2023 Mill City Skill Share Workshop Descriptions

 

Abstract Painting Jam Session

Instructor: John Haiduk, Skribble Studio

Workshop Type: Interactive Activity

The Art of the Zine

Instructor: Christy Matte

Description: Zines are small-batch, self-published, and often hand-bound magazines or fanzines. We’ll learn a little bit more about Zines, what they are, and why you might want to make one. Participants will have some time and supplies to start working on one of their own.

Workshop Type: Brief Presentation and Hands-on Activity

Basics of Bike Restoration

Instructor: Steve Birmingham

Description: A discussion with examples exploring approaches to restoring bicyles focusing on the decision to restore or not, and partial restoration alternatives.

Workshop Type: Presentation

 Beginners Resin 101: Welcome to the Very Versatile World of Resin

Instructor: Dayle Sullivan-Taylor

Description: This workshop will cover safety, tools, supplies and tips to get you started in the wonderful world of resin.  After the presentation there will be a Q&A session.  There will be some handouts with links to more online resources and supply product discounts.

Workshop Type: Interactive presentation

Bending Solid Wood Using Bent Lamination Technique

Instructor: Jon Goplerud

Description: Bent wood lamination demonstration and discussion will focus on the building of an elegant pedestal table.  The process involves cutting very thin strips of wood, applying glue on the strips and clamping the stack on a form.  From there the bent wood is shaped into useful objects such as legs for a table.

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Blacksmithing Demonstration

Instructors: Mike Moore, Zoe Potter, Lucas Damen

Building Miniature Kites

Instructor: Glenn Davison

Description: Building these kites is easy and they fly wonderfully while you walk. You’ll enjoy making them and each little kite will make you smile every time you fly it.

Workshop Type: Instruction with Take Home

CNC Machined Bottle Openers

Instructor: Chris O’Leary (Toph)

Description: Demonstration will show how Aluminum bottle openers can be machined and engraved on a vertical CNC milling machine. Viewers can also choose to have their name engraved on one side.

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Cold Process Soap Making (Demonstration)

Instructor: Michele Albert

Description: We will be making a batch of soap using commonly available household equipment and ingredients. The workshop will include a demonstration followed by a discussion. Workshop attendees will receive some soap to take home.

Resources and information from previous workshops can be found at:https://www.facebook.com/group/1586093064941673

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Glitter Snow Globe Tumblers

Instructor: Sam Burdett

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Goblet Throwing Demo

Instructor: Tracy Flynn

Description: Come watch as a ceramic goblet is thrown on the pottery wheel!

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Hand-cut Dovetail Joinery

Instructor: Bob Neil

Description: I will demonstrate how to make dovetail joinery use a hand saw, chisels and a few other hand tools.

Workshop Type: Demonstration

How to Make a Pen

Instructor: John Lamport

Description: Will go through the process to make a pen from raw blank to finished pen. Will demonstrate preparing the blank, turning and sanding on the lathe and final assembly. Visitors will be able to submit their contact information for a drawing of the completed pens after the skill share.

Workshop Type: Demonstration

How To Make Shower Steamers/ Aromatherapy

Instructor: Billy Heath

Description: Come and learn how to make essential shower steamers to give you aromatherapy while in the shower. Kid-friendly and easy to make.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

How to Turn Your Digital Art into Stickers

Instructor: Jo Fate

Workshop Type: Interactive Presentation/Demonstration

Infrared Thermography

Instructor: Kevin Fallon

Workshop type: Demonstration

Into to 3D Printing

Instructor: Dana Kelley and Mike Irons

Description: This presentation aims to give you a foundation about the basics of 3D printing.  We will cover core concepts such as what 3D printing really is.  What type of files are used and where to locate or create some. How to processes those files using a Slicer.  Finally we will cover information about a 3D printers actual hardware.

We will also welcome questions at the end of the presentation and will be happy to spend some additional time with interested individuals.

Workshop Type: Interactive presentation

Intro to Controlling LED Strips

Instructor: Rudy Dominguez

Description: Find out how easy it is to program multi-color LED strips using microcontrollers and Arduino. Rudy walks through setting up the Arduino IDE software, wiring the strips to the microcontroller, and programming LED strips to display colors, patterns and animations.

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

Intro to CSS – A Quick and Dirty Intro to Styling Web Pages

Instructor: Rudy Dominguez

Description: Take a peak behind HTML pages to find out how you can use styles to control everything on the page from color and dimensions to layout and animation.

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

Intro to Embroidery

Instructor: Robyn Crowe

Description: Learn the basics of embroidery and a few simple stitches to help you start your first embroidery project.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Intro to Thai Metal Chasing

Instructor: Karen Christians

Description: Learn the arcane and tactile art of Thai Metal Chasing. The Thai use specialized chasing tools, hammer lines, and textures to build a simple but beautiful aluminum decorative panel. Chasing is a repetitive process where a precisely directed hammer blows on a unique tool and creates an outline of a design. Armed with your hammer and three specialized chasing tools, students will experience a process that Thai families and Buddhist monks have been fabricating for generations. At the start of class, there will be a short photo presentation to show the beautiful metalwork of Wat Sri Suphan Temple in Chiang Mai, and a survey of the myriad of tool shapes and samples of beautiful work will be shown. For this introductory class, we will be chasing directly on metal with a wood block for support.

Students will learn how to use a chasing hammer and create a simple design using a curved liner, straight liner, and texturing tool. They will take home several simple techniques while learning proficiency in the simple tools.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Introduction to Programming in Scheme

Instructor: Robby Zambito

Description: Answering questions like “why the heck are there so many parenthesis?” and more!

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

 Juggling for Beginners

Instructor: Rio Sabella

Description: Come learn to juggle! In just 30 short minutes, you can learn the fundamentals of juggling and walk away with the skills to keep 3 balls in the air. You’ll even have the chance to take home a set of handmade practice balls so you can keep practicing. No experience necessary, all ages welcome!

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Make a Clay Whistle

Instructor: Neil Fallon

Description: Whistles have been made from clay since the early Egyptian, South American, and Asian civilizations, long before the Christian era. This workshop will teach you how to make a basic clay whistle that you could teach to others.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Make Your Own Pokemon

Instructor: Castro-Yves

Description: Want to create your very own pocket monster? Then the “Make Your Own Pokemon” workshop at Lowell Makes Skillshare is the activity for you. Learn how to pattern, cut, score, heat, and assemble a Pokemon figurine made completely out of EVA foam. Led by Givewave Studios founder/creator & LM cosplay shop captain Castro-Yves, you can expect a hands on experience teaching you the basics of foamsmithing techniques & tricks. With his guidance, you’ll learn how to transform boring flat foam pieces into a three-dimensional Pokemon figure of your very own.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Making a Charcuterie Board in Under 30 Minutes

Instructor: Jon Goplerud

Description: Making a cutting board uses many of the shops power equipment.  The demonstration will show the process of cutting and finishing the cutting board using the table saw, band saw, router table, trim router, and sanders.

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Making Nerikomi Ceramic Beads

Instructor: Jan Goplerud

Description: Nerikomi is process originated in Japan that involves stacking and cutting colored pieces of clay to form different patterns.  We will be molding these into different shaped beads for a necklace.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Making an Expoxy Charcuterie Board

Instructor: Eric Burnham/ Burnham Woodworking

Description: Step by step visual of the making of a charcuterie board. From setup to mixing and pouring epoxy in a mold to showing an example of a finished charcuterie board

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Origin Handheld CNC

Instructor: Kevin Fallon

Workshop Type: Demonstration

Pressed Trinket Dish

Instructor: Laura Morriseau

Description: In this class we will be making a small trinket dish.  Trinket dishes are great to use as spoon rests, ring holders, teabags holders, or gifts and more.  I will show you a quick and easy way to make them using a variety of textures and designs. Join me in having a little fun playing with clay.    

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Product Photography Tips and Tricks

Instructor: Josh Mazgelis

Description: Join us in the Media Studio to learn some fresh and useful ideas for making better photos of the awesome things you make. We’ll talk about lighting, from available ambient light up through several powered lighting options for various photographic skill sets. We’ll talk about cameras too, including making the most of the gear already in your pocket, and some basics skills for using full-bodied cameras too. While we will be focused on making betting pictures in the camera, we will talk a little of post-processing as needed. There will be a few lights and other tools set up around the studio for participants to get familiar with.

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

 

Publicize Your Creative Business: How to plan your website, and other ways to get the word out

Instructor: Liz LaManche

Description: There are a lot of choices these days for how to market online, each with its pros and cons. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by technical choices and lose sight of the big picture. This session covers what you should be thinking about when deciding how to publicize your goods or services today.

 We’ll cover describing your offerings and finding your audience: from business visioning, to social media pros and cons, to how to think about what to say on your website and the technical choices of how to have a website.

There will be time for your questions.

Workshop Type: Presentation

Robotic Arm Demonstration

Instructor: John Lamport

Description: A working simulation of a assembly line robotic arm used in industry. I will explain the hardware and software I used to run it. There will also be other projects that use the same controller. Visitors will be able to control the arm to pick up a ball and place it in a hopper.

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

Stop the Bleed

Instructor: Paul Martin

Description: Through the STOP THE BLEED® course, you’ll gain the ability to recognize life-threatening bleeding and intervene effectively. The person next to a bleeding victim may be the one who’s most likely to save him or her. Take the course and become empowered to make a life or death difference when a bleeding emergency occurs. STOP THE BLEED®. Save a Life!

Workshop Type: Demo w/some participation

Testing Electronic Circuits

Instructor: George Smolinksi

Throw a Pot

Instructor: Wendy James

Description: Spend five minutes with Wendy on the pottery wheel and make a small wheel thrown bowl. She will I’ll fire and glaze your piece, ready for pickup in three weeks. *Sign up for a slot in the Ceramics Studio.

Workshop Type: Instruction w/Take Home

Turning Wooden Bowls on the Lathe

Instructor: Jim Richard

Description: Demonstration of the operations on the lathe to turn a wooden bowl from a block of wood.  An explanation of the lathe, basic chisels and cutting techniques will be provided.

Workshop Type: Demonstration