Creative Artists' Studios of Ames in pictures.

Here are a few pictures that reveal a little of who we are.

We provide studio space for artists, and space for classes, demonstrations, and workshops. We have two large shared studios (clay in 101, non-clay in 107), one gallery, and smaller rentable units ranging from a storage shelf to a separate room in both clay and non-clay.

We are an all-volunteer organization; when a big job needs to be done, we all pitch in. Here we are giving Room 107, shared studio for non-clay media, a fresh coat of paint and a sturdy picture-molding so that we can change what is hanging often without damaging the walls. In this picture, Joel Geske, our current President, works on the ceiling near one of our flicker-free, daylight-balanced flourescent lighting fixtures:

Here are some recent workshop photos:

A workshop on combining marbling techniques with ink drawing was led by visiting Nigerian artist Tunde Odunlade in 2006:

A workshop on molds made from plaster by potter - member Steve Aitcheson:

CASA artist Lee Anne Willson gave a wax resist (batik) workshop:

A calligraphy workshop with visiting artist Timothy Botts took good advantage of our shared spaces:

Individual artists' studios are small (and we all use shared space at least some of the time) but some of these small studios are sunny with a pleasant view of trees and a creek:

In 2006 we held our first Members' Exhibit in our new Gallery:

Twice a year we clean up the place and have a grand open house where we can all show what we have been accomplishing.

Above: Shared clay studio cleaned up for visitors; you can't see our electric wheels or our space for members to store their clay and unfinished objects. Below: Jovial potter Greg Lamont in the semi-private clay studio room 101 (shared by up to 5 dedicated potters).

Shared-clay potter Mary Anne Begg specializes in oak-leaf decorations on her pots:

Here Heidi explains her work to an interested member of the public:

Three of our artists designed soybeans for the Iowa Soybean Council; here is Dot's calligraphic entry

and Marlyn's 4-seasons of soy growing:

We celebrated 5 years of CASA studios at 130 S. Sheldon in early 2006:

We have a lot of people who like to make pots, and they all got together in late 2005 to make 100 bowls for Habitat for Humanity. Here is our then-President Danny Faga showing some of those bowls fresh from the wheels.

We also opened a gallery in 2005 and here are two Presidents, Danny Faga and his predecessor Steve Prater, at the opening for the gallery. You can see a pot by Mary Weisgram near the top in the background.