The University Leisure Class spring 2011 season kicked off with a bang with the opening of the brand new, state-of-the-art facility.
The University Leisure Class arts facility is located on the ground floor of the Student Union and, according to its website, “will accommodate several Leisure Classes, including jewelry, stained glass, painting classes and clay classes, including hand building and wheel throwing.”
Beyond the classes located in the new facility, the program boasts a plethora of enticing classes from crocheting and calligraphy to automotive repair and maintenance. It sticks to the motto, “Life is stressful. Leisure is not.”
Lynne Maxwell, assistant director of leisure and arts in the Union, said the classes are great social outlets.
“All of our leisure classes are a good place to meet other people of similar interest and to learn a new hobby or skill,” she said. “It’s a fun thing to do with your leisure time, so that’s kind of the principle of our leisure class program.”
The new arts facility focuses specifically on craft classes, according to Maxwell.
“Anyone who is interested in doing arts and crafts would benefit from taking a class,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a productive way to spend your evening, have fun and learn something new.”
The old space used for arts and crafts was nowhere near as suitable for classes as the new facility, Maxwell said.
“We were only able to do crafts in the evening because during the day the space was used by the frame shop,” she said. “But now, we have a space that can be used for crafts all day and into the evening.”
Unlike the old facility, the new arts studio has fresh equipment and offers a safe working environment without the hazardous fumes of pottery kilns, Maxwell said.
“Kilns create fumes that are not good for you to breathe,” she said. “Now, the pottery kilns are located in a separate room than the space you would be working in when making pots.
 
So, we really have taken all that into account and made it a much safer work environment, a much healthier space to work in, and we’re excited about that.”
 
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Contact Cathryn Core at [email protected]