Finding time for yourself opens the door to creativity and personal growth, but it can be difficult to try new things with little or no experience. Luckily, the Brazos Valley community has a multitude of businesses and organizations to begin your next hobby journey. Under the guidance of an expert, find inspiration to learn a new skill, find unique ways to stay active or polish your preferred craft.
Seize The Clay
Living Water Pottery Studio, a hidden College Station gem, offers a series of classes where owner Cindy Gomez guides students from beginner to expert levels to create a piece of clay-made memorabilia. Cindy runs a one-woman-show pottery studio for artists of any level to enjoy. The studio offers wheel throwing, trimming, hand building and glazing lessons.
Courtesy of Living Water Pottery Studio
“When they come in, I walk them through every step of the way; I don't just give them a piece of clay and walk away,” Cindy says. “Once they know the basics, they can do it on their own — they can even do it at home. Some people work on things at home and bring it to me to fire. Most people like the social aspect of the studio, and a lot of times there's about six people per session in here together.”
Despite the daunting nature of diving into a new form of art, Living Water Pottery allows students to learn at their preferred pace under Cindy’s wisdom as they wait for the clay to cure and dry over the span of a few weeks.
“It's only clay,” Cindy says. “If it falls over, it’s not the end of the world and we recycle so we don't waste any of our clay. If you make something and it falls over, it becomes another person's piece of art. You have to allow yourself to make mistakes and to do things that are out of your comfort zone.”
Teaching pottery since 1998 and owning the studio for 26 years, Cindy offers an affordable fee for beginners.
“We do a flat rate of $25 an hour and that includes everything,” Cindy says. “We don't charge more for firing, or glazing or clay or any of that. The only thing that costs more is the first throwing lesson on the wheel, and that's a two-hour session and is $60. ”
Sharing her passion for pottery as a creative outlet drives Living Water Pottery’s success in College Station.
“I love making people excited about clay,” Cindy says. “I love to see their faces when they first pick up their first pieces. It's pretty bright. I just think I'm so lucky that I get to do this.”
It takes about a month for the process of creating a clay sculpture to be completed, but the result is a unique handmade item and a new creative outlet for participants.
“There is always something new to learn,” Cindy says. “With having a studio open to the public, every day is different. Every day I'm dealing with different people, different situations, different pieces of art, so it's never boring. I love to see [my students] grow beyond what I can teach them. I teach them what I can and then they keep going.”
To sign up for classes, visit the website at livingwaterpottery.com or stop by in person at 12305 Hunters Creek Road in College Station.
OverRUN With Fun?
As the weather shifts from the hot and humid summer to a cool, crisp fall, the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors may sound more appealing. For those looking for a hobby to maintain an active lifestyle, the Brazos Runners Club serves as a social outlet for both seasoned and beginner runners.
Brazos Runners Club was founded by a group of local running enthusiasts in 2015. The vice president of the board, John Denton, has been a part of the organization since 2017 and a runner since 2005. After searching for a local community to run with, he stumbled upon Brazos Runners Club with the hope of making new friends with shared interests, he says.
“I showed up with no intention of ever becoming a better runner or getting faster,” John says. “I literally just did it for fun as just something to do. When I first started, I didn't think I would ever run a marathon. That wasn't a goal of mine. But after meeting all these crazy people, I signed up for my first marathon. Since then, I've been by no means competitive, but I've definitely been improving my speed, my time and all that good stuff.”
Courtesy of Brazos Runners Club
The club meets around three times a week to run together, allowing flexibility for those who have varying schedules. Since members have a wide spectrum of paces, beginners are always welcome.
“We want everybody to show up,” John says. “It's half social, half the running part. You can come out and meet up with a few people that are kind of your pace and do your own thing. Some folks even come out here and they just might walk a couple miles and jog a mile. It's very much do your own thing. We want any and all abilities.”
Social events are frequently posted to the organization’s Facebook to allow runners to have a good time while maintaining a shared healthy lifestyle.
“For the last couple of years, we've been doing a picnic out at Lake Bryan where we barbecue, hang out and swim in the lake if the weather's right,” John says.
Brazos Runners Club provides resources to its members such as water jugs on routes, tracking plans and training suggestions.
“Listen to your body, and definitely start out slow,” John says. “Do what you're comfortable with and just try not to push yourself too hard in the beginning.”
The organization has an annual fee of $30 for members, but John says new members are free to “do a few runs” before making the commitment. The community of runners come together at local marathons, half-marathons and 5Ks, with members choosing whichever events they would like to participate in.
“If not everyone's actually running the race, the rest of the club will be out here cheering each other on,” John says. “ I'm more of a social guy. I like meeting people and running with my friends out here. I think it's important to stay fit, just for overall health and well-being as a good habit.”
To sign up for a membership or learn more about the organization, visit their website at brazosrunnersclub.com.
“Dinking” Outside the Box
The rise of pickleball continues! With a paddle and ball, you can enjoy hours of active fun that brings people together with a sense of competitive energy. Brazos Valley Pickleball Association (BVPA) is a local organization focused on proving "fun, fellowship and fitness" through the sport. With members of all different skill-levels, BVPA offers a monthly introduction class for beginners interested in delving into the world of pickleball.
Described as a fusion between ping pong, badminton and tennis, pickleball has grown in popularity primarily due to its simple rules and physically undemanding nature. Joe Hegwood, the president of BVPA, picked up the sport a year ago to maintain an active lifestyle after retirement.
“It doesn't matter your sex, your age, your height, whatever,” Joe says. “I'm retired. I don't want to just sit [at] home. There is a social aspect to it too because you go out there and there are 30 people — a lot of them are the same — but every time there's going to be somebody different.”
Courtesy of BVPA
After paying a fee of $40 to cover access of the City of Bryan’s Parks and Recreation Facilities, BVPA members are able to access the TeamSnap app. Members are invited to post on the app to set up pickleball opportunities outside of the recurring Tuesday and Thursday sessions.
The organization reserves indoor and outdoor tennis courts throughout Bryan with hopes to expand its court reservations to College Station in the near future.
“We have that outdoor facility at the Austin's Colony [Park] reserved a couple of days a week,” Joe says. “We have [an agreement] with the City of Bryan, and we're working on the City of College Station as well because a lot of our members are in College Station.”
Originally a senior women's 3-on-3 basketball team known as the Ag Silvers, the organization switched to pickleball after testing out the new sport in 2013. Since then, BVPA has welcomed over 300 members of all ages. Due to the large size of the group, it is easy to find people to play with at any time, Joe says.
“The main thing I like about the association is there's just a ready pool of people,’” Joe says. “[It] is a place where there's always 25 to 40 people there that are ready to play, and I don't have to worry about going to find somebody.”
Sherry Coleman, who discovered the sport in 2014, now leads introductory classes for the association. She says one of the best things about the organization is the opportunity to mingle with new friends.
“You meet different people from everywhere, especially being in a college town,” Sherry says. “ We have tournaments occasionally. I think we've had two or three this year so far. And it's just an opportunity for the members to get together and show off.”
To learn how to play through intro classes, sign up for a membership or contact the organization, visit their website at brazosvalleypickleball.org.
A Pigment of Your Imagination
Brush off your art skills and put them to use by creating a one-of-a-kind art piece at DeGallery. DeGallery offers beginner group art classes for those who are seeking the chance to embrace a new skill and potentially meet other up-and-coming artists within the community.
Courtesy of DeGallery
Dary Dega, owner and president of DeGallery, hosts classes, contemporary art galleries and painting events for the Brazos Valley community. From watercolors to crocheting, DeGallery welcomes a multitude of opportunities for guests to learn something new.
“Just try and see if you like it because we have a lot of people who try for the first time, and in the beginning, they were absolutely sure they were not talented at all,” Dary says. “ If you don't have a good teacher and instructor in your life, how do you know? Here, [we] find a lot of very talented people who just opened up [their] talent.”
DeGallery offers flexible options to pay per class or pay per month. The studio allows beginners to take the time to work with professional instructors to try out their potential new hobby.
“You probably can use DeGallery your whole life and improve your skills from beginning to super professional level,” Dary says. “For beginners, we have a lot of options like beginner oil painting [and] drawing classes. I really recommend you start drawing because drawing teaches proportion, understanding shapes and some basic skills. After, you need to start to study mixing colors, the color wheel and how to mix colors because it's more complicated for all artists.”
The aspiring artists at DeGallery are given many options of classes to take with friends and family.
“I can teach you any medium, but you need to understand you will improve your skills if you start with basics,” Dary says. “Every day and every month, we have [an event] going on. We have different workshops by season.”
To sign up for classes and workshops at DeGallery, visit degallery.us or stop by to view the current galleries at 930 North Rosemary Drive in Bryan.
Life is What You Bake It
Thaw out your inner chef and bring the joy of home-cooked meals to your family and friends. Add a twist to your traditional recipes by sampling new dishes or taking a group cooking class at Cocoa’s Pantry. This not only introduces new dishes to your family dinners, but creates lasting educational memories.
Christina Patterson, the visionary behind Cocoa’s Pantry, established the high-end kitchen store in 2018. Cocoa’s Pantry offers a wide range of luxury kitchen essentials, including top-of-the-line electrics, knives and cookware. The store also offers a variety of cooking classes designed for beginners, groups and even children. These classes cover skills such as knife techniques and basic cooking principles.
Courtesy of Cocoa's Pantry
“We have a lot of items here in the store that are user-friendly, regular items that you would use in a kitchen,” Christina says. “As far as learning how to use those tools, if you don't have those basic skills, any of our classes will help with that. When we first started doing it, we thought that it would be a fun way to meet people in your community.”
Cocoa’s Pantry invites customers to gather friends and family for scheduled cooking classes. Led by professional chefs, the sessions are an exciting opportunity to learn new recipes, master culinary techniques and develop a love for cooking.
“The most fun part is meeting everybody and exchanging recipes, and we get people from all over,” Christina says. “Not everybody enjoys cooking. Certainly, with the right and quality tools, it makes cooking a lot easier and more fun.”
Because of the lack of professional-quality kitchen equipment stores, Christina was inspired to open her own store rather than driving to Houston. The store sits on Main Street in Downtown Bryan.
“I share the love of cooking with people,” Christina says. “Everybody loves to eat and to be able to have the right tools to do that is a great benefit for people … it’s nice to get some new ideas.”
To stay updated on classes and activities at Cocoa’s Pantry, follow their Facebook page @CocoasPantry or stop by to view options at 211 North Main Street in Bryan.
