Are you lazing in your glazing? Sleeping on slip? Craving more carving? Let’s dig into it! In this one-time 2.5 hour class, we’ll do a deeper dive into surface decoration techniques such as sgraffito, mishima, carving through wax, and using slip as texture. 

Groundworks will provide flat tiles in a variety of different clay bodies for students to practice surface decoration on. Students can pick if they want their final pieces clear glazed or left raw, and after a few weeks, our staff will let you know when your pieces are out of the kiln and ready for pick-up.

This class takes place at Groundworks Hill 1010 Aurora Ave, 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.

Your pieces will be fired in our gas kilns to Cone 6 Reduction. 

Ages: 16+

Available for registration Tuesday, May 26 at 8:00am

Create a small, leather-bound notebook that is refillable (3.5" x 5.5"). We'll build two signatures of fine writing paper of about 30 pages each. We'll sew them with linen thread and include a pocket cut and folded from cardstock. Then we'll enclose the signatures in the leather cover with an elastic cord or a leather cord, depending on preference. Participants can emboss their initials or name on the cover.

Ages: 16+

This class takes place at Groundworks East (3063 E. Sterling Cir)

Class will be available for registration Tuesday, May 26 at 8:00am. 

Discover the joy of printing plants using Gelli plates! This onde day class is super fun, playful, and perfect for experimenting with natural textures.

Ages: 16+

All supplies and materials will be provided.

Will be available to register on Thursday, May 26 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 12 & 13. 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 MAIN, 3750 Canfield St., 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.

This is a Pay What You Can class with a suggested price of $85

Ages: 16+

Available for registration Tuesday, May 26 at 8:00am

The Book Arts League is excited to announce that we will now offer open studio hours! Our shop will be available monthly for you to print your work. Below are the upcoming open studio dates. BAL board members will be your hosts and will assist you with your printing projects. Please bring your own paper and get ready to print! Book Arts League Members please RSVP to bal.workshops@gmail.com. If you are not a Book Arts League Member, register here!

WEDNESDAY July 8th — 4:30-6:30PM

WEDNESDAY JAug 12th — 4:30-6:30PM

This two‑day workshop introduces students to the versatility and precision of slab construction through the use of custom templates. Designed for both functional and sculptural makers, the class emphasizes thoughtful planning, clean construction, and the creative potential of working with flat clay transformed into dimensional form.

On Day One, we'll begin with demonstrations on how to design and make effective templates using roofing felt (tar paper). Students will learn how to translate ideas into flat patterns, how to account for clay thickness and joinery, and how to use templates to create repeatable forms. The afternoon shifts into guided studio time, where participants will sketch, refine, and cut templates for their own projects—whether vessels, boxes, architectural forms, or abstract sculptural components.

On Day Two, students move from planning to building. With their templates ready, they will construct one or more pieces, gaining hands‑on experience in assembling slabs, reinforcing seams, shaping curves, and troubleshooting common structural challenges. Individual guidance will support each student’s creative direction.By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with new skills, personalized templates they can reuse in their home studios, and a deeper understanding of how slab building can expand both functional and sculptural possibilities in clay.

This is an advanced beginner workshop so some prior clay experience is recommended.

About the Instructor: 

Bebe Alexander has been a professional ceramic artist and educator for over 35 years. Her sculptural and functional works draw from both the built environment and the rural landscapes of her upbringing, referencing architecture, industrial forms, and the quiet presence of man‑made structures in the natural world.

In addition to her studio practice, Bebe has been deeply involved in ceramics education. She began teaching at the Arvada Center in 1991 and went on to lead the ceramics program as Ceramics Program Coordinator from 1996 through 2024, fostering a vibrant community of makers.

Her work is held in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, including The Kirkland at the Denver Art Museum.

To see more of Bebe Alexander's work, check out her instagram @bebealexanderclay

Please Note: Firing service is not included; if you wish to fire your pieces an additional fee will apply based on the size of the items.

This class takes place at Groundworks Main (3750 Canfield St.)

The class will run 12:00-5:00pm both days with a break for lunch. We will provide light refreshments, but please plan to pick up or bring your own lunch. 

Ages: 16+

Susan Taylor Glasgow will share her unique style of sewing glass components together to make complex and exciting objects.  In this multi-day workshop,  students will learn pattern making, and advanced cutting skills*. We'll work with traditional hand glass cutting tools and also glass saws and Dremels, all while building a 3-dimensional house!

*Students need experience with cutting sheet glass.

Friday, January 9 (4-7pm), Saturday, January 10 (9am-5pm), Sunday, January 11 (9am-5pm)

Note: We will have a lunch break on Saturday and Sunday; please bring your own brown bag lunch for those days.

Ages: 16+

ARTIST BIO: Glasgow grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in Design. Her sculptures are included in the collections of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, the Alexander Tutsek Foundation, Münich, Germany, the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA, the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA and the Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ.  Susan Taylor-Glasgow lives and works in Columbia, Missouri.

Each sewn glass sculpture starts out as a flat sheet of glass. In her previous life, Glasgow was a professional dressmaker and seamstress, so had created a comfortable understanding about how to take a flat sheet of material and give it form. In her sculptures, each glass panel is cut from a pattern designed to match the form for which it was made. To establish the three-dimensional shape and holes, each section of the glass is kiln-fired several times. The imagery is embedded into the glass by sandblasting, and then by rubbing glass enamels into the blasted area to create the black and gray photo-like quality. The components are then re-fired to 1250 degrees to melt the enamel into the glass. Once cooled, the sections are finally sewn together. Depending on the complexity of the vessel or sculpture, the entire creative process may take two to four weeks to complete.

Artist website: http://www.taylorglasgow.com/category/available-work/