The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA-The Refinery in Walla Walla offers numerous classes for the general public and memberships to access studio tools and equipment. Class options range from working with clay, wall sculptures, macrame, block printmaking to basket weaving. With the studio's growing success, there is a waiting list to become a member.

The Refinery is a community pottery and art studio that provides diverse art experiences and nurtures artists at all skill levels, as stated on their website. 

The Refinery enjoys guiding people in their creative journey, so my sisters and I signed up for a basket weaving workshop. The class size is limited, so we booked two months in advance. During the three-hour class with our excellent instructor Alex, we started with a few tools and two hoops, added round rattan, and weaved with flat rattan to create a basket that any mother would be proud to display.

Some of us weaved tighter than others, and some followed directions better than others, so all our baskets were just a little bit different. It was a fun class, and we learned techniques that we can now use to make our baskets at home. We will soon purchase the materials needed and design a basket. In the meantime, we will sign up for a class to give the pottery wheel a spin. I can see the clay flying as I speak!