COURSE DESCRIPTION: Spend a weekend learning the basics of metalworking: ripping through steel with gas torches and fusing it back together with a 10,000° electrical arc! This two-day workshop introduces you to MIG welding, the oxygen-acetylene torch, various metal saws, and the grinder. By the end of the first day, you will be able to heat, cut, join, bend, and polish. On the second day, you will use your new skills creating a project to take home. No previous experience necessary. This is a great opportunity to explore welding for the first time. Materials and tools will be provided.

The course should give you the skills to begin your own artistic welding exploration. These classes do not lead to certification.

 Open studio access after the completion of this course may be purchased on the website.  Open studio runs Monday (3-6pm), Thursday (3-6pm) and Sundays (5-8pm).

COURSE WITHDRAWAL & TRANSFERS: All enrollments are subject to our REGISTRATION & ENROLLMENT POLICIES.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Have some equipment or a MIG welder kicking around and want to learn where to begin? Maybe you need a refresher or have taken a weekend welding course and want a little more guided exposure? Interested in metal fabrication and looking for an introduction to how it’s done?

No experience is necessary for this course, we will review the fundamental principles of MIG welding from start to finish and fabricate our own metal cubes. In this 6hr course we will spend the afternoon reviewing how to safely and properly set up MIG welders and discuss basic troubleshooting. This hands on session will teach how to prepare material for welding and provide students with the opportunity to learn practice cutting, grinding and review different welding techniques. The cube is a simple object but this exercise will help develop and hone the skills used in practical metal fabrication. 

The process of welding involves a great deal of preparation and cutting using angle grinders, angle grinders are loud and produce slot of sparks.  A large portion of this session will require standing and will be in a shop setting that is difficult to control temperature settings. 

INSTRUCTOR BIO: Kendra Plumley is a queer interdisciplinary artist from Providence Rhode Island. Kendra has a background in painting, illustration and metal working with a focus on the hand held plasma cutter. They believe that art and education are forms of resistance and empowerment.

COURSE WITHDRAWAL & TRANSFERS: All enrollments are subject to our REGISTRATION & ENROLLMENT POLICIES.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

In this beginner friendly 3hr taster, students will be introduced to the MIG welder, plasma cutter and shaping techniques to fabricate their own custom metal flower!

Students will have the option of using the provided pattern or designing their own. The patterns will provide a template that will be transferred on to sheet metal and then cut by students with the handheld plasma cutter. Students will then use the angle grinder to cut their stems to size and clean their cut outs. We will discuss shaping the petals, dishing out with a hammer or folding with pliers. Students will assemble the flowers by tack welding their components to the stems. This course will provide beginners with the opportunity to explore metal fabrication in a shop setting, introduce new equipment and the proper PPE.

 INSTRUCTOR BIO: Kendra Plumley is a queer interdisciplinary artist from Providence Rhode Island. Kendra has a background in painting, illustration and metal working with a focus on the hand held plasma cutter. They believe that art and education are forms of resistance and empowerment.

COURSE WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSFERS: All enrollments are subject to our REGISTRATION & ENROLLMENT POLICIES. 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Shielded metal arc welding, or stick welding, was first developed in 1888 as one of the first methods of electrical welding. It remains popular because it’s cheap, simple, and versatile. In an emergency, stick welding can be performed with a couple of car batteries, making it the perfect method for welding your post-apocalyptic zombie-hunting buggy together! We’ll cover the basic techniques of stick welding with some “easy” rods for mild steel. You will learn how to select and use personal protective equipment and techniques for joining mild steel. You’ll also practice “scratch” starts. We’ll go over angle grinder use for cutting, grinding, and finishing your welds. You will have lots of time to practice and create in the afternoon.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: Mark Oribello creates useful items out of steel using blacksmithing techniques combined with modern fabrication tools. He teaches at The Steel Yard in Providence and at Prospect Hill Forge in Waltham, MA, where he first learned blacksmithing.

COURSE WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSFERS: All enrollments are subject to our REGISTRATION & ENROLLMENT POLICIES.