Whether you’re looking to explore, develop, or re-visit a hobby, meet new people, or enjoy a date night or fun night out with friends, colleagues, or family, we have classes for you. With a mix of stand-alone (one-time) classes and recurring series, keep an eye on our programs calendar throughout the year! We have classes and workshops on weekdays, evenings, and weekends to meet a variety of schedules. Please contact Toni Thomas with any questions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 904-280-0614 ext. 1206.
Painting with Coffee, taught by Award Winning Watercolorist Teresa Cook
Date: Sunday, December 11
Location: First Coast Cultural Center
3972 Third St. So, Jacksonville Beach
Time: 10am – 12pm
Cost: $45 per person; all supplies included; $40 for FCCC members
A Message from Teresa:
I mean honestly, who doesn’t love coffee? I create the majority of my watercolors while drinking coffee first thing in the morning and I want to do that with you. We will vibe and talk and listen to great music, while using coffee to create a cool painting. I have painted with coffee in the past and it has been the basis for a lot of my paintings and prints, staining the paper and adding another tone of brown to my art. So, let’s use coffee to paint with for this class. You will leave with a painting you might even hang next to your coffee station at home. In this class, we will use the coffee to create different tones by adding more water to lighten or more coffee to darken. And of course, we will be starting our morning with coffee as well, so bring your favorite coffee cup if you like. Let’s start our morning together, with coffee, paint, vibe and listen to some Sunday morning tunes.
About Teresa:
Teresa Cook is an Abstract Architectural Watercolor artist and instructor, born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She has been painting watercolor since 2012 and obtained her BFA from University of North Florida. Over the last ten years, Teresa has been traveling to different countries, including Amsterdam for the 2019 Urban Sketchers Symposium, as well as around her native city. She creates mini watercolor abstractions, but she has always found pleasure in the landscapes and buildings that have been created over time. Each of her watercolor and ink paintings are created on a smooth paper called, “Yupo”, and are meant to capture a moment in time without the interruption of people. You will not see human interaction within her art. Teresa is an award-winning artist, including most recently winning second place for her painting at the Jacksonville Bicentennial Art Exhibition.
Introduction to Nature Journaling, taught by Elaine Bergstrom
Date: Friday, December 16
Location: First Coast Cultural Center
3972 Third St. So, Jacksonville Beach
Time: 9am-12pm
Cost: $45 per person; $40 for FCCC members
About The Class:
In the bustle of the holiday season, take some time for yourself and reconnect with nature. Learn the techniques of nature journaling with some easy methods and art techniques, including sketching and recording your observations and curiosities. Nature journaling inspires us to wonder and ask questions as we document what we see before us, slowing down and recording what we see with drawing, notes, and even numbers. For this stand-alone (one-time) class, we will bring the outdoors inside at the Cultural Center art studio. Keep an eye out for an outdoor nature journaling series to build on this introduction in early 2023.
A supply list will be provided in advance of the class.
About Elaine:
Originally from Chicago, Elaine received her BA in Design from the University of Illinois, Chicago, a Botanical Illustration Certification from the Morton Arboretum and a Teaching Education Certification from Carlow University in Pittsburgh. Always continuing her education with workshops, she is a member of the Sumi-e Society, American Botanical Society of Artists, Jacksonville Watercolor Society. Her work has been published on the cover of the “Jerusalem Stone” and in the 2020 and 2019 Publications (a) river rising Anthology and Warton Heart. For over 30 years she has been teaching students of all ages to express the beauty of nature.
Yoga and Manifesting Your Dreams, taught by visiting instructor Jacquelyn Autrey
A 2 hour in-person yoga, meditation, & philosophy workshop, open to all levels.
Two Options for Dates and Location at the Beaches and in San Marco!
Saturday, December 17 from 9am – 11am
First Coast Cultural Center (3972 Third St. So., Jacksonville Beach)
Sunday, December 18 from 9am - 11am
Pawsitive Healing and the Office of Life Coach Dr. Carla Rodrigues (1617 Thacker Ave, Jacksonville – in San Marco)
Photo Credit Arina Garcia Photography
As we approach the end of 2022 and look to the year ahead, this yoga workshop builds on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition with a focus on manifesting your dreams. Set aside a morning in December for yourself and join this special yoga workshop with visiting instructor Jacquelyn Autrey of The Yoga Experience in Flagstaff, Arizona. The workshop will include movement (up to 1.5 hours) as well as time for philosophy and meditation. Beginners, experienced yoga students, and fellow yoga instructors are all welcome to attend this inspiring session.
Benefits of the Workshop:
• Practice yoga in the Hatha yoga tradition, which includes alignment, and vinyasa.
• Learn a short meditation practice to develop concentration on our highest goals
• We will discuss the philosophy of karma (or cause & effect) sourced from Tibetan Buddhist texts.
• We will experiment with a 2,000 year old system to develop the power of our mind to manifest our dreams.
• We will have an accountability support group.
About Jacquelyn
Jacquelyn Autrey has been practicing yoga for 18 years and teaching yoga and meditation for 9 years. She received her Yoga Alliance 500 hour certification in 2014 through ISHTA Yoga (Integrated Science of Tantra, Hatha, and Ayurveda) with Alan & Sarah Finger. She was a graduate of Sarva Yoga Academy in 2013 and the Three Jewels Meditation Teacher Training in 2017. She completed a 7 year course in Tibetan Buddhism (a condensed version of a 20 year Geshe Degree from Sera Mey Monastery (the lineage of the Dalai Lamas). She recently completed a one month-long, solo, silent, meditation retreat and also has Reiki 1 completed. Jacquelyn teaches to each individuals’ needs through the practices of compassion, a daily meditation practice and the 8 Limbs of Yoga. She is honored to pass on the powerful lineage of Hatha yoga and knowledge of the subtle body to empower and heal her students. The breath is a strong focus in her asana classes, as well as using safe alignment, pranayama, heat building asana postures, kriyas, and meditation to bring the body and mind into sync, allowing for an opening of the subtle psychic channels, toning of the nervous system, and an opening into sustainable happiness.
Info and Registration: FCCC Beaches Location (Dec. 17)
Info and Registration: San Marco Location (Dec. 18)
Inking and Watercolor Painting Zoom (Online) Class
Smithsonian Birds and Insects, Taught by Elaine Bergstrom
Date: Tuesday mornings beginning January 17 – 8 sessions (class meets weekly, ending March 7, 2023)
Location: Online via Zoom – a link will be provided
Time: 10am-12pm
Cost: $160 per person; $145 for FCCC members
The Smithsonian has so many natural history collections to draw and paint. This class will focus on drawing and painting birds and insects from the Smithsonian Natural History Book using waterproof ink and Elaine’s watercolors with six tubes. In the process, students will learn about the birds’ and insects’ basic structures as well as watercolor painting techniques. This is an excellent class to expand on your watercolor technique as well as enjoy a painting class from the comfort of home. This class is taught over Zoom and a supply list will be provided in advance.
Watercolors with Six Tubes, taught by Elaine Bergstrom
Date: Thursday mornings beginning January 19th
8 sessions (class meets weekly, ending March 9, 2023)
Location: First Coast Cultural Center
3972 Third St. So, Jacksonville Beach
Time: 10am-12pm
Cost: $260 per person; $235 for FCCC members
Learn a variety of watercolor techniques using a limited palette of six colors – three warm and three cool tubes. Explore glazing vs. mixing colors and develop your loose or realistic painting style with different applications and brush strokes. All levels welcomed. Begin where you are or refresh what you may have forgotten. A supply list will be provided in advance of the class.
Virtual Private Piano/Violin/Cello Lessons with Sabrina Krisberg
Timing as convenient for student and instructor
For more information, please contact Toni Thomas, Programs Manager at 904-280-0614 ext.1206 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Don’t miss your opportunity to unleash your creativity in one of our many art classes and workshops. If you are an artist, novice or professional, we have programs that will enhance your creative process. Please review our Program Policies before registering. If you are unsure about the status of your membership, please call 904-280-0614 ext. 1206. If you would like to become a member of First Coast Cultural Center, please visit membership. Supplies are not included unless otherwise noted. Our dedicated hotel sponsor, Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra, provides special room rates for First Coast Cultural Center workshop attendees, click here to learn more and book a room to use during your workshop.
These programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
