Ready to get creative and connect with your heart? Join us at the Creative Reuse Center in East Providence for a fun, two-hour mashup of writing, collaging, and mindfulness meditation that’s all about sending good vibes to yourself, your loved ones, and even those tricky people in your life. We’ll guide you through playful prompts and reflections, helping you craft a one-of-a-kind, heart-centered art piece that’s totally you.

Bring any fun collaging supplies you want (though we’ve got plenty!), and if you’d like, photos of yourself as a kid, your current self, or people who are special to you. No pressure—just come ready to relax, reflect, and create.

Leading this joyful gathering are Christine, a mindfulness teacher who loves helping people tap into their inner kindness and creativity, and Sage, a dynamic artist and facilitator with years of experience helping people tell their stories through writing, performance, and visual arts, so you’ll be in great hands.

Whether you’re a mindfulness newbie, an art enthusiast, or just curious about mixing the two. Let’s have fun, get reflective, and make something beautiful together!
 

Limited to 10 participants

$15 CRC Members

$20 Non-Members

Register HERE

Let's come together for mental health, community, and future planning.
Let's collectively collage us into 2025.

Join the Womxn Project, the Creative Reuse Center, and the Womxn Project Education Fund hope to create a shared vision board as we think about bodily freedom in 2025 and beyond. Regardless of who is elected president, Rhode Island is seeing a new wave of hate organizing and we see community building as a part of being a united response of love towards all people.

Using artivistic (art + activism) principles and methods of self-expression, we can begin fostering visions of social change through collaging, while also enjoying the therapeutic activity that it is.

In the end, the group goal will be to curate a large collage, made with found imagery and non-verbal connections that will then act as a road map to advocating toward a more just and equitable Rhode Island together.

Facilitated by Jordan Banick, co-founder of The Womxn Project

RSVP at bit.ly/Collaging-Forward

Join us on Sunday, October 27th from 5:30-6:30pm for an artist talk and art unveiling as Lara Henderson shares her new 12-foot fabric mural designed custom for the Creative Reuse Center. In her talk, she will explore how digital techniques influence her work, combining traditional textile arts with modern technologies. In addition to the talk, she will give a demonstration on digital embroidery, offering a unique insight into one the innovative processes that shapes her artistic practice. This event is for anyone interested in technology and textiles.

Free // Donations Welcome

Register HERE

Open to all teens! Learn how to crochet and make a bag. If you already know how to crochet, just come to hang out! Supplies included. Only open to teenagers. Sliding scale $5-$10. Facilitated by Kai Greenspan Hopp.

Register HERE

Join us for a fabric sale on October 6, November 3, and December 1 from 12-4 at Studio CRC!

Create a wearable statement piece from various broken elements with artist and CRC volunteer Diana Arvanites.

Learn how to use jewelry making tools, upcycle chains, and various gold connections. 

Supplies included.

You are encouraged to bring your own broken jewelry to transform. 

$10 members and $15 non-members

Limited to 10 participants // For Teens and Adults only

Register HERE

Goodbye fine art and hello Fine Scraps! Come to our Barbara Grandis Artist in Residence Exhibition on Sunday, September 8th, from 5-7pm. An exploration of materials and mediums that have one commonality: scraps. Located at Studio CRC (1017 Waterman Ave in East Providence), one block away from the CRC.

Celebrating our Summer Artists in Residence:

Beatrice Alder

Charlie Best

Jayne Breakfast

Haydee Naula

Paul Briggs

The program is lovingly co-coordinated by Janise Nieves and Salina Ting.

Slime Lab: Explore the slippery, ooey-gooey science behind the art of making slime.  Each participant will learn about the chemistry of creating and playing with slime.  Includes all materials to make your very own slime creation.

Ancient Excavator: Become an excavator of ancient artifacts and fossils for a day while using tools like chisels and brushes to uncover things like coins from all over the world and ancient fossils and crystal specimens.  Take home all of the treasures you excavate.

All materials Included

$25 per participant  and sliding scale options available

To book: email AJ adelsig89@gmail or text him 508-542-5021

We are having a super sale on the all the fabrics we have! We will have crazy low prices! Fabric includes apparel, drapery, upholstery, quilting, cosplay, theater, leather, and specialty fabrics.

August 24th and 25th

10-11am Members Only

11am-4pm Open to all

Make a little enclosed area of zen and relaxation! All materials are provided by the CRC.

Facilitated by our amazing shift lead Jani!

Members $10

Non-Members $15

Register HERE

FiberART: Felting for Young Creatives is a free 2 day workshop series tailored to Providence's young creative communities.

Presented by local Fiber Artist Hollis Hickerson of Horned Hare Studios, and funded by the RISCA Community Engagement Grant, it aims to engage more youth in fiber art exploration, specifically felting. "FiberART" offers therapeutic benefits, empowering students to navigate life's challenges through artistic expression.

Attendee age range: 10-12 years old 

1. First session: June 1st & 15th from 10-12pm   

2. Second session June 22nd & 29th from 10-12pm

Registration required: https://forms.gle/3vHnUsdBjydWjd6e6

We will explore hand-sewing basics and use fabric from the CRC. Tiny quilts are great as works of art, coasters, or potholders.

No experience necessary!

We’re excited to announce the final exhibition of work by the Creative Reuse Center of RI's Barbara Grandis Artist Residency 2024 spring cohort!

Please join on us for an opening reception on Sunday, May 19th from 5:30-8:30pm at 1017 Waterman Ave (our new space).

Please RSVP HERE.

In this exploratory workshop, we’ll be using a variety of CRC materials to create collagraph prints.

Collagraph prints are made using layers of physical textures on a sculptural plate that is then inked, revealing an imprint of the textures.

Participants will leave with finished prints as well as a plate “sculpture” that can be inked again at home to make future prints.

Materials provided.

All ages welcome.

Free // Donations welcome

Come purchase handmade art created by CRC volunteers and members!

Transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse people, their loved ones, and allies are invited to Empowered to Advocate!

Participants will learn how to promote public policies supportive of trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse people in their local communities as well as how to stand up to evolving hate groups. You'll also learn how to promote public policies supportive of trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse people at the local and state level.

Local artist MJ Robinson will support the Empowered to Advocate series through live visual note-taking (turning what we share into text and pictures as we speak)!"

Presented by Ryan Fontaine, Riley Soley, Jocelyn Foye, and MJ Robinson

Make jellyfish from upcycled plastics with artist and educator Katy Rodden Walker.

Katy will make a short presentation about the Community Blooms project and then everyone gets to make their own plastic jellyfish to take home or to contribute to the installation at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

We are excited to offer mini arts workshops event hosted by some of the Spring Artists in Residence at the Creative Reuse Center! 

There will be three workshops options and you can choose to stay in one or try out all three!

WORKSHOPS

• Building Flowers with Simple Shapes taught by Laura Pichardo 

• Crafting Dioramas with Leia Fifer

• Making Kaleidoscopes with Souvy

Registration:

You can register HERE.

The registration fee for the workshops is $10/person per workshop, to cover the cost of materials, the artists' time, and support the future of the Residency Program! However, this fee is sliding scale, so pay what you're able to. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. 

Other info:

Some snacks will be provided. In effort to keep everyone safe, we ask that you please wear a mask in the space (unless you're eating!). Families are welcome, and there is a play room for children at the CRC! The CRC is a physically accessible space. Please reach out if you need any assistance. 

Feel free to reach out to Hannah at residency@creativereusecenterri.org with any questions! 

About the Barbara Grandis Residency Program: 
Spring 2024 is the first cohort of our Barbara Grandis Arts Residency at the Creative Reuse Center! The first cohort of six artists meet weekly for studio time for eight weeks and receive mentorship from professional artists in the community as well as opportunities to collaborate with each other.
The artists receive free memberships and are invited to utilize materials from the CRC for their creations. The artists are encouraged to offer public workshops related to their art-making, make at least one piece of artwork available for purchase, and/or create a how-to guide to creating a craft or artwork using CRC materials.The residency will culminate in a public exhibit in mid May. 

Join us for an evening of cutting, pasting and collage. No experience necessary.

$5 for CRC Members

$10 for non CRC Members

Materials provided No experience necessary!

Register HERE

This is an opportunity for you to work on your mending projects in community. Sometimes we need a little support to get things done! You can use materials from the CRC for your projects.

Members: $3

Non-members: $5

Please register here

Join us for an evening of cutting, pasting and collage! For ages 18+

$5 for CRC Members and $10 for non CRC Members

Materials provided

No experience necessary. Please register HERE

Show someone you care with a handmade card. Participants will spend the class using techniques of layering, punching, folding, stamping and pressing to make one of a kind cards.

Learn about the What Cheer Farm. They grow, rescue and donate over 100,000 flowers per year to local nonprofits, community groups, and organizations serving Rhode Islanders at risk.

Registration costs $5 for CRC Members and $10 for non-members.

Register here

If your craft is portable and you are feeling social, come hang with us!

Yarn winding station available.

CRC Members; $5

Non-Members: $10

Please Register HERE

Victoria Rodriquez from Facilitate Change to provide bilingual youth arts programming during our open hours at the CRC! We will be starting twice a month and will expand based on interest.

Here are the dates:

Tuesdays 1/30 and 2/27 9:00am-11:00am

Sundays 1/28 & 2/25 1:00pm-3:00pm

The programming will be free for volunteers and for customers it is sliding scale $0-$10 per 30mins.

No pre-registration required. First come, first serve. Caregivers must remain on site.

Workshop facilitated by:

Khadija Lewis Khan, M.Ed, Executive Director Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center and Cheryl Tella, M.Ed, Owner/Director of the Learning Journey Preschool

Learn how to incorporate recycled materials and loose parts into your classroom centers

• Have fun with fellow educators

• Connected to Rhode Island's Early Learning and Development Standards

• 2 hour training certificate provided

REGISTER HERE

Learn how to wrap gifts with sustainable and repurposed materials from the CRC. A few other ideas on festive decor may get thrown in. Participants can bring a gift to wrap as part of the workshop. Volunteer Jan Tenczar will guide you!

$8 fee will cover your materials.

Please register here.

Come join us for a fun, relaxing, stress-free workshop.  No crafting experience required. We will be making a simple and colorful yarn ball wreath. You choose the colors of yarn balls to reflect the holiday or everyday and hot glue them to a wire frame. It’s that easy! Add a bow and optional knitting needles for a “crafty” touch. 

$10 includes materials.

Please register here.