In January, mid-winter lethargy takes hold: the novelty of snow has passed, the air grows too cold for sledding, and cabin fever makes picking lint from sofa cushions seem like an amusing pastime. But at Maud Morgan Arts (MMA), the creative spirit of spring is thriving. During the MMA winter session, several new classes join returning favorites to entice even the weariest curmudgeon toward the glow of the MMA studio lights which blanket the dingy snow like cheerful, orange quilts.

For middle school students, new classes abound: “Birds and Beasts” teaches the basics of needle-felting so that students can create a moveable animal figure out of wire and wool; “Photographic Voices” shows students how to harness the power of the camera with their own photo journals; and in “Design a Play Structure…for Real,” students explore the process of architectural design, interviewing “clients” and creating scale drawings and models—and their designs could be the basis for an actual play structure. For younger students, the “Music and The Rainbow,” a new mixed media offering for students in kindergarten through 2nd grade, explores the color spectrum and connections between music and art. In addition, the ever-popular “All for Clay/Clay for All” class returns, bringing together artists of all ages, from preschoolers to adults, to work side by side, learning from one another and collaborating on projects.

February vacation week at MMA features intensive afternoon classes, including “Inventing Structures in Space,” where students use plastic tubing, potatoes and marshmallows to build large-scale structures; “Claymation,” where students produce a short film using stop-action animation, video editing software, and their own clay creations; and classes for younger students in printmaking and clay that may be taken on alternating days so that students may combine mediums to print on clay and to create prints from clay.

Adults who need to get out of the house can sign up for a regular class in collage, printmaking, watercolor or ceramics…or they could spend the weekend at a workshop led by one or more professional artists. At “Sculptural Photo Books,” participants will create photo collages and construct a book as a piece of sculpture; “Painting Light: A Watercolor Workshop” provides an overview of strategies for handling light and dark in this challenging medium; and at “Lost Wax Casting,” students will learn the principles of sculptural modeling to complete a small item for casting at New England Foundry. And as spring returns, so do additional workshops in painting and printmaking.

Winter session classes run for eight weeks from January 14 through March 18. February vacation week classes run for four days from February 19-22. Preschool open studio and adult life-drawing classes are ongoing. Check www.maudmorgan.com for specific dates for weekend workshops.