I fell in love with crafts when I was a kid absorbing the arts I learned in Girl Scouts and at summer camps. Those plastic lanyard thingies? I made dozens. Hemp and embroidery floss friendship bracelets? I knotted hundreds, possibly thousands.
I never really stopped enjoying "kid" crafts. There's something meditative and freeing about returning to those crafts of your childhood, letting your mind relax as you simply focus on creating something new.
Last summer, when the pandemic kept us from most other activities, friends and I held our own yard game "Olympics" on a camping trip. For the event, we proudly made puffy paint T-shirts featuring our version of the (postponed) 2020 Olympics logo.
This summer, my friend brought a tie-dye kit on one of our trips. The second I started dyeing the shirt I'd brought, I had this sudden urge to dye more things. Really though, I think it was an urge to return to those crafts that our smartphones and computers and TVs have largely replaced as pastimes.
People used to knit and cross-stitch and even make furniture in their free time. Many still do. Summer is as good a time as any to answer the call to return to those simpler activities.
Spend the day journaling at a local park, go on a hike and paint with watercolors, or consider some of these local classes.
WOOD PAINTING
Board and Brush offers a variety of projects, including things like painting signs, cornhole boards and decorative storage. boardandbrush.com
SPOKANE ART SCHOOL
From medieval illuminated manuscripts to drawing hands or creating caricatures, Spokane Art School is offering a huge variety of art classes this summer. spokaneartschool.net
CREATIVEBUG VIA SPOKANE COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
At the Spokane County Library District, not only are arts and crafts classes offered in person, but the system also provides access to Creativebug, which offers daily online craft tutorials that library members can access for free. Log in with your library card at proxy.scld.org/login/creativebug
THE PULLMAN ART CAR
With classes at Gladish Community and Cultural Center in Pullman, the Pullman Art Car offers a variety of fun classes, from acrylic paint pouring to glass etching, hand lettering and more. They can also be booked for parties, or you can buy a kit to make at home. thepullmanartcar.com
EMERGE
The collective art space at Emerge allows artists from around the area to offer classes in Coeur d'Alene. Find everything from how to throw clay pots to painting and mixed media classes at emergecda.com/classes. ♦
