Kids' Workshops Are Here!

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

We hope that your New Year has gotten off to a fantastic start! Our 2025 pottery classes for grown-ups are up and running, despite a couple of snow delays, and we are so happy to be back with our hands in clay. What we’re realllllyyyyyy excited about right now, though, are our kids’ workshops! The first round of 2025 classes for young creators of various ages is ready to go, so read on to find out more!

Let’s start with monsters (and really, if there are monsters involved, where else would you start?). We have two different workshops, one for kids ages 6–11, and the other for young creators ages 12–16, both taught by that incomparable creator of monsters, our very own Brooke Fawley!

Marvelous Monsters! is a two-hour workshop in two parts, for kids ages 6–11, to be held on Saturday mornings, February 15 & March 1, from 10:30–11:30 am.

Make your very own marvelous monster to take home! In the first session, kids will learn how to hand-build and sculpt their monstrosities out of clay. In the second session, they will paint them with all kinds of fun underglazes to make them stand out from the crowd! Finished and fired monsters will be ready for pick-up at 1:00 pm on Saturday, March 8. Uaaarrrggh!

Make A Monster Mug! is a four-hour workshop in two parts, for kids ages 12–16, that will run on Saturday afternoons, February 15 & March 1, from 1:00–3:00 pm.

Make every day a terror-ifically monstrous delight by putting your favorite hot beverage in your very own handmade monster mug! In the first session, participants will learn the basics of a foundational hand-building technique, slab-building, so that they can craft their mugs, and will be shown how to transform them into monstrosities of the very best kind! In the second session, they will apply underglaze colors to make their monsters even more wild, wonderful and unique! Fired mugs will be ready for pick up on Saturday, March 8, at 1:00 pm.

From monsters, let’s move on to dragons… well, a very specific dragon: our local Book Dragon!

Join us for Story Time & Paint-Your-Own Ceramic Valentine’s Heart! A Half-Hour Workshop for Kids Ages 5+: Saturday, February 8, at the Book Dragon, from 1:00–2:30 pm, with seatings every half-hour.

Calling all kids ages 5 and up! Come and paint your own handmade Valentine’s Heart at the Book Dragon bookshop, located at 102 W. Beverley Street. Join us for a themed story time and a chance to decorate a clay ornament in the shape of a heart, handmade for you by the Staunton Clayground pottery studio! Parents can browse the shelves while they wait. Valentine’s Hearts will be ready to take home at the end of the session, and kids can collect a treat on their way out the door!

Ticket price: $10 (each additional child, $8.00). We will be seating 8 children at a time, every half hour.

And that’s just what we’ve got starting in February! Stay tuned for additional kids’ workshop news coming soon, with more workshops for young folks of various ages, coming in March and April, both at the Staunton Clayground studio and in conjunction with Staunton Parks & Rec, which will be hosted in their facility at Gypsy Hill Park.

Keep watching this space! We can’t wait for you to clay with us 😊 

Wishing you a warm and joyful weekend!