Joshua’s classes are geared toward people trying out a range of styles and pushing their writing in new directions. He structures classes so that students get to know each other’s writing styles well and support each other in developing and improving. Joshua has an MFA from PSU and has published his journalism and creative work in local and national publications.

You can check out Community Ed’s writing classes and sign up at

Getting to know the world of metalworking is exciting and can connect you to deep historical roots. However, when you start to explore how to learn metalworking, you’re likely to realize just how expensive much of the necessary equipment is. It’s not a hobby where you buy all the items for your home as a newbie. Instead, taking a course in metalworking can do a lot to help you. It teaches you the metalworking basics and allows you to gauge your interest over a sustained effort before investing in the materials you’d need to grow your hobby.

History of Metalworking

Metal is so key to human history that we named entire periods of history after it, like the Bronze Age and Iron Age. That occurred as humans started noticing how creating alloys between different metals allowed them to do more with metal and create stronger, more beautiful, or otherwise useful metal projects. Metalworking, or heat to soften the metal and shape it into the desired object, has allowed people to make everything from gates to weapons and everything in between.

There is a brutal physicality to metalworking and finesse that requires the lightest touch. If you want a hobby that is part workout, part precision handiwork, and absolutely the best story you’ll tell at your next party, try a metalworking class.

What Do You Do in a Metalworking Class?

A metalworking basics class will first include an introduction to metalworking tools and the safety needed to use them well. You’ll learn what a forge is and how the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ metalworking forge is heated up to the necessary level and keeps the warmth needed to heat and shape metal effectively. As you learn the physical tasks of heating and shaping the metal, you’ll learn techniques to get different shapes fast enough before the metal cools. You’ll learn about the chemical structure of various metals and what makes some of them easier or harder to work in the forge.

Some metalworking classes will focus on welding or how to join pieces of metal using heat, pressure, and hammering. Because welded metal can be some of the strongest bonds, you regularly conduct it alongside metal shaping techniques.

Uses for a Class in Metalworking Basics

While there is an inherent satisfaction in learning a new skill well, and many people may find the hammer and bellows components of metalwork soothing or engaging after a long day at an office job, there are plenty of practical uses for your metalworking knowledge. Think about these potential projects and outcomes:

You can begin with simple projects like making your bookends or decorative garden stakes. These simple projects allow you to practice without using a lot of material for each project, giving you a sense of completion and excitement after each one.

• Working with metal can allow you to make your metal hardware for furniture, such as cabinet knobs or drawer pulls in a kitchen. It can be a way to put your spin on the look you want for your home.
• As you scale up, garden benches, tables, and storage racks can be simple but sturdy projects that are sure to be a notable addition to a home.
• Can’t find the custom tool rack, fire pit, or garden gate that fits your vision? Make your projects part decorative, part practical and see the fruits of your labor every day. Creating your design helps ensure you’ve mastered all the needed skills while flexing your inventiveness.
• For those who like cars and are pursuing welding in addition to metalworking basics, you can use your new skills to create the basic frame for a go-kart or other custom vehicle. These projects are much more complex than some others mentioned, but adding this skill can make you a great team member that wants to design a go-kart or other vehicle.
• If your passion grows, you can dovetail metalworking basics into pursuing a more professional metal-related job. You can leverage it in jobs like welding, CNC machine operator, boilermaker, or sheet metal worker.

Try a Metalworking Class Today!

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ offers a wide variety of courses that help people develop both careers and hobbies. Craftsmanship starts with learning a new skill and never ends since you can constantly learn new techniques as you continue to thrive as a metal craftsperson. No matter how you use your learning, check out the PCC schedule today to find your next affordable, flexible, convenient class experience.

She taught many students about visual arts over the 40+ years she was a PCC Community Ed instructor, and she encouraged each student to find their own particular ways of honing and releasing their creativity via painting, collage, and journaling.

It was not uncommon for her and her students in her Acrylic Artists Group class to break out into dance. More than one student of her Art Journaling class filled out their class evaluation form by drawing all over it. She was an accomplished artist, and also volunteered her talents to teach art to people experiencing mental health crises.

She infused her work with her vivaciousness and optimism, and we will miss her.

Most people eat several meals a day, but taking a full moment to enjoy all the complexity and flavor of a food can elevate a daily experience into a cherished memory. Learning more about food and wine:

• Helps you appreciate the care with which food and wine are grown, produced, and prepared.
• Gives insight into which elements dish change a dish’s flavor and how to order or cook with greater attunement to your own palate.
• Boosts conversation and appreciation potential when sharing food and wine with friends.

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ offers a variety of food and wine appreciation courses that combine a fun classroom experience with the above benefits. These courses can be great for hobby bakers, chefs, or wine enthusiasts. They can also be a boost for anyone working in a hospitality role where an understanding of food or wine can help with customer interactions and satisfaction.

Here are a few courses in the PCC rotation that you can use to eat, drink, and be merry while learning at the same time.

Persian Cuisine

This five-week course helps you understand the overall flavor profile of many Persian dishes while getting to try cooking techniques and discover your own favorite recipes. The rich history of Persian cuisine helps make the flavors even more interesting and fun, and with this many recipes under your belt, you’ll be ready to prepare excellent dishes for friends and family while sharing all that you’ve learned about the cultural roots of the food while you enjoy sumptuous meals prepared the authentic Persian way.

Unique Australian Wine

This 90-minute remote class begins with a fun pick-up of bottle samples of excellent, intricately produced Australian wine. The course, which would be perfect to take with a group during or after a dinner party, teaches you about how to go more in-depth with Australian wines than just the mega-producers you’ve already heard of. Learning about how Australian winemakers overcome the environmental challenges of drought, fire, and excessive heat just makes the wine taste even sweeter.

Great British Baking Class: Signature Desserts

This three-week class gives you a taste of the excitement of the Great British Baking Show without the pressure or the need for perfection! Instead, learn about the kinds of extravagant desserts that you may have only ever seen before on TV, and bake between classes with the opportunity to share and learn during each of the remote video class sessions. You’ll be encouraged to master the basics and then develop your own signature dessert, bringing both your appreciation for great baking and your own creativity together for a flavor that you’re sure to like.

Tea Time: Traveling the Silk Road

Tea has been enjoyed for thousands of years, comes in many varieties, and many brewing techniques. In this two-hour remote course, learn what the benefits of tea are, how to brew loose tea, and how to understand the many different varieties you’ll find in a good tea shop. If you’ve never been a tea fan and are now trying to cut down on coffee or boost your afternoon tea time enjoyment, this class is sure to bring you lots of interesting tidbits to consider while also helping you find the exact tea drink that fits your personality and palate.

Plant-Based  Baking Series

People consider incorporating plant-based baking into their diets for many reasons, from falling in love with a partner who is vegetarian or vegan, to health-related reasons or environmental sustainability goals. No matter why you want to dive into the nutrition and flavors behind great plant-based baking, this 2-hour remote class gives you both a cook-along format to make a meal while also informing you about how plant-based baking can be healthy and delicious.

Ready to Drink Deep of Life? Take a Food and Drink Class Today

PCC has created an in-depth suite of culinary appreciation classes that offer all the benefits of cooking or partaking alongside the instructor but from the flexible comfort of your home in our hybrid models. People who choose to take food and drink courses receive so much more than just a great meal or two – they get to drink deep of what makes life so exquisite, all while preparing themselves to be a great dinner guest or vacation companion in the future with friends who also love to learn.

Additional information will be shared as it becomes available. For more information on PCC’s college-wide response, visit: pcc.edu/coronavirus

De-stressing with hobbies doesn’t just make you feel more relaxed. It can improve your performance on your regular job, give you something to talk about with friends and family, help you learn new skills, and improve your decision-making abilities, creativity, and confidence.

Get started with us!

PCC Community Ed has you covered.

Games

Sewing and Quilting

• Sewing Basics

Knitting and Fiber Crafts

PCC Community Ed is hiring experienced instructors for several non-credit subjects.

While we welcome teaching proposals for any class topic at any time, we are currently looking for engaging, organized, knowledgeable instructors who teach:

• Acting
• American Sign Language
• Aquaponics/Aquaculture
• Bird Watching/Identifying Bird Songs
• Botanical Illustration
• Bowling
• Cake/Cupcake Decorating
• Crash Course Astronomy
• Dance
• DIY Bicycle Repair/Maintenance
• DIY Wedding Planning
• Dog/Puppy Obedience/Training (Socializing Your Pup)
• Driver’s Education
• Fly Fishing
• History of World Religions
• Hot Sauce/Chili Water Making
• Photography
• Running
• Spanish
• Vegan/Plant-based Cooking
• Vietnamese
• Writing

While you wait, you will need to use your personal resources and skills to survive. If you are taking a tally of those things, and coming up naught, then you might benefit from the emergency preparedness courses at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ.

Earthquakes in the Local News

With its placement over the Cascadia megathrust fault, Oregon remains in the line of fire for the catastrophic earthquake event dubbed the ‘Big One.’ As reported by KATU, scientists claim that the PNW region experiences this massive event every 500 years and, according to their accounts, it is . Predictions state that up to 10,000 people could die as the earthquake and resulting tsunami ravages the land. Although the initial event will cause great damage, most deaths will likely occur in the aftermath, as people struggle to survive while waiting for help to arrive.

With much of Oregon’s infrastructure built prior to the knowledge of these risks, the potential for catastrophic damage is much higher than Alaska, for example, which largely uses seismic-proof buildings across its cityscapes. The lack of structural preparedness could result in more than along with the long-term displacement of more than 250,000 people, according to Oregon Live. With the potential of extra damage comes a much bigger need to prepare your resources and learn how to survive natural disasters.

Why Prepare?

Although 82% of people know they need emergency preparedness training to increase their chances at surviving natural disasters, most still do not make any preparations. In areas without the appropriate structuring to help buildings withstand the shaking, this decision could be especially devastating. Buildings that are not up to code can rapidly turn into rubble, trapping people inside and blocking emergency crews from moving their way through the city. Without proper preparation, many households do not have the capacity to survive the days or weeks it can take for rescue to arrive.

How to Prepare for the Next Quake

You can prepare for the next earthquake, or any other natural disaster, with the emergency preparedness courses at PCC. These training courses can help prepare you, physically and psychologically, to tend to your immediate survival needs as soon as the natural disaster begins. You will learn to:

• Prepare a survival kit and road bag
• Identify and safely store food
• Defend yourself from threats
• Practice basic survival skills
• Plan and follow your evacuation route

The earthquake-centric course will also help you better understand what to expect at all stages of the earthquake and its aftermath. From the initial earthquake and aftershocks to the survival stage and rescue, you will learn how to stay safe as well as the techniques you will need to survive. The survival skills you learn from both courses can also apply to many different natural disasters and other events that demand you to use your resources and skills to make it out unscathed.

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ in Improving Your Emergency Preparedness

Whether you want to improve your ability to survive earthquakes or the zombie apocalypse, learning about emergency preparedness can give you the knowledge and skills you need. Building your survival kit with the right items and knowing how to proceed through every phase of the disaster will serve you well when the ‘Big One’ arrives. You still have time to learn what you need to know by signing up for the emergency preparedness courses at PCC. So, sign up today and increase your chances of survival in the next natural disaster.

Look for the fall issue of PCC Communities including the Community Ed class schedule in your mail this week.

Highlighted classes include:

• Group Singing
• Backyard Beekeeping: Beginning
• How Islam Shaped World History
• Cheng Tai Chi: Beginning
• Empowering the Female Investor