Skillshare

Universal Makerspace: Book Art  - John Huth
Books are imbued with the power of transformation.  Books changed readers lives.  But have you ever changed a book?  Join us Saturday May 14th for a special session of the Universal Makerspace and learn how to make your old and slightly used books into works of art.

ART SPACE/ Exploring Your Creativity - Ioannis Mavrikakis
Explore and rediscover your own creativity through drawing.
· Learn approaches to access your spontaneity, draw inspiration from art history and find out how to tap into your inner child in order to help you keep creative!
· Discover how to build your own “Artist’s Corner” at home and keep up your everyday creativity in a way that can fit in your pocket
· Feel creative With just a pen and a piece of paper feel free and creative to challenge yourself in a thousand different ways !
ART S P A C E = Space for YOU !

Telling a Story: Campfires Not Required - Robert Weinstein
A Moth-Style storytelling class that explores the basics of creating and telling a 5-6 minute story.  Participants will learn the elements and tools of a telling a story in front of other people and apply them to a tale based on their own experiences.   Great for those who wish to teach, understand or participate in the growing number of Storytelling Shows popping up around the city.

Weaving is Fun - Ella Murray
The off the loom projects are simple, functional and creative. Using yarns, ribbons or fabrics to design your project.  Embellish with beads, findings or feathers.

Watercolor Workshop - Jing Si Feng
Join us in this fun and exciting painting workshop, where you will try your hands on painting in watercolor! We will also explore other water-based mediums and create some mix media pieces.

Urban Gardening Demonstration: The Dos and Don’ts of a Beautiful Tree Bed - Presented by GreenBridge of Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Join the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to learn about Urban Gardening and How to Maintain a Beautiful Tree Bed.

Decorate Your Envelope Beyond Calligraphy - Jackie Carter
At Love Jac, we believe in making envelopes fun so that your friend is immediately excited to open their mail.  Come learn new techniques for turning an ordinary envelope into a work of art.

Creative Writing/Self Publishing - Nicola McDonald
Have you considered writing a book or going to school for publishing/creative writing? Have you written a book and want to know more about the world of publishing? This workshop is for you! The first half of the workshop will cover various writing techniques and their implementation, while the second half will be spent discussing the publishing industry and resources.

Yarn Spinning - Victoria Manganiello (Textile Arts Center)
Students will learn the basics of spinning and how to spin their own yarn, while discovering the step between shearing the sheep and yarn on a shelf.

Improve Your Research Skills - Nomi Naeem
Conducting research is a fundamental skill for everyone. Whether you’re browsing websites or using scholarly materials such as journal articles, you need to know how to formulate good searches, evaluate your sources and organize information.This workshop will go over the fundamentals of research, including effective online search techniques, the use of library material and proper citations. There will be time in class for research examples, so come with your queries!

Urban Gardening Demonstration: Planting a DIY Sub-irrigated Window Box - Presented by GreenBridge of Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Join the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to learn about Urban Gardening and How to plant your own sub-irrigated window box.

The Art of DJing: An Introduction with DJ Big Brooklyn - George Clyde
Come for a little history, stay for a live demo. Learn basic tips and techniques and then try your hand at scratching, mixing and beat matching.

Who are you???: Genealogy Workshop - Phil Bond
Start from yourself and work your way back, to discover your personal lineage.  Learn how to build your family tree, how to search our databases and resources, and develop research techniques and strategies to document and preserve your personal story and  family history.  

Hair Braiding 101 with Raquel - Raquel Penzo
Summer in NY will have you wanting to shave your hair off. But fret not- learn some fun and easy braids—corn rows, French braids, and the coveted fishtail braid—to fashionably keep your locks off of your neck and allow your scalp to breathe. Please bring your own comb/brush.

Build a Better Budget - Stephanie Genkin
A sensible spending plan based on your income is the first step to getting a handle on your finances. It will help you identify areas in which you could save money without making painful cuts. This session will show you the best way to determine how much of your paycheck should go to monthly expenses, what you should be putting away for the future and how much you can actually spend on the fun stuff.

Telling Your Story - with Zines and Comics! - Elvis Bakaitis
Dive into the medium of comics with this fun, easygoing workshop. Anyone can make a comic, and we'll look at different ways folks have presented their ideas before. Zines are DIY, self-published booklets, and you don't need a lot of money to create them - just the will to express yourself.

Urban Gardening Demonstration: The Dos and Don’ts of a Beautiful Tree Bed - Presented by GreenBridge of Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Join the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to learn about Urban Gardening and How to Maintain a Beautiful Tree Bed.

Jewelry Making - Alicia Goodwin
Learn how to create a pair of earrings and findings in this class. We will start with a few pieces of wire to create fun jewelry that fits your style. No previous jewelry making experience necessary, but, if you do have jewelry making tools, please bring them along!

Origami Blossom - Lina Ding
Together we are going to decorate spring by making origami blossom.

Premiere vs. Final Cut - Alexander Kaluzhsky
A head to head comparison of Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X highlighting the pluses and minuses of both video editing programs.

Blackout Poetry - April Siqueiros
Ever want to write something but don't have the words? With blackout poetry all you need is newspaper and markers to get started.  The idea is to blackout most of the words and keep a select few to transform a newspaper article into a short poem.

Printmaking Workshop - Alex Chipkin and Becky Chipkin
Printmaking is a great way to distribute your artwork and ideas! Join the Proletarian Printing Press, a mobile art making collective, for a beginners printmaking workshop. We will get our hands dirty making linoleum block prints!

Fixing Session - Fixers Collective
For our Fixing Sessions, people bring in their broken items and they participate fully in the repair process - they will be the ones to unscrew, pry open, glue together, etc.

Intro to Recording Vocals in the Studio - Stephanie Elstro
Wanting to record some fresh vocals but not sure how to start? Learn about the available audio equipment and how to set up for recording speaking or singing. Get hands on experience with the microphones and GarageBand, a great audio editing software for beginners. We will also cover all the procedures for reserving the studio so you get the most out of every session. Instructed by Stephanie, a librarian in the Info Commons and an amateur podcaster.

Mapping and Visualizing Gentrification - Sina Zekavat
What is gentrification? How does it look like? How can we document it visually? And why should we map it? While abstract numbers, reports and statistics are helpful to expose the damaging effects of gentrification process on low income communities of color, they also tend to distract us from the fact that, at the end of the day, gentrification is a highly tangible, physical and material force that aggressively transforms the physical fabric of low income neighborhoods. During this collective map making exercise, we will use simple and accessible online resources to develop new skills for documenting and visualizing the changes that take place during the gentrification process.

Knitting 101 - Emily Louick
Everyone can knit, I promise! This is an absolute beginner's class; you'll learn the lingo, how to pick yarn and some stitches: cast on, knit and bind off and, if time allows, the purl stitch! Students will receive their own set of needles, yarn and a scarf pattern and should leave feeling comfortable with these basic stitches and the ability to keep practicing at home!

The Art of Publication - Meghan Oliver
To publish one's work is not a chore, but rather an art.  To accomplish this takes a great deal of creativity, decisiveness and the ability to adapt to and embrace new possibilities.  I will be sharing some most creative ways to see your work in print and will be noting the bumps and bruises along the way, but emphasizing the amazing end of the journey.  

Animated Comics with Photoshop - Kate Gavino
With so many artists posting their comics and artwork online, how do you make yours stand out? Make them move! Kate Gavino teaches you how to turn your hand drawn comics into simple animated gifs using Photoshop. We’ll draw an image to be animated, scan it, then go over step-by-step how to turn it into a gif then post it online.

Nina Browne (Brooklyn Botanic Garden) - Growing a Greener Block
Urban Gardening Clinic will provide instruction in tree bed gardening as well as other urban gardening practices.

Robin Lester Kenton - Basic Tap Dance
Learn how to make fun sounds with your feet! In this session, you’ll learn a few simple tap dance steps that serve as the basic foundation for most tap dance routines. Then we’ll put them all together in a short routine. Please wear flat, hard-soled shoes for the best floor noise (which will also make it easier for you to move!). This session will be for absolute beginners, but all are welcome.

Diana Plunkett - DIY: Simple Paper Machines
Learn about simple machines by making one of your own using only paper (and some glue and tape). This is a fun and easy project, though younger children may need some help.

Judy Kamilhor - Graphic Art Poetry for Non-Poets and Non-Artists
Learn how to use Microsoft Word to create your own graphic art poetry. Some familiarity with Word is helpful, but no poetry experience necessary.

Benjamin Zorn - From Your Garden to Your Glass:  Cocktails with herbs and flowers
Spring is here, and with it lots of new smells, sights and sounds.   As the world starts to bloom around us, let's celebrate it and use these fresh buds and herbs to do a little drinking.  Learn how to incorporate flowers and herbs into your next cocktail party with local bartender Benjamin Zorn.

Jack Wright and Stephanie Elstro - Studio Basics for Audio Recording
A beginners introduction to recording and mixing. Learn how to set up the microphone in our studio to get a professional sound, and the basics of mixing your tracks in GarageBand.

Alicia Goodwin - Jewelry Making

Stephanie Genkin - 5 money habits to improve your finances and increase your happiness
Organizing your money can make a big difference to your bottom line and reduce stress. This skills class will teach you useful tricks to become a better saver and help you reduce credit card debt, increase retirement savings and align your money with your values -- all with the aim of creating happiness and inner peace.

Lindsey Ibarra - Adult Beginner Knitting

Hans-Christoph Steiner - Securely Browse the Web
What are the real threats to privacy and security when browsing the web, and what the best tools to maintain privacy while browsing? Bring your laptop to set it up.

Lynxe Catastrophe, Josslyn Riot and Rachel Schneider - Bike Repair and Maintenance
Stop by to learn how to do basic fixes and repair to get your bike ready to ride this spring.

George Clyde - The Art of DJing: An Introduction with DJ Big Brooklyn
Come for a little history, stay for a live demo. Learn basic tips and techniques and then try your hand at scratching, mixing and beat matching.

Devin Balkind (Sarapis) - Build A Website with WordPress
Learn how to go from 0 to your own, independent WordPress website on your own, independent server in 60 minutes. This training session will show you how to: Set up a WordPress website, add pages, posts, categories, tags, and move menu items around. Install plugins to extend functionality, set up a calendar, send out a newsletter.

Lina Ding - Action Origami with Googly Eyes
Learn the fundamentals of action origami in this hands-on class.

Clara Aguilar - Use and Recycle: Flower Art with Recycled Materials
Learn how to make beautiful floral art with recycled bottles. This is a hands-on workshop intended for adults.

Anne Pope - MicroStories: Short Form Digital Storytelling Workshop
Learn how to combine photos, audio, and text to share your story with the world! Class Project: create a digital mini-story using your photos, artwork, audio, and text to share on Cowbird. Stories about projects created at the BPL InfoCommons are especially welcome. We will learn how to set up personal accounts on Cowbird and publish one or more stories during the class. Materials required: Camera, audio recorder (a Smartphone can work as both), and/or media you've already created. A limited number of computers will be available. Personal laptops are welcome. Here's an example of a story: http://cowbird.com/story/111578/Ilha_De_Paquet/

Eric Pellerin - Beginning Break-dancing
This class is for beginners, with no prior break-dancing experience, or for those that have some rudimentary experience with breaking. It will covers basics like top rock, spins, basic freezes, the sweep, and possibly the six step.

Devin Balkind (Sarapis) - Share Files, Visualize Data and Collaborate with Google Drive
Google Drive is the a very popular and free collaborative document editing and file sharing system. During this training session we show you some features, tips and tricks to get the most out of Google Drive for yourself and for the groups with whom you collaborate. This training will show you how to: Create and share documents and folders, create folder hierarchies and share them with Google Groups; Build forms to collect data, create basic reports, active "Fusion Tables" to visualize your data in maps and tables, and embed these visualizations into a website.

Alex Chipkin and Becky Chipkin - Printmaking Workshop
Printmaking is a great way to distribute your artwork and ideas! Join the Proletarian Printing Press, a mobile art making collective, for a beginners printmaking workshop. We will get our hands dirty making linoleum block prints!

Shawn Smith - Let's make a Zine!
Come with writing, magazines, markers, paper, or come with nothing at all but your ideas on making raw publications. Together, we will form the skeleton of your next zine. We'll cover the question, "What is a zine?" Examples of newly created zines will be on hand. We'll discussing how zines live in the world - the culture of zines, and how to get your zine out there. Afterwards, we'll clear the tables and go to work. Be prepared to walk out with a newly formed zine and ideas for additional zines.
Some materials will be provided. This is a hands-on workshop for all ages that can safely uses scissors without supervision.

The Fixers Collective - Fixing Session
For our Fixing Sessions, people bring in their broken items and they participate fully in the repair process - they will be the ones to unscrew, pry open, glue together, etc.

T4 Tech Interns Deanna and Sherrese - Picture It: Save Your Images with Pinterest
Learn how to use the social media platform Pinterest to save, organize and share online images for all your projects, hobbies and inspiration.

David Huerta (Cryptoparty) - Securing and Encrypting Your Email with PGP
Learn how to use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) to securely send and receive emails. Bring your laptop to set it up.

Nina Browne (Brooklyn Botanic Garden) - Make Your Block the Greenest Block in Brooklyn!
Urban Gardening Clinic will provide instruction in tree bed gardening as well as other urban gardening practices.

Rakisha Kearns-White - Rainbow Loom and Rubber Band Bracelet Making for Beginners
Learn the basic techniques of the popular crafting trend.

Iris Holdner - Hand Quilting
Learn about quilting and hand quilting, see examples of different types of quilts and learn basic techniques.

Jing Si Feng - Drawing
For the one hour workshop, we will create some whimsical drawings of shoes (or sneakers, or other objects of your choice) in the style of Andy Warhol’s fashion illustrations. One hour is very little time to create a complete piece of art. The goal of this workshop is to have fun with little projects, utilize all kinds of inexpensive materials that we find around us to create pictures that you can frame on the wall or personal greeting cards for that special someone.

Rakisha Kearns-White - Rainbow Loom and Rubber Band Bracelet Making for Beginners
Learn the basic techniques of the popular crafting trend.

Nicola McDonald - Creative Writing and Self-Publishing
Explore creative writing techniques and self-publishing ideas.

Othniel Denis (Excellent Ones Consulting LLC ) - Data Analysis for Beginners: Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel
In this class, participants will learn business analysis methods in Microsoft Excel and work with real business examples with a focus on the use of pivot tables.

Lina Ding - Origami Class : Do it Yourself, Enjoy Your Life
Learn the fundamentals of origami in this hands-on class through step-by-step instructions and demonstration.

Stephanie Genkin - 7 Things You Can Do Right Now to Create Better Money Habits, Regardless of How Much You Earn
During this class participants will learn ways to pay down debt, save money and change habits to jump start a better financial future. Come ready to reboot your money mindset!

Weaving Hand - Backstrap Weaving
Backstrap Weaving, an ancient technique that has continued to thrive since the Pre-Columbian era, was historically passed down over the generations through Mayan women. Over the centuries, the backstrap weaving technique has remained unchanged, and is one of the ways in which Mayan women have preserved their identity and culture. With one end of the loom bound to a post or tree while the other is tied around the weaver’s waist, the weaver becomes just as much a part of the loom as the weaving itself. During this course, students will learn how to create and weave on their own backstrap loom, as we create exquisite weavings inspired by the Mayan culture.

George Clyde - The Art of DJing: An Introduction with DJ Big Brooklyn
What is the art of DJing? How has technology played a role in its rapid growth? Come for a little history, stay for a live demo. Learn basic tips and techniques and then try your hand at scratching, mixing and beat matching.

Shawn Smith, Elizabeth Zeeuw and Erik Bobilin - Oral History Workshop
Learn the conceptual and practical basics for conducting your own oral histories at home, in your organization, or for special projects. Participants will learn about equipment and setting basics as well as how to formulate questions and conduct interviews. The workshop will conclude with a demonstration and time for questions.

Devin Balkind (Sarapis) - Share Files, Visualize Data and Collaborate with Google Drive
Google Drive is the a very popular and free collaborative document editing and file sharing system. During this training session we show you some features, tips and tricks to get the most out of Google Drive for yourself and for the groups with whom you collaborate. This training will show you how to:Create and share documents and folders, create folder hierarchies and share them with Google Groups; Build forms to collect data, create basic reports, active "Fusion Tables" to visualize your data in maps and tables, and embed these visualizations into a website.
            
Weaving Hand - Backstrap Weaving
Backstrap Weaving, an ancient technique that has continued to thrive since the Pre-Columbian era, was historically passed down over the generations through Mayan women. Over the centuries, the backstrap weaving technique has remained unchanged, and is one of the ways in which Mayan women have preserved their identity and culture. With one end of the loom bound to a post or tree while the other is tied around the weaver’s waist, the weaver becomes just as much a part of the loom as the weaving itself. During this course, students will learn how to create and weave on their own backstrap loom, as we create exquisite weavings inspired by the Mayan culture.

The Fixers Collective - Fixing Session
For our Fixing Sessions, people bring in their broken items and they participate fully in the repair process - they will be the ones to unscrew, pry open, glue together, etc.

Shawn Smith, Elizabeth Zeeuw and Erik Bobilin - Oral History Q&A

David Huerta (Cryptoparty) - Securing and Encrypting Your Email with PGP
Learn how to use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) to securely send and receive emails.

Devin Balkind (Sarapis) - Build A Website with WordPress
Learn how to go from 0 to your own, independent WordPress website on your own, independent server in 60 minutes. This training session will show you how to: Set up a WordPress website, add pages, posts, categories, tags, and move menu items around. Install plugins to extend functionality, set up a calendar, send out a newsletter.

Lindsey Ibarra - Adult Beginner Knitting
Learn the basics of knitting while making a fun, useful project: colorful coasters for all of your summer parties!