Looking for inspiring art classes after school in San Diego? Join us at Artopia: NCM Creative Studios for our Art Afterschool Series, a four-week program where young artists explore hands-on, project-based art-making inspired by contemporary art and ideas.

Current Session: Textiles: Pocket Portals (ages 8-10)

Dates: Mondays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29
Time: 3:15–5:15 pm

Students will create fabric-based artworks called “pocket portals”, small sculptures designed to hold and protect meaningful objects.

Young artists will:

• Explore textile dyeing and surface design techniques, including bundle dyeing, eco-printing, and stamping
• Work with both natural and traditional art materials
• Combine handmade and found textiles using hand-sewing and soft-sculpture methods
• Create one-of-a-kind textile sculptures to take home
• Draw inspiration from contemporary art at The New Children’s Museum, including from The Wonder Sound by Wes Bruce (he/him) and Future Ancestral Technologies: Odyssey by Cannupa Hanska Luger (he/him)

What Kids Gain from Art Afterschool

Each series helps your child:

• Experiment with new art materials and processes
• Build foundational technical art skills
• Strengthen creative confidence
• Develop their own expressive voice
• Connect art-making to their lives and the world around them

These art classes are led by professional teaching artists in a supportive, fun studio environment.

Meet the Teaching Artists

This series is led by:

Danielle Rives (she/her), Artopia’s Art + Creative Learning Manager

• Specializes in painting, drawing, textiles, and mixed-media
• Explores themes of the everyday, femininity, and domestic life through art

Sophie Mueller (she/her), Sr. Teaching Artist

• Works at the intersection of ritual and play
• Creates functional art in ceramics and textiles meant to be lived with

Together, Danielle and Sophie bring years of experience teaching and making art, offering kids the chance to learn from practicing contemporary artists.

Plan Your Visit

Classes take place after school in Artopia: NCM Creative Studios, located inside The New Children’s Museum in San Diego

Have questions about parking, accessibility, or our cancellation policy?
Check out our Artopia: NCM Creative Studios FAQs

Ready to register? Click here! Give your child the chance to create, explore, and grow through contemporary art making!