PROJECT UTER at the LAB

Join us for a presentation of PROJECT UTER, a huge collaborative drawing on the struggle for reproductive justice by Tonina Matamalas and Carles Garcia O’Dowd, a sister project of the Beehive Design Collective.

The gigantic portable mural will be on display from Feb 19 – Feb 22 11 – 5pm, culminating in a presentation on Saturday, Feb 22 from 4-6pm, before it heads off to another stop. You don’t want to miss this opportunity!!

From Carles: 

This project took almost two years to make, it maps out the complexities and forces that operate when it comes to deciding over our own bodies. It started amidst huge protests in Spain for the right to access safe abortions. We interviewed people about the issue and slowly crafted a mind map that was then translated to drawings. Each scene represents a “small” picture, and interconnects with every other scene to give us the “big picture “. We have been giving oral storytelling presentations with it around the world ever since. This project was a huge learning experience and one I’m deeply proud of.

Container Gardening 101: A Sprout & Bloom Workshop

Celebrate spring with ecologically grown, freshly harvested, Oakland-grown botanicals! In this workshop, you’ll explore the unique textures, scents, and forms of flowers, herbs, and seed pods grown by our host, Sigrid Hubbell, just two miles from JCAS. Drop-in to design a micro bouquet to take home and tend. All botanicals and small glass vases provided. No experience necessary and children are welcome!

A Sprout & Bloom Workshop

This community workshop is part of our Sprout and Bloom gallery exhibit. Learn more about Sprout and Bloom.

Be sure to also check out Micro Bouquets with Sigrid Hubbell on April 19th!


Lana Williams is an author, artist, and the owner of The Tender Gardener, a plant shop and design company that opened in 2020 in Oakland, California. Her book, The Container Garden Recipe Book, published in 2024 by Artisan Books is an in depth guide to ornamental container gardening. She leads local workshops on plant care basics, repotting, plant design principles, wreath making, and flower arranging. When she is not tending to her garden or greenhouse, you can find her in her studio painting and making ceramics.


Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.

See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Missed out on this workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Micro Bouquets: A Sprout & Bloom Workshop

Celebrate spring with ecologically grown, freshly harvested, Oakland-grown botanicals! In this workshop, you’ll explore the unique textures, scents, and forms of flowers, herbs, and seed pods grown by our host, Sigrid Hubbell, just two miles from JCAS. Drop-in to design a micro bouquet to take home and tend. All botanicals and small glass vases provided. No experience necessary and children are welcome!

A Sprout & Bloom Workshop

This community workshop is part of our Sprout and Bloom gallery exhibit. Learn more about Sprout and Bloom.

Be sure to also check out Container Gardening 101 with Lana Williams on May 17th!


Sigrid Hubbell

Awestruck by the endless diversity, adaptations, and resilience of the natural world, Sigrid Hubbell spends the majority of her time in her urban garden cultivating flowers, herbs, food, medicine, and habitat. Growing and preserving the botanicals that comprise her work, she observes the vivid lessons revealed by natural rhythms. She hopes that noticing the contour of a leaf, the color of a petal, or the plumage of an individual seed invokes deep appreciation for the elegant intelligence and healing qualities of plants.


Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.

See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Missed out on this workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Print & Sip: Explore Gelli Printing & Mixed Media Art

Experience the revolutionary technique that transformed monoprinting! Gelli printing is an easy, addictive way to create stunning monoprints—no printing press required.You’ll be amazed by the fine-art quality prints you’ll make with affordable materials. We will play with plants, stencils and stamps to create textures, patterns and shapes and even some photo transfers! Gelli prints offer endless possibilities for expression and exploration resulting in unique layered prints. They also require some patience between layers, so while we wait for things to dry, we can sip on our wine.

Your ticket includes all materials and refreshments, so just bring your creativity! This guided art-making experience offers plenty of flexibility, allowing you to explore and create at your own pace.

Yael Levy is a mixed media artist, storyteller, printmaker and art teacher based in Berkeley, CA. She believes the creative process to be its own reward and the act of making an incredible tool for healing and growing.

Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.

Every Second Saturday of the month, we unwind with a Sip & Make session, blending artistic exploration with a relaxed, social vibe.

See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Missed out on this workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Mini Worlds: A Sip & Make Diorama Workshop

Escape the slog and step into a world of creativity! Join us for a Sip & Make crafting workshop led by the ethereal Judit Navratil, where you’ll dream up your own miniature world in a pint-sized diorama.

Whether it’s a cozy home, a whimsical forest, or an otherworldly landscape, the possibilities are endless. Drawing inspiration from 3D artists like Joseph Cornell and Mohamad Hafez, we’ll use an eclectic mix of materials—paper, magazines, colored pencils, paint markers, and more—to bring your vision to life.

Your ticket includes all materials and refreshments, so just bring your creativity! This guided art-making experience offers plenty of flexibility, allowing you to explore and create at your own pace.


Artist Judit Navratil has been working with social VR building collaborative virtual reality art spaces, cyberhomes, and digital nests for the Grandchildren. This time, we will explore these concepts in a physical diorama-making workshop. What tiny world would you like to make?


Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.

Every Second Saturday of the month, we unwind with a Sip & Make session, blending artistic exploration with a relaxed, social vibe.

See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Missed out on this workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Set It Up: A Workshop in Repurposed Materiality

with Luka Vergoz

ONE DAY SESSION, OFFERED TWICE • 11/16 & 12/7 • 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

All Ages • FREE Drop-in

Set It Up: A Workshop in Repurposed Materiality, is an opportunity to meet Luka Vergoz and learn their process. They will demonstrate how to use discarded and recycled materials to create objects, as well as explore scale and landscape. Luka’s installation has places that are lifted up from the floor, providing a range of heights within the landscape for participants to address. Participants will build and create objects with discarded materials such as paper, cardboard, and wood, and then add their creations to the installation.

Learn more about the gallery exhibit here.

Missed out on a workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Edible Pigment Painting

with Elissa Callen

ONE DAY SESSION • 9/14 • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Ages 14 & up • $35 – $75 sliding scale

Join us for a morning of painting and experimental printing using paints made from plant materials. The ingredients we will use will focus on 3 edible plant sources, including plant scraps commonly tossed out in kitchen compost. Participants will have the opportunity to examine the use of other edible plant sources in this class, as well. Instead of using plastic-based paints and toxic materials, reconsider natural materials under your nose that have provided color for millennia.

Missed out on a workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Intro to ProCreate

with Zoe Oliver-Grey

THREE DAY SESSION • 9/7, 9/21, 9/28 • 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Ages 9-13 • $75 – $125 sliding scale

Using iPads and physical art supplies, students will create their own short animated stories! Students will create physical characters using clay, paper, pencils and paints and then upload images of their creations to iPads. Once uploaded into Procreate, students will be able to add digital embellishments, and create an animated short story starring their character! Over the course of the three sessions students will become more proficient with Procreate and be able to animate and design their own stories.

Missed out on a workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

Drawing: Make, Create, and Repeat

with Luka Vergoz

ONE DAY SESSION • 8/17 • 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Ages 12-17 • $10 – $25 sliding scale

Drawing: Make, Create, and Repeat is a drawing class focused around the idea of repetition. The class uses repetition as a tool to learn drawing as well as a method of expression art-making. Drawing techniques will include both drawing from observation and from memory/imagination. In this class we will talk about the meaning behind repetition and why we would utilize it in art making. We’ll learn how repeating can help show important ideas and compare different elements. We’ll also see how repetition can tell a story about time, movement, and change.

Missed out on a workshop? Join our mailing list to stay in the loop about SATURDAYS at the LAB!

SPROUT & BLOOM

Seeds, soil, plants, and flowers are creative materials utilized to foster healing and connectivity through the process of tending, sowing, drying, and creating.

We welcome you to Sprout & Bloom, a group exhibition by Lana Williams, Sigrid Hubbell, and Alex Arzt.

Join us for the opening reception on Friday, March 21st from 6:30 – 8:30pm. The exhibition will run from March 17th – May 23rd.

The artworks transform the gallery into a beautiful space of knowledge and reflection—where we can learn about ourselves, co-existence, and our connection to the land and the earth. Most importantly, how we can all heal collectively through seeds, flowers, and potted ecosystems.

In addition to the exhibit, Lana and Sigrid will also be holding two workshops

Micro Bouquets

with Sigrid Hubbell
Saturday, April 19th 10am -12pm
for ages 3 & up, $30-$45 sliding scale

Celebrate spring with ecologically grown, freshly harvested, Oakland-grown botanicals! In this workshop, you’ll explore the unique textures, scents, and forms of flowers, herbs, and seed pods grown by our host, Sigrid Hubbell, just two miles from JCAS. Drop-in to design a micro bouquet to take home and tend. All botanicals and small glass vases provided. No experience necessary and children are welcome!

Container Gardening 101

with Lana Williams
Saturday, May 17th 10am -12pm
All ages, $45-$60 sliding scale

Join Lana Williams for a Container Gardening 101 workshop! Learn all the basics from how to select plants and pots, design techniques, to caring for your container garden arrangements. Williams will teach you all the best practices so you can start your own container garden with confidence.


Lana Williams

Lana Williams is an author, artist, and the owner of The Tender Gardener, a plant shop and design company that opened in 2020 in Oakland, California. Her book, The Container Garden Recipe Book, published in 2024 by Artisan Books is an in depth guide to ornamental container gardening. She leads local workshops on plant care basics, repotting, plant design principles, wreath making, and flower arranging. When she is not tending to her garden or greenhouse, you can find her in her studio painting and making ceramics.

Sigrid Hubbell

Awestruck by the endless diversity, adaptations, and resilience of the natural world, Sigrid Hubbell spends the majority of her time in her urban garden cultivating flowers, herbs, food, medicine, and habitat. Growing and preserving the botanicals that comprise her work, she observes the vivid lessons revealed by natural rhythms. She hopes that noticing the contour of a leaf, the color of a petal, or the plumage of an individual seed invokes deep appreciation for the elegant intelligence and healing qualities of plants.

Alex Arzt

Alex Arzt is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, gardener, and grant writer based in Oakland, CA. Rooted in a connection to place and material explorations, she facilitates connections between human and nonhuman spaces by creating projects in the form of publications, interactive objects, workshops, group performances, lectures, videos, and experimental gardens.


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