Making something by hand gives people the satisfaction that comes from producing something unique and beautiful as well as fostering an appreciation for the work and skill that goes into creating fine crafts.

Our Craftstudies program provides opportunities for people of all ages and experience levels to work with knowledgeable and experienced instructors to explore, experiment, and express themselves in the arts of clay, jewelry and various mixed media. Our classes for children take place in all three studios and are listed on the children's page.

Brochures listing the upcoming classes are mailed four times a year. Please call 603 643 5384 or email craftstudies@valley.net to be added to our mailing list.

Each winter we host a guest artist series where local craftspeople show slides and talk about the art of their craft.

Please click on the studio name at the top of the page to view the current class schedule for that studio.

Clay
Our clay studio is equipped with eight electric pottery wheels, one kick wheel, two electric kilns, space for hand-building, and a glazing area. We offer ongoing classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced potters as well as one- and two-day workshops on specific techniques and alternate firings. There are as many ways to create a clay “crock” as there are ceramicists: our four regular instructors each teach their unique method of working in clay. Please see our schedule for our current list of classes and workshops.

We offer an opportunity for students to not only learn the basics of working in clay, but to engage in all the functions of a clay studio including making glazes, recycling clay and firing electric kilns.

Ample “monitor” times make it possible for adult students enrolled in a clay class to have access to the studio outside of class time each week.

Jewelry
Our jewelry studio is one of the best-equipped metal studios in our area. We have space for eight students to learn basic through advanced jewelry making and metalsmithing. We offer classes, open studios and, one- and two-day workshops.

Consistent with Craftstudies’ goal to encourage experimentation, exploration, and artistic expression, metal is a versatile media used to translate ideas into wearable art. While we primarily teach jewelry making, the same techniques can be applied to sculpting in metal. Please see our schedule for our current list of classes and workshops.

Fiber
What is fiber art? Almost any media that is not clay or metal, for example baskets, paper, felt, wood and surface decoration.

The bright and sunny studio on the top floor of the building and is a space open and ready for a huge variety of adult classes and workshops and many children’s classes. The particular media offered vary from semester to semester, but remain true to our goal of offering people an opportunity to explore, experiment, and express their creativity while discovering the fun in the art of craft. Please see our schedule for our current list of classes and workshops.

Children, Youth and Teens
Our goal in the children’s studio is to enrich the lives of young people by introducing them to the sheer joy of creating craft. While children engage in the craft making process they develop artistic skills, as well as refine emerging problem solving, critical thinking and social skills. Creativity explodes in the supportive studio environment and our young artists learn to develop their ideas at their own pace over an extended period of time. Math skills come into play in the decision making process and children become articulate communicators as they learn new ways to put words and form to their ideas.

We offer classes for pre-schoolers (4 to 6 years), children (7 to 12 years), youth (9 to 13 years) and teens (12 and up) in all three studios. During the school semester we host a pre-school art and clay classes in the mornings and after-school programs for children and teens in clay and metalsmithing. During school vacations we offer half-day and full-day “camps.” Please see our schedule for our current list of classes.