Wild Botanicals

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Explore all the creative possibilities of plants and animals right in our backyard! Artists will engage with botanicals and animals using various artistic mediums including watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic and sculpture. They will make pigments out of plants, learn about native vs non-native species, and even learn to weave dream catchers and webs! Scientist artists will document their findings in their field notebooks, sketch local insects, fauna and flora, and explore the abundant habitat of our beloved Lake Merritt.

Denise Doyle is a lifelong Bay Area Mixed-Media Teaching Artist based in Oakland. She teaches classes, workshops and retreats for humans of all ages. Denise believes in the power of art as a pathway to deeper personal insight and profound transformation.

SLIDING SCALE PRICING

All JCAS classes are made available to families on a sliding scale. Families choose the amount they are able to pay, considering the top end of our scale is how much it costs us to run the class. We encourage families to help support our efforts to make programs available to those in need.

If the sliding scale prices are still out of your family’s budget, we do offer scholarships. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please give us 7 business days to process applications. All scholarship requests must be made by Friday, August 22nd.

Don’t worry about classes filling up, we account for this and ensure every camp is available for scholarship students.

PAY IT FORWARD PROGRAM

JCAS is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to offering equitable access to arts and science education. We serve more than 1,500 students every year and most of our students – more than 70% – receive financial assistance.

You can now support our mission directly using our Pay It Forward Program. When registering your student for a class, you’ll have the opportunity to Pay It Forward and contribute to our Scholarship Fund. Your donation ensures that students from all backgrounds can experience the joy and enrichment of our classes and camps—at little to no cost to them.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

REFUND POLICY

ACTIVE now offers self-cancelations! If you need to cancel your registration for any reason, log in to your ACTIVE account, locate the registration you wish to cancel, and select ‘cancel’.

Our Refund Policy is as follows:
All purchases include a 10% non-refundable deposit to cover administrative costs.

From 7/21 – 8/12, you will receive a 90% refund.
From 8/13 – 9/3, you will receive a 40% refund.
From 9/4 on, we are not able to offer any refunds.

Please note:
JCAS enrollment is non-transferable. That said, we do understand that sometimes your family schedule changes! We offer a one-time enrollment transfer for your child to another week of class that has spaces available free of charge.

Unfortunately, because spots are limited, no credit is given for partial attendance. No portion of the tuition will be refunded if the child is absent, withdrawn, or otherwise fails to complete the activity.

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

After School Enrichment Fall 2025 – Class Schedule Announced!

three young white boys behind a table filled with legos smiling and giving thumbs up!

Fall Session 2025

Week of Sept 8 – Week of Nov 10

Create and explore with us after school! Our classes are engaging hands-on fun for young artists, makers, and inventors aged 6-13. Classes are small, student-centered experiences where youth can build skills, experiment with a variety of media, and connect with their creative selves. 

All classes take place at 558 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, CA.

Registration opens on Monday, 7/21 at 12:00 PM

Registration closes on Wednesday, 9/3 at 4:00 PM

Time and Place: Poetry and Bookmaking Workshop for Families

Time and Place: Poetry & Bookmaking Workshop. A Family Workshop. Saturday, September 6th 10am-12pm

Participants will combine poetry and drawing to create their own handmade books. We’ll explore simple bookbinding techniques, using stitching and folding to assemble personalized booklets to be filled with memories. Books will include drawings and free-verse poetry. The drawings will have a focus on linework, emphasizing confidence of line and contour drawing. There will be creative writing exercises focused on sensory descriptions of familiar spaces. The focus is on creative expression and blending words with visual art in a fun, low-pressure environment. This workshop is specifically for families.

A Home After All Workshop

This community workshop is part of our Home After All gallery exhibit. Learn more about Home After All.

IMG 0097

Gracianne Kirsch is an Oakland-based queer and trans artist working in the mediums of painting, drawing, poetry, and video. Kirsch received their BA in Art Practice and Social Welfare at University of California Berkeley in 2022, and their MFA in Art Studio from University of California Davis in 2024. 

Kirsch’s work has been shown at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Basement Gallery at UC Davis, Pence Gallery, and Worth Ryder Gallery. Kirsch will be featured in an upcoming show at 120710 Art Space.

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

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

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!

Time and Place: Poetry and Bookmaking Workshop for Teens

Time and Place: Poetry & Bookmaking Workshop. A Teen Workshop. Saturday, August 18th 10am-12pm

Participants will combine poetry and drawing to create their own handmade books. We’ll explore simple bookbinding techniques, using stitching and folding to assemble personalized booklets to be filled with memories. Books will include drawings and free-verse poetry. The drawings will have a focus on linework, emphasizing confidence of line and contour drawing. There will be creative writing exercises focused on sensory descriptions of familiar spaces. The focus is on creative expression and blending words with visual art in a fun, low-pressure environment. This workshop is specifically for teenagers.

A Home After All Workshop

This community workshop is part of our Home After All gallery exhibit. Learn more about Home After All.

IMG 0097

Gracianne Kirsch is an Oakland-based queer and trans artist working in the mediums of painting, drawing, poetry, and video. Kirsch received their BA in Art Practice and Social Welfare at University of California Berkeley in 2022, and their MFA in Art Studio from University of California Davis in 2024. 

Kirsch’s work has been shown at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Basement Gallery at UC Davis, Pence Gallery, and Worth Ryder Gallery. Kirsch will be featured in an upcoming show at 120710 Art Space.

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

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

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!

Home After All

1

Gracianne Kirsch’s work in Home After All draws from their childhood spent in a rural home built by their father on a mountain top in Redwood Valley, California. The body of work meditates on an accumulation of memories of home, family, growing and changing in the rural Northern California landscape.

On view July 21 – Sept 12

Opening Reception July 25th 6:30 -8:30

Drawings featuring interior domestic scenes balance simultaneous isolation and crowding. Objects accumulate and clutter the living space. Poems chronicle the little and large dramas of a sibling-filled upbringing. But at the same time, there is a quietness, a stillness, and a loneliness of rural separation and neglect. Compositions are either cluttered with junk or floating with emptiness. This balance of weight and air encompasses the complexity of recollection and childhood emotion.

georgies living room

Gracianne’s video “Pond Scum” recalls their father’s attempts at building a pond on his land. Pond Scum sets childlike whimsy alongside the reality of Northern California’s changing ecology and droughts. The effects of the Mendocino Complex Fire on the property, the family, and the community loom over much of the work from this era, occasionally surfacing in Kirsch’s poetry and visuals (such as in the titular drawing, Home After All). 

Finally, recent work shows changing visions of “home.” Growing up, moving away, and coming out build into a tender story of queer home-making and visits back to family homes. 

Aug 16th
Sept 6th 2

Participants will combine poetry and drawing to create their own handmade books. We’ll explore simple bookbinding techniques, using stitching and folding to assemble personalized booklets to be filled with memories. Books will include drawings and free-verse poetry. The drawings will have a focus on linework, emphasizing confidence of line and contour drawing. There will be creative writing exercises focused on sensory descriptions of familiar spaces. The focus is on creative expression and blending words with visual art in a fun, low-pressure environment.

We are offering this workshop two times, once for teens and once for families

IMG 0097

Gracianne Kirsch is an Oakland-based queer and trans artist working in the mediums of painting, drawing, poetry, and video. Kirsch received their BA in Art Practice and Social Welfare at University of California Berkeley in 2022, and their MFA in Art Studio from University of California Davis in 2024. 

Kirsch’s work has been shown at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Basement Gallery at UC Davis, Pence Gallery, and Worth Ryder Gallery. Kirsch will be featured in an upcoming show at 120710 Art Space. Kirsch received the UC Davis inaugural Letters & Science Award for Excellence, the Fay Nelson Award from the department of Art and Art History at UC Davis, the Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Award from BAMPFA for visual art. Kirsch was given the Jury Award for “Play Pretend Feelings,” screened in the Davis Film Festival. Kirsch’s work has been published twice in Makeshift Magazine, an SF publication.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

Support Our Work

Support our nonprofit gallery space and help us continue fostering creativity, community, and access to the arts. Your contribution directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

Circles & Mandalas: A Full Moon Art Workshop

Screenshot+2025 02 21+at+9.56.18 PM

Let’s celebrate the arrival of Mid-Summer with Circles and Mandalas! This month’s full moon occurs on Lunar Lammas (Mid Summer), so we celebrate the harvest and the fullness of the year by making circle shaped art. Many cultures around the world celebrate this occasion by baking round bread, gathering in a circle, honoring the harvest and the moon. 

Create your own circular-shaped art to honor your personal journey and that of the collective. We will draw from a variety of collage materials, paint, hot glue and beyond to create 2D or 3D circles, mandalas, moons, mobiles and more. Get creative and crafty while connecting in a circle of Oakland community!

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.

Denise Doyle is a lifelong Bay Area Mixed-Media Teaching Artist based in Oakland. She teaches classes, workshops and retreats for humans of all ages. Denise believes in the power of art as a pathway to deeper personal insight and profound transformation.

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

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

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!

Collaboration with UC Berkeley Research Lab

berkeley SOL

We are so excited for another fantastic year of Summer Camp. This year we have been approached by the UC Berkeley Social Origins Lab to be a partner in their research.

About the Social Origins Lab (SOL) 

The Social Origins Lab is a developmental psychology lab at UC Berkeley led by Professor Jan Engelmann. They study how children think, learn, and grow in comparison to our closest living relatives, chimpanzees! To answer these big questions, they bring research games to schools, camps, museums and programs, all across the bay area. You may have seen them at the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Oakland Zoo, or even at your school. The research games are designed to be fun, engaging, and age-appropriate for kids of many ages; younger students may be read stories and asked questions about the different characters, while older kids may be tasked with cooperative memory games alongside a friend. In our partnership, Berkeley SOL will be working with kids aged 6-12.

Why it’s important

We are excited by this project and partnership with SOL. By studying how we develop emotionally, socially, and cognitively, this research improves lives at every stage and helps shape smarter policies and better support systems for everyone. We are also dedicated to forging a continued partnership with SOL in a way that is intentional and helpful for our community. There will be workshops and presentations on their work with developmental psychology and chimpanzees. We will also make sure that findings on the research conducted this summer will be equitably accessible. If you have any thoughts on how you would like to see this partnership unfold, please feel free to contact us at contact@juniorcenter.org

Express Yourself: Poster Art Workshop for Teens

Saturday July 12th 10am-12pm 
at the Junior Center of Art and Science
558 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, CA

Get ready to let your voice shine through art! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll design and create your very own 11” x 18” poster using text, paint, and collage techniques. We’ll start by chatting about powerful phrases that speak to you, something that inspires you, makes you laugh, or just feels you. Then, we’ll dive into mixing words with images, experimenting with bold designs, layered textures, and eye-catching layouts. Whether you want your message front and center or hidden in the background, this is your chance to turn your thoughts into art and take home a piece that’s your vibe.

This is a free teen workshop!

A Queer R&R Workshop

This community workshop is part of our Queer R&R Resistance & Resilience gallery exhibit. Learn more about Queer R&R.

a headshot of a man with brown eyes and salt and pepper grey hair slicked over with a grey shortly clipped beard.

Jose L. Iniguez is an artist from California’s Central Valley, based in Oakland. His work explores the themes of identity, queerness, cultural displacement, mysticism, and pop culture. While his background is in ceramics, Jose works across different mediums and approaches to tell stories that feel both personal and collective. His art often reflects on what it means to belong, especially when identity is shaped by memory, movement, and adaptation. Using tactile processes and found materials, Jose creates pieces that invite reflection and connection about the complexity of the human experience.

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

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

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!

QUEER R&R – Resistance & Resilience

June 9th - July 5th

An art exhibition exploring the many shapes and forms of queer acts of resistance and resilience. This selection of artworks defines these acts through different mediums, concepts, and ideas.

On view Saturdays 10-4 from June 9 – July 5

Opening Reception June 13th 6:30 -8:30

“Queer” or queer people are not a monolith and to define queer resilience and queer resistance one has to see it from multiple queer perspectives or lenses. We are multi-faceted, and thereby, how we resist and withstand is layered, complex, and beautiful.

Black and white photo of people socializing and dancing in a lively club atmosphere. A tattooed DJ is in the foreground. Streamers and a disco ball hang from the ceiling in the background.
Express Yourself - Poster Workshop for Teens Saturday July 12th 10am -12pm at the Junior Center for Art and Science 558 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, CA

Get ready to let your voice shine through art! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll design and create your very own 11” x 18” poster using text, paint, and collage techniques. We’ll start by chatting about powerful phrases that speak to you, something that inspires you, makes you laugh, or just feels you. Then, we’ll dive into mixing words with images, experimenting with bold designs, layered textures, and eye-catching layouts. Whether you want your message front and center or hidden in the background, this is your chance to turn your thoughts into art and take home a piece that’s your vibe.

This is a free community workshop.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

Support Our Work

Support our nonprofit gallery space and help us continue fostering creativity, community, and access to the arts. Your contribution directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

Tend : Share : Grow

Saturday May3rd 6:00 8:00 pm

Tend : Share : Grow is an open dialogue forum with the Sprout & Bloom artists: Lana Williams, Alex Arzt, and Sigrid Hubbell. Come join these artists as they talk “shop” about plants, flowers, shrubs, trees, and all the many forms of gardening care that are a part of their art practice, and daily life. Patrons are welcomed and encouraged to share their knowledge and experience with plants and gardening.

The Sprout & Bloom exhibition is on view now until May 23. 

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. Our gallery space is curated to connect professional artists with our local creative community. Our exhibits showcase local, emerging artists and include hands-on community workshops—because art is meant to be experienced, not just observed. Your participation directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@eastbaycreativelab.org