Making the Unfamiliar: Experiments in Form and Matter – An experimental art lab for curious makers and material risk-takers with Nicole Bricker – Fall Class 2025

8 weeks

Mondays, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM | September 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3 and 10

Location: Washington Art Association’s General Studio

This class invites artists and creatives of all disciplines to step outside traditional methods and into a  space of discovery, play, and transformation. Through a series of weekly challenges, you’ll deconstruct  familiar forms, explore unconventional tools and materials, and allow process rather than perfection to  guide your making. Each session combines hands-on experimentation with sketchbook prompts and  material investigations designed to build toward a personal body of exploratory work. 

Expect to paint on objects, stitch through memory, let time and gravity leave their mark, and reflect on the  unexpected pathways your materials take you down. Whether you’re a seasoned artist looking to shake  things up, or a curious beginner, this course prioritizes resourcefulness over polish and process over  product. 

Week 1 – Material Encounters 

Start the course by engaging directly with materials without a defined outcome. Using both conventional  and unconventional matter, you’ll investigate texture, resistance, fragility, and form. This session focuses  on intuitive response, material curiosity, and noticing habits around control, polish, and perfection.

Week 2 – The Unlikely Canvas 

What happens when you reject traditional surfaces? This week focuses on making work on materials like  fabric, wood, or metal—learning how support affects expression. 

Week 3 – Tools That Don’t Belong 

This session challenges traditional mark-making by using unexpected tools—brooms, forks, or rope—to  expand your visual language and surface experimentation. 

Week 4 – The Material Remembers 

Explore how materials carry memory, story, and identity. Hair, wax, fabric, and family photos become  vehicles for exploring emotion and personal narrative through form. 

Week 5 – Gravity, Decay, and Time 

This week invites a collaboration with natural forces. Melting, stretching, eroding, and decomposing  materials become active agents in your process. 

Week 6 – Stitch, Bind, Wrap 

Working with textile techniques and physical joining, we explore what it means to hold together, mend, or  wrap. These gestures open conversations about care, tension, and repair. 

Week 7 – Hybrid Experiments 

Push the boundaries of your practice by blending materials, disciplines, or approaches. Try things that  feel wrong. Break your habits and follow unexpected outcomes. 

Week 8 – Final Works + Process Archive 

Draw from your previous investigations to create a small set of completed works. Reflect on your  sketchbook, select through-lines, and build a personal archive of your process and discoveries.

Outcomes: 

Discover new ways of working with materials through hands-on experimentation, creative prompts, and  supportive group dialogue. 

Learn to document, reflect on, and edit your process in ways that deepen your understanding of your own  creative voice. 

Leave with either a small series or clear next steps for your practice, grounded in unexpected discoveries  and new directions.

www.nicolebricker.com