Today, we recognize our evolution and celebrate our successes in 2024. Grab a fresh brush or a new medium to create your outlook for 2025!
Looking back to the spring of 2016, a small group of independent artists began teaching for what would become the Art Verve Academy.
Since then, our efforts to "learn, create & cultivate" the visual arts have flourished in Tucson and the surrounding areas.
2024 By the Numbers
This year, we taught various artistic techniques using traditional and exciting new mediums, expanded our locations, and hosted several community events. Let's break down 2024:
- 28 Art classes or workshops for adults were held.
- 10 Creative Pathways (In Person) were held.
- 2 Creative Pathways (Live Online) were held over the summer months.
- 2 Locations in Tucson, Arizona, provided a studio space for our classes.
- 6 Instructors taught with us.
- 12 Social media or content platforms spread our news.
- 10 Educational blog articles were written discussing skill, creativity, and more.
- 1,024 (and counting) subscribers for our monthly eNewsletter.
- 1,036 (and counting) members of the Art Verve Association.
- 24 Meetup events were scheduled (in-person or live online).
- 0 (ZERO) experience or skill necessary to get started!
Favorite Medium? There's a Class for That!
Here are just a few of the creative lessons our students enjoyed this past year:
- The Power of Color
- Printmaking Without a Press – Monotypes
- Sketching Every Day in Watercolor
- Collage & Mixed Media Madness
- Abstracting From Nature
- Down-to-Earth Drawing for Beginners
- Fun with Illustration: Comical Birds
- Getting Acquainted with Pastel
“Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
– John Steinbeck
Meeting Up and Making Art
Newcomers to Southern Arizona, as well as Tucson natives, like to utilize Meetups to find friends and expand their interests. Accordingly, the Art Verve Association has provided a fun, inclusive place for hundreds of people to meet and make art since 2017.
We often connect in local coffee shops and restaurants, where artists can practice and play while chatting with others. Sometimes, we host "field trips" to inspiring regional locales, and in 2024, these included the Tucson Botanical Gardens, Biosphere II, and Fort Lowell Park.
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| Biosphere II - meetup and online challenge. |
Monthly meetups will continue to be scheduled at favorite spots and new ones. We all know Tucson provides endless, inspiring vistas and quirky, one-of-a-kind locations and venues. Feel free to contact us with new suggestions or to co-host an event.
Looking Forward in 2025
The flip side of a 2024 retrospective is the anticipatory look ahead. The first quarter courses have all been scheduled, and this lineup will have you running for your art supplies. In addition to Saturday morning Creative Pathways with Lisa, you can choose from many drawing classes for facial features or a visual vocabulary, pastel cloudscapes, expressive brushwork, light and shadow in illustration, and art journaling.
Not sure where to start creatively? A fun, one-day workshop in January will use art zines and writing prompts to plot out the new year.
Whether you've taken a class, joined our group at Crave Coffee, or simply followed our newsletter or socials, Art Verve Academy is thrilled that you've included us in your creative life this year.
Let's continue to learn, create, and cultivate in 2025 together.🎨
