What’s going on at 92Y

Located in the heart of New York City's Upper East Side, 92Y's School of the Arts is internationally recognized for the quality and scope of its adult and childhood arts education programs. Regarded as one of the country's top community-based art centers, the 92nd Street Y School of the Arts offers more than 400 classes a semester for all ages and all levels of expertise—from preschool to high school, from enthusiastic amateurs and emerging professionals to senior adults—all taught by a faculty of working professional artists.

Here are a few highlights of classes being offered in the Winter Terms (beginning in January) that will help you and your family get inspired and get creative at 92Y School of the Arts—where creative New Yorkers come together to learn.

If you're interested in crafting your own bling, the 92Y Jewelry Center has a few new cool classes about Gemology: Intro to Gemstones and 47th Street Guide to Suppliers. Intro to Gemstones teaches students what a jeweler needs to know about gem identification, gemstone grading, pricing and sourcing. The 47th Street Guide to Suppliers offers a series of workshops and field trips to the jewelry district to source the best in gems, pearls, beads, gold and jewelry supplies. Meet the vendors and compare the masters in the trade of professional plating, casting and setting. And our new very popular class is Gems and Easy Stone Settings-After the Bezel. In this class students learn several stone-setting techniques, including how to make elegant jewelry with gallery wire, channel wire and prong settings. Get an introduction to the many styles of faceted stones and their inherent gemological features, such as hardness, cleavage and inclusions, all of which impact successful stone setting.

The 92Y Ceramics Center has two classes offering a fresh new way of exploring the traditional medium of ceramics: Virtual Clay and Paper Clay.

Wit Virtual Clay, you can enjoy real-time online classes that gather a vibrant community of artists, designers and art historians to speak with you about important topics in ceramics in the comfort of your own home, classroom or studio! The conversations are meant to challenge preconceptions and explore new territory, inspiring you to think about the world in fresh and different ways.

Paper Clay delves deeply into the paper clay medium, which is any clay body to which processed cellulose fiber (paper being the most common) has been added. Earthenware, terra cotta, stoneware, porcelain and bone china clay bodies can be made into paper clay. The more fiber added to the clay body, the stronger the unfired dry paper clay, but the weaker the fired body. The less fiber added to the clay body, the weaker the unfired dry paper clay, but the stronger the fired body. 92Y's Paper Clay class offers demonstrations which include clay preparation, building techniques, surface and color, firing and non-firing options—all to achieve qualities of translucency, weightlessness and building ease. Develop your own ideas and directions—the workshop is a balance between demo watching and studio construction time. All levels welcome.

For more information:
92y.org