Consume your fill of creativity this season

It’s time to unveil the creative glory of Studio School’s winter session, on tap for Jan. 16 through March 12. This session’s lineup is stacked with a plethora of eight- and four-week classes and one-off workshops, including classic faves and new arrivals. While we deeply understand — and encourage — the urge to take any and all classes, this roundup of some of our top picks for this new making season might make choosing a little easier.

Eight-Week Classes

From ceramics to fiber arts, eight-week courses cover all the mediums.

A diptych of hand-built ceramics. Left: Pancakes sit atop a decorated ceramic plate as a matching ceramic vessel pours syrup on top. Right: Three ceramic vases with floral decals hold sprigs of flowers

Marissa Childers' ceramics

For those looking to dive in or expand their pottery knowledge, the options are abundant. Start from the beginning with Introduction to Ceramics, creating sculptural forms and functional vessels through both hand building and wheel throwing. Level up and tackle the wheel in Wheel 1 and Wheel 2, exploring fundamentals plus diving into lidded and pouring vessels, surface adornment and various texturing techniques. Want more? Sign up for Guided Throwing with Liv Egan, an advanced class with independent projects and one-on-one instructor guidance. Thinking off the wheel? Learn how to translate 2-D shapes into 3-D ceramic forms in Slab Building and Template Making led by Marissa Childers, crafting unique forms straight from your imagination.

A colorful, woodcut print is in view. Faces and figures appear: a silly moon drooling in the upper left against a starry black night with wonky purple faces and creatures below.

Wesley Kramer's woodcut print

Develop fiber skills with sewing, weaving, felting and quilting, investigating fundamentals, expanding abilities, constructing garments, creating Kicka$$ Kitchen Towels and more. Looking for something different? A sturdier medium, perhaps? Instructor Taylor Martin is offering two Introduction to Jewelry and Metalsmithing classes, an opportunity to design, learn, solder, texture and customize jewelry and adornments.

If you’re searching for something new, Studio School has that, too. Joining the creative instructor crew, local artist Wesley Kramer is bringing printmaking, woodcut edition, to the Studios. This eight-week course will introduce the basics of traditional relief printing, including carving, operating and editioning techniques. Students will begin with black inks and progress to multiblock processes and reduction techniques.

Four-Week Classes

An eight-week commitment can be intimidating. This winter, Studio School’s four-week classes offer fun options for you to ease your way in.

Watercolor painted succulents and cacti are in view, in white vessels with bursts of green and purple plants

Sylvie Mayer's painting

Printmaking continues with experimentation in monotypes and more. Test out various mark-making techniques while you master the etching press, creating a singular image from multiple plates. Utilizing colored inks that easily clean with water, students will also learn how to roll and wipe ink, clocking the ins and outs for multiple runs, an opportunity to leave class with multiple prints.

2-D offerings continue with watercolor painting and memoir writing. Tackle lush greenery and dreamy cacti with Sylvie Mayer or all.the.cake with Jenny Elton. Want to hold a pen rather than a brush? Tell your story through simple writing techniques to detail your own experiences.

And, of course, ceramics tops the list! With a focus on special topics, instructor Joe Cox’s four-week course will teach students how to throw different types of vessels with multiple lid-making choices. Like a handle on top? You can do that! Thinking more of a knob? That, too!

One-Off Workshops

Sometimes you just need a couple hours to reset, plugging into your creative energy to escape reality. One-off workshops are the perfect place to do so, honing your craft or learning something new.

A hand with long pink nails holds a thick sterling silver ring. We can see several more rings in the background sitting atop a black velvet bag.

Taylor Martin's rings

Ceramics dominate this season, with handbuilding mugs, Raku firing, heart-shaped dishes, ceramic jewelry and date nights on the wheel. While being covered in clay appeals to many, others may look for a little less mess. Make a custom ring, embroider saucy needlework or arrange flower globes. Dive in and out of these entertaining one-off workshops, and leave with finished pieces (and also cleaner than your pottery counterparts).

However you choose to engage with creativity this winter, make Studio School your artistic home. The creative community that forms every session is a joy for students and instructors alike, and that kind of making, creating and activating lights up our whole campus.

Members can register for classes now (join for early access and a tuition discount). Peruse options and pick your favorites — classes open to the public Dec. 5, and session 1 closes Jan. 10.

Images:

Jenny Elton's watercolor painting. Courtesy the artist.

Oklahoma Contemporary and The Studios. Photo: Scott McDonald.

Marissa Childers hand-built ceramic plate and vessels. Courtesy the artist.

Wesley Kramer's woodcut print. Courtesy the artist.

Sylvie Mayer's watercolor painting. Courtesy the artist.

Taylor Martin's sterling silver rings.

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Studio School winter ceramics jewelry-making metalsmithing watercolor painting writing fiber art