Custom classes
Curated fire arts experiences for organizations, family and friends, parties, and more!
Want a fire arts experience outside of our public classes? CAFAC can design and host a private workshop tailored to your specific needs! Email info@cafac.org with details about your group and desires, and we’ll be in touch soon.
Important notes: Some of these classes can accommodate more than 8 students at an extra cost. All classes will take place at CAFAC, at 3749 Chicago Avenue. If you’re interested in an on-site demo or hands-on activity, please see our CAFAC On The Road options.
One-on-one trainings
Want to develop your skills in a particular discipline? Work with an instructor one-on-one for a tailored learning experience! Work towards completing a project, work on
Cost: $75/hr. There may be an additional cost, based on the curriculum developed for your training.
One-day workshops
Blacksmithing Project Shop: Hook-making
3 hours
Shape iron with fire and hammer! Ignite your passion for blacksmithing as you learn shop safety and gain basic knowledge of the dynamics of forging by making a hook. This simple project will teach you five basic and essential blacksmithing techniques, including tapering, scrolling, shouldering, hole punching, and twisting.
Age range: 13+, or 9+ with a parent or guardian present
Cost and capacity: $350 for up to 8 students
Blacksmithing Project Shop: Bottle Openers
5 hours
Build your blacksmith skills with a fun and useful project: making a bottle opener. They’re quick to make and can incorporate all basic blacksmithing processes in one compact project. We'll end class with a celebratory bottle-opening to try out your new tool - that means a beer or soda is included! No experience necessary.
Age range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $630 for up to 8 students
Cuttlebone Casting with Lead-free Pewter
3 hours
Have you ever wondered what happens when you heat metal until it looks like lava? In this class you’ll learn how to create one of a kind pieces from pewter. We’ll carve patterns into cuttlebones, melt lead-free pewter in a small crucible, and learn the technique for pouring molten pewter into your cuttlebone mold. You’ll make jewelry-scale pieces, like pendants.
Age range: 9+
Cost and capacity: $395 for up to 8 students
Metal Casting Sampler: Fun & Functional Bronzes
5 hours
Experience the entire process of bronze casting, from mold-making to pouring molten metal! You'll choose a small project to cast in bronze: a pendant, keychain, or small sculpture. All pieces will incorporate an element to hang or surface mount, so they can be useful as well as sculptural. You'll start by learning to make a direct carve sand mold and then help with the bronze pour so you can see metal casting in action. We'll also apply a finish to your piece and add hardware to make it into a necklace, keychain, or mount it with a nut and bolt.
Age range: 13
Cost and capacity: $630 for up to 8 students
Copper Enamel jewelry Sampler
4 hours
Manifest your creative vision by creating one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces colored with a rich palette of enamels. In this workshop you will learn about kiln-fired and torch-fired enameling and at least three dry enameling techniques. We’ll also cover basic jewelry finding connection techniques to bring your copper enamel pieces together. Leave with a new excitement for working with glass, color, and metal, and some beautiful jewelry hand-made by you!
Age range: 13+, or 9+ with a parent or guardian
Cost and capacity: $475 for up to 8 students
Free Form Wire Wrapping Sampler
3 hours
Experience the art of wire wrapping in this sampler workshop. You will learn the techniques to trap a crystal or stone using copper wire for your personal wearing, such as a ring or pendant. Expand your creativity by making unique shapes and create a design for yourself. Bring a stone or crystal of your own, or use one provided.
Age range: 13+, or 9+ with a parent or guardian
Cost: $375 for up to 8 students
Hot Glass, Cool beads: Italian glass Bead Sampler
4 hours
This class is a glass bead primer to get you acquainted with working a torch and Italian soft glass. You will learn safety protocol, tool and equipment use, and beginner flameworking techniques. Through hands-on practice, you'll explore glass manipulation, shaping techniques and surface decoration. Expect to go home with 4-6 beads and the flamework basics to explore more techniques with confidence. Wear long pants, closed-toe shoes and bring a readiness to experiment!
Age range: 13+
Cost: $425 for 7 students
Stained Glass Suncatchers
4 hours
Suncatchers are an ideal project to learn the basics of stained glass: how to read a stained glass pattern, cut glass, assemble pieces, foil and solder components, and patina and seal your finished project. Patterns will be provided for you to choose from. No prior stained glass experience needed.
Age range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $450 for up to 8 students
Six-week workshops
3 hours per session, once a week for six weeks
Blacksmithing Basics
If you had a hammer, would you use it to drive a nail? Or would you rather use it to forge a nail from red hot iron? This course is designed to ignite your passion for blacksmithing and introduce you to the seemingly endless ways of expressing yourself by shaping iron with fire and hammer. You'll gain basic knowledge of iron and its characteristics, an understanding of the dynamics of forging, and the ability to safely shape iron with heat and a hammer. By the end of class, you'll have covered the basic forging processes, including drawing and tapering, splitting, cutting, drifting, punching, twisting, upsetting. You'll develop those skills through projects such as: hooks, utensils, bottle openers, trivets, and forging tools.
Age range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $1885 for up to 8 students
Oxy-Acetylene Found Object Sculpture
This beginning class will focus on applying oxy-acetylene welding techniques to the fabrication of a sculptural project. We will start with shop safety and equipment setup, and then cover oxy-fuel cutting, welding and brazing processes. Learn the limitations and benefits of these processes through the design and fabrication of your own work of art. Discover scrap metal! Methods for identifying metals, surface preparation for scrap welding, along with aesthetic and protective surface treatments for finishing pieces will be covered.
Age Range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $1985 for up to 8 students
Sculptural Metal Casting Fundamentals
This course will turn you into a molten metal lover as we explore the fundamentals of creating cast metal sculpture through mold-making, pouring metal, and finishing techniques. We’ll start with shop safety and then learn traditional cuttlebone mold making before moving into more contemporary sand molding techniques. We will cast with lead-free pewter, aluminum, and bronze and you can expect to complete three separate castings. We will complete our learning with instruction in finishing tools and patination. You'll leave the class with basic skills and knowledge in the processes of direct carve or pattern based mold making, and an understanding of foundry safety, pouring metal, chasing, and finishing.
Age Range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $1985 for up to 8 students
Small Things Casting with Lost Wax
Do you have an idea for a small-size sculpture or jewelry piece that you'd like to make in cast silver or bronze? This comprehensive class will immerse you in the process of lost wax casting in miniature form. You'll learn to carve wax, make molds, and cast small art objects or jewelry, using both centrifugal and vacuum assist casting. The class will cover safety protocols, the tools used for wax carving, techniques for pouring metal, and basic finishing of cast artworks. Our focus will be on wax carving to create patterns for casting, but not silicone/rubber molding or inclusion of stones.
Age Range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $1985 for up to 8 students
Jewelry Arts Sampler
In this class you’ll create your choice of pendants, necklaces, keychains, earrings and more using professional techniques like casting, soldering and enameling. We will explore different metals and learn correct use of tools. We will cover jewelry studio safety and basic shop protocols to assure we can all focus on our creations in a healthy environment. Bring your ideas and an interest in experimenting with new methods to manifest them. We will make at least one completed piece each day! Come explore the world of professional jewelry making techniques in this sampler class! You'll be able to make jewelry pieces like pendants, pins, bracelets, and rings. You'll focus on a different skill each day, including casting molten metal using the ancient technique of cuttlebone molding, learning to texture copper, using glass frit enamel to add brilliant color, soldering sterling silver, and even forging!
Age Range: 9-12 or 13+
Cost and capacity: $1935 for up to 8 students
Stained Glass Fundamentals
Learn the basics of stained glass and add some color and sparkle to your life! This class will cover the basics of 2D and 3D stained glass using copper foil. You'll learn how to make your own patterns for stained glass projects and several methods for adding movement to your pieces, such as hinges and latches. In the first couple weeks of class several patterns will be provided for practice, but as we progress, you're encouraged to bring your own ideas and the instructor will assist in translating them into stained glass.
Age Range: 13+
Cost and capacity: $1935 for up to 8 students
