As you exit the elevator next to the Workspace door in the Memorial Union, you may feel like you have just gotten off a ski lift in the snowy mountains of Colorado. Look around a bit more, and the opposing wall containing a river mural full of blues, pinks and yellows gives a scenic depiction of a flowering meadow.

“The Workspace is one of those undiscovered parts of ISU,” says Workspace supervisor Carl Hoffnagle, senior in graphic design.

This mural is only the first of many things that make the Workspace a distinctive place to learn more about art. Located in the east basement of the Memorial Union, The Workspace provides ISU students, faculty, staff and community members with an open art studio to meet their individual artistic needs.

There is a complete workshop, pottery studio with electric wheels, silk-screen and jewelry studio, and darkroom.

Jess Lowenberg, junior in graphic design, works as a supervisor and says the Workspace is a multifaceted artistic domain for individuals.

“Individuals can register for a class or work on their own,” Lowenberg says. “I like it because you are free to do what you want. Anyone can work on anything, just as long as they clean up after themselves.”

The Workspace offers classes in pottery, photography, woodworking, jewelry, screenprinting, printmaking, stained glass, belly dancing or even guitar. New this summer is a class in digital photography.

“Photography and pottery are probably the most popular just because people are exposed to it more,” Hoffnagle says. “More people know about it.”

Hoffnagle says the Workspace get a unique flow of people through its doors.

“There are new people in all the time, and then there are those you know on a first-name basis,” Hoffnagle says.

Class sizes are different for each class and range from six to eight people.

There is a minimum of three students per class, and for more popular classes such as pottery and photography, class sizes may approach 10 students.

Anyone who has a passion for a certain art medium and has a lot of knowledge about it can teach a class.

“Teachers are typically from the Ames community or are upper-level students,” Lowenberg says.

The Workspace staff and students are looking forward to changes that are planned for this summer.

“We will be adding counter and table space, rearranging, and just making equipment and studio space more user-friendly,” Hoffnagle says. “We are taking pride in where we work.”