No garden is complete without whimsical garden sculptures or mystical fairy houses! Come build together and learn new clay skills that will give your garden that magical little flair! We will fire all work and let you know when it is ready for pickup, about 3 weeks later.

Location: Groundworks Main - 3750 Canfield St. 

Cost: $35 per person

All materials included.

For children ages 4+

For students that have never touched clay to those still learning the basics.

This class will cover the basic “how tos” of pottery. Students will learn the foundations of throwing, including how to confidently center, pull, and trim pots on the wheel. The class will also cover basic glazing techniques, and how to track your pieces through the studio in 4 short weeks! Ideal for people with busy summer schedules that can’t commit to a full 8 week class.

Ages: 16 and above

Class meets weekly on SUNDAYS

Note: This class will meet at the MAIN location at 3750 Canfield Street. You will only have open lab access at the same studio as your class.

Does NOT include Firing Fees. For details on our Firing Fees, please click here: https://www.groundworksartlab.org/firing-fees

All pieces will be fired to Cone 6 in a reduction kiln.

Will be available to register on Friday, May 30 at 8:00am.

MIG Welding 101: This introductory welding course is designed for individuals with little to no experience in welding, providing the essential skills and knowledge to safely and effectively work with a wire-feed welder to join steel. Through hands-on practice and expert guidance, students will learn the fundamentals of welding with a MIG welder, including proper equipment use, safety procedures, and key welding techniques. By the end of the course, participants will have the confidence to perform basic welding tasks and create simple metal projects.

What to Wear in the Metals Studio?

We wish for all students to have a safe and enjoyable learning experience. Proper safety equipment and PPE will be provided for use within the studio.

Please dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class inall-natural fiber clothing, long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heelshoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair should betied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are notrecommended around machines, equipment, or processes that can producehot fragments, sparks, or flames. Please avoid synthetic blends, as100% cotton is recommended. Layers are encouraged, as the studio canbegin cool then become very hot.

Welding students are recommended to wear long sleeve shirts to preventarc-flash burns (much like a sunburn). 

All students participating in activities involving sparks or hot metal are encouraged to wear leather boots or older shoes.

Please bring a re-fillable water bottle!

Class Policies & Information:

Open Lab: This class includes access to the studio during Open Lab hours. Open Lab is exclusively for students who are currently enrolled in the program. You are allowed to attend one Open Lab session per week, totaling 3 hours during the duration of your class. You may only attend the Open Lab session for the class in which you are registered. This time is intended for independent work on your class project. While studio staff will be present, they are there to ensure you are using the tools safely, not to provide instruction.

Class Make-Up: Our studios are full with adult and youth classes 7 days a week, 48 weeks a year. Typically, every class is full, which means there is simply no space for students to make up classes. If we cancel an entire class due to weather or other emergencies, we can not guarantee we will be able to schedule a make-up class. Individuals who miss a class will not be able to make it up. Please read the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about missed classes.

Studio Clean Up: Clean-up is critical! Please help our hardworking staff and volunteers by beginning clean-up 30 minutes before the end of class, helping out with common areas, and leaving class on time.

Ages: 16+ 

All supplies and materials will be provided. 

Will be available to register on Friday, May 30 at 8:00am. 

Alright alright alright… You have glazing questions, we’ve got answers. Join us for a special 2-week class to learn and practice the ins and outs of glazing. Week one will go over different glazing techniques including pouring, dipping, waxing, and taping. In week two, we’ll look at the results to see what worked and talk about what didn’t and why. 

Groundworks will provide bisqueware pieces and test tiles to practice on. Here’s the catch: all glazed pieces will go to our Chili Bowl Art Market sale on September 14 & 15. All proceeds from this sale go to support our Partner Programs, so we thank you in advance for your donation of glazed work! Here’s what we recommend: since you don’t get to hang onto your glazed pieces, we’ll also be providing test tiles to keep track of your glaze choices for future reference. That’s what we call a win-win.

This class takes place at Groundworks EAST 3063 Sterling Circle, Boulder, CO. 

PLEASE NOTE: This two-week class runs for 2 hours each week. You will not have access to the studio outside of the scheduled class time and all work will be completed during class time. You will also not have access to our other locations.

Your pieces will be fired in our electric kilns to Cone 6 Oxidation. Hot tip: electric kiln oxidation firing is what most people use in their home studio set-ups, so if you’re aiming to set up a home pottery business in the future, this is a great place to start!

This is a Pay What You Can class with a suggested price of $80

Ages: 16+

Available for registration Tuesday, May 27th at 8:00am

Fake them out by learning how to make clay not look like clay. In this higher level (intermediate to advanced) class, you’ll learn how to make tromp-l’oeil textures like hair, dirt, fur, grass, or even cake icing (just please don’t eat it). Take your sculptures and surfaces to the next level.

Groundworks will provide flat tiles in a variety of different clay bodies for students to practice their tromp-l’oeil on. There’s no pressure to get it right - we’ll just be practicing technique so you won’t be taking anything home with you.

This class takes place at Groundworks MAIN, 3750 Canfield Street, Boulder, CO. 

PLEASE NOTE: This one-time class runs for 2.5 hours. You will not have access to the studio outside of the scheduled class time and all work will be completed during class time. You will also not have access to our other locations.

Ages: 16+

Available for registration Tuesday, May 27th at 8:00am

Making hooks in blacksmithing is a practical and enjoyable way to hone your forging skills. Whether you are creating simple utility hooks for hanging, or more decorative ones for artistic purposes, the process teaches fundamental blacksmithing techniques and can be applied to a wide variety of projects.

What to Wear in the Metals Studio?

We wish for all students to have a safe and enjoyable learning experience. Proper safety equipment and PPE will be provided for use within the studio.

Please dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class inall-natural fiber clothing, long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heelshoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair should betied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are notrecommended around machines, equipment, or processes that can producehot fragments, sparks, or flames. Please avoid synthetic blends, as100% cotton is recommended. Layers are encouraged, as the studio canbegin cool then become very hot.

Welding students are recommended to wear long sleeve shirts to preventarc-flash burns (much like a sunburn). 

All students participating in activities involving sparks or hot metal are encouraged to wear leather boots or older shoes.

Please bring a re-fillable water bottle!

Class Policies & Information:

Open Lab: This class includes access to the studio during Open Lab hours. Open Lab is exclusively for students who are currently enrolled in the program. You are allowed to attend one Open Lab session per week, totaling 3 hours during the duration of your class. You may only attend the Open Lab session for the class in which you are registered. This time is intended for independent work on your class project. While studio staff will be present, they are there to ensure you are using the tools safely, not to provide instruction.

Class Make-Up: Our studios are full with adult and youth classes 7 days a week, 48 weeks a year. Typically, every class is full, which means there is simply no space for students to make up classes. If we cancel an entire class due to weather or other emergencies, we can not guarantee we will be able to schedule a make-up class. Individuals who miss a class will not be able to make it up. Please read the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about missed classes.

Studio Clean Up: Clean-up is critical! Please help our hardworking staff and volunteers by beginning clean-up 30 minutes before the end of class, helping out with common areas, and leaving class on time.

Ages: 16+ 

All supplies and materials will be provided. 

Will be available to register on Friday, May 30 at 8:00am. 

Tired of throwing the same old boring forms? Let’s test the limits to see what clay can do. This higher level (intermediate to advanced), 1-day class will explore bottles, closed forms, double-walled pieces and more.

The best part? There’s absolutely no pressure to get any of this right - we’ll be focusing on technique only and not actually making any pieces to keep. So get bold and take those advanced forms all the way to the limit!

This class takes place at Groundworks HILL, 1010 Aurora Avenue, Boulder, CO. 

PLEASE NOTE: This one-time class runs for 2.5 hours. You will not have access to the studio outside of the scheduled class time and all work will be completed during class time. You will also not have access to our other locations.

Ages: 16+

Available for registration Friday, May 30th at 8:00am

The Mosaic class will teach glass cutting, design placement and grouting.  Mosaics is destined to become your new favorite hobby!  You're welcome to continue this class if you have taken it before and make your own project(s).   All materials are included. Students leave the class with their very own, unique mosaic project to display or use.  No prior experience needed.

Ages: 16+

Will be available to register on Friday, May 30 at 8:00 am.