CHICAGO.- The MCA's adult programs reflect their commitment to lifelong learning and a continued interest in exploring visual culture and contemporary issues in our community. Every first Saturday of the month from 1 to 4 pm the MCA offers an opportunity to cultivate one's creative core with these low cost, three hour art-making workshops. They allow participants to make something and then take their creations home to impress friends and family. MCA members $40, nonmembers $45. Sign up with a friend and get $5 off. Registration is available online at www.mcachicago.org or by calling the MCA Box Office at 312.397.4010. A $3 handling fee is issued for all phone and online registration. Space is limited. Must be at least 18 years old to participate.

Plushies - September 6, 2008
Inspired by Jeff Koon's interest in pop culture figures, figurines, and inflatables, this class has participants using felt and other fun fabrics to create simple hand sewn soft plush characters. Instructor: Fashion designer Cheryl Pope

Pinhole Cameras - October 4, 2008
Photographer Krystal Meisel leads this workshop in making a pinhole camera using Polaroid film and other basic materials and then taking it around the neighborhood to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary images.

Zines: The Art of Intervention - November 1, 2008
Dive into the world of self publishing with the guidance of artist Anne Elizabeth Moore in this workshop that looks at the powerful intersection between language and art. Participants create, publish, and distribute their own small books based on the structure of Jenny Holzer's work.

Artist Trading Cards - December 6, 2008
Cultivate your creative core by making your own unique set of Artist Trading Cards inspired by the work of Jenny Holzer. Artists Amanda Lichtenstein and Leah Mayers merge language and art in this workshop that puts a creative twist in the traditional deck of cards.

Found Object Creations - January 3, 2009
They say one man's junk is another man's treasure. Artist Kristin Sabatino shows how to take all sorts of found objects we use everyday and then combine and manipulate them into unique pieces of jewelry and wearable art.