Abstraction and
the Natural World
Instructed by Megan Wolfkill
Thursdays, 6-9 pm
October 22 - December 17
(no class November 26)
Registration Deadline: October 19
[ *** REGISTER HERE *** ]
Description
In Abstraction and the Natural World, students will create abstract and nonobjective paintings grounded in observation of the natural world. Across eight sessions, students will work both plein air and in the studio. Outdoor sessions will focus on collecting visual information through direct observation, which students will then bring back into the studio. These investigations will inspire a lexicon of abstract and nonobjective forms used to develop new paintings.
Throughout the course, students will:
Explore methods of abstraction stemming from observation.
Investigate form, mark, color, and composition
Consider paint itself as content
And examine the visual and conceptual relationships between the “real” and the “abstract.”
Tuition: $390
Class Size
Minimum: 5
Maximum: 12
Materials List: (link to printable PDF)
Level of Study: Intermediate
Suggested Prerequisites:
Intro to Painting or equivalent
LOCATION: Unless otherwise specified, all courses are hosted at Manifest's new facility at 'M1' in Clifton at 3464 Central Parkway (see map and directions below). Manifest's new facility provides multiple studio classrooms, private lesson space, a darkroom, a film processing room, a state of the art printmaking wing, and a multi-purpose lecture and class meeting space as well as on-site parking, grounds, and exterior spaces in which to relax, discuss, and make art. The studios are outfitted with professional equipment, furniture, and study aids.
Map to Manifest's M1 Studios | Studio Calendar | Darkroom Calendar
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Wolfkill

Fairfield Porter
About the Instructor

Megan Wolfkill (b. 1996) is a Cincinnati-based painter and dancer who contemplates tenderness, personal histories, and place-based imagery in her abstract and nonobjective paintings. She was the 2025-2026 Manifest Artist-in-Residence (MAR) and was the 2024-2025 Scholar-in-Residence at Manifest in Cincinnati, OH. Her two-person show to culminate her MAR year opened May 2026. Megan earned her MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting & Drawing at the University of Tennessee where her thesis exhibition titled Back-to-Back opened in March 2024. Megan has had artwork in juried exhibitions in Tennessee, Illinois, Louisiana, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Megan has attended residencies at Penland School of Craft in 2019 and 2020 and the Hambidge Center in 2019. Her work has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings Midwest #179, Ouch! Collective, and I Like Your Work catalogs. In 2018, Megan completed a BFA in Studio Art and Dance at Tulane University.
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