Adult Classes and Workshops
Whether you’re looking to explore, develop, or re-visit a hobby, meet new people, or enjoy a date night, we have classes for you. With a mix of stand-alone (one-time) classes and recurring series, keep up to date with our programs calendar throughout the year! We have classes and workshops on weekdays, evenings, and weekends to meet a variety of schedules.
Please note that we do not issue refunds to individuals who need to cancel after registering. In some instances, we may be able to transfer these fees to another program. Please contact the Director of Programs with any questions:
A Taste of Spain: Gourmet Experience
Saturday, July 27, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
$120 non members, $99 members
Experience a Mediterranean Summer evening with our CEO, Donna Guzzo, who is Cuban and Spanish. Chef Charlotte Chastain will lead the tastings.
Enjoy creating and sampling delicious regional tapas, Malagueña salad, gazpacho, and dessert, each paired with Cava, Albariño and Rioja wines. It's a Spanish extravaganza, so wear your black, red, and yellow to this exclusive event!
Bring your aprons, and your appetite.
Only 10 spots are available for this culinary adventure!
SOLD OUT
Geometric Patterns from the Alhambra Palace: Drawing and Watercolor Painting with Dima Kroma
Saturday, August 3, 10 AM - 12 PM
$50 non members, $40 members
Constructed during the 13th to 15th centuries, the Nasrid Palace of Alhambra stands as a testament to Islamic civilization's sophistication and its artistic achievements in Andalusia.
Join us in exploring the most distinctive surface patterns within this architectural marvel. We will study the intricate patterns and tessellations, guiding you through step-by-step drawings where math and art meet.
This workshop is designed for beginners, and the more experienced individuals seeking to refresh or develop their skills in Islamic Geometric Pattern design.
Under The Tuscan Sun: Acrylic Series with Charlotte Chastain
![Charlotte Tuscan field](/images/Charlotte_Tuscan_field.jpg)
Floral Watercolor Series with Charlotte Chastain
Tuesdays, August 6 - 27 (4 sessions) 10 AM - 12 PM
$220 non-members, $199 members
Participants will create compositions with a floral focus, either working from a landscape scene, or a still life. Instructor Charlotte Chastain will guide students
of all skill levels through watercolor techniques.
A Taste of Italy: Gourmet Experience
Saturday, August 24, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
$120 non members, $99 members
Experience an Italian Summer evening with our CEO, Donna Guzzo and Chef Charlotte Chastain.
Enjoy creating and sampling delicious regional recipes, such as Risotto, Pecorino and Prosciutto antipasti, sausage, contorni, dessert, and more, each paired
with the perfect wine assortments and a featured cocktail, an Aperol spritz. It's an Italian extravaganza, so wear your green, white, and red to this exclusive event!
Only 10 spots are available for this culinary adventure!
Bring your aprons, and your appetite!
Cultural History Presentation
Religious Vision for Natural Spaces:
Frederick Law Olmsted, Founder of American Landscape Architecture
Join us for an exciting lecture and refreshments in our new building
Friday, August 30, 10 AM - 11 AM
$15 non-members, $10 members
Presented by:
Brandi Denison, Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Program Director
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
University of North Florida
Masterworks Intensive: Impressionism and Beyond Acrylic Painting with Charlotte Chastain
Tuesdays, September 3 - October 8 (6 sessions) 10 AM-12 PM
$250
Reproduce Masterworks to gain insight on perspective, color, and composition, while creating your own variation. Instructor Charlotte Chastain
will guide participants to choosing a master work and creating the reproduction to practice master techniques.
Needle Felting Program with Fiber Artist Liz Canali
Two Workshops on Saturday, September 28
Felted Soap Workshop 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
$45
Participants bring their choice of soap
Explore how wool becomes felt in this workshop geared for children and adults. Students will learn the process of felting to create a useful soap and washcloth combo that is as fun to use as it is to gift to others! Students bring 2 or 3 bars of soap and 3 hand towels to the workshop.
Needle Felted Mini Landscape Workshop 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
$75, all supplies included
Learn 2D needle felting techniques to create a miniature landscape. Learn how to translate a design, choose the appropriate wools, create a sky and foreground and add details. Be inspired by the instructor's designs or create your own!
This class is appropriate for both beginner and experienced felters. These handmade pieces make a beautiful gift, or look perfect in your home.
Master Artist Portrait Features Workshop - Oil Painting with Master Artist Christina Mastrangelo
Friday - Sunday, October 18, 19, 20, 2024, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
$370 non-members, $330 members
Rather than trying to paint an entire portrait, this workshop will focus on painting the eye, nose, and mouth after a master painter. We will paint one feature per canvas, to end up with a tiny trilogy of studied anatomy. This three-day workshop is pivotal for portrait artists and those wishing to explore the elements of painting that define the work of master painters. A guided examination of the master’s work will reveal much about palette choices and value structures and enable correct identification of colors and values as they relate to accuracy in color mixing. Students will examine the structure and anatomy of the eyes, nose, and mouth as portrayed by a master painter. Most importantly, students will learn to observe the subtle value shifts and edge variety that allow master portraits to look so powerfully realistic.
Artist Presentation with Papercut Artist Hiromi Moneyhun
Friday, October 25, 10:00AM
$15 non members, $10 members
Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun is a papercut artist. She was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, the capital city for close to a thousand years before Tokyo. She moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2004. Hiromi has been written of in every major publication in the Jacksonville area, including the city’s largest newspaper, the Florida Times Union. She has been featured in Huffington Post and was the subject of one episode of a syndicated Japanese television show. Her work has appeared numerous times throughout Florida in group and solo shows, in New York City, London, and most significantly in Bentonville, Arkansas, in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s 2014-15 show, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now. Hiromi began drawing at a young age, and by her teen years had developed a style of her own. With no formal art training, she has evolved a unique, homegrown artistic voice that combines traditional Japanese visual art forms with the super-modernity that is now found in all of Japan’s biggest cities.
Hiromi’s three-dimensional cut paper pieces are the result of a multistep process that generates an art that is at once amusingly lighthearted and startlingly alive. Her pieces invite the viewer in; indeed, one feels compelled to reach out and touch the images. Like the works of all the great masters, Hiromi’s pieces are best appreciated when viewed in person. Join the presentation to learn more!
Wet Felted Poinsettias Workshop with Fiber Artist Liz Canali
Saturday, November 9, 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
$85
All supplies included
Explore how wool becomes felt in this workshop. Students will learn the process of felting to create a 3 layer flower from a variety of wools and silk roving for you or to gift to others! Choose a pin or magnet back to complete the project. All materials are included but students should plan on bringing 2 large towels and 2 hand towels, a pair of scissors (and optional: electric palm sander). Makes the perfect decoration or gift!
Still Life and Floral Painting Workshop with Qiang Huang
$550 (non-members)
![qiang huong still life](/images/artists/qiang_huong_still_life.jpg)
![FCCC](/images/line-black.png)
![FCCC](/images/line-black.png)
Realistic Flower Painting from a Photo 2025 with Master Artist Christina Mastrangelo
April 5 and 6, 2025, Saturday/Sunday
10AM - 5PM
$270 for non members, $250 for FCCC members
Course Description:
Learn traditional and dependable techniques for painting realistic flowers. We start with a foundational wash drawing, then learn accurate color mixing principles that we then use while delicately painting each flower. We will work from a photographic reference (supplied by the teacher) that includes a variety of flowers in the bouquet, so that after the workshop has ended you will be able to continue to practice what you learned and finish your piece. This workshop is suitable for all levels, and we may sit while we paint.
Past Programs
Wine and Watercolors with Ellen Diamond (SOLD OUT)
May 8, 5-7 PM
$55 non members, $45 members
Natural Perspectives in Watercolor with Charlotte Chastain (SOLD OUT)
Tuesdays, April 16 - May 7, (4 sessions) 10 AM-12 PM
$220 non members, $199 members
Participants will practice techniques in color washes, layering darks and lights, and focusing on perspectives and composition in watercolor with local artist, Charlotte Chastain.
This program is for beginner to intermediate levels.
Guided Meditation through Visual Art with Hilda Cioffi
Saturday, April 6, 10 AM-11:15 AM
$40
Hilda Cioffi, RN, MSN, Usui Reiki Master and animal Reiki practicioner, will lead the group through a peaceful mediation using the visual of an art image in FCCC's gallery, including serene paintings by Teresa Graham. https://www.teresagraham-art.com/
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a therapeutic approach in which the practitioner facilitates the delivery of universal energy to an individual to enhance vitality and promote the body’s innate ability to heal. The intention of the Reiki practitioner is to act as a conduit for the delivery of universal energy and thereby replenish and restore energy flow and balance. Reiki works in harmony with all other types of healing and treatments, but it does not replace ongoing treatments prescribed by your primary healthcare provider.
Sharpen Your Palette Knife Painting Skills with Jeff Desautels
Wednesdays, 10 AM - 12:30 PM
March 6- March 27 (4 sessions)
Intermediate level
$220 non members, $199 members
Wood Working Presentation with Norbert Ploetz
Saturday, March 16, 10:30AM - 12:30PM
Wood-working/wood-carving artist Norbert Ploetz presents an artistic demonstration from concept to process to completion in this exciting format,
surrounded by his current exhibit.
Acrylic Inks on Watercolor Canvas: A Unique Color Technique with Sandy Harrington
Friday, February 23, 10:00am-12:00pm
$55, $45 members
Botanical Mandala - Illustration and Watercolor with Elaine Bergstrom (In process)
First Coast Cultural Center
6000B Sawgrass Village Circle
Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082
Nature surrounds us with beautiful dried specimens during the cooler months.
Learn to draw seed pods with techniques of foreshortening, line, and textures.
Create a dynamic Mandala from nature using watercolors, gouache and microns.
Post Impressionist Acrylic Painting with Master Artist Ellen Diamond SOLD OUT
February 10 and 11, Saturday and Sunday
10:00am - 3:00pm
First Coast Cultural Center
6000B Sawgrass Village Circle
Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082
Landscapes and Seascapes: Acrylic painting workshop inspired by Impressionist Masters, Pissarro, van Gogh, and Monet with Charlotte Chastain
Friday and Saturday, January 26 and 27, 10:00am-3:00pm
First Coast Cultural Center
6000B Sawgrass Village Circle
Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082
$200
![FCCC](/images/line-black.png)
Views Through the Window: Acrylic Painting with Charlotte Chastain SOLD OUT
First Coast Cultural Center
6000B Sawgrass Village Circle
Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082
$200
![Charlotte window](/images/Charlotte_window.jpg)
![FCCC](/images/line-black.png)
Art History Presentation
Jacksonville and the Origins and History of American Art
Join us for an exciting lecture and refreshments in our new building
January 26, 10:00 am
Presented by:
P. Scott Brown, Ph.D.
Professor of Art History
Department of Art, Art History & Design
University of North Florida
First Coast Cultural Center
6000B Sawgrass Village Circle
Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082
$15 non-members, $10 members
Experimental Photo Transfer Workshop with Matthew Abercrombie
Saturday, November 4, 10 AM - 1 PM
$75
This workshop for ages 16 + will explore the experimental printmaking process of photo transfer. Participants can work with existing photos, photos from their phone or create all new images during the workshop. This is a mixed media process so be prepared to use water, paper, ink and a little bit of elbow grease. We will have fun making unique one of a kind pieces with a process that is perfect for those that "can't even draw a stick figure". Please bring old photos or photos on your phone and be ready to enjoy the process!
Pen and Ink Drawing and Watercolor Painting with Charlotte Chastain: Inspired by van Gogh
Tuesdays, 10 AM - 12 PM
October 3 - November 7 (6 sessions)
First Coast Cultural Center
$200
![FCCC](/images/line-black.png)
Friday - Sunday, 10 AM - 5 PM
October 13, 14, and 15
First Coast Cultural Center
$300
![Portrait of Eliza](/images/2023/Portrait_of_Eliza.jpg)
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.