Drawing Wild From the Collection

The Museum of Natural History and Planetarium is excited to announce that the popular Drawing Wild classes are returning. These classes give you the opportunity to study and draw details of feathers, beaks and claws from a large collection of taxidermied specimens in a fun and casual atmosphere. The classes include a rare tour of the museum’s storage vaults in the lower level of the historic building. The museum has been building its collection since the 1800s, and the vaults contain thousands of specimens including foxes, owls, swans, raccoons and hawks, as well as insects, fossils, shells, bones and more. Students may request a specimen from the vault to draw in a future class. Please note: vaults are accessible by stairs only.

Classes run from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM and will break at noon for a bring-your-own lunch and informal critique. During each class, instructor Kathy Hodge will explain basic anatomy and offer demonstrations, assistance and advice.

You may bring the medium of your choice — charcoal pencils, graphite, colored pencils, pastels, or watercolor (please, no oils or acrylics). Some drawing supplies will also be available for you to use. All skill levels are welcome to participate, high school age and up. Class size is limited to 12 persons, so sign up early to guarantee your spot.

Program fee per session: $25 per adult; $20 for museum members. Pre-registration is required. For more information please call (401) 680-7221 or email [email protected].

ABOUT KATHY HODGE: Kathy Hodge attended RISD and has a BFA in painting from Swain School of Design. She has been working in oils and charcoal for over 30 years, has exhibited widely and was awarded the 2017 Fellowship in Painting from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Kathy has long taken inspiration from the natural world in her landscape paintings and was appointed Artist in Residence in thirteen of our National Parks and Forests. She first discovered the collections of the Museum of Natural History when taking a museum class and she is very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to draw from the collections.