Arts and Crafts center offers after-work fun

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Musal
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Tired of staring at your computer monitor, retinas burning and eyes glazed over? Does the latest office-productivity software suite make you want to tear your hair out? Do you want to do something - anything - with your hands besides typing?

If so, the newly-remodeled Goodfellow Arts and Crafts Center may be for you. The center offers plenty of creative opportunities, no matter what the artist's skill level might be, and the hours are such that spending a few hours after work winding down by creating something is easy.

"Our goal is to provide leisure-time activities for the base, provide creative outlets to relieve stress and foster a feeling of self-achievement," said Peggy Farnsworth, the arts and crafts director.

The center, located in Bldg. 109 across the troop walk from Mathis Fitness Center, boasts a fully-functional wood shop, open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The wood shop manager is on hand to teach beginners and assist with ideas for more advanced projects.

The ceramics program is run on an "open workshop" basis during the Arts and Craft Center's normal business hours, Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

Hundreds of molds are available, and glazes and firing are available at a minimal price. Additionally, potter's wheels and hand-shaped pottery is an option, with classes most Sundays at 2 p.m.

The shop is also open for patrons to use as a workspace for other arts and crafts projects, and storage space for ongoing endeavors is available.

If you're not sure what you want to work on, the center offers an "art-stravaganza" the first Monday of each month from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Each month has four or more workshops, which may change each month. Watching is free, participating in the crafts costs $15.

Additionally, the Arts and Crafts Center offers silk-screening, engraving, printing, embroidering and framing at a low price, whether the medium is a t-shirt, hat, coffee mug or something else. A retail sales area and a gallery of local artists round out the current center.

One highly-popular area of the old Arts and Crafts center is scheduled to open soon in the new re-model: the auto shop. Final preparation for the auto shop opening is now underway, and the new shop will feature six new stalls and complete tool boxes available at each stall.

For more information, call the Arts and Crafts Center at 654-3237.