Seja criativo: Sessões de arte e cerâmica para crianças na Costa Blanca

**We were lucky to be offered the chance to experience some free pottery sessions with our kids at Paint It Studio, Orihuela Costa, in exchange for promotion through this website and our social media channels. All of the opinions expressed below remain our own.

Introdução

Being a sunny destination, Costa Blanca is often only associated with atividades ao ar livre for kids. Despite this though, sometimes it is fun for children to do indoor activities as well. Whether it be on a rainy day (they do happen!), or to escape the heat of the summer sun, one engaging way for kids to enjoy being inside is by taking part in a creative activity. Taking part in an art or pottery session for kids in Costa Blanca is a great way to do this.

While you can of course come up with your own fun art and craft ideas to do with your kids, sometimes it is easier (and more successful) to let the experts do the hard work for you. Art and pottery classes or sessions are not only beneficial for kids’ educational development, they’re also great fun too.

Paint It Studio is one such place that offers these experiences for children, in an organised and well structured environment. Why not get creative while doing something a bit different with yours, by trying out some of their art and pottery sessions for kids in Costa Blanca?

What is Paint It Studio?

Paint It is an art and ceramic studio, specialising in both individual and group creative experiences for kids.

Where is Paint It Studio?

Paint It Studio is located in La Zenia, Orihuela Costa, no sul da Costa Blanca, Espanha. The studio is around the back and away from the road in the Via Park commercial centre, near to the larger Zenia Boulevard shopping centre.

What Sessions are there for Kids at Paint It Studio?

Paint It offers a range of scheduled art and pottery classes throughout the week, for both adults and children. The kind of things that are available can be seen below.

As well as regular classes, it is also possible to visit the studio for individual, small group or personalised sessions. It is advisable to contact the studio first to arrange a suitable time to visit.

If you are wanting to create your own ceramic item to take away, it is necessary to attend the studio for a series of visits – firstly to model and create your design in clay, then later to paint and decorate it, before finally returning to collect your very own finished artistic masterpiece.

For anyone who cannot spare the time for multiple visits, there is also the option of selecting a ready made, plain ceramic item from off the shelf to then just decorate. This still allows you to create a beautiful and personalised item to take away, but without having to model it yourself first.

Our Experiences at Paint It Studio

We were fortunate to be offered the chance to experience some pottery sessions with our kids at Paint It Studio. Our kids were keen to get their hands dirty and make their own items from scratch, so we opted to do both clay modelling at an initial session, followed by decorating at a later date.

Session 1: Modelling the Clay

On arrival at the studio our first impressions were very favourable. We were welcomed inside by the friendly staff into the treasure trove of artworks and pottery pieces that decorate every corner of the room. These multilingual staff (speaking Spanish, English and Russian fluently, as well as having a good grasp of several other languages) were always very patient and eager to help, even with our 2 year old.

After being kitted out with overall aprons to wear to save messing up their clothes, our kids were then seated at a table and given a choice of easy things that they could make. A good selection of paper templates are available to provide inspiration. We tried to encourage them all to make a fish each so we could display them all together. Claro, one of my sons insisted on making a lizard instead. There’s always one!

The class started with rolling out the clay, before marking and cutting it into their chosen shapes. The edges were smoothed with water then all the details were added. An interesting selection of tools and patterend implements are available to assist in adding texture to the clay. The staff were also on hand to provide useful tips and suggestions for how to add decoration.

Once all our kids were happy with their items, holes were added so that they could be hung up when finished, before their names were written on the back for identification. They were then left to be fired in the kiln. There was even time for my girls to make some small pots with the leftover clay whilst they waited for their younger brothers to finish. That ended our first session at the studio.

Session 2: Painting and Decorating the Clay

Our kids couldn’t wait to see how their clay animals had turned out so, as soon as we could, we returned to Paint It Studio to check them out. Felizmente, all had survived their time in the kiln so were ready and waiting for us when we arrived.

The next stage involved decorating them. First, the kids had to select the coloured glazes that they wanted to use. They were taken to a shelving unit containing a large selection of all different colours and shades. After selecting a few of their favourite colours each, they sat down at a table to start painting.

To begin with, base colours were painted onto the clay items, before additional colours were used for highlight and definition. Claro, kids never quite appreciate the ‘less is more’ philosophy, so the colours were layered on thick! Once they could be persuaded to stop adding more, the items were left with the staff to add the required final clear glaze and give them their second firing in the kiln.

Session 3: Collecting the Finished Items

Então, with great excitement we returned for a 3rd time to collect our finished ‘masterpieces’. As had been stated by the staff when painting, the colour glazes come out much brighter when finished than they initially appear when being applied.

All the items looked shiny and bright. I needn’t have worried about my kids adding too much of the colour glazes – even the things I thought might look a mess looked nice when finished. All of the kids were thrilled with what they had created.

Resumindo

Whether you are a permanent resident or just joining the millions of other visitors enjoying all that Spain’s Costa Blanca region has to offer, it is always a challenge to keep finding enjoyable and engaging things to do with your kids. Getting creative and experiencing an art or pottery session is definitely a great way of doing something a bit different for a change.

Crianças, on the whole, love craft and being able to produce their own pieces of art. Mine certainly do. They can take pride in holding and treasuring their own finished piece.

Our experience of Paint It Studio in Orihuela Costa was overwhelmingly positive from the moment we arrived to when we finally left with our finished ceramics. The staff were patient and helpful and held the attention of all of my 4 kids throughout (envelhecido 8, 6, 4 e 2).

If you are looking for something fun and creative to do indoors with your kids while in the south of Costa Blanca, definitely take a look at what Paint It Studio in Orihuela Costa has on offer. It’s a really lovely space that children of all ages can enjoy.