatile, strong, receives most media and is super fun to make. We also help the environment by recycling and repurposing waste paper into beautiful sheets of handcrafted, artistic, natural paper. We will learn how to break down existing paper, turn it into pulp and pull sheets from the pulp, dry it and take home gorgeous, deckled-edged paper sheets that have multiple creative uses. All supplies are included in the cost of the class. Please bring anything that you would like to experiment with as inclusions, such as dried botanicals, coffee grounds, or other natural materials. Make sure to bring a sack lunch and any snacks/drinks for the afternoon. Coffee and tea will be provided. This is part 1 of 3 paper themed summer classes. Each class is a stand alone, or can be paired in the series

Location at Firstlight Art Academy, Brentwood (Cool Springs)
Presented by and in partnership with: Fly Forward Studios

 

5 hour workshop

ADULTS & Teens

Saturday, May 24

12 pm to 5 pm 

 

Papermaking Workshop

$125 – includes all supplies and materials.

Please note that the link above will take you to the Fly Forward Studio Website for registration.

Hand Stitched Coptic Bookmaking

Spend a lovely day at our studio learning how to make your very own hardbound Journal. The Coptic method uses hand-stitching, with an open binding that looks great, and shows off your handiwork.

During this workshop, you’ll use beautiful materials to create your custom journal. The paper used for the book block (internal pages) is mixed media, which allows you to be creative within the pages, using different designs.

You don’t need to know anything! Jennie will walk you through creating the covers, end papers, book block and adding your own custom signature, from start to finish. You’ll take home a beautiful, blank journal ready to use – or to give to someone special.

Location at Firstlight Art Academy, Brentwood (Cool Springs)
Presented by and in partnership with: Fly Forward Studios

Please bring a sack lunch or eat before you arrive.

All Bookmaking Supplies Included.

A variety of hot teas will be available during the workshop.

 

5-Hour Workshop

ADULTS & Teens

Saturday, June 21

12 pm to 5 pm 

 

Bookmaking Workshop

$125 – includes all supplies and materials.

Please note that the link above will take you to the Fly Forward Studio Website for registration.

Art Journaling

Do you enjoy journaling?  Ready to add imagery and visual artistry to your text?  The beauty of art journaling is that it is a safe place to freely explore and discover new things.  We blend the love for aesthetics and order and bring it into a living space.  Learn techniques, such as organizing a calendar into beautiful pages, to collage processes, to painting, drawing and expressing emotion through color and texture. Record your ideas in a book for your next painting or larger artwork. This is part 3 of 3 paper themed summer classes. Each class is a stand alone, or can be paired in the series.
 
 

Location at Firstlight Art Academy, Brentwood (Cool Springs)
Presented by and in partnership with: Fly Forward Studios

Please bring a sack lunch or eat before you arrive.

All Supplies Included.

A variety of hot teas will be available during the workshop.

 

5-Hour Workshop

ADULTS & Teens

Saturday, June 28

12 pm to 5 pm 

 

Journaling Workshop

$125 – includes all supplies and materials.

Please note that the link above will take you to the Fly Forward Studio Website for registration.

JULY 18-20

creative
Restorative
retreat

In Clarksville, TN

THE HIDING PLACE

 

Silent directed creative retreat

JULY 18-20

THE HIDING PLACE CLARKSVILLE TN

 

Join us for a weekend of creative inspiration and meditative silence as we create space to connect with self, God and nature. We will begin our retreat Friday evening and conclude on Sunday before lunch time. Please dress comfortably on Saturday. We will be doing creative projects and the grounds are open and available to explore, so please dress accordingly. You will meet with Jennie for Spiritual Direction twice during the weekend. Please note: We need the names, street addresses and email addresses of 3 people who champion you creatively and will commit to praying for you while you are on retreat. I will contact them listing specific ways they can pray. Please ask them first before filling the registration form out. Please have their information in front of you when you register. 

 

Location: THE HIDING PLACE CLARKSVILLE, TN

Cost: $495

Presented by and in partnership with: Fly Forward Studios

All Supplies Included.

 

 

July 18-20 | Friday Evening to Sunday Midday 

Please register by May 15 to secure a spot.

 

Creative Retreat

$495– includes all supplies, food, lodging (private room and bathroom) and materials.

Please note that the link above will take you to the Fly Forward Studio Website for registration.

Jennie Schut, instructor

Jennie Schut is an award-winning artist, author of Waking Up Grey: An Exploration of Creative Awakening and certified Enneagram Applications Professional. She is the founder of Fly Forward, an organization that aids creative and spiritual exploration, awakening and flourishing through educational materials, small groups, retreats, workshops, individual art instruction, creative direction and leadership training. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Middle Tennessee State University and a certificate in Spiritual Direction from Selah Center for Spiritual Formation. She is currently working on certification in the Somatic Enneagram.  She works primarily with oils and encaustic, a wax-based medium.

Jennie has been an instructor at Firstlight for several years.