If you’re artsy and crafty, Santa Clarita is the perfect place for you. Not only are there various classes and events, but also plenty of different crafts to create, including painting, sculpting, knitting, pottery and more.
If you’re ready to scratch that crafting itch, here are some ways to get involved in the Santa Clarita crafting community.
Crafterday Saturdays
Every Saturday, the William S. Hart Museum sets up a free arts and crafts table on the cover back patio right outside the museum’s exit so that guests can take part before or after a free tour of Hart’s mansion.
All crafts are geared toward kids, but anyone is welcome to participate. The crafts change each week, and are typically relevant to something in the park, like a reptile craft when it gets warm and you begin to see them around the park, said Maggie Christakis, the museum’s education and volunteer coordinator.
The crafts are self-guided, and families are encouraged to work on them together. Although they put a craft out to provide inspiration with examples and instructions, visitors are welcome to create whatever they want, according to Christakis.
Crafterdays are held every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the William S. Hart Museum located at 24151 Newhall Ave. in Newhall. For more information, call 661-254-4584.
Hobby Lobby
Although Hobby Lobby doesn’t run its own arts and crafts classes, it does have a free classroom open to the community Monday through Saturday during normal business hours.
Whatever is on the calendar is something the teachers themselves put on, so whoever wants to teach a class can use the space, according to bookkeeper Georgina Hoglo. Those who teach the classes are also required to provide all the material, Hoglo said.
Classes are open to the community and first come first serve. Some of the classes already being taught include art, quilting, crochet, sewing, macrame and calligraphy.
Hobby Lobby is located at 26565 Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus. For more information on classes, visit hobbylobby.com.
SCV Summer Art Fair
Local artists and crafters are coming together for a free art fair on June 29 at Central Park.
Local artist and the event’s creator, Diana Klauss, thought this would be a great way to get local arts and crafts recognized in a new way as well as get the community more aware of the artists living in Santa Clarita.
There will be face paint, caricatures, henna tattoos, vendors, art installations from local artists and Instagram-worthy art walls while visitors enjoy the summer weather and outdoors, according to Klauss.
The Summer Art Fair is expected to be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 29 at Central Park located at 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/scvsummerartfair.
Bitter Root Pottery
Making pottery is another great way to get your hands dirty and create art. At Bitter Root, they offer both kids and adult classes that include all materials and firing tools needed, according to instructor Shirley Villatoro.
Although there is an instructor walking you through the whole process, you still have complete freedom on the design, Villatoro said.
The basic classes teach you how to make a bowl from beginning to end and can help you decide if you’d like to become a member, which includes firing and glazing as well as unlimited weekly instructional classes.
“Were always here to help them create what they want,” Villatoro said. “It’s a great opportunity to let loose their inner artist.”
Bitter Root Pottery is located at 24201 West Valencia Blvd, No. 3110, in Valencia. For more information, visit bitterrootpotteryvalencia.com.
Painting with a Twist
This art studio offers easy-to-follow painting classes for groups and individuals. There’s a room with beer and wine for the adults and a complete separate family room for all ages, according to co-owner Bobette Visconti.
Classes range from two to three hours where the instructors take you step-by-step from a blank canvas to a finished painting, all while you enjoy music, dancing, games and trivia, Visconti said.
Typically there is one painting selected per evening, but there are also open studio nights where guests can come in and choose any painting they want.
This summer, there will also be four different week-long kids camps, the first beginning on June 24 and focusing on art appreciation while other camps will focus on things like sea animals and fashion. There will also be a teen camp in late July for those 12 and over.
Participants can either choose to attend the whole week or just a certain day, and the first camp will focus on a different artist each day, supplemented with information on those famous artists.
Painting with a Twist is located at 19115 Golden Valley Road in Santa Clarita. To learn more about the classes offered, visit paintingwithatwist.com/studio/santa-clarita.
SCV Summer Reading Program
Each week from June 10 through July 27, all three Santa Clarita Public Libraries will host events to “explore the universe this summer.”
The programing is available throughout the week with craft projects broken up into age group and rotating through each library branch location, according to Yanira Sidon, library administrator at Canyon Country Library.
“We try to have a variety of programing for the entire family and different activities each week,” Sidon said.
Kids, kindergarten through sixth grade, will have interactive and hands-on activities that focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), like magnetic slime and jewelry made using washers and bolts, according to Sidon.
Both teens, seventh through 12th grade, and adults, 18 and over, will receive step-by-step instructions on how to paint a galaxy with the adult version being more advanced, Sidon said.
The events are free and anybody can attend without registering, but to win prizes throughout the program you must first register online.
For more information, visit scvsummerreading.com.
Anders Ruff Workshop
AR Workshop offers group and private classes, with various projects, including plank signs, canvas pillows, game boards, chunky blankets and jewelry stamping.
All the projects are personalized, so you can make it match your home decor, according to owner Brianna Burton.
You can preview designs and projects online, and once you’ve customized your design and selected the size, it is printed out as a hardcopy stencil for the class. All materials and instructions needed to complete the project are included.
There’s also four-day Summer ARt Sessions for kids with two-hour classes where kids will create four youth projects along with a T-shirt over the course of the camp. This year’s first camp will begin June 17.
AR Workshop is located at 27916 Seco Canyon Road, Suite 204, in Saugus. To view some of their projects, visit arworkshop.com/santaclarita.
Passport to Summer Fun
Each summer, the Newhall Community Center hosts a summer program for kids with this year’s theme being “Passport to Summer Fun” where they will “take an imaginary trip around the world,” according to Cynthia Muir, Newhall Community Center supervisor.
“It’s a great program for our kids that always gets sold out,” Muir said.
Passport to Summer Fun runs Monday through Friday from June 17 to August 9. The Newhall Community Center is located at 22421 Market Street in Newhall. For more information, call 661-286-4006.
Picasso’s Playmates Creative Center
Although they’re primarily an art school, Picasso’s Playmates also offers various “crafty, art-based” classes for children, according to owner Paula Bradley.
Their “mommy and me” classes, for 2 to 5 year olds, are open-ended and theme based so that parents can work with their children to create the crafts as there is “no right or wrong way to do the art,” according to Bradley.
They will also be holding three individually themed weeklong summer camps.
These camps are for kids 5 to 14 years old and feature an hour and half of drawing, followed by an hour-long craft that goes with the theme. On Fridays, kids will take their art on the road with a field trip (parents are welcome to join).
“We look forward to (the camp) every day,” Bradley said. “We want them having a good time while learning a skill that they’ll keep forever.”
Picasso’s Playmates is located at 22432 13th St. in Newhall. For more information on the summer camps available, visit picassoplaymates.com/summer-camp-2019.
