creative craft classes
Get started with a new craft or go deeper with an existing passion you want to nurture in a multitude of mediums.
Upcoming classes in collage, drawing, watercolor, gouache, oil painting, and knitting. All taught through an approach that centers play and embracing your unique language of making art.
Mel's Watercolor and Gouache Class was an incredibly worthwhile use of my Sunday mornings over the last six weeks.
I now feel more confident setting up and starting a painting. I've learned many new techniques for building my skills—even when my energy and motivation are too low to create original work. They walked us through crafting and editing high-quality reference photos, what to look for when creating value studies and thumbnails, and painting techniques to achieve styles unique to watercolor and gouache.
-Hilary W. - Watercolor & Gouache Online Class
What are my students saying?
Mel is an amazing artist and not always are amazing artists good teachers.
But Mel has a tremendous facility to impart their knowledge to their students in a relatable way. I have taken two classes from them and hope to take many more. Loved this class too!
-Student in Beginning Watercolor from Photos
who is teaching?
I’m Mel Mitchell-Jackson and I’ve been an arts educator since 2012. I got my start teaching at local museums, running programs in DIY artist-run spaces, and teaching skills-focused workshops at an art school.
I’ve got my BFA in Painting, but have always been a polymath working in photography, music, film, and recently, fiber art! I focus on making learning craft accessible and teach in a way that demystifies art as I believe creativity is a human right.
After spending half a decade teaching art and creativity at Apple and working at various community centers guiding local residents through craft, I’ve gone all-online with my practice to reach an international audience and expand the community I can support.
ai- free guarantee
at no point during classes or retreats with me will I be utilizing any form of generative AI. Human creativity is too precious to offload to a chat bot. Everything I create for you — and everything on this website— will be crafted through my 13 years of teaching and writing with your human experience in mind.
retreats & guided experiences
Get support to make your authentic work while connecting with nature. Whether you need help using your phone less to make more or building a weekend retreat in the woods, I’d love to help.
I work with folks directly in the containers of creative retreats and private tutoring sessions, but also have a self guided pod-class, DIY retreat, and zines to support your practice.
“Working with Mel was a great experience! They asked super thoughtful questions to prepare for my retreat, provided useful activities relevant to the challenges I'm facing, and offered excellent advice & reference materials. Highly recommend, especially if you need some extra structure to jump start your practice and get you un-stuck!”
Courtney F. (she/they)
"Mel is a fantastic guide to help handle the ups and downs of creativity. I definitely felt a lot of shame about my creativity struggles when I found them. It was very validating and healing to share my pain with another artist who understands. The emotional safety I received from them really helped me release the heaviness I felt around my identity as an artist.
Kellie L. (she/her)