2D Mixed-Media: From Patterns to Compositions
In this 4-week class, students will explore how patterns function within two-dimensional artworks and how they can be combined to form cohesive compositions. The class is grounded in direct observation and study of pattern-rich and compositionally compelling works from the Denver Art Museum’s collections and exhibitions.
Students will learn analytical methods for examining repetitions, structural organization, compositional movement, combination of patterns, and deliberate color relationships. Through focused gallery-based sketch studies using colored pencils and notebooks, students will practice schematizing and simplifying complex artworks into clear visual systems. Through this process, they will develop a technical approach to seeing, enabling students to abstract compositions, identify dominant shapes and rhythmic structures, and better understand visual decision-making of the artist.
Studio work extends this analytical inquiry into practice. Students will create painted pattern papers that are cut, reorganized, and assembled into new compositions. The class emphasizes composition as both a perceptual and generative tool, fostering visual literacy, structural clarity, and experimental exploration through painting, drawing, and pattern-making techniques.
Pricing: $130 for Museum Friends and CultureHaus, $135 for members and students, and $160 for non-members. Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $60-$75.
Refund and Class Cancellation Policy: The DAM adheres to a no-refund, no-exchange policy. If you are unable to attend, please consider your payment a tax-deductible donation. If a class or workshop is cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a make-up day will be scheduled as the educator’s schedule allows.
About the Educator
Alina Orav is an internationally active Estonian artist based in Colorado with over 30 years of experience in painting and drawing. Working across painting, installation, sculpture, and drawing, she holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in painting from the Estonian Academy of Arts, with additional studies in Florence (IT) and Vancouver (CA) and internships in London (UK), Amsterdam (NL), and Volda (NO). Orav has held over 15 solo exhibitions in Estonia and additional solo shows in the United States, Canada, Finland, and Iceland, and her work has been exhibited internationally across Europe, North America, and Japan. She has curated international exhibitions, taught painting and color studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts and received the State Real Estate Ltd. Science and Development Grant (2017) for her invention, the polyview image, which she presented internationally.
