Crafty family members whose favorite gifts are handmade and from the heart, and creative friends who prefer experiences over items will appreciate the gift that encourages self-expression. Maude Kerns Art Center and Fuse Jewelry Collective are two creative places for learning about and making art. Both offer a variety of classes that are great opportunities to give the gift of experience to art and jewelry lovers.
Maude Kerns Art Center
Maude Kerns Art Center welcomes painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics loving kids and adults.
“We’re a small but mighty crowd,” says Tony Hooks, the director of arts education. “We love having new people and new faces.”
The center offers a series of classes in drawing, painting, watercolors, printmaking and ceramics as well as various weekend workshops, including one for making upcycled gifts of art on Dec. 16, Hooks says.
During COVID-19, Maude Kerns decided to expand its art education department, Hooks says. “We are still in that phase of rapidly growing our education department,” he adds.
The next series class cycle begins in January, and these classes generally run for eight weeks, he says. For adults, the center offers figure drawing, ceramics, printmaking and watercolor for all experience levels. Adult classes fit 10 to 16 students, but most ceramics classes are limited to eight, and spots fill fast, Hooks says. Watercolor classes usually sell out, too.
Series classes range from $130 to $195 for members and $145 to $210 for non-members. Some classes have studio or materials fees up to $28.
The Dec. 16 workshop costs $60 for a member and $75 for a non-member, with one child included and $35 for additional family members. An annual membership is $60.
Elementary school aged kids can join “Discover Drawing and Painting,” for learning with pencils, pastels, watercolors and tempera, “Clayin’ and Playin’,” for learning to build with clay, and “Draw it, Print it,” an introduction to printmaking, Hooks says.
Currently there are no classes for high schoolers, but for middle school ages, Maude Kerns offers “Drawing and Illustration” to teach sketching techniques. Participants learn to sketch human figures, anthropomorphic animals and animal characters and practice techniques including tone, value and composition, according to the Maude Kerns website.
To register for a Maude Kerns class, visit MKArtCenter.org or call 541-345-1571. For more information on volunteering or becoming a member call 541-345-1571 or email Staff@MKArtCenter.org.
FUSE Jewelry Collective
FUSE Jewelry Collective is a creative space for jewelry enthusiasts. Founders Savannah Hunter and Una Barrett and other staff members instruct jewelry-making classes.
FUSE offers a variety of one-day jewelry making sessions and weekend intensives.
“We have classes offered every weekend,” Hunter says.
“We also have series classes that go in six-week sessions,” she says. “There’s pretty much always one running at any given time,” she says.
FUSE also holds a week-long introductory summer camp for teenagers, wedding ring making workshops and private lessons, Hunter says. Most classes are limited to five students, and groups of three or more are able to book private sessions.
Students must be 15 years and older to take classes independently, and 12-to-14-year-olds are welcome to take classes with a parent or guardian.
“Intro to Metalsmithing” is a six-week, 18-hour course with a new session starting in January. Students make patterned brass earrings, a bezel-set cabochon pendant and a sterling silver paperclip chain bracelet.
Workshop classes include a 14-hour weekend intensive called “Foundations of Soldering.” There are workshops for making stacking rings, a sterling silver wide band ring, a set of hoop earrings and a stone pendant, according to the FUSE website. It also offers weekend intensive and six-week series wax casting classes and four-hour open studio rentals.
Single day workshops range from $80 to $295, and weekend intensives range from $315 to $425 plus materials.
FUSE’s six-week introductory metalsmithing course is $560 plus $85 for tools and materials.
FUSE also has a showroom with jewelry from local designers starting at around $50, and it has extended holiday hours for December, Tuesday through Saturday noon to 6 pm, Hunter says.