In spite of the cold and stormy weather, we kicked off 2025 with a blend of creativity, community, and craftsmanship.
Advanced Design/Build
As we shared in a previous newsletter, we kicked off this year with a home renovation project in partnership with Rebuilding Together East Bay Network. Our Advanced Design/Build cohort spent the winter framing walls, installing flooring, and helped affix a beautiful arch accent wall. Brieanna and Martin from Fireclay Tile visited headquarters and led an interactive tiling workshop where students learned how to mortar substrate, what the best trowel angle was, and more. As we make progress on the house (more on this soon!), all these skills will be put to great use when students come back in a couple of weeks to install drywall, insulation, baseboards, and tiles.
Construction + Community
Our Construction + Community class had the huge undertaking of building SEVEN Murphy beds for Tiny Village Spirit in eight weeks time. For context, our Advanced Design/Build team built a functioning prototype last Fall that took several weeks of experimentation and testing so manufacturing seven in one session felt like it was going to be a challenge. Well, not only did we finish all seven Murphy beds in eight weeks, but we were even ahead of schedule at times! On the last day of the session, students installed hardware, and we celebrated with a team talent show.
Protest + Print
Beginning just a couple of days after Trump’s inauguration, Protest + Print students were provided a safe space to process and make art. Guided by instructor Miriam Klein Stahl and Alex Bowman, students discussed their concerns with this presidency . In a time fraught with fear, bigotry, and hatred, these artists instead turned to messages of hope to inspire their communities to move forward together. These protest posters will soon be up in bus shelters across Berkeley for all to see and a collection of prints will also be available for purchase! Profits from these sales will be donated to the ACLU.
Carpentry + Wood
Did someone say “tweet”*? The kids in our Carpentry + Wood class certainly did! This winter, our students worked on creating mid-century modern birdhouses with a floor-to-ceiling window for viewing. Finished just in time for the start of Spring, these birdhouses became wonderful representations of our students’ individuality because not only did they build these structures, they decorated them too! Their imagination ran amok as we saw moss walls, furnished dining rooms, balcony sets, and swirls of color. Even Shop and Project Manager Augusta Sitney couldn’t resist the charm of a birdhouse. Her delightfully rendered BBQ-themed birdhouse is on display at Berkeley Animal Services.
