Create a functional and decorative ceramic trinket shelf in this beginner-friendly handbuilding workshop. Participants will learn to roll, cut, and assemble clay slabs using simple templates to build a custom mini shelf perfect for displaying jewelry, keepsakes, or other small treasures.

With guidance from your instructor, you’ll practice essential clay techniques such as slip and scoring, smoothing seams, and adding texture or carved details to personalize your piece. Holes for hanging can be added for a finished, ready-to-display result.

All materials, tools, and firings are included. Finished pieces will be fired and available for pickup after the workshop.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!

Discover the beauty of one of the oldest photographic printing processes in this hands-on cyanotype workshop!

In this immersive session, students will learn the history and techniques of cyanotype printing—an alternative photographic process that produces stunning, one-of-a-kind blue-toned images. Participants will explore how to prepare light-sensitive paper, arrange natural objects or digital negatives, and create their own original prints using sunlight or UV exposure.

No prior experience is necessary—this workshop is tailored for both beginners and those with creative experience. All materials are provided, and each participant will leave with several completed cyanotype artworks to take home. $5 materials fee

Learn the wonderful art of needle felting with natural fibers as you create your own charming curly sheep. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll follow step-by-step guidance to shape, layer, and build your sculpture using wool sourced locally from Locust Hollow Sheep Farm in nearby Coatesville. No experience needed, just bring your creativity.

Materials fee: $15

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!

Create a functional and decorative ceramic wall vase using simple slab-building techniques and textured surface design. In this beginner-friendly workshop, participants will construct a wall-mounted pocket vase perfect for displaying flowers, dried botanicals, or small studio tools.

You’ll learn how to roll and shape clay slabs, form and join the vase structure, and experiment with texture using stamps, natural materials, or hand tools. With step-by-step guidance, you’ll gain confidence in handbuilding while designing a piece that reflects your own style.

All materials and tools are provided. Finished wall vases will be fired and ready for pickup at a later date.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.

Celebrate Historic Yellow Springs’ role in marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with botanical artist Margaret Saylor in this unique two-part Making History workshop series.

Inspired by a remarkable composite volume from the archives, featuring 37 hand-colored engravings originally illustrated by naturalist James Sowerby, this historic text once guided physicians and apothecaries in the identification and use of medicinal plants during the Revolutionary era. In the winter session, participants will work from high-resolution scans of these plates to begin their own botanical sketchbook or art journal—a personal reference to the medicinal plants documented by William Woodville in Medical Botany. 

Guided by Margaret Saylor, artists will develop observation and illustration techniques, record notes, and build lasting skills for documenting nature through art. The summer session, part two of the series, invites participants to draw live medicinal plant specimens inspired by the historic plates, expanding their journals with direct field observation. This immersive series offers a rich blend of art, science, history, and hands-on practice to deepen your botanical art practice and connection to historic herbal knowledge.

Click HERE for a materials list for this workshop

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!

Ready to scratch the surface of pottery design? In this beginner-friendly pottery workshop you will be introduced to the technique of Sgraffito. Sgraffito (skrah-FEE-toh) is a decorative technique that involves scratching or scraping through a layer of slip or underglaze to reveal the contrasting colored clay beneath. In this hands-on workshop, you will carve bold black + white patterns into tiles.This 3-hour workshop is geared for beginners (ages 16+) and anyone sgraffito-curious. Tiles will be made ahead of time (so no 'pottery skills' are required for this workshop). Carving tools will be provided.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.

This is a fun and deeply relaxing way to enter the meditative and expressive world of weaving. In this beginner frame loom weaving workshop, you will learn various weaving techniques as you work intentionally with cotton yarn to create a handwoven bookmark for your favorite book! From setting up your loom to finishing your piece you will be guided through the weaving process. During our time together you will be encouraged to play and explore, creating a handwoven bookmark uniquely created by you! Materials Fee: $12

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.

Create a personalized ceramic house number plaque that’s both functional and beautiful. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll use slab-building techniques to design and construct a custom address plaque, incorporating natural textures from leaves, flowers, and stems pressed directly into the clay.

Participants will choose their plaque’s shape, layout, and number style, then add surface details that reflect their own aesthetic. With step-by-step guidance, you’ll learn how to cut, shape, and attach your design elements while exploring texture and composition.

All tools and materials are provided. Finished plaques will be fired and ready for pickup at a later date.

• We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
• Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.