Are you a seasoned individual passionate about creativity or wanting to explore new artistic horizons? The Boulder JCC offers various art classes to help unleash your inner artist with expertly guided classes for adults led by professional artists in an intimate and nurturing setting. These courses are designed to embrace unique perspectives and experiences, providing a supportive environment where you can nurture your artistic talents, connect with like-minded peers, and rediscover the joy of creating. Whether you're looking to craft beautiful pottery, master the art of weaving, or develop your drawing skills, these workshops offer a welcoming space to unleash your creativity and enrich your life through art.

If you have ever been curious about learning how to weave, this class is for you! The rigid heddle loom is a compact yet powerful loom. In class, students will learn the basics of weaving, including loom setup, weaving terminologies, how to read a rigid heddle weaving draft, and, of course, how to weave! Students will create a woven sampler, learning plain weave and various patterns using a pickup stick. These workshops are being led by Sara Goldenberg White, who has taught weaving along the Front Range for over a decade. No prior weaving experience is required, and all materials will be provided. Weaving Workshop: Intro to Rigid Heddle Weaving is on Tuesdays, September 3, 10, and 17, from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm.

The Hebrew month of Elul is a time to reflect on where we’ve come from and set intentions for who we are becoming in preparation for the High Holidays. What needs to be released, and what qualities do we invite to enhance our lives? In Elul Mussart: The Art of Teshuvah and Art Making, facilitated by Rabbi Eva Sax-Bolder, we will explore the concept of teshuvah. Teshuvah is a creative act of returning to who we are and imagining new possibilities. Using the Jewish Studio Process, each session will include spiritual grounding, study of related mussar text, art making, self-reflection writing, and optional group sharing. We can express ourselves through painting, drawing, and collage. Bring a journal to write in. All other materials will be provided. Elul Mussart: The Art of Teshuvah and Art Making will take place on Tuesdays, September 10 - 24, from 10 am - 12 pm.

Draw inspiration from the shapes, textures, and colors found in nature as you craft ceramic pods and seeds. Enhance your creations with textures and glazes during the decoration process. In this fun clay workshop, seeds and Pods, on September 19 from 10 am - to 2 pm with Ceramicist Rita Vali, explore shape, texture, and color in clay.

Create a set of three cotton dish towels using stripes, color blocks, and weft floats to create visual interest and a unique pattern in Weaving Workshop: Weft Float Weaving - Dishtowels on October 1 from 10:15 am - 3 pm. Continue mastering the use of pick-up sticks as well as learning about string heddles and heddle rods. This class will go from warping the loom to sewing rolled hems, resulting in a trio of beautiful towels! This Workshop led by Sara Goldenberg White, her passion for weaving and teaching started during her graduate study at Colorado State University. She teaches various fiber techniques, but sharing her love of weaving with others is one of her greatest joys. 

Come with your looms, rigid heddle, tapestry, or harness for help with any project you may be working on to our Weaving Group! Whether you are stuck on a technique that you already have set up on the loom, need help planning a new project, or would like extra support warping the next project on your list, this is the place for you. These two weeks will be dedicated to weavers who want to come together with other weavers and continue creating new works with a helping hand. Weaving instructor Sara Goldenberg White will lead the group and will be a great space to keep growing your weaving skills. Weaving Group takes place October 22 and 29 and November 12 and 19 from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm. 

As we approach the season where candlelight brings joy, take this class to create a candelabra or menorah. Design and make a candelabra or menorah and adorn it using a variety of textures and glazes in our clay workshop: menorahs and candle holders on November 21, from 10 am - 2 pm. 

Intro to Botanical Gardening is perfect for you if you are pulling from distant memory or drawing for the very first time. Through carefully explained demonstrations, simple exercises, and helpful critiques, you will learn step-by-step how to draw what you see in the botanical world, improve your drawing skills, and gain a better understanding of the natural world we live in.

Let your warp yarn be the star with this unique warp-faced structure in the Rep Weave Table Runner class on December 3 from 10 am - 3 pm. In class, students will learn how to create warp-faced patterns on the rigid heddle loom, working with weaving swords. This structure uses a combination of thin and thick wefts to create pattern blocks. Rep weave is wonderful for tableware, rugs, and bags. It is a sturdy and stunning fabric with lots of opportunities for color play.

Back by popular demand, Clay Workshop: Hopeful Birds on December 5 with a morning session and an evening session! Another fun workshop with ceramic artist Rita Vali. Join us as we explore shape, texture, and color as we create ceramic Hopeful Birds. In this class, you will make two birds using the “pinch pot” technique– one to cherish and one to share as a gift.

For more information about the Boulder JCC’s art classes or other programs, check out the event calendar on the Boulder JCC website.