Through Community Arts programming, Clay Art Center partners with community-based organizations in the surrounding area like local schools, community centers, and assisted living facilities in order to achieve our mission to make clay accessible to everyone. Meet Emily Maldonado, a member of the amazing team of Community Arts instructors at Clay Art Center, who teach these programs and help students thrive through creativity with clay. Emily’s first experiences with clay were at Clay Art Center as a middle-schooler, and she came back to clay again as a freshman in High School, saying “I fell in love with clay, I fell in love with the community. My friends and I found this center as a second home for us, especially during our high school years.” After high school, Emily remained connected to Clay Art Center, first completing an internship, and then joining the team as a Community Arts teacher. Read more about Emily’s journey and how she is able to impact her community through her role at Clay Art Center on this week’s edition of our Clay Dish Blog: https://www.clayartcenter.org/clay-art-center-blog/2025/9/community-arts-teacher-spotlight (fb)

Clay Art Center presents a Saturday Clay special class: Making Salt & Pepper Shakers with Jeff Dean, a family-friendly, One-Time hands-on class for ages 6+ (with a parent or guardian). Saturday, October 4, 2025 2:00 PM 4:00 PM Create your own handbuilt character salt and pepper shakers in this special handbuilding class inspired by the Shake It Up exhibition at Clay Art Center Gallery. Join Clay Art Center Instructor and participating exhibition artist Jeff Dean for a fun class where he will share his technique for making these functional objects, completed with monster-inspired features, and stoppers (supplied with the class). No experience necessary - open to all levels. Learn more and register now on our website through the One-Time class link. https://www.clayartcenter.org/one-time-classes/saturday-clay (fb)