COURSES ARE BACK!

The Steel Yard offers unique courses in the welding, blacksmithing, jewelry, and ceramics for students of all skill levels. You’ll receive hands-on experience working with the tools of the trade-in a safe and creative environment, and walk away with something that YOU made.
Whether you’re a beginner wanting to try something new or an experienced artist/tradesperson looking to broaden your skills- there’s something here for everyone. 
PLEASE NOTE: Our website is currently undergoing some major maintenance- in order to register for a course please click the ‘register’ button in this page. You will be automatically directed to PayPal where you can pay and register for your course.
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED…
  • Read the fine print! Read The Steel Yard’s Registrations & Enrollment Policies
  • Have more questions? Read the Course FAQ
  • Are Course fees outside of your budget? Check out the Scholarship page to submit an application for a free course. 
  • Do you have a Gift Certificate or Tuition Credit that you’d like to apply to a course? Just call us in the office at 401-273-7101 in order to register.
  • If you have any other questions, contact courses@thesteelyard.org
Weekend Welding Workshop
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $290
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10 AM – 4:30 PM
*Dates 3 OPTIONS
1: 9/7 & 9/8
2: 9/21 & 9/22
3: 9/28 & 9/29
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 will introduce students 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 have the full day to 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.
Intro to Welding: Thinking in 3D
Instructor: Nora Rabins
Price: $495
THURSDAYS 6:30 PM – 9:30 pm
8 SESSIONS 9/26 – 11/14 9/26, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7, 11/14 
Learn the “how to” for metalworking and explore the process of turning ideas into three-dimensional objects. We will spend the first portion of the course developing plans and learning basic metal fabrication techniques, such as welding, torch work, bending, cutting, and cold connections. The rest of the course will be spent refining your designs and putting your new skills to work by completing a personal metalworking project. Students are encouraged to bring sketchbooks, to be ambitious, and to have fun. This course is open to all levels. Steel will be provided for practice and exercises, but students must pay for additional steel needed for their independent work.
Blacksmithing: A Simple Knife
Instructor: Willow Zietman 
Price: $340
MONDAYS 6:30 PM – 9:30 pm
4 SESSIONS: 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7 
During this course, students will learn the skills needed to make a one-piece blacksmith’s knife. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple tool. Students will take a piece of coil spring and transform it from a piece of modern equipment to the most ancient of tools. The knowledgeable instructor will lead the course as they learn how to forge, file, heat treat, and sharpen a simple knife for general use. Participants will each leave the course with a hand forged and filed knife. This course is open to all skill levels, although previous blacksmithing skills are encouraged. All tools and materials will be provided.
Fundamentals of Blacksmithing
Instructor: Willow Zietman
Price: $580.00
WEDNESDAYS 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
9 SESSIONS: 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20
A perfect introduction to the craft of metalworking, this course will teach the basics of heating and shaping steel. In this course we will cover fundamental blacksmithing skills such as tapering, spreading, bending, scrolling, and shouldering. These techniques are present in all levels of blacksmithing: from creating simple hooks to more complicated projects. Exposure to the pace of working the material and understanding the forge and the tools will provide the beginner with the ability to take their ideas further. Students in this course will utilize both coal and gas forges and will learn safe practice in the shop. No previous experience necessary, metal will be provided for practice and exercises, but students must pay for additional metals needed for their independent work.
Ceramics: Wheel Generated Form
Instructor: Danika Notar
Price: $495.00
TUESDAYS 6:30 – 9:30 PM
8 SESSIONS: 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12
Come get down and dirty while learning to make functional and sculptural forms on the potter’s wheel! In this course, students will learn how to use the potter’s wheel to create cups, bowls, plates, vases, and pouring vessels. Students will practice throwing, trimming, making handles and spouts, and finishing and firing their pieces.
Students will experience clay both as a functional building material and as an expressive medium. Color and texture will be explored through a variety of slips and glazes. The instructor will lead demonstrations to give students more ideas as to what type of forms they might pursue. Students will also be exposed to the creative thought processes behind intellectual and intuitive decisions in ceramics.
Each week, a new technique will be demonstrated, and a new artist’s artwork will be presented to ignite your imagination! No previous ceramics experience necessary—this course is open to all levels. Students will receive a complimentary 25-pound bag of cone 6 clay, but may need to purchase additional clay for their personal projects. All other materials and tools will be provided. Enrollment in this course includes additional access to one monitored Open Studio session per week. Unfinished student work should be picked up within two weeks of last course.
Ceramics: Ready, Set, Throw!
Instructor: Fred Gorman
Price: $50
THURSDAY 6:30 – 9:30pm
1 SESSIONS: 9/19
Have you ever wanted to experience pressing your hands into a lump of cool, wet, clay… and then transform that lump into a vessel using the Potter’s Wheel? This one-night workshop is designed to give students new to the ceramics studio an opportunity to play with clay while learning the basic techniques of wheel throwing. Students will learn about wedging clay, using a Potter’s Wheel, centering clay, and opening the clay to create a vessel. No previous ceramics experience necessary—this workshop is open to all levels. All materials and tools will be provided. Since the course is only one night, students will not be able to finish their work, so enjoy the experience of trying something new!
You could teach a course at the Steel Yard!
Hey you, yeah you! We know you have mad skills and we’re hoping you can share them by becoming a Steel Yard Instructor. The Steel Yard seeks experienced industrial arts instructors to teach community courses in blacksmithing, welding, ceramics, jewelry, and iron casting.
Instructors are needed for introductory, advanced, and project based courses; new course ideas are welcomed.
Interested? Send a brief statement introducing yourself and your teaching methodology, list of your skills, a resume, and 5-10 images of your work to jobs@thesteelyard.org with “Prospective Instructor” in the subject line.
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