Miami International Fine Arts
MIFA
Website: http://www.mifamiami.com
Email: info@mifamiami.com
5900 NW 74th Ave, Miami, United States

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MIFA Painting and Sculpture Programs offer top level instruction in realistic painting, drawing and sculpting.
Our unique curriculum is a blend of the methods used by the famous classical-realist 19th century academies and the two major academies in Florence, Italy. Based on our own experience, we have added some twists that make it more suitable to some contemporary artistic needs!
Mission:
Our mission is to promote a return to discipline in the learning stages of art. By teaching traditional, time-tested methods, we guaranteed the aspiring artist with a strong basement in drawing and painting. They also learn about materials, tips and secrets of the craft.
The mission of the sculpture program is to teach both perceptual skills and conceptual ideas. Perceptual skills are acquired through working from observation utilizing live models, and conceptual ideas about the construction and design of the human body that can be traced back to the sculptors of ancient Greece. Our sculpture curriculum is divided into three major programs and can be completed in 6 trimesters. The sculpture programs are part-time and take place Monday and Tuesday each week of the trimester. All students work from a live model on Mondays, and on technical and conceptual lessons typically without a model on Tuesdays.
Vision:
MIFA envisions artists that embrace creative expression supported by the highest level of craftsmanship. Our teaching methods and techniques provide the tools that students can use to create their own contemporary work and develop a personal artistic language.
Values:
MIFA strives for excellence, mutual respect, integrity, passion, empathy, determination and love for art.
PROGRAM
MIFA program is based on the atelier method, a step by step systematic progression through the curriculum. As each task and requisite skill is acquired, a new more difficult task is assigned. The rate at which students progress through the Drawing and Painting Program varies by individual, and normally requires a minimum of two and a half to three years to complete.
The fact that our academy is based on the atelier system represents a great advantage to the beginner students, as they are sharing the studio space with more advanced students. This gives them the opportunity to see the future projects they will work on, listen to other's critiques, receive advice from advanced students, etc.
Our curriculum is divided in three major programs:
- Intensive drawing program
- Intermediate program
- Advanced painting program
CORE PROGRAM
Full Time
The full time program is designed to be completed in 6 Trimesters.
5 days a week (6 hours/day)
Monday to Friday 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. and 1:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Tuition fee:
Trimester $3200
Monthly $1150
Save $250 by paying the trimester tuition in full
Half Time
2 days a week (6 hours a day) or 4 half days (3 hours a day)
Tuition fee:
Trimester $2000
Monthly $750
Save $250 by paying the trimester tuition in full
MIFA provides the opportunity for students to study on a half-time basis. You would follow the same curriculum as the full time students, which would give you the opportunity to achieve similar results, but of course, over a longer period of time.
SPECIAL PROGRAM
1 day a week (6 hours/day) or 2 half days (3 hours a day)
Monday to Friday 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. and 1:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Or Evenings 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Tuition fee:
Trimester $1250
Monthly $450
Save $100 by paying the trimester tuition in full
MIFA recognizes that it is not always possible for students to enroll in our Full or Half-Time programs. So we have designed a completely new program for those of you who don't have enough time due to work, study or any other reason. This program is perfect for those students who want to start a serious drawing and painting training but are not sure about the full program. One day a week!
PARALLEL EDUCATION
Drawing the life figure, method and procedure
A program designed exclusively as an introduction to drawing and painting of the human figure. Through a series of exercises focused on the fundamental principles whose complexity increases as the student advances in the program.
Full Time
The parallel program is designed to be completed in 3 Trimesters.
5 days a week (3 hours/day)
Monday to Friday 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Fee:
Trimester $2000
Monthly $750
Save $200 by paying the trimester tuition in full
Half Time:
2 days a week (3 hours/day)
Monday to Friday 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Fee:
Trimester $1300
Monthly $500
Save $200 by paying the trimester tuition in full
"It is possible for students to do the core program during the evening classes as well, but the time to complete the program will be longer."
Saturday Open Program:
This program is open and on a monthly basis
Saturdays 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
Fee:
Monthly $250
Day $70
Save $30 by paying the Month
These classes are intended for students who want to paint or draw in their own projects with professional advice and guidance without following the core program. These projects can include Old Masters copies, Landscape paintings, portrait from photos, and any kind of figurative paintings the student would like to develop.
We recommend that everyone start with few drawing projects.
Some exercises can also be given to those students to help improve their skills. These exercises are specially designed for these classes. (Core program exercises, painting from the cast, still life painting, and painting the figure and portrait from the live model ARE NOT part of these classes)
Still Life Program
The Still life program is designed for people who want to develop the tradition of taking everyday objects and transforming them into timeless representations of artistic beauty.
During this program, the student develops his notions about the principles of drawing and painting, applied exclusively to the still life representation. Students will learn the use of value, color, composition, textures and light. They will also learn how to arrange a still life, do colors sketch, mix colors, depict different materials, and how to apply paint in a variety of ways to create the illusion of reality.
The skills acquired during this course can be applied directly to your continued artistic endeavors such as figure drawing, painting and landscape.
Fee:
Full time: Five days a week (3 hours per day) for three trimesters.
Trimester: $2000
Monthly: $750
Half Time: 6 hours per week plus homework
Trimester: $1300
Monthly: $500
INTRO TO SCULPTURE: FORM, STRUCTURE AND TECHNIQUE
In the first two trimesters, students will learn fundamental ideas about the additive process in sculpture. The program is taught utilizing the medium of water-based clay. Water-based clay is an accessible and forgiving medium in which students can execute studies quickly, and begin learning fundamental concepts about how to communicate with three dimensional representations of the human figure.
? Modeling from Life: Students will begin modeling in clay from a live nude model and will be introduced to ideas about the underlying architecture of the skeleton, and how it dictates the exterior topography of the figure. They will learn basic techniques for the construction of an armature, and sketching in clay without an armature.
? Master Copies: Students will use clay to model copies of plaster casts to hone their perceptual skills. This will introduce them to how sculptors of the past have organized and simplified forms to make clear and cohesive works of art. They will also dissect and diagram two dimensional copies of various works from art history to learn how other artists have conceptualized the human form to communicate more effectively.
? Mold Making and Casting: Water-based clay is an impermanent material, and works in this medium are traditionally preserved through either firing in a kiln, or molding and casting into another material. Mold making and casting is a craft in and of itself. A basic understanding of the process is important regardless of whether or not an artist plans to utilize this process in their own practice. Students will
begin making molds and casting in plaster, but will also have the opportunity to experience molding with contemporary rubber materials.
? Relief: Students will learn the methodology for compressing forms into a shallow depth to create a relief. This form of sculpture has a rich history in Western art, and is essentially a compression and distortion of three dimensional forms, meaning this typically more subtle form of sculpture carries a high degree of complexity.
INTERMEDIATE SCULPTURE: ANATOMY & ARCHITECTONIC CONSTRUCTION
The second sculpture program introduces the student to advanced ideas about anatomy, and how to design the human figure with underlying architectural principles. Looking back to ancient Greece, sculptors throughout history have observed the natural patterns present in the human body. Through the study of anatomy, students will learn how to recognize these patterns and create an architectural system that utilizes patterns to organize complex forms into a cohesive representation of the human figure.
? Écorché: Students will study human anatomy from the inside out by sculpting a series of écorchés. The student will first sculpt the human skeleton, and then build the musculature on top of the skeleton. A full figure in reference pose at a small scale will be first, followed by the more detailed and intricate areas of the body. Students are encouraged to keep these écorché studies to use as future reference.
? Modeling from Life: Advanced sketching techniques are introduced, and the scale of the sculptures is increased. As students progress with their anatomical study, the time spent working with the model is valuable to start experimenting with their new knowledge and how it applies and translates into observational sculpture.
? Proportional Systems: Throughout history different conventions of proportion have been used for various aesthetic purposes. Students will begin learning how these systems function and how to manipulate them to communicate different ideas and feelings.
? Structural Anatomy: Students will explore architectural conceptions of the bones and soft tissue, and learn how to use the observable natural patterns found within the human body to organize the complexities of the figure.
ADVANCED SCULPTURE: CONCEPT, DESIGN AND ARTISTIC PRACTICE
In this program students will begin the transition from student into practicing artist. These final two trimesters encourage the student to begin utilizing and refining the tools acquired in previous trimesters. Figurative sculpture is looked at from both a design and communication perspective. The student is asked
to begin experimenting with the manipulation of forms to not only depict the human figure, but also to communicate ideas or feelings.
? Modeling From Life: The scale of sculptures is increased yet again, and the student is pushed to begin experimenting with how to balance the task of faithfully copying the model from observation with utilizing architectonic construction techniques as well as various systems of proportion.
? Multi-Figure Composition: Students are asked to begin combining multiple figures into one composition, and face a whole new set of problems to solve as they learn how to organize volumes of space and form with dramatically increased complexity.
? Working From Imagination and Other Sources: Utilizing their knowledge of structural anatomy, students are encouraged to start working without a model to expand their capabilities and range. Working from imagination and utilizing secondary sources can provide a freedom to create poses a model could not hold.
? Varied Materials and Processes: As students begin to explore their own visual language, they are encouraged to explore other media beyond clay and plaster to better suit their own needs. Once the formal concepts of form and design are understood, an artist must begin synthesizing their ideas and aesthetic values with their medium of choice.
FACULTY
Milixa Morón
Milixa completed workshops at the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto before finishing her studies at the Angel Academy of Art in 2009, in Florence-Italy. Then she remained in Florence for some years, Becoming part of the "ArtSpace Florence" and following classes at "La Scuola Libera del Nudo" at Belli Arti Academy. As a realist painter, Morón is devoted to the resurgence and preservation of representational painting. Inspired by a diverse and large number of sources, Morón seeks to synthesize mythology, culture, universal ideas and beliefs with her subject's personal stories and psychology. http://milixamoron.com
Elkin Canas
Elkin's motivation as a painter is capturing light, its universal and timeless influence on life, art, and culture. Communicating observations of nature and using the time-tested methods of the Old Masters are the key to Elkin's visual language as an artist. Looking for a deeper understanding of those methods, Elkin moved to Florence, Italy, becoming part of an artist community called Florence ArtSpace, where he learned first-hand from great painters such as Angel Ramiro Sanchez and Hunter Eddy, director and co-director of the advanced painting program of the Florence Academy of Art. https://www.elkincanas.com/
Carlos Martinez León
Carlos studied at The Florence Academy of Art from 2007 to 2010, where he mastered his drawing and painting techniques. In his final year of study, he worked as an assistant professor of drawing to Simona Dolci, Director of Intensive Drawing. Immediately after his graduation, he remained in Florence where he continued his training in painting under the direction of Angel Ramiro Sánchez. http://martinezleon.com/en/
Brett F Harvey
Born in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts, Brett currently works and resides in Naples, Florida with his wife, artist Lauren Amalia Redding. He obtained his Bachelors in Painting from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. During that time, he studied at the Florence School of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. His time in Italy proved transformative, as the artwork he saw there inspired him to make sculpting his focus. He then obtained his Masters in Fine Arts degree in Sculpture and Anatomy from the New York Academy of Art in New York City. Brett’s work can be viewed at www.brettfharvey.com
Website | http://www.mifamiami.com |
info@mifamiami.com | |
Founded | 2013 |
Course languages (Check multiple if applicable) | English,Spanish |
Part-Time Instructors | 29 |
Full-Time Instructors | 4 |
Students | 33 |
Accommodation | No |
costs |
Part time: USD 750 / month Full time: USD 1150 / month |