Private lessons are a good way to help anyone at any different skill level on their journey as an artist. Jessica works to meet her students with where ever your skill level is currently at. This may mean you have never picked up a pencil and drawn before or you already draw and want to improve your technique or if you want to learn a totally new drawing skill... or if your stuck and unsure where to go from here? Jessica works with a variety of ages and has taught private lessons to students any where between 7 years old at 65 years old. You can learn a new skill at any age, you need to be willing however to put the time in to practicing your skill. There is always more to learn in art no matter what your skill level is at. Private lessons can be a good fit if you want to improve your skills and you feel stuck watching YouTube tutorials, are taking group classes and want more attention from the instructor, and/or the group classes are not teaching the advanced techniques you want. It can help having one on one attention and you can cater the private lessons to what you specifically want to learn. Something you cannot get by taking group classes.

You can contact Jessica directly by email, social media, phone or just stopping in her students to talk to her. As long as Jessica has room in her schedule she will provide you with her available open times. If you choose to take one of the times you will sign a private lesson agreement outlining lesson expectations and Jessica will mark the time slot on her calendar dedicated for her new student. This time slot will be dedicated to the student for as long as the student chooses to take classes. If Jessica has no room in her schedule or the student/ the students family cannot agree on a time, Jessica has a waiting list for private lesson students. If a slot opens up she goes down the list and contacts each person on it to see if anyone would like to take the time slot.

Currently private lessons are $200/ month which covers a 60 minute lesson that meets once per week. Sculpture related private lessons are currently $300/ month which covers a 90 minute lesson that meets once per week.

There are many options for paying for private lessons. An invoice is sent out each month on the 1st of the month and is reoccurring until the invoice is canceled. The invoice itself can be paid directly using bank information (credit card information is not available at this time due to high processing fees) and the invoice can be made to automatically draft from a bank account. However many students pay their invoices through Venmo, Cashapp or GPay as well as traditional payment methods of cash or check. Jessica tries to make the payment process as convenient as possible for her clients. The invoice is updated with the amount paid and the method of payment each time it is paid.

There is a 7 day grace period for paying the invoice. Scheduled reminders are sent out during those 7 days prompted by the creation of each new invoice reminding the client that the invoice must be paid for the lessons to continue. If the invoice is not paid by day 7, an automatic email will be sent out to the client telling them their invoice has now accrued a $30 late fee and private lessons will stop until the invoice plus the fee has been paid. Once the invoice has ben paid the lessons will continue as normal.

Generally private lessons are 60 minutes, scheduled at a time agreed upon by the student/ the students parents and the instructor. However sculpture based private lessons run 90 minutes long to accommodate the set up, the clean up and the extra work it takes for the creation of pieces in clay or 3 dimensional materials. Private lessons occur once a week, equaling out to 4 days or 4 hours a month.

This is absolutely possible as long as it fits into Jessica's schedule. The additional time may be at a separate time than the private lesson due to scheduling restrictions, but a time can be worked out. If you need an additional hour(s) for a project it is $30/ additional hour billed in a separate invoice and must be paid at the extra session or before the session starts. If you would like to add additional time reoccurring to your private lesson this is also possible. You can add an extra 30 minutes for an extra $50/ month making the total lesson 90 minutes or you can add an extra 60 minutes for an additional $100/ month making the total lesson 120 minutes. (These prices are different if the lesson is a sculpture based lesson, please inquire directly with Jessica if this is the case.) If you consistently go over time on your private lesson, Jessica may discuss with you the option of adding additional time to your lesson. She wants to give you the time you need, but she also needs to stick to her schedule as she has many students, clients and projects. More than that she also has a life to lead outside of work.

Private lesson expectations include: -Each lesson will be 60 minutes long scheduled at an agreed upon time. -Sculpture private lessons are 90 minutes long scheduled at an agreed upon time. -Additional lesson time can be booked with Jessica in advance to extend a lesson or at a separate time in addition to a lesson. -All students will have a reoccurring Zoom link available specifically to them once a private lesson has started commencing. -Lessons can be held via Zoom as long as the student has a working electronic device that can accommodate sound and a camera. Sculpture lessons due to the necessary materials cannot be held on Zoom. -At any time a lesson can be requested to be held on Zoom, please give Jessica as much notice so she can make sure she has her computer equipment and camera to accommodate the lesson. -Jessica will not travel to the students home. -If the student is late the lesson will still end at the scheduled time. -During the lesson students will be engaged and participating throughout the duration of the lesson. Putting forth their best effort. -Students will provide their own materials. A recommend materials list is given at the start of every new private lesson. If a student chooses to invest in new supplies Jessica is willing to provide recommendations based upon her experience. Jessica will not provide students materials to work with. -Sculpture students are not required to provide sculpture materials. They still need the necessary materials for drawing, but all sculpture tools, clay and glaze will be provided by the instructor. The student may want to bring an apron however to keep their clothes clean. -if the student wishes to work digitally, they must provide their own laptop, digital drawing software and digital drawing tablet. These items can be brought to and set up in Jessica's studio for the lesson or the lesson can be run via Zoom where the student works at home. -Students will not text on their cellphones during class time this includes Discord interactions. -Cells can be used for reference if needed and approved by Jessica. -Students will not bring food to their lesson/ eat during class time. They can however bring their own drinks. -Students will not bring pets with them to their lesson. -If current health conditions need it, Jessica can request that the student and herself are masked during class. Jessica is autoimmune compromised, but she is also a caretaker to her mother who is a severely autoimmune compromised patient. Because of this Jessica must be careful for the protection other and her mothers health. -It is expected that students will practice concepts explored during class time in their sketchbooks between classes. Jessica will review any material drawn during the week and provide insights. -Jessica runs a retail section to her studio which will remain open during class time. She may need to interact with/ make a sale to a customer. -If needed Jessica can write letters of recommendation. -Students may contact Jessica via email, text or Discord in-between classes for quick advice on a project or to share progress on a drawing. Jessica will try and answer her messages within a day of receiving them. -Jessica will actively engage with her students, working alongside them, guiding them and providing examples, still lives and props. -If the student wants to learn more about how to run a studio behind the scenes or working vendor events such as art festivals, conventions and gallery shows or teaching... Jessica will provide extra opportunities at no extra cost to the student (when these opportunities are available of course). There are times Jessica could use some extra help and having an assistant will go along way.

Please allow 24 hours notice for a missed lesson if at all possible. Jessica understands that emergencies come up and life gets in the way. The more notice she has the better so she can alter her schedule. Lessons will not be made up if the student is sick, if the student is away at another event or on vacation and if the student is no call no show. These lessons are still included in the months payment. What happens if Jessica is sick or has another commitment? These lessons Jessica will always find a way to make up. There are times when she is sick or she has a meeting due to committee's/ organizations she is a part of or vendor festivals/ gallery shows she is setting up and selling at. Jessica will make up these lessons by, scheduling an additional lesson outside of the original lesson time, adding time to the regularly scheduled private lesson by either making the lesson a double, adding 30 minutes or 15 minutes until the owed time is made up. These rescheduled lessons can be made up in person or on Zoom, whatever option is best for the student/ the students family. If there is inclement/ severe weather all private lessons for the day will be held on Zoom. However if the power has gone out Jessica has no control over this and she will have to cancel the lesson. This is rare, but if it happens these lessons canceled due to a power outage will not be made up and are still a part of the months payment.

There are a few weeks during the year private lessons will not happen due to school breaks or holidays. These are high travel weeks and many students have plans with their families. These lessons are included in the months payment. There are a number of 4 1/2 to 5 week months throughout the year. This does even out time wise. These weeks are: -The week of Spring Break (following Huntsville City Schools) -The Third week of May (this is Jessica's scheduled vacation and the week of her birthday) -The week of Fall Break (following Huntsville City Schools) -The week of Thanksgiving -The weeks of Christmas and New Years (this is 2 weeks back to back) Jessica will make sure the weekend right before the start of a scheduled time off week to email all of her students and their families so they remember and can plan their schedules accordingly.

Yes it is possible to cancel private lessons. Lessons run on a month to month basis. Lessons need to be canceled with a 30 day notice. This gives Jessica adequate time to find a new student to fill the time slot and to properly end the lessons with a smooth transition. If the lessons are canceled without a 30 day notice and at the end of the month the next months payment will still need to be paid. If the lessons are canceled the student can restart lessons if space is available in Jessica's schedule. (If there is not room there is a waiting list). Restarting lessons requires the signing of a new private lesson agreement with an understanding that the rates for classes may go up. If the lessons are canceled the instructor will not hold the time slot in anticipation of classes starting again. If Jessica choices to cancel a private lesson it is usually for the following reasons: -There are 3 no call no shows in a 3 month period. -The student does not come to class for a month straight. -The student is continuously late for class. -The student is continuously not engaged in class. -The student doesn't follow lesson expectations as outlined. -The student talks back to the instructor on a regular basis. -This is not anticipated, but if the student needs to cancel lessons due to many commitments in her schedule she will choose the lesson(s) to be canceled based on a lottery. This is outlined just in case it becomes necessary.

Yes, during a private lesson Jessica is ok scheduling a second person. This can be your sibling, your friend, your parent... 2 people can be given personalized attention and sometimes it is nice having a private lesson with a partner. It can be a fun bonding experience. The rates for this are the same per individual. It's $100/month per student. However, if you would like to run a class with 3 or more students this is getting into group lesson territory. Group lessons can be set up for a group or 3 or more that occur for a set period of time, this could be weeks, months or just a day workshop. If this is something you're interested in contact Jessica and she can get this set up for you and quote a price.

Photographs may be taken during private lessons. These photos may include the students as they work, may be of their projects or may be of their hands while they are working. These photos are used on social media and the website for marketing purposes. When you sign up for a private lesson you will be asked if you or your child consents to being photographed. If the answer is no the only photos graphs taken and used will be of the person or child's hands.