SIDE STREET
STUDIO ARTS
Where Elgin Creates
WORKSHOP SERIES
June Stained Glass Workshops
Friday, June 20 from 5pm - 8pm OR Saturday, June 21 from 1pm - 4pm
The same workshop is offered both days.
$85 per class - Materials included.In this hands-on workshop, you’ll join artist Abby Franke to explore the copper foil technique—cutting, shaping, and assembling colorful glass pieces into your choice of a whimsical mushroom or delicate butterfly design. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to expand your creative skills, you’ll receive step-by-step guidance and all the materials needed to craft a unique stained glass keepsake.
Best for students ages 18+
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/jfx74SDaR1jNs4xQ6
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR, Maritza Garcia:
Abby Franke received her BFA in Integrative Studio Practice from the Herron School of Art and Design in May of 2024. She focuses in Illustration and Sculpture, while her artistic practice revolves around the themes of girlhood and the female experience. Her sculptural work utilizes a variety of mediums but often returns to wearable pieces and the use of personal writing as text in her work, her illustrative pieces are primarily done digitally. She seeks to celebrate the complexities of femininity, inviting viewers into tactile and intimate explorations of identity, resilience, and vulnerability.
$85 - All materials included| Ages 18+
Listening Circle & Arts FREE Workshop
Sunday, June 22 from 2:30pm - 4pm
Join us for a listening circle and arts workshop focused on decolonizing our relationships with ourselves, each other, and Mother Earth. We will create independently and collectively with natural and repurposed materials, and explore concepts of racial equity, identity, and our intercultural connections.
INSTRUCTOR: Hallie Sanclemente Morrison is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar, muralist, teacher, curator, and community organizer. Hallie’s practice revolves around the concepts of "living inquiry" and “becoming indigenous to place." In line with restorative social justice practices, their artwork is healing in its own making, and stems from art-as-therapy and contemplative methods. Hallie is first-generation Colombian-American with Indigenous Mayan and Muisca roots and deeply reveres Mother Earth’s voice. Along their journey of reconnecting with eagle and condor wisdom, Hallie founded “The Great Listening,” an Elgin-based group spotlighting and collaborating with Indigenous leaders to restore how we collectively live in reciprocity with Mother Earth herself. Hallie serves on the board of the Native organization Midwest SOARRING Foundation, and serves as a Community Catalyst with Elgin’s grassroots grant-funding program, Elevating Equity.
Open to all, but please register so we can plan accordingly.
FREE, Please Register| Ages 14+
PLEASE ONLY REGISTER IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AS INTEREST IS HIGH AND SPACE IS LIMITED.
Explore Graffiti Basics FREE Workshop
Monday, June 23 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Working on a sketchbook or “black book” is an essential part of the urban art world. It serves as practice but also to enhance and grow your artistic abilities in graffiti art. You can expect to learn the fundamentals and beginning techniques to help you on this journey in exploring and experimenting in this style of art. We’re going to learn basic lettering and color schemes that will help you create and get you started in this form of artistic expression.
Participants will be working with a "black sketch book" and paint markers.
INSTRUCTOR: Leo Perez is an artist from Chicago specifically from the legendary Pilsen neighborhood of this great city. From working on Product Of Society anthology to the "El Toro Dorado series, Leo loves to entertain the masses with vibrant colors and graffiti inspired artwork. Leo has also worked on a few Marvel Comics properties for Upper Deck, as well as Ghostbusters and Rick And Morty trading card sets for Cryptozoic Ent. Leo Perez has taught at multiple for profit nonprofits, as well as having his own solo art show at Side Street Studios in 2019.
Open to all, but please register so we can plan accordingly.
FREE, Please Register| Ages 14+ | Maximum 15 students
PLEASE ONLY REGISTER IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AS INTEREST IS HIGH AND SPACE IS LIMITED.
JUNE ZINE CLUB w/ ADA
Thursday, June 26 from 5:30pm - 8pm
Join us at Zine Club, where you can make your own mini magazine. Instructor Ada of Corrupt Kids Inc. will show you how to create your zine and have a prompt for you to follow along. Register for one session or both.
INSTRUCTOR: Ada, of Corrupt Kids Inc., I'm a printmaker and dress local punk artists (or at least try to). Check out my work on Instagram @corruptkidsinc.
FREE | Ages 14+
Open to all, but please register so we can plan accordingly. Max 15-20 students.
PLEASE ONLY REGISTER IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AS INTEREST IS HIGH AND SPACE IS LIMITED.
REST AS RESISTANCE
Final Workshop in the Series: Saturday June 28 1pm - 4pm
Side Street Studio Arts would like to invite you for a series of workshops centered around the ever-important topic of rest. Drawing from decades of experience in somatic movement and creative practices, Luiza Moraes leads this series of workshops with the intention of restoring our inherent access to rest. In contrast to the relentless productivity-driven culture, the focus here is on a self-paced, curiosity-driven journey of exploration and play.
By stepping away from the colonial fixation on speed, we center our attention on comfort, ease, and safety. Through gentle movement practices, we nurture nervous system regulation and cultivate the ability to discern when to move and when to pause. In the supportive space of community, we embrace playfulness as the true measure of our well-being.
Practices include free writing, constructive rest, and the Feldenkrais Method. No prior experience with art or specific movement practices is necessary. You may sign up for one, two or all workshops.
Learn more about the instructor, Luiza Moraes.
This workshop series made possible by a generous grant from Healing Illinois.
Find more info on their mission HERE.
FREE Workshop | Best for Ages 14+
PLEASE ONLY REGISTER IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AS INTEREST IS HIGH AND SPACE IS LIMITED.
BASKET WEAVING FOR BEGINNERS
Saturday July 26 10am - 3pm
Kick off summer and craft your own Summer Harvest Basket here at Side Street!
In this beginner-friendly workshop, students will learn the basic techniques of basket weaving using rattan reed. This workshop will cover how to weave a square base, a continuous weave with flat reed, twining, inserting a notched wooden handle, lashing a rim and more. The foundational tools and terminology of wicker basketry will be discussed as well. At the end of the day, each participant will go home with their very own fully-completed Summer Harvest Basket.
Basketry is a centuries-old art form that spans many cultures. Once students know the basics, they can go on to create their own baskets of many different styles and sizes. Join us to immerse yourself in this beautiful, functional, and meditative craft!
All materials will be provided.
Class Tuition: $80, Materials Fee: $30, Total Price: $110.
Please bring a snack or sack lunch, or be prepared to order/pick up something to eat during class time.
Minimum 4 participants, maximum 12 participants.
Christine Sciortino, RYT is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and holistic practitioner with a lifelong passion for textile arts. She began sewing her own clothes at the age of 11 and went on to study Costume Design and Film at New York University. After 12 years working as a makeup artist, hair stylist, and costume designer behind the scenes of major film, TV, and theater productions, Christine published the book Makeup Artistry for Film and Television in 2020. She created and instructed the curriculum for Cinema Makeup at Columbia College Chicago from 2016-2020 before relocating to St. Charles where she learned basket weaving at a local folk arts school. She fell in love with the craft and now teaches basket weaving, hosts basket weaving meetups, and sells custom handmade baskets. Her favorite place to weave is out in her garden with her dog and backyard chickens by her side.
PLEASE ONLY REGISTER IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AS INTEREST IS HIGH AND SPACE IS LIMITED.