Erin McCluskey Wheeler
Saturday, September 19th, 2026
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
$135 non-member/ $110 member
Location: 1 Commandant’s Lane, Benicia
Level: All levels
Age minimum: 18
Minimum 6 | Maximum 10
Class Description: In this workshop, you will make a portrait of a bird in collage and other media. We will look at ways we can color and cut the feathers out of paper, and how we can build layers with our papers to create depth. We will experiment with different media to add texture to our feathers before assembly. For smaller areas like beaks and claws, we will use a pencil and ink to add realism and precision to our birds. Open to all levels and experience – you don’t have to be good at drawing to make a really cool collage bird.
Supplies: For this class, please bring an 8.5 x 11 printout (black and white or color) of a bird. If you don’t have time to do this before class, the instructor will provide an owl image. Please bring collage materials (colorful papers, magazines, etc.), glue, scissors, a pencil, and a 9×12 piece of mixed media or watercolor paper (in a sketchbook is fine) to collage onto.
Optional: Watercolor paints and brushes, pens (Brush pens, alcohol ink pens, or anything you have on hand), colored pencils or crayons.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Erin McCluskey Wheeler is a painter, collagist, writer, curator, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Erin has a BA in studio art and art history from Beloit College, and an MFA from California College of the Arts in writing. Erin is a faculty member of the 92NY School of the Arts in New York City. With other nonprofits and art centers, Erin teaches collage and mixed media classes and workshops throughout the Bay Area. Erin’s collage based artwork is licensed and sold through West Elm, Minted, Target, and Samsung. She has won multiple awards for her visual art and poetry including the top prize for poetry from Northwind Arts and in 2022 was the featured cover and poster artist for Kolaj Magazine’s World Collage Day. In 2024, she published a book of her writing and photography, Dandelions, with National Monument Press. Erin has been an Artist in Residence with the City of El Cerrito, the City of Walnut Creek, and was awarded a Gallery-as-Studio Residency and solo exhibition at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She was part of the inaugural group of Bay Area Artists in Residence at Nick’s Cove in Tomales Bay in spring 2024 and her work was included in the 2024 Right Here Right Now Richmond Biennial exhibition. Erin is a co-founder and serves on the leadership team for the Visual Artists of Richmond, an artist led arts advocacy group.
Instructor website: erinmwheeler.com