With our annual tree lighting, holiday concerts and a visit from Santa all just around the corner, it’s definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center. The festive feeling is certainly infusing our arts classes. Starting Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, the MACC will roll out a series of weekend workshops and art classes. Students will get to indulge in everything from snow-globe making to creating spackle art. We wanted to know more about these Saturday art workshops. So, we asked our favorite expert, that’s our Deputy Director Tonya Mirtes, for additional information.
There are a lot of Saturday workshops coming up at Monthaven in November and December. Why Saturdays, and what will the students be learning?
Tonya Mirtes: Well, as the weather turns colder, parents start looking at more indoor things for their kids to do on Saturdays. Our fun weekend workshops fit that bill perfectly. These are one day drop-in classes, and they only cost $25! We provide all the supplies. Just bring your child by and drop them off at Monthaven. The kids will have a blast working with our amazingly talented art teachers.
Our first workshop is one that parents can actually do with their children. It’s a wrapping paper class (Nov. 22, 2025). That’s an extremely popular class, because it’s just so neat to get a gift wrapped in paper personalized by your loved one. Kids will also get to make their own magical snow globes (Dec. 6, 2025), and they’ll get to create their own holiday spackle art (Dec. 13, 2025). In another great class, kids will get to create felt gingerbread garlands (Dec. 20, 2025) to decorate their family mantels.
There are some teen classes on the schedule. What do the older kids get to do?
TM: We’ve had a lot of requests for teen classes. In response, we’ve come up with a really interesting teen drawing class (Nov. 22, 2025) that has a special focus. Students will be drawing from photos. This is great for drawing portraits of family members or a favorite pet. Teens will also have a card-making class (Dec. 13, 2025) and a painting class (Dec. 13, 2025) that will involve working with acrylics.
Tell us about the MACC’s upcoming poetry workshop?
TM: This is our second poetry workshop. Everyone loved our first workshop so much that they insisted on doing another one. So, we’ve organized our second poetry workshop (Dec. 13, 2025). This is an adult class, and Jason Tomlinson is the instructor. All you need for this class is a pencil and a pad. During the workshop, students will read poetry, brainstorm, talk about ideas and experiment with poetry structures. Finally, they’ll use their imaginations to create perfect poems.
There’s also a New Year’s workshop. What’s that about?
TM: Yes, that is our vision board class (Jan. 24, 2025). A lot people feel overwhelmed by all of their New Year’s goals and resolutions. It sometimes helps to visualize these goals, which is where the vision board comes in. Students can flip through magazines, clip out pictures that are meaningful and paste them on a board for display. You can hang this up at home, and when you see it, you might feel more accountable. No more ignoring your goals.
Where can people sign up for these great weekend classes?
TM: People should go to monthavenarts.org/classes and click on weekend classes. They can also call me at (615) 822-0789 if they have questions. Our one-day workshops are super convenient. But we also have longer classes that last four, six or eight weeks. Remember, if you can’t make the first class or two that’s not a problem. We can prorate the fee so you only pay for the classes you attend. So, go online and register. We can’t wait to create with you.