Sneak Peek 👀 October mystery boxes!

And in case you missed 'em, the September box debuted the Paint Bugs! watercolor set and the Northern Lights fountain pen ink series, while the August box debuted our new Halloween sets (we were so early, haha!) of both watercolors and inks.

(btw, the Halloween watercolor sets are SOLD OUT now. We still have single caps available of all the colors... for now! We may re-make these colors at some point, but not for at least a year!)

Ballard Trick or Treat!

We're participating in Ballard Trick or Treat as usual, so bring your kids in for some candy, 4-6 pm on Halloween! 🎃

Maybe grab some comics n' art supplies while you're in, or even do some... early holiday shopping? (It's not as early as you think!! The end of the year comes at ya fast...) 💀💀💀

A Supply Request!

Do you have old piles of 12x12 scrapbooking paper around you're never gonna use? Bring them in for us to use and upcycle!

Do you have some old paper pads you're almost done with? We'd love to have the hard backing board from them!

Just bring them in and let us know you'd like to donate them for our use. Thank you so much!

FREE Kids & Teen Art After School

UPDATE: We've pushed back the starting time for our Teen Art After School classes to 3:30 PM to hopefully better accommodate after school travel times!

A new 5-class series on Printmaking starts for Teens on October 15th! Sign up or share with parents in your life! Our next After School Art for Kids series starts November 3rd!

Kids get more out of these classes when more of their peers are around, so we hope to be able to fill more spots in these FREE programs! We appreciate your helping us to spread the word!

How can different pencil hardnesses help or hinder your work? What hardness works best for what type of technique? Find out at this month's Drawing Techniques, tomorrow!

TONIGHT, October 14, 5:00 PM: Get started with acrylic painting by capturing your favourite cat (we won't tell the others) to canvas at Acrylic Painting Cats, a super beginner friendly evening of learning, experimenting, and cat photo show and tell! 😻

Wednesday, October 15, 3:30 PM: It's the start of another 5-class series at Teen Art After School! This Intro to Printmaking series will cover a variety of printmaking techniques, so get ready to learn a BUNCH of new ways of making art! Maybe you'll discover your new favourite medium! 🖨️ FREE/PWYW CLASS.

Wednesday, October 15, 6:00 PM: This month's Drawing Techniques covers graphite value scales. You might already know the H to B hardness/softness scale, but how do you better utilise it to achieve the effects you want in drawing? Is it better to use HB? 2B? 4H? Find out and learn more! ✏️

Thursday, October 16, 6:00 PM: Part-Time Poets' Club is an opportunity to schedule time specifically for poetry-crafting! Surviving the day to day takes a lot of energy and effort, but creativity is part of survival too! Don't short yourself. Come in, write, share if you want, enjoy the company of other poets! FREE MEETUP. 💻

Friday, October 17, 5:30 PM: Are you a fiber artist who's always loved the idea of sketchbooks, but don't feel like they really fit your craft? Fear not! You can Make an Embroidery Book! Drawing-type artists can't monopolise the fun! 📖

Friday, October 17, 8:00 PM: Spend Friday night with fellow artists revisiting and refreshing foundations at Figure Drawing! Humans are weird; drawing from life helps! 🕺

Saturday, October 18, 2:00 PM: Gouache remains underappreciated and overlooked in the shadow of its much more popular cousin, watercolor. Learn about what makes gouache different, special, and amazing, at All About Gouache! 🎨

Sunday, October 19, NOON: NEW CLASS! Want to get into fiber arts, but don't think knitting, crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, or needle felting are for you?? Give weaving a try at Intro to Weaving! Learn the basics of weaving and make yourself a fashionable accessory! 🪢

Sunday, October 19, 3:00 PM: Another NEW CLASS! Cut the Crap: A No BS Collage Workshop with cartoonist and collagist Marty Gordon is gonna be exactly what it says on the tin! Marty promises: no art school vibes, no perfection, no overthinking! Let's go! ✂️

Sunday, October 19, 7:15 PM: Protest is important, but it's not the only way to resist or fight back. Join us at Riff Raff League as we work together to figure out what else we can do, and what more we can do. ✊

You know what's underrated? Puppets. And finger puppets specifically. They are so cute and so versatile! You can make a little buddy!! Hand Puppets with Maxx is great kids 8-13 in particular, to help foster play, creativity, and imagination!

Tuesday, October 21, 6:00 PM: Make new friends at our twice monthly casual drawing meetup, Ballard Sketch Team! Grab your sketchbook and join us at Hattie's Hat for a bite, a drink, and a chill good time! 🍻 FREE MEETUP.

Wednesday, October 22, 6:00 PM: At this month's Watercolor Landscapes, we'll be exploring CMY color mixing, which lends itself to saturated, rich colors. Learn a little color theory about these primary colors, and enjoy the vivid tones they create when mixed. We’ll create a painting featuring wildflowers! 🪻

Thursday, October 23, 5:00 PM: Add more detail and depth with your needle felted creations at Continuing Needle Felting! You'll create a medium-sized needle felted sculpture and build layers of color to create more complex shapes. 🪡

Friday, October 24, 6:00 PM: Collages don't have to be flat! Explore dimension and presentation at Collage Masquerade, and you'll come away with the most unique mask at the party! This is a one-off seasonal class, so don't miss it! 🎭

Saturday, October 25, 11:00 AM: Capture a caricature of your favourite critter with Watercolor Pet Portraits, and get a better handle on the medium while you're at it, too. :) 🐶

Saturday, October 25, 2:30 PM: The equipment and space necessary for professional screenprinting can be intimidating, but what if you can DIY? Join us for DIY Screen Printing and get the basics of the art without all of the intimidation! 🖼️

Sunday, October 26, 10:00 AM: The season of mail approaches! Add unique and beautiful finishing touches to your handwritten letters and cards with Artistic Wax Seals! 💌

Sunday, October 26, 2:00 PM: Make a little friend at Hand Puppets with Maxx! A class crafted with play in mind, help encourage exploration, creativity, and imagination in your kid aged 8-13! ✌️

Sunday, October 26, 7:15 PM: The news doesn't stop coming, so neither do we. Join us at Riff Raff League to process the politics together and to channel some collective energy into ways we can resist and make a difference. 📰 FREE MEETUP.

Another seasonal class! Collage has a ton of applications -- have you ever thought about using collage on a mask? Join us for Collage Masquerade and have the most unique face at the party!