Dirty hands

UO Craft Center a place for potters, woodworkers and other artists to plunge themselves into art.

A student uses studio time to sculpt.

The Craft Center offers more than 80 classes per academic term, open to those enrolled in the University and outside community members. Course topics range from basic ceramics and woodworking classes to creative and strange craft conglomerations such as exotic weaving, scarf making and furniture building.

"There is something for everyone here," says Craft Center coordinator Diane Hoffman, who has been in charge of events for the past one and a half years. Hoffman oversees the coordination of Craft Center classes and ensures quality and variety for students hoping to learn new skills.

"Eugene has a very successful and supportive art community," she says, "We're lucky to have local instructors and resident artists to work with us."

Each class offered by the Craft Center is taught by a qualified artist, professor, graduate or undergraduate. The cost of courses is determined by the length of instruction, facility use and materials needed. Usually fees are between $20 and $60 but can sometimes go over $100 for more in-depth projects.

Potters at the wheel.

The Craft Center keeps its facilities well-stocked with tools and materials for every kind of class. Every inch of space is constructively used in this workshop even though it is tucked into one of the small, oddly shaped corners of the Erb Memorial Union. The Craft Center boasts fully furnished woodworking benches, six individual darkrooms and a photo lab, a handful of pottery kilns, glassworking tools, a sandblaster, and sewing apparatuses from machines to looms. On top of that, the Craft Center retails materials such as clay and wood that ambitious artists may want to use in their projects.

"We try to maintain a basic stock of the things a student would need in the workshop here," assistant coordinator Garner Britt explains.

Curious crafters need not be enrolled in classes to experience the variety of materials available to them. Because it is a self-supporting facility, the Craft Center charges a small per-term fee for those interested in using the workshops when they aren't occupied by classes. All proceeds go to the maintenance and upkeep of the building and materials. Term passes are $8 for students, $15 for staff and faculty and $20 for community members and alumni. With these passes, crafters can use any of the craft center tools and either bring their own materials or purchase supplies from the craft center store.

Garner explains that the Craft Center's mission statement is to offer accessible creative facilities to anyone and everyone who is interested. Many of the visitors to the Craft Center are those who aren't in art majors and don't have access to craft resources outside the EMU facilities.

Students in non-craft majors often use the Craft Center for sewing projects, woodworking and pottery. The pottery room is always stocked wall-to-wall with projects in various stages of completion, waiting to go into the kiln. The most popular classes are those similar to art courses offered by the university, including ceramics, photography and glassworking. Garner explains that these classes are popular because they are often cheaper and less time consuming than credit-based courses but have equally pleasing returns.

"We're here to offer experiences that people otherwise wouldn't get," he says.

The Craft Center was started 27 years ago as a "tool renting library" that loaned out materials for home projects. It was built into the EMU during the planning phase by Adell McMillan, one of the founders of the Craft Center, who wanted to expand the craft center into a facility that had both workspace and materials. Now, the few tools that were originally on loan at the "library" are displayed in a glass case among the bustling and busy workstations of the Craft Center. It is bursting at the seams.

A lathe being used to shape a wooden bowl.

"Our growth has far surpassed our wildest expectations," says Hoffman. "It's hard to believe how quickly we outgrew this space." The Craft Center plans for eventual expansion when the EMU renovates and hopes to adopt the space of the next-door Child Care Center when and if the Center moves. As is, Hoffman explains, classes often must be offered in other parts of the EMU so that there is enough space to move around. Even though class sizes are kept small, about 6-9 students on average, there is usually a waiting list of over 100 students after the first day of registration. At least 600 people buy term passes each quarter, and over 70 percent of those facility users are students.

"We see a lot of wear and tear," says Garner, "But it's a rewarding experience. The Craft Center is a great place if just because no one comes here because they're being forced to.They're thrilled to be here."

-Craft Center Image Gallery-