DRAWING CENTER STUDIO

The Expressive Hand:
Gesture, Figure & Materials
A 3-day Intensive Workshop with Edgar Cano


February 20 - 22, 2026  (Friday - Sunday)

Friday, 6-10pm, Artist Talk & Demonstration
Saturday, 10am - 5pm, Workshop
Sunday, 10am - 5pm, Workshop

(1 hour lunch break each day)

Early Registration Deadline (Discounted): January 2, 2026

Final Registration Deadline: January 20, 2026

[ REGISTER HERE ]

Tuition

Discounted Early Registration Rate through January 2nd:
$398 / Student Rate: $360

Regular Tution after Jan. 2: $498 / Student Rate: $423

* 15% discount student rates offered only with valid academic student i.d. We will contact you to obtain verification in advance of the workshop.




Description

This unique workshop centers on gesture, tactility, and the expressive power of materials through sustained work from the live model. Rather than focusing on a single medium, participants will investigate a wide range of drawing tools—including charcoal, conte, graphite, ballpoint pen, and ink—to experience how each material responds to pressure, movement, and the body of the artist.

Through a combination of quick gesture studies and longer sustained poses, students will explore proportion, structure, movement, and expressive mark-making. Edgar’s teaching emphasizes that gesture exists on two levels at once: the pose of the model in space and the gesture of the hand as it moves across the surface. By working across both dry and wet media, participants will gain firsthand insight into how different materials shape line, value, edge, and spatial clarity.

Short demonstrations, material-specific exercises, and individualized feedback guide the weekend. Students will also be encouraged to experiment with layering and combining materials to expand their visual language. Group reflection and critique help reinforce technical discoveries and personal growth.

This workshop is best suited for artists with some prior experience drawing from the live figure and offers a dynamic, physically grounded approach to understanding form through materials and movement.

This class will cover the following topics:

• Strengthen fundamental figure-drawing skills by practicing gesture, proportion, and anatomical structure.

• Develop confidence with multiple drawing materials, including charcoal, conte, graphite, and ink, to expand students’ technical versatility.

• Enhance observational accuracy through exercises focused on measuring, sighting angles, value relationships, and spatial understanding.

• Encourage expressive and intentional mark-making, helping students find clarity in their visual language while maintaining solid foundational principles.

Class Size

Minimum: 10, Maximum: 15

Level of Study

This class is suggested for individuals with some Figure Drawing experience. Basic knowledge of drawing from a live nude models is expected.

AREA ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE TRAVELING TO ATTEND

For those traveling to Cincinnati to attend this visiting artist workshop, there are many exciting or practical options for accommodations. For a special stay within a mile of Manifest's new facility, we would recommend checking with The Clifton House Bed & Breakfast* (https://thecliftonhouse.com), The Gaslight Bed & Breakfast (https://www.gaslightbb.com), or Six Acres Bed & Breakfast (http://sixacresbb.com). Alternatively, the 21c Museum Hotel is in the heart of downtown just four miles from our location (link). Many other common hotels are within a few miles of our location as well.

*We have confirmed that the Clifton House will honor a special discounted rate for Manifest workshop participants when rooms are available.

LOCATION: Unless otherwise specified, all courses are hosted at Manifest's new facility at 'M1' in Clifton at 3464 Central Parkway (see map and directions below). Manifest's new facility provides multiple studio classrooms, private lesson space, a darkroom, a film processing room, and a multi-purpose lecture and class meeting space as well as on-site parking, grounds, and exterior spaces in which to relax, discuss, and make art. The studios are outfitted with professional equipment, furniture, and study aids.

Map to Manifest's M1 Studios   |   Studio Calendar   |   Darkroom Calendar

Manifest's new home on Central Parkway is a historic 1932 structure ideally suited to the various programs of the Manifest Drawing Center (and future Manifest Gallery). Even now, mostly unchanged from 93 years ago, it serves as a playful collaborator in our educational mission. Students and guests are inspired by both the content of our programs, and the spaces in which they occur.

Works by Edgar Cano

About the instructor:

Edgar Cano began his career in the visual arts creating illustrations and scenography for university theater while studying at the Faculty of Arts in Xalapa, Veracruz (UV). Over more than two decades of professional practice, he has been distinguished in numerous national and international competitions. In 2025, he received both the Gottlieb Foundation Grant (New York) and the South Arts Fellowship. He has been a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators (FONCA–SNCA) twice, first in 2014 and again in 2021 for a major new painting project. His recent honors include the Grand Jury Award, Manifest Gallery (Season 20, 2024), Best in Show at the 61st Juried Show of the Masur Museum (Monroe, LA, 2024), and Best in Show at the 16th Surreal Salon, Baton Rouge Gallery (2024). In 2018, he received a grant from the FONCA Promotion and Co-investment Program for his exhibition El Centro Único. He served as a juror for the National System of Art Creators (FONCA) in 2018 and 2023 and was also a juror for the Alfredo Zalce Biennial in Morelia. Additional fellowships include FONCA Young Creators (2010, 2012) and PECDA Veracruz (2005, 2009).

To date, Cano has presented 18 solo exhibitions in Mexico and abroad and been included in over 50 group exhibitions internationally, with exhibitions in Argentina, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, the United States, Serbia, and Sweden. His work is held in major public and private collections including MACO Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Museo Nacional de la Estampa (MUNAE), Mexico City, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce (MACAZ), the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), the José Guadalupe Posada Museum, IVEC Veracruz, the International Art Studio Radovan Tranavac Mica (Serbia), La Ceiba Gráfica, the Luciano Benetton Collection (Italy), Grupo Milenio Collection, the Jagüey Institute, Friday Cottage Art Space (South Carolina), and the Northwestern State University of Louisiana Art Collection, among other private collections. Edgar Cano received his MA in Visual Arts from Northwestern State University of Louisiana, where he attended with a full scholarship. He lives with his family in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he works as an Artist and Assistant Professor of Art at NSULA.