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Where to Get Crafty in Portland

Posted on May 31

Ben McBee

A top down view shows hands with red painted nails holding a blue triangle-shaped piece of stained glass. In the background there is a cluttered worktable with other multi-colored pieces of stained glass and beads.

Sign us up for a stained glass workshop. (AI25.Studio Studio / Pexels)

Feeling inspired by the pieces on display at Daffodill Studios? Perhaps you’d like to pick up a bygone hobby or dive into something entirely new. These workshops will certainly help stoke your artistic energy — just make sure to plan ahead, as classes can fill up quickly.

This is your chance to stick it to anyone who ever mocked those basket-weaving classes you took in college, because guess what? It’s still really fun. And so is upholstery and paper sculpting. Weekend-long intensives are offered in a variety of topics, including Native arts (Coast Salish relief woodcarving looks fascinating).

The stakes are low at this welcoming space, no matter the medium you decide to work with. You can weave macrame wall art, customize a leather coozie, or paint coasters. “Do it yourself” may be in the name, but it’s always more fun to bring a couple of friends along.

Live out your sootiest medieval blacksmithing dreams and try your hand at the time-honored tradition of hammering molten steel. Instructor Arnon Kartmazov brings the experience he’s earned around the world to each class, which ranges from spoons to swords.

Who’s got two green thumbs and loves to shape self-contained gardens? You do, of course, or at least you will after spending a few hours arranging living mosses, tropical plants, and dazzling rocks into a miniature ecosystem.

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