Each label in the Denver Art Museum lists the artwork’s materials. From traditional mediums (oil paint, bronze, clay) to everyday objects (bottle caps, fluorescents lights, pantyhose), these materials have larger human stories to tell.
In this three-session course, experience the museum’s collections with a look at creative processes and materials. Through interactive lectures, hands-on exploration, and time in the galleries, we’ll ask, “How’s it made?” and learn what materials and methods can tell us about global human contact, scientific and creative innovation, and changing definitions of art across time. Walk away with refreshed perspectives on the collections and discover new ways of approaching any work of art.
The full How Do We Art: Materials, Methods, and the Stories They Tell course contains the following:
- Session 1 – Paints & Pigments: A Colorful History: Saturday, February 7, 1:30-3:30 pm
- Session 2 – Clay: From Earth to Art: Saturday, February 21, 1:30-3:30 pm
- Session 3 – Prints: How Ink & Paper Changed the World: Saturday, March 7, 1:30-3:30 pm
Tickets are on sale now. Buy tickets for individual courses or all three courses as a package.
Claude Monet, Waterlilies or The Water Lily Pond (Nympheas), 1904. Oil paint on canvas; 34 ⅝ × 36 in. (87.9 × 91.4 cm). Denver Art Museum: Funds from Helen Dill bequest, 1935.14
Paints & Pigments: A Colorful History:
Saturday, February 7, 1:30-3:30 pm
Investigate paints and pigments from earth to lab to canvas, textile, paper, and more, uncovering stories of innovation, industrialization, and globalization along the way.
Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara), The Things I Have To Do To Maintain Myself, 1994. Clay, paint, fibre, and metal; 15 ½ x 13 x 15 in. Denver Art Museum: Funds from Polly and Mark Addison, 1994.540. © Roxanne Swentzell
Clay: From Earth to Art
Saturday, February 21, 1:30-3:30 pm
Explore porcelain, earthenware, stoneware, and other ceramic mediums and processes as we consider the many roles clay has played in society.
Luigi Kasimir, Santa Fe, NM, San Jose Mission Church, Laguna, about 1930. Color etching with aquatint on paper; 12 1/8 × 10 1/4 in. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Barbara J. Thompson in memory of C. A. Seward, 2024.59. © Estate of Luigi Kasimir
Prints: How Ink & Paper Changed the World
Saturday, March 7, 2026 - 1:30 pm–3:30 pm
Learn about printmaking techniques and consider how prints have helped us to rally for a cause, advertise, document, and share beauty.
Please note: Should a course need to be rescheduled due to inclement weather, it will take place on March 14, 2026.
