Ringling College Studio + Digital Arts is about to begin their Winter 2021/Spring 2022 term. Offering a variety of classes for teens and adults, S+DA is a division of Ringling College’s Department of Continuing Studies. It’s a great place for local artists, art enthusiasts, and art newbies to brush up on their talents and learn new skills.

S+DA’s classes are held at the Ringling College Museum Campus at 1001 S. Tamiami Trail. It’s right next to the Sarasota Art Museum, which locals may know better as the old Sarasota High School building. The gorgeous facility, with its Gothic windows and exposed brick walls, is where S+DA’s technology and digital classes are held. Just across the courtyard, right next to the bistro, is home to S+DA’s figure drawing, painting, and ceramics courses.

Community classes have been offered by Ringling’s Department of Continuing Studies for decades, but the new facility has only been available for the last few years. The facility includes two brand-new drawing studios, as well as the world-class Linda and Dick Dickinson Ceramics Studio. These new studios have allowed S+DA to expand its programming and reach communities of all backgrounds.

Over the course of this past year, S+DA has teamed up with the Sarasota Art Museum to offer free ceramics and figure-drawing activities. Held during SAM’s free Museum Day, S+DA welcomed the community to their studios with a monthly Free Studio Day. All who attended were able to learn to draw the human figure and paint a clay puzzle piece.

S+DA’s programming includes classes geared toward drawing and painting the human figure, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a professional artist in order to take a class. Free Studio Day has provided an opportunity for teens and adults of all skill levels to try their hands at figure drawing, whether they’ve drawn before or are interested in drawing in the future.

The Community Puzzle was created by children, teens, and adults who visited the S+DA ceramics studio during Free Studio Day, and by the end of the few months more than 200 puzzle pieces were created by the Sarasota community. The Community Puzzle will soon be on view at the Ringling Museum Campus.

Every Spring term, S+DA brings in a visiting artist to offer an intensive workshop. This March, S+DA will be offering a workshop with master sculptor Philippe Faraut titled “The Full Figure in Clay.” This workshop includes three days of intensive study on sculpting exercises in water-based clay of the nude figure. All materials are included. Spots are limited, so early registration is encouraged. To register, visit ringling.edu/sda.