There was a time when learning a new hobby meant picking up a book, asking grandparents for help, or watching YouTube.
If you look hard enough, you’ll find Brisbane now offers a plethora of workshops where you can learn new skills, create something memorable, and make friends.
So if there’s something you’ve always wanted to learn, now is a great time to try out one of the following classes.
Clay time
Mother-daughter duo Mieke and Charlie De Deyne opened the uber-cool Mas & Meik pottery studios in 2017 at Newstead and later at Morningside in 2021.
Charlie and Mieke both have qualifications in Fine Art, and work, teach and share their excitement with students on making utilitarian objects for the home.
They hold various workshops, including for beginners on how to operate the pottery wheel; Friday date nights for couples; and weekend one-offs.
There are also six-week and eight-wee courses, plus one-off courses on things like texturing techniques, tableware, and sculpture.
For more information visit Mas & Miek Ceramic House.
Knit a yarn
Fair Isle knits are back in fashion, and if you want to learn how to master this technique The Yarn Bowl is the place to go.
Pru Raymond hosts an intensive workshop on Fair Isle knitting, a traditional stranded colourwork technique used to create patterned knits.
The class is designed for knitters to improve and extend their stranded colourwork skills to include better yarn management strategies, consistent colour dominance, catching floats and steeking.
To book the class on Monday, June 30 at 1.30pm-4.30pm, go to theyarnbowl.com.au
Spin straw into gold
The classes at Queensland Spinners Weavers & Fibre Artists may not have you spinning actual straw into gold, but your pieces will look like metaphorical gold once you can master the various workshops available.
Upcoming topics include making a random weave basket, weaving on a rigid heddle loom, shibori and indigo dyeing, eco dyeing, and learn to use a spinning wheel.
The next class is on this Sunday June 22 from 10am-3.30pm at Auchenflower where participants can discover an age old basketry technique to stitch natural fibres onto a pottery base.
Work some wood
Learn how to make a jewellery box, a table, a bowl and kitchen utensils with woodworking and woodturning workshops by Rob McKee, a qualified woodmachinist and technical teacher.
Mr McKee has more than 48 years experience in the industry, and has taught apprentices and students how to manufacture furniture and use woodworking machinery.
The courses at 19 Pine St, Greenslopes allow students to learn one week at a time, with evening and weekend classes available. For more information click here.
Get Arty
The Brisbane Institute of Art is a non-profit creative arts centre which offers short courses in everything from watercolour and oil painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, and jewellery.
The teachers are all experts and specialists in their fields. Class numbers are kept to a maximum of 12.
Classes are held on the weekends and mid-week. There are also more in-depth courses which last a whole semester.
To learn more, click here.
