Activities for Kids

All Fired Up: Six Spots to Paint Your Own Pottery

If you're looking for a fun indoor activity, we’ve rounded up six places to paint your own pottery (with some glass fusing and crafting thrown in for good measure).

By Erin Cranston August 5, 2014

So far this summer you’ve splashed in the spray parks, mulled over museums and frolicked at farms, and now the kids need hands-on down time. How about an art project? We’ve rounded up our area’s best places to paint your own pottery (with some glass fusing and crafting thrown in for good measure). Click through the gallery to find out where to get your art on this summer.

Paint Away

How it works: Paint Away is your one stop shop for everything arty, conveniently located in the Redmond Town Center. Their pottery prices include studio fees, and they’ll glaze and fire your bisqueware piece within seven days. If you want to try something new, check out their glass fusing center, which is a unique way to create an art-tastic piece for yourself or as a gift. You start with a blank glass base, and create a design on top with smaller glass pieces. It’s kiln-fired to fuse the pieces, and you can also put it through a process called “slumping”, which can create bowls, plates or vases. They even have “kiddie glass” which is glass that’s been fired to give it rounded, smooth edges, perfect for little fingers.

Camps and classes: Paint Away offers week-long summer camps, Mon.-Thurs. from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and day camps Tues.-Thurs. from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. for kids 6-13. Camps offer not only pottery painting and glass fusing, but also canvas painting, decoupage and tye-dying. Just pack and lunch and get your mini-me ready to get her art on! Price: Day camp is $75-$100/kid depending on the camp; week camp is $200/kid.

Time to celebrate: Yes, Paint Away hosts parties! They offer a two hour party time in their dedicated party room, and the price includes a studio helper, a birthday plate for your special kiddo and help with clean up. You can bring food, cake and decorations galore. And the best part is, they’ve partnered with local PinkaBella Cupcakes and Cold Stone Creamery to offer you discounts on sweet treats for your sweet kid's special day. Sounds like a perfect combo to us!

Important party details: $15/kid or $120 minimum pottery purchase; minimum of 8 painters per party. A $60 deposit is required at time of booking.

Good to know: Want to paint away in the comfort of your own home? Paint Away offers Kits-to-Go, where they supply everything you need for a painting party, wherever you’d like it to be. All they ask is a $120 minimum pottery purchase.

7329 164th Ave. N.E.
Redmond, Wa 98052
425-861-8388
Online: paintawaynow.com

Where is your little artist’s favorite spot to paint pottery? Let us know in a comment below!

-Erin Cranston

Photos courtesy of: Allison Sutcliffe, Studio2You website, Emerald City Fired Arts, Color Me Mine-Mill Creek Facebook page, Mudhouse Pottery Facebook page & Paint Away Facebook page