Fall courses & one-offs, plus links for idle hours
Hi everyone,
Thanks everyone who joined us last Saturday for our event with chi nguyễn! We’re already cooking up the next collab—stay tuned!
In the meantime, we‘re gearing up for a busy fall. This email contains info three September–October courses and some of our autumn weekend one-off classes. Reminder: kids’ course registration begins August 14 at 8 a.m.
A few weeks ago, I shared links to family-friendly sites, videos, quizzes, and games that our kids have loved. A surprising number of you commented about them, so at the bottom I’ve included ten more.
Shallow glints in the wave suspended,
Brian
September–October course spotlights
The Slice, Mondays 4–6 p.m. at 1152 College. Does your child love telling stories and asking big questions? Well, Hot Pizza is making a magazine! Participants will learn the entire process from start to finish—brainstorming ideas, conducting interviews, writing, taking photos, designing layouts, and printing a real magazine to distribute in the neighbourhood. They'll experiment with multiple creative mediums and learn how to turn big ideas into something tangible. Taught by renowned journalist Amil Niazi (guest host of CBC’s Commotion and author of Life After Ambition) alongside Hot Pizza founder Julia Dault. Learn more →
Relief Printmaking for Adults, Tuesdays 6:30–8:30 p.m. at 134 Osler. Have you ever wanted to design your own custom cards and textiles? This beginner-to-intermediate class introduces you to printmaking using rubber and lino blocks on paper and fabric. You’ll learn the entire process—from carving blocks and safe tool handling to registration, multicolour printing, chine collé, and stamp patterning—and walk away with original, beautiful pieces of art to display. Taught by amazing printmaker and illustrator Paul Dotey (@pauldotey), whose design and illustration clients include Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Starbucks Canada, and The Globe & Mail. Learn more and register →
Comics for Grades 5–11, Tuesdays 4–6 p.m. at 1152 College. Is your kid ready to take their cartooning to the next level? We’ve taken one of our most popular classes and given it an advanced, ambitious spin for slightly older students! Participants will dive into deeper visual storytelling, crafting a personal comic project from start to finish—covering character design, pacing, panels, and world-building as they build creative confidence. Taught by amazing Toronto cartoonist and illustrator Robb Mirsky (@mirsktoons), creator of the underground comic series Sludgy. Learn more →
Fall classes
We recently snuck some fall one-off and weekend offerings onto the site, and I’ve been very impressed by those of you whose advance planning means you can sign up for events in November! In case there are more of you incredibly on-it people out there, here’s a small selection of kid-friendly offerings:
134 Osler St.
Sep. 19—Little Studio. Creative exploration for our littlest artists.
Oct. 4—Stop-motion Animation with Lego. The title says it all.
Oct. 17—School of Rock. Make instruments, then make music together.
1152 College St.
Sep. 18—Conceptual Art Movie Night. Funny, odd, & moving short films by artists. All ages welcome.
Sep. 20—Slimes & Potions. All the creative sensory play, none of the cleanup for you.
Sep. 26—Saturday Comics. Learn some techniques, develop a character, craft a story.
More on adult offerings, and more details, as we get closer to the autumn! 🍂
Links for idle hours
Anthropeum. Where in the world, and when, does this human artifact belong? Each day, ten objects from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. Guess where and when each was made.
How Are Memories Stored Inside Your Brain?. A fourteen-minute animated answer to this question.
What's Under Your Feet in New York City?. The latest from Practical Engineering, featured in the first batch of these links.
Chili Peppers of the World. A visual guide with illustrations of 176 species.
MapTap. A daily geography game that is the inverse of the popular Geoguessr. “Tap [on the globe] as close as you can to [City X].”
Pixel Skylines. Show your kids what games looked like when we were kids.
Outsmart. A safe, family-friendly “betting”/strategy game. You have 100 total points. Can you outsmart the machine?
Isometric NYC. Every building, in detail, seen from the same angle.
You Don’t Know Africa. Three games to learn about the continent: find the countries on a map, identify the country flags, name countries from memory.
2025 deer-calling championship, in Germany. File under “people are fascinating.” Just under two minutes. Favorite detail: how the judges reveal their scores.