Stretching & Preparing Canvas for Painting

with Maggie Bandstra

July 26, 3:00–6:00p.m.

Tuition: $100

Materials Fee: $80

Students will learn to create and take home one small and one medium canvas for oil or acrylic paintings. We will briefly discuss the history of substrates and understand how to choose the right surface for the media of your choice. Demonstrations in stretching various-sized canvases using different methods will be the focus of this class. Students will discuss a variety of substrates and the pros and cons of different materials used in creating them. Then, the students will each make two stretched canvases of their own. 

Plan to bring: A sharp pair of scissors, a staple gun with ¼ inch staples, and canvas pliers.

Maggie Clifford-Bandstra (she/her)  is the Manager of Ox-Bow House at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist Residencies. She maintains an active studio practice and was an Adjunct Professor at Hope College from 2022 to 2023. Bandstra earned her MFA. in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021. From 1997-2020, Bandstra taught pre-K through 6th grade art classes. In 2014, she began curating pop-up art shows, which led to the establishment of the Lakeshore Visual Arts Collective. She is currently the president of this non-profit and serves as secretary on the executive board of the Douglas DDA.  Maggie's paintings are nature abstracted, using exaggerated scales, movement, and patterns to explore the themes of nature, healing, and human connection. Her passion is not just about creating art but also about sharing her love of art, living a creative life with others, and inspiring them to do the same.

All images courtesy of the artist.