This two-session class will introduce you to the art of stone cutting.
About this Class
Learn how to cut and polish cabochons from rough, using various cutting and polishing equipment in the process.
Students are welcome to bring any stones of their own that they have questions about or want to try cutting. All base materials will be provided.
Completion of this introductory class gains you access to open studio time to use the lapidary equipment. This class also is the prerequisite for all intermediate lapidary classes.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
Karin Luvaas is a Bainbridge Island artist and jeweler with an art degree in encaustics, painting, and metal sculpture. She has studied under acclaimed jewelry masters Michael Boyd, Kent Raible, Petra Class, and Sarah Graham and achieved Graduate Jeweler status under Alan Revere of the world-renowned Revere Academy of San Francisco. Karin also is a GIA Graduate Gemologist and holds a Jewelers of America Bench Jeweler Technician certificate. Her current work can be viewed at karinluvaas.com.
Contact: [email protected]
Learn the basics of designing and building Euro-style cabinets, also known as frameless cabinets, as you build one!
Build a simple cabinet that includes the basic features found in base and upper cabinets in this intermediate-level class. We start with an overview of cabinet styles with an emphasis on Euro-style and a discussion about cabinet materials and useful tools.
You learn how to sketch a plan, make a cut list, and estimate materials, then go on to accurately and safely cut down a sheet of plywood and assemble the pieces into a sturdy, square cabinet box. You add the drawer and door and learn how to adjust the hinges so the door hangs properly. The class covers the basics of how to install cabinets, but that is not demonstrated.
At the end of this class, you'll be prepared to build simple cabinets with the dimensions you want during open studio sessions. If you have a complicated cabinet, extra help is available in our Coached Woodworking Open Studio sessions, which are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
You must wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry.
We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
You will go home with an upper cabinet approximately 28" tall, 20" wide and 12" deep, with one drawer and one door.
A $100 materials fee included in the cost of the class covers all the plywood, hardware, and supplies you need.
You must have completed Orientation to the Woodshop and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 & 2. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Dave Whitacre and Roz Estime. Dave moved to Bainbridge in 2013 after he retired as a petroleum engineer in Alaska. Woodworking has been his hobby for the past 40-plus years. He's enjoyed designing and building traditional-styled furniture and hopes to broaden his skills and techniques now that he has more time to devote to the craft. Roz has been an active member in the BARN woodshop since 2018. He is an architectural planner specializing in hospitals and laboratory facilities design.
This is an opportunity to work with the industry-standard Smith® Little Torch and propane/oxygen torch during this two-day evening class.
Sarah Jones - This Bainbridge Island artist and teacher has experience in fine metal arts, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, stained glass, and photography. She is a BARN founding member and Jewelry Studio programming and steering committee member.
Because Sarah is a visual and tactile learner herself, her classes typically involve a lot of hands-on learning and printed information and resources for her students to refer to when practicing their new skills.
Sarah’s art has been displayed in the Seattle Metals Guild and Bainbridge Arts & Craft exhibitions. Her work is sold at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. To view her recent work, visit at: www.foggyroaddesigns.com.
If you have beginning skills in Fusion 360 software, this class will introduce you to this design program’s CAM (computer-assisted machining) functions.
At the second session in the Woodshop, you will use the CAM functions to develop tool paths for the router, output G code to run the router, and use the Laguna CNC to cut out and embellish your wooden box.
Wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
You will create a box made of maple and walnut. With the lid, it measures 5 1/4" long, 4" wide, and up to 3" high. At the end of class, it will be ready for sanding and finishing.
Bring a laptop with a mouse and a working copy of Fusion 360 already installed.
Doug Salot has adopted Fusion 360 as a lifestyle. He has used it to design signs, cabinets, and replacement parts for various broken things. You'll often find him in ETA using the laser cutter or in the woodshop carving things on BARN's CNC router.
Learn how to use hand tools skillfully in this four-session component of BARN's Beginning Woodworking series.
Once you've taken Orientation to the Woodshop, join us to build a two-compartment tote, handy for storing or carrying silverware, garden tools, or other items. The project was specifically designed to give you experience with the most common hand tools.
You will learn to use:
All students must wear a mask to this class.
Orientation to the Woodshop (multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar)
Tom Leurquin has been a BARN member since its opening and specializes in projects involving hand tools. After taking several hand tool courses at BARN and the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, he fell in love with the intimacy and meditative aspects of working wood by hand. His civil engineering background has helped him achieve a critical eye for detail and precision that enriches the art of hand tool woodworking.
Learn how to use the C&P tabletop press and set wood type and ornaments as we make a run of Thank You cards.
You will use wood type, ornaments, and/or cuts to create your design. We'll then go over locking the type securely in a chase and learn how to load it into the press. After printing, you'll trim and score your prints to letter size. Envelopes will be included and we will be trading prints, so you will go home with an assortment of your, and your classmates' work.
Designed as a user's guide to BARN's Electronic & Technical Arts (ETA) Studio, this free orientation is highly recommended for all studio participants.
You will learn everything from studio etiquette and policies to an overview of what the studio has, and where it all is.
You'll get to see the 3D printers, laser cutter, soldering station, hand tools, and more. Overall BARN policies as well as studio-specific ones also will be covered.
You'll also learn about the leadership structure within ETA and about opportunities to help everything run smoothly. Volunteer jobs range range from serving as studio monitors to helping with studio maintenance.
This event takes place in person in the ETA Studio.
Want to inject some humor into your writing? This class is designed to improve your comedic writing skills.
Led by humorist Bob Balmer, this course studies successful humor writers and examines what makes people laugh. You'll learn time-tested techniques for transforming odd, embarrassing, memorable, and absurd moments into humorous passages.
Through a series of exercises and prompts, students learn to mine their experiences and observations for comedic material and techniques for crafting jokes and humorous anecdotes. Students also have the opportunity to workshop their material and receive feedback from the instructor and their peers.
Bob Balmer's first humorous essay was published in The Oregonian in 1992. Since then, his work has appeared in numerous national and regional newspapers and magazines, and on radio shows such as The Savvy Traveler and MarketPlace.
He has an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University, and attended the Iowa Summer Writing Workshop and the Tin House Summer Writing Workshop at Reed College. He recently took improv and sketch-writing classes at Second City Comedy in Chicago. He has led numerous humor writing workshops throughout Oregon, and Washington.
The Glass Studio is now offering limited open studios for participants to come into BARN and work on projects.
This open studio has a focus on coldworking and lampworking.
In order to maintain physical distancing in our studios we have limited the number of members who can use the studio at one time.
Monitor: Nancy Adams can help with coldworking, torchwork, stained glass, lampworking, or fused glass. Please note that this is not a formal class. Assistance is for students who have completed classes in these techniques.
Details:
Have you ever wondered indie dyers create beautiful, brightly colored skeins of yarn? Let a local indie dyer show you!
In this two-part introductory class, you will learn the basics of dyeing wool yarn with acid dyes, a non-caustic type of synthetic dye activated by simple white vinegar or citric acid. You will learn essential safety procedures, planning colorways, making dye stocks, and how to use them.
You will be introduced to the hand-painting method, which is an easy, fun, and versatile dye style that's perfect for beginners. During the workshop, you will engage in guided color play to create your own unique skein of hand-painted yarn.
Day 1
Day 2
You will get your (gloved) hands dirty, and dye your own yarn! You will hand-paint a skein of fingering weight superwash merino. This technique gives you the chance to really play with the color while learning about dye stocks and how to use them.
You might also be interested in Surface Design: Dyeing Consistent Colorways on Yarn coming up in June.
You will leave with at least one skein of dyed yarn, a chance to play with color, and beginning dyeing skills.
Students should bring rubber gloves and an apron.
The materials kit includes one skein of fingering weight superwash merino yarn (100g/490 yards), one disposable respirator, and enough dye and citric acid to fully saturate a skein with color.
Ship Pryce gets inspiration for yarn colorways from her fandoms and from anime, video games, and "other nerdy things." Some of her favorite fandoms to dye yarn for are: Final Fantasy XIV, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Genshin Impact, Critical Role, and Studio Ghibli Films. Ship has been dyeing yarn since 2018, crocheting since 2010, and more recently picked up knitting and weaving. She has always loved sharing her passions with others, whether that is screaming about the things she loves, or teaching others how to create.
Ship live streams her yarn dyeing weekly on Twitch along with her Bernese mountain dog, Pico; and golden retriever, Eri.
Learn the basic safety principles of five key tools in the woodworking shop.
In this hands-on class, you will make practice cuts on wood that the shop will supply. Completing this class qualifies you to use the following tools during open studio time or in classes that have this as a prerequisite:
You will shape a piece of wood using specific studio tools.
All needed materials will be provided.
None.
Charles Sharpe
Gather with fellow knitters to make hats to share through local organizations that are helping others.
Gather at this monthly hat knit-along to socialize and knit hats for local organizations that are helping keep others warm! Hats can be as simple or complex as you like, and any size. This is a great skill-building and stash-busting project.
Bring your own stash of yarn.
Jessica Rose recently arrived on Bainbridge from Seattle where she had more than 10 years' experience working and teaching at a local yarn shop, as well as blogging and podcasting about knitting. She’s a knitter, spinner, and dyer who loves to play with fiber and color but most of all she loves to knit hats. She’s so excited to join the creative community at BARN!
Gather with other woodcarvers to share tips, explore different techniques, and work on individual carving projects.
More a weekly gathering than a formal class, Carving Afternoon is open to beginners as well as experienced woodcarvers.
Each session begins with basic safety and carving instruction, so beginners should plan to arrive promptly at 1 pm. Blanks for a simple carving project and all tools will be provided.
More experienced carvers should bring a project to work on as well as any personal carving tools, although BARN tools also are available. Once beginners are engaged in their projects, there will be time at each session to explore more complicated techniques, discuss carving traditions, learn about topics such as sharpening or wood selection, and get advice about the best way to proceed.
Work on your own project or one provided for beginners, which will be a simple basswood figure or design. The projects shown are all by BARN members who plan to participate in these sessions. Dan Webb carved the wooden balloon and the hand. Jeff Iller made the spoons. Bill Clapp carved the halibut bowl.
All materials and tools are provided at no cost for the instructor-led project. Participants must bring materials for their independent projects.
Learn the basic features of VCarve Pro, a popular program used to make signs, engravings, intricate inlays and imported 3D shapes and models on computer-controlled routers.
VCarve Pro is easier to learn than Fusion 360, the other 3D design program taught at BARN, and can be used for projects on both the large CNC router in the Woodworking Studio and the small CNC router in the ETA Lab.
Session 1 is in the ETA studio so you can use the VCarve Pro software to design an 8x16" sign and prototype your design on ETA's laser cutter. In session 2, we meet in the Woodworking Studio to carve it on the CNC router.
Please note: To take this class, you need a laptop computer with a mouse and a working copy of VCarve Pro 11 already downloaded to that computer (you can download a free trial at www.vectric.com). The software requires a PC or a MAC that has Windows installed. There is no time during class to download the program. If you have questions or run into problems downloading the program, please email the instructor for help. If you don't have a laptop you can bring to class, you may use an ETA Studio desktop computer with the software already loaded.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition Assistance is available - click here to fill out the simple application before registering for a class. For those who might need physical assistance, please learn about BARN's Companion Program here.
Al Ebken - Al is a retired ocean engineer with many years of computer and computer-aided design experience. In the picture, he's using the Woodworking Studio's CNC router to make parts for face shields to protect against coronavirus infection.
Learn the essentials of the Centroid CNC VCP (Virtual Control Panel), the interface for all CNC machines in our studio.
This is a prerequisite for the CNC Lathe and CNC Mill classes, and highly recommended for CNC Plasma Cutter classes.
You’ll learn what all those buttons do, which directions the machine moves along the different axes, how to load a G-code program, and the way to communicate directly with the machine via MDI (Manual Data Input).
There’s a lot to know about operating a CNC machine beyond loading a program and pushing the button, and this class will get you started. After attending this class, you can proceed directly to Introduction to Plasma CNC, Fusion 360 CAM for Lathe or Mill, or CNC Lathe and CNC Mill classes.
Wear closed-toe shoe, tie back long hair, avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry and roll up sleeves. Wear hearing protectors when warranted and safety glasses (bring your own or use BARN's).
None
Eli Backer is an artist, composer, and engineer, working in a wide range of media and constantly making. A Bainbridge native, she holds an MFA in Glass from RISD, and a BS in Computer Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO. Her work may be found in the Cynthia Sears Artist’s Books Collection at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, at the Center for Book Arts in NYC, and at the Fleet Library in Providence, RI. She is a self-taught machinist, having bought a lathe during the pandemic, and finds the precision machine tools offer incredibly relaxing.
Contact: David Hays [email protected]
Get checked out on the Woodworking Studio’s major power tools not covered in the Tool Safety Checkout 1 class.
Create a pattern you can cast into metal and begin your casting journey!
Learn one of many ways to create a pattern of the casting you envision. Once completed, you can use the pattern in our Metal Casting in the Foundry class to create a mold for molten bronze or aluminum to produce your casting.
Making a pattern is the first of three basic steps of the foundry arts:
We recommend you consider three, no-fee informational classes we offer online: Introduction to Metal Casting, Patternmaking for Metal Casting and Finishing Castings. And this class completes that first step, where you learn how to make pattern used to produce a working mold..
The second step involves taking Metal Casting in the Foundry, which can be repeated as desired and qualifies you for guided studio time in the foundry, and where you learn to make molds from patterns and pour molten metal into the mold to for the casting.
Finishing a Metal Casting class is also recommended and can be repeated as desired. Guided studio in the foundry is where advanced casting skills are built.
Jeff Oens is a widely renowned sculptor with bronze artwork exhibited in prominent art collections and public displays across the United States and Canada. He is best known for his outstanding wildlife sculptures, but his portfolio also includes human figures, mythical creatures, and other diverse subjects, ranging in size from miniature to monumental. Many of Jeff’s sculptures can be seen around the industrial park on Three Tree Lane.
This is the class you want to take for your first time at a metal-cutting vertical mill.
Gain an understanding of the three principal motions of the table in the X-, Y-, and Z-axes, how to make use of the DRO (Digital Read Out), how to control the speed of the spindle, using collets, and the different cutters used. You also practice layout, using the cut-off saw, “finding” an edge, facing and squaring on the mill, drilling, tapping, and filing a chamfer. This class dovetails with Make A Bolt (Intro to the Lathe) because the bolt you make in that class will thread into the nut you make in this class.
This class is suitable for both beginners and those who are fairly new to the shop and wish to gain experience.
You not only get a chance to gain confidence in using our shop tools, but you get to create a lovely square nut that will spin freely on the bolt you’ll create in the Make A Bolt (Intro to the Lathe) class.
Please wear closed-toe shoes in our studio. Tie back long hair, avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry and roll up sleeves. Wear hearing protection when warranted and safety glasses; bring your own or use BARN's.
Machine Shop Orientation
Please click here for BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols.
Andy Dupree
Join book artist and master printmaker Karen Kunc and make your own artist's book in this intensive, hands-on workshop.
Starting with printing color reduction woodcut images, which become the pages of a hand-bound or accordion book, students will create their own artist's book that generates a multilevel sensory experience. Students will find inspiration from master printmaker Karen Kunc, who opens the creative process with insightful mentoring. Concepts for invention and good fun will be directed in a collaborative atmosphere.
This class is open to motivated beginners.
Karen Kunc explores inventive color abstractions of the natural and human-fashioned world in her prints and artist's books, creating ideas of ‘strange beauty.’ Kunc is Professor Emerita of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The recipient of numerous awards, her work has been shown in exhibitions nationally and internationally and are held in numerous private, public, and university collections. She has taught workshops around the world and has lectured to over 200 institutions. Kunc is the owner of Constellation Studios, a creative worksite for artist residencies, collaborations, and workshops in print, paper, and book. This workshop is offered in partnership with the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art and BARN.
Get introduced to 3D printing by seeing BARN's printers up close and gain an understanding of how they work.
See a computer file get readied for printing in a process called "slicing." See our different printers and learn about filament, the material 3D printers use to make prints.
You will start a print and see the printer actually print. 3D printing has many uses, ranging from practical to fun, such as replacement parts, mold-making, medical models used in surgery, prototypes, and more. Bring your curiosity and questions. You can continue to use the 3D printers during open studio times when a studio monitor or other member can help you.
Optional: Bring a laptop with PrusaSlicer, a software tool for 3D printing, installed.
Rick Gordon
Whether you write for publication or for yourself, understanding the creative process will deepen your relationship with your writing and yourself.
All experience levels are welcome!
William Kenower is the author of "Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence," "Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion," and "Everyone Has What It Takes: A Writer’s Guide to the End of Self-Doubt." He is editor-in-chief of Author magazine. His work has been published in The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, Edible Seattle, Parent Map, and he has been a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.
This introduction to our Woodworking & Small Boatbuilding Studio is required for anyone who wants to work in the studio.
This free orientation covers policies and etiquette in a community workshop, safety, and the studio’s leadership structure.
The Open Studio experience is discussed as well as what the studio contributes to support members’ learning and project work.
Learning opportunities to help the studio run smoothly are provided. Volunteer jobs range from serving as safety monitors, assisting on community service projects, and helping on Monday Maintenance.
If you are new to woodworking, a basic series of classes is explained to help you begin your woodworking experience while using natural and sustainable materials to create with your hands.
You will learn how our studio works and fulfill the orientation prerequisite for further use of the studio and classes.
Any materials used will be provided.
Jeff Williams
Hear about Tech Lab's newest 3D printer capabilities as it gets closer to being available for general use by members.
Ralph and Mike will talk about the printer's capabilities and what you need to know to start using it for your own projects.
This printer, which we call "The Mark4," has a larger capacity and faster printing speeds than the lab's fleet of Prusa printers. This community project began more than three years ago and we are ready to get more people to help get it through its beta testing. We'll talk about the requirements for slicing your model, walk everyone through the steps needed with the printer's touch screen user interface, and share tips and tricks.
Mike Schremp - Mike teaches our LightBurn software class and also enjoys talking about Fusion 360, mechanical design, home-brewing, and Python for FORTRAN programmers.
Ralph McCotter - Retired electrical engineer after supporting submarine electrical systems troubleshooting, overhaul and upgrade for 32 years. Marine electrician, amateur radio operator (KI7BB) and Ford truck enthusiast. Four year plus BARN member.
This class offers about two hours of hands-on instruction in Tungsten Inert Gas welding, different types of welds, and torch and filler rod manipulation.
Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding is generally recognized as the welding technique of choice for artisans and more exotic materials including aluminum and stainless steel.
TIG welding is more difficult to learn than Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding since it requires greater hand/eye coordination and the simultaneous use of both hands and one foot (controlling the amperage pedal.) TIG welding is a precision process particularly useful in high-grade artwork and metal sculpture.
The class includes shop safety and hazard awareness and proper use of personal protection equipment.
Patrick Clanton - Patrick is a professional welder with more than 30 years of experience. He participates in the artisan community on Bainbridge as a welder in support of other artists and as a sculptor in his own right. Patrick Clanton Email: [email protected]
If you're looking to tackle a project but want some help to develop and complete it, this guided open studio is for you.
You and up to two other woodworkers will have access to an instructor to guide your work. You will share the shop and tools with others, just as in any open studio. These sessions are scheduled on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.
This experience promises to build your woodworking knowledge while increasing confidence and skill using the woodshop. It is open to beginning woodworkers, as well as those with more experience who are seeking help with an unfamiliar process or a technical challenge, such as determining the most suitable joinery or designing a jig.
Purchase your own materials.
Ages 14 and up are welcome. (unless otherwise specified in class details, in which case omit)
Ben Dykstra has been a woodworker for almost 30 years and has expertise in custom furniture and high-end kitchen cabinetry. He has worked with youth for more than 10 years and currently teaches middle school woodshop and high school technical drawing and CAD.
Learn about basic metal cutting, and the tools used for drilling, turning, milling, sawing, and grinding.
See basic demonstrations of the drill press, lathe, milling machine, cut off saw, bandsaw, and surface grinder. Throughout, safety issues will be emphasized for these powerful and potentially dangerous machines used in the Machine Shop.
Make a set of jigs to simplify kumiko woodworking, a Japanese-style process of cutting and arranging thin strips of wood.
Kumiko is a technique of assembling wooden pieces into intricate, interlocking geometric patterns without nails.
You may also wish to sign up for a class that uses these jigs to make several kumiko pieces with different traditional patterns. Learn more and register for that here.
You will make five jigs that help ensure accurate cuts:
Paul Kury studied woodworking at Lonnie Bird’s School of Fine Woodworking in Dandridge, Tenn., and has been an active woodworker for more than 40 years. His preference is 18th-century furniture. Paul also volunteers as a woodworking safety monitor at BARN.
Build a small, Shaker-style table as you learn how to take a project from initial idea to finished project.
This class is designed for students who know the basics of using tools but want to further those skills under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
We will cover:
You must wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
Build a hardwood table about 26 inches high with a 16-by-16-inch top and a base about 14 inches by 14 inches. Suitable as a lamp stand or night stand.
A $35 materials fee included in the cost of the class covers all wood and shop supplies needed to build your table. Depending on wood prices, the table might be maple, cherry, poplar, or another hardwood.
The fee does not include finish, which you will need to supply and apply after you take your table home.
Ted Newman studied woodworking and has assisted in classes at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. He is active in BARN's woodworker group and volunteers as a safety monitor.
Learn the essentials of the CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) Lathe and how to safety operate it, and cut some metal!
In the second session, we’ll load a model created by one of the students into Fusion 360, examine and prove the CAM setup and G-code, cut some air, and then cut some metal.
These prerequisites provide an important foundation for learning how to use the CNC Lathe and use of it during open studio. Please log in to your BARN account and click on "My event registrations" to ensure you have completed the required prerequisites before you register for this class.
Contact: David Hays at [email protected]
Get to know our Baby Lock Solaris 2 Embroidery Machine working one-on-one
with a studio volunteer.
Hoop and embroider a couple of the designs that are among the hundreds that come loaded on the machine in this two-hour tutorial.
Leave the session ready to explore more of the machine’s dazzling number of functions and knowing how to leave the machine clean and ready for the next embroiderer.
Check out our Embroidery Machine Skills series to build your repertoire on the Solaris 2.
Rotating Fiber Studio Volunteers
Jeanne Huber
