All of my children enjoy art, but that’s no surprise because they come from an artistic family (well, at least on my side 🙂 and go to a school that has a strong emphasis on crafts and handwork. They knit, they crochet, they’re all very talented illustrators. So it’s a natural that they like painting ceramics.
We’re lucky to have a local ceramics painting studio Color Me Mine Boulder that’s no more than two miles from the house, and we’ve been there plenty of times.
The only problem is that they have a “studio fee” that amounts to $7-$10/person in addition to the cost of the items being painted. I called up and asked if we could waive that as I’ve occasionally seen coupons offer the same deal and when they found we were actually inviting the entire 4th grade, they were happy to comp us the studio fee.
With only a day’s notice, however, the turnout was pretty darn low: me and three 4th grade girls who kept me amused with their running commentary as we sat around a table, painting.
My own 9yo daughter K- painted a bowl for her Mom for Christmas (shhh, don’t spill the beans!) and a ceramic kitten that was supposed to look just like Kiwi but ended up far too light to be a good match.
Her bowl (with a tiny bit of last minute detail painting by her 17yo sister):
I didn’t walk out empty handed either, painting and detailing a ceramic candy bowl in the shape of a star:
(these are obviously stunt almonds. No actual almonds were hurt in the making of this post)
I had a good time and while it’s a bit spendy, it’s a great way to spend some time and the results? Even with a little bit of patience, you might just be surprised what you can create!