Minnetonka Community Education

Explore the art of lampworking and glassblowing. Students will learn about torch safety, operating involved equipment, and brief history of glass art. Students will begin with solid sculpting of simple shapes like marbles and cubes. With the assistance of our instructors, students can move on to hollow form objects like pendants and ornaments. All materials included in class fee.

Acrylic pours are a popular and easy way of painting that involves making the paints more fluid so that they can be poured directly onto the canvas without the use of brushes. You will learn how to mix paints and create a directed pour image. This is a method in which the way the paint is applied will create a beautiful fall scene of colorful birch trees. Each participant will receive an 8 x 10 inch canvas and all the supplies needed to create their own masterpiece. Please bring a box to take your work home in.

Follow the step-by-step instructions to create your very own 20x16 masterpiece in the Bob Ross method of oil painting. Even if you have never painted before, you will walk away with your own unique piece of art that will amaze your family and friends.  Enjoy the relaxed approach in creating landscapes that may include mountains, lakes, hills, rivers, trees and sunsets.All painting supplies are included at no additional charge. Students need to provide an apron or smock. 

Learn simple and affordable ways to reduce your plastic consumption by replacing some of products you use in your bathroom. All supplies are included.Soap, Lotion Bars and Sugar Scrub Bars Learn how to make super moisturizing sulfate-free melt ‘n pour soaps, solid sugar scrubs, and lotion bars.  Ditch the plastic in your bathroom. Perfect for travel, the environment, and most importantly, your skin.Shampoo and Conditioner Bars Make fun and easy moisturizing sulfate-free solid shampoos and conditioners that are great for your hair. We'll use nutrient rich natural shea, mango and cocoa butters, glycerin, coconut, sunflower, avocado, and castor oils, and more. These natural shower products are great for travel and the environment.

The average person has over 1,000 photos on their smartphone. Join travel photographer, Kristen Macauley, to learn about the best apps, companies and printing systems to help your pictures escape your phone.

In this three hour class you will work on making decorative holiday ornaments.  Students will manipulate raw glass into solid shapes and will be able to decorate their piece with color, fume and use various tools to create any design they please.  Our instructors will help every step on the way to sculpting a wonderful decoration for the holidays.

This class is for newer lampworkers and people with little or no experience on the torch. Lampworking is a method of glassblowing using a a fix mounted torch to melt and manipulate glass into a desired form. We will go over safety, the torch and glass, work on solid shaped objects and marbles, transitioning into multiple variations of pendants depending on what your comfort level is, or desire to create.

In this two lesson hands-on course you will learn the basics of knitting and create a dishcloth. All supplies included.  Lesson 1: You will learn how to cast on, the knit stitch, the purl stitch and cast off and start your dishclothLesson 2: You will complete your dishcloth, learn how to fix mistakes and learn about next steps in knitting

Come paint a portrait of your furry loved one! Participants will email a photo of their pet, which will be hand-drawn onto a 16 x 20 canvas for you to paint in class with the help of a professional artist. All supplies are provided. 

For most of us, our smartphone is our only camera. Learn how to take the best quality photos by exploring technology, apps, and additional equipment that can make your photos outstanding. Rules of composition will be covered, allowing for better photos on any camera. Taught by travel photographer, Kristen Macauley.

Learn the secrets of floral design to create everything from small arrangements to dramatic centerpieces. You’ll learn how to best condition cut flowers and how to select the best shapes and colors for an arrangement. Come alone or as a group and join us for one or all classes in this series.Registration will close 3 days prior to the class start date to allow enough time to acquire adequate course materials.Autumn Arrangement Using an assortment of dried naturals and seasonal fresh flowers, learn how to create a signature rustic, autumnal centerpiece. Start with a birch-covered container; finish with a beautiful representation of autumn. Asymmetrical Bouquet Based on the essential spiral of the classic bouquet, develop this technique into more interesting shapes and textures. Working with the natural shapes of the materials, create a relaxed and quirky bouquet, bringing order and disorder together.Tumbling Holiday Urn Create an overflowing celebration of the season's bounty allowing the flowers and foliage bend, twist, and tumble as they do in nature. Use an eclectic array of materials in your arrangement, pairing elegant blooms, branches, grasses, vines, textural seedpods, and other botanical accents. Outdoor Winter Planter Learn how to make a beautiful outdoor winter container in this hands-on class. The class will start with a demonstration, breaking down the basics of designing, creating and caring for a winter spruce tip container. Materials include: Rice Hulls (the stuff you fill your pot with), 12" plastic pot, Spruce tips, assorted evergreen boughs (pine, spruce, cedar), 2 pine cones, winter sticks, a range of festive foliages & all natural decorations, and wilt stop. Participants may bring their own decor from home to add to the pot (ie. ribbon, berries, ornaments, birch poles, etc.) and will be instructed on how to use them.

Learn to use water media to paint a wide variety of unique and beautiful paintings through one-on-one instruction. Learn at your own pace. Patterns provided - no drawing is required. Continuing, as well as beginning students are welcome.There is a material fee of $20.00 that is included in the class fee. Please remember to bring a lunch to class to enjoy. A supply list can be found by clicking the link below:http://tinyurl.com/MCEWaterColorSupplyList