SWORD DANCE opens this Saturday, Septmber 13! ⚔️🐺

SWORD DANCE is a series by Seattle artist and illustrator Mx. Morgan, themed with wolves and the swords suit from traditional tarot, displayed in Risograph print. Particular to Mx. Morgan's body of work, the viewer is invited to intuitively find oneself in the feral animal— and like in tarot, one may discover inner truths.

Join us for the opening reception, Saturday, September 13, from 6-9 pm. Light refreshments will be provided, so RSVPs are appreciated!

September boxes!

Don't forget to sign up by September 15th in order to get a mystery box this month! This beautiful greenish gold is a sneak peak at one of the watercolor caps that will be in this next box! 👀

What will the other colors be? What new inks will there be? Other stuff? Find out!

Teen Art After School

The first 5-class series of our fall Teen Art Program, MAKING COMICS, starts tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept 10!

Can't make the first session? Can't make some of the others? That's okay! Don't let that stop you from signing up! We'd love if you can make all of them, but there's still plenty to gain from just coming to a few classes!

Don't forget, this program is FREE!

Have a younger kid? Coming soon in October...

Last week's Botanical Sketching at the Locks was so nice!! The air is clear and the temperatures are cooling (haven't you missed layering?? jackets?? they're great!) and it's just great to be outside! 🌺

TONIGHT, September 9, 5:00 PM: Come paint a cat at Acrylic Painting Cats! Whether you're a total beginner, know your way around a wet palette, or a seasoned pro, you can have fun and learn something in this class! And EVERYONE will show you cat photos and look at the ones you want to share! 😽

Wednesday, September 10, 3:00 PM: It's the first class of this semester's Teen Art After School! Our first 5-week series will focus on Making Comics! If your kid is a big comic or manga reader and/or loves creating personal characters and writing stories or roleplay, they'll love this series! 🍎

Thursday, September 11, 6:00 PM: We believe art is for everyone, so Watercolor is also for Everyone! This month's class will focus on mixing colored pencils with watercolor, a formidable combination to be sure! The waxy medium of pencil layered with the delicate look of watercolor is bigger than the sum of its parts. Let's explore it! ✏️

Thursday, September 11, 5:00 PM: Go further with Procreate with our Intermediate Procreate class! Learn how to create custom brushes to maximise the kinds of strokes and texture you enjoy most and dive into digital painting! 🪥

Friday, September 12, 11:00 AM: This is the ̶P̶E̶N̶U̶L̶T̶I̶M̶A̶T̶E̶ (counting is hard) THIRDULTIMATE Botanical Sketching at the Locks! The seasons are changing! Enjoy one of the last Friday mornings of summer with us and come draw some plants! 🌿

Friday, September 12, 5:00 PM: Ink and watercolor are two of the fastest drying wet mediums, making them great for getting down ideas, lines, and color very quickly. Combining them makes them a true force to contend with! Learn how to use these awesome mediums together at Ink & Watercolor Illustration! ✌️

Saturday, September 13, 10:00 AM: Learn how to design for Risograph using just traditional media! Separate colors and plan how they'll layer for printing at 2-Color Riso Design on Paper! 🖨️

Saturday, September 13, 1:00 PM: Curious about calligraphy? Mystified by the weird nibs in the pen corner? Join Rosie at Intro to Calligraphy with Ink and Nib and learn history of this craft while practicing the basics of making consistent letterforms with flat nib dip pens.✒️

Saturday, September 13, 5:00 PM: Into watercolors, but unsure about gouache? How is gouache related to watercolor? What are the differences and similarities? All this and more at All About Gouache! 🌲

Saturday, September 13, 6:00 PM: It's the opening reception for SWORD DANCE, a new tarot show by our own Mx Morgan! ⚔️

Sunday, September 14, 3:00 PM: If you are looking to boost your acrylic skills or understanding of value (vs color), Dramatic Acrylic Landscapes is for you! Explore a variety of brushes and palette knives and learn foundations of value to create your own landscape painting. 🏔️

Sunday, September 14, 7:15 PM: How can we make political action a regular and core part of our lives? Not everything needs to be a big show! Small actions matter and accumulate. It takes time to build momentum. Joining us at Riff Raff League every week is a way to start! ✊

Push/Pull Halloween 2025 inks

New! These went out to August mystery box getters already, but are now available individually to everyone! Check out Trick or Treat, Black Lagoon, Bloody Good, and Bat-Winged Newt fountain pen inks!! (We've used some of these names for older, retired ink formulas, but these are fresh and new!)

Tuesday, September 16, 6:00 PM: Shrinky dinks are still a thing, and they're more versatile than you might think! Draw some stuff, watch it shrink, then turn the shrunken goods into pins, brooches, jewelry, and more, at Shrink n' Drink! We'll bring the shrinks; you bring the drinks. ;) 🍸(PS non-alcoholic stuff is totally cool! <3)

Tuesday, September 16, 6:00 PM: Ballard Sketch Team meets at Hattie's Hat as always! Come hang out and doodle! See what others are up to (check out this cool drawing Michael did last time!) and be inspired! Toss ideas around! It's fun! 🍔 FREE MEETUP.

Wednesday, September 17, 5:30 PM: This month's Drawing Techniques will focus on working your imagination! Mix and match your favourite animals to create new critters while honing construction skills to make your creature more plausible! 🐉

Thursday, September 18, 6:00 PM: Life's busy and there's always so much going on. It can be hard to find time to dedicate to crafting words and poetry. Make plans to join us at Part-Time Poets' Club! Put it on the calendar instead of waiting for time and space to magically appear! Get those words down and inspire others to do the same! 💻 FREE MEETUP.

Friday, September 19, 11:00 AM: Okay, THIS ONE is the PENULTIMATE Botanical Sketching, for realisies. The one after this one on the 26th is the last one. Once October rolls in, there will be no more until spring! Let's enjoy this perfect weather and spend some time in the garden before the rain hits! 🗓️

Friday, September 19, 3:00 PM: Come create paintings with a medium that uses elements of both drawing and painting at Illustration in Oil Pastel! Oil pastels are wonderful for capturing a scene in a more impressionistic way. Come learn how!

Friday, September 19, 8:00 PM: Our monthly Figure Drawing session is here! No matter how many times you revisit it, the human body is beautiful, weird, and complicated. Whether you're brushing up your foundations or seeking deeper understanding of how the body moves, twists, bends, and settles, a live model helps, and company doesn't hurt! 👯‍♂️

Saturday, September 20, 5:30 PM: Learn the basics of Risograph printing and why everyone is so into it while making a set of custom bookplates for your wonderful collection of amazing books you'll read someday! Once you've adorned your tomes with your own ex libris mark, you'll definitely be inspired to tackle the pages... This probably isn't a callout post for anyone!! Nope! Join us for Custom Bookplates on Risograph!! 📚

Sunday, September 21, 3:00 PM: You have another chance to Build a Website Like it's 1999! Our instructor got sick and we had to reschedule, but maybe this new date works better for you anyway? Come learn about, or revisit, when the Internet was simpler, better, and weirder, and make the hyperspecific site of your y2k dreams. :)

Notice: No Riff Raff League on September 21! It'll be back on the 28th!

It's never too late to learn some of that old school HTML and CSS, or to harness the power of animated pixel GIFs and scrolling marquees! Let's Build a Website Like it's 1999!