Thunder Bay offers so many cool opportunities for kids during the March Break. But what about the adults who sometimes don’t get a “break?” Connecting with your creativity benefits everyone, especially adults. So with that, here are some artistic ways for adults to reclaim March Break for their own!
Willow Springs Creative Centre
“My friends and I are all makers, artists, potters and painters, and I was a willow maker,” says Judi Vinni, Coordinator of Willow Springs Creative Centre. “We were always making things and selling them. But when we got to teach people and they got to make the things, it was much more impactful.”
Realizing their space at the old Koski General Store in Lappe was for much more than selling art, Willow Springs Creative Centre became a non-profit
in 2006.
“We’re all creative beings,” says Vinni. “If you watch children, you can see that. But we seem to lose that as life happens and priorities, work, and responsibilities take over. The satisfaction and that state of flow when you are in there and you’re making it is so relaxing for your whole being, and so therapeutic. It takes you away and gives you a break from all the stresses of this world that we’re living in, especially now.”
Many of the programs run throughout the community at many recreation centers such as artisan bread making at 55 Plus Centre or willow trellis making out at Willow Springs. As for what us grown-ups can do now to have some artistic ventures, there’s a little bit of everything for everyone.
“Every Wednesday of the summer, we have an art class led by a skilled artisan, and you get to make something, and then we have a decadent dessert and beverage. Maybe you’re making a willow trellis, doing a watercolour painting, learning to do some natural dyeing after we go out and pick the flowers from our gardens then dye a beautiful silk scarf, or learning macrame or birch bark basket weaving with natural materials, jewellery making, making concrete mushrooms or stepping stones.”
Vinni knows creativity brings new meaning to our lives. From using it to make friends, to now running a non-profit organization where you can make anything from wreaths during Christmas, to clothing from nature, getting back in touch with the world around us, and our creativity will make us all better people.
“In late spring we will be offering workshops on How to Grow an Herb Garden and Growing an Herb Garden for Your Own Wellbeing [as well as] starting a new two year project on exploring world cultures through puppetry. That is open to anyone, especially adults to come out and play, learn to make puppets, write scripts, learn to perform, make sets, whatever. So that we’re launching now, so we will be actively looking for people in April and May.”
For more information, visit Willow Springs Creative Centre at www.willowspringscreativecentre.ca or visit 10160 Mapleward Road.
Lakeside Pottery Studio
Growing up, Jamis Hall was, according to her mom, a perfect child to take anywhere because she would just sit with a notebook and doodle. So it came as no surprise she went on to study painting and drawing at Lakehead University and found a new passion through her childhood passion.
“I got into ceramics mostly because I wanted something to draw and paint on. That was my draw to ceramics,” says Hall.
Hall then worked at the DIY studio to immerse herself in the art-form. But when faced with the opportunity to purchase the store, her passion was not for day-to-day business ventures,
but teaching, and helping people discover their passion for ceramics.
Thus, Lakeside Pottery Studio was born.
“My initial spark was wanting to make a community work space where everybody could use it. I’ve always loved art and making stuff. What I love about ceramics, which has held my attention for so long, is because there’s just so much you can do with it. It’s limitless,” says Hall.
At her open-space studio, Hall oversees the two types of ceramics: hand building and throwing on the wheel. Hand building includes an inexpensive and accessible way to make things like mugs, dinnerware and jewellery, or sculpt your own pieces. As for throwing on the wheel, Hall has options for everyone.
“People seem to really enjoy the wheel the most. So I do one time sessions where people can try the wheel one time without being committed to a full course every single week,” says Hall. “Then I have beginner courses, where it would be a six-week course to really learn how to work on the wheel. That happens every single month as well. We also do hand building workshops. There’s a contractor that uses the space and he does bath bombs and lip balms and a lot of other workshops like that. I tend to try to seek out other artists on a seasonal basis - whatever kind of goes with the season and see if anybody wants to use this space.”
Safe to say, Hall makes her space a fun and creative one where it is safe for anyone, no matter how old or young, to get a little messy and have some fun along the way.
“I’ve been open long enough that I have some regular people who keep bringing in more friends because they really enjoy the space. There’s lots of people who work really busy jobs, or their students and they’re stressed out. This is a common space where everyone’s just here to chat, have fun, make stuff, and there’s no stress. It doesn’t have to be great. It can just be fun.”
Check out Lakeside Pottery Studio at 207 Simpson Street or go to www.lakesidepotterystudio.com
Canvas & Clay
Like many of us, Jen Davidson and her mom dove into crafting during the pandemic. While all the craft fairs were cancelled due to the pandemic, Jen’s mom’s supplies of crafts went unseen. Which then lead to an in-basement art gallery and then a new venture.
“[My mom] had a hard time with trying to get her head around social media and marketing [for her gallery],” says Davidson. “So I thought, maybe if enough of us got together and could share all of our experiences, we could pull off a brick or mortar craft store.”
With her background and experience in kitchen design, Davidson and her mom created Canvas and Clay in November 2023. Today, the store now has about
20 vendors’ work on display and opportunities for unique workshops that can appeal to everyone at any level.
“We did a few fuse beads at first and then we also started miniature painting pretty quick. You can pick your miniature figure from a catalog, and we really can 3D print the miniature so you then use specialty paints to paint it.”
From painting figurines to now offering stained glass classes, fused glass classes, painting, fabric art, felting, fused beads, embroidery, resin, knitting or crochet, if there is a craft, Canvas and Clay will have it! This variety of ventures is important to Davidson as it not only introduces people to a new art form potentially, but also to maybe discover a new passion with very little stakes.
“There’s first of all, a level of accomplishment and the satisfaction you can get from completing a project in one sitting. So many of our jobs are just ongoing. So this is an opportunity to have a completed item that you don’t have to go back and work on,” says Davidson “The social aspect is really great, and you’re learning something new without having to buy a ton of supplies. It’s very low risk. Everything’s provided, and you can test something out and learn and maybe experience
a new hobby that you want to get into.
”You can find all the classes offered by Canvas and Clay at https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/canvas-clay-77215731853 visit their shop on 106 Simpson St. or go to canvasandclay.ca
