It is rare that an art enthusiast is able to find access to an air brush, a woodshop, a stain glass facility and a sewing machine all in the same day. It’s even more unusual for these things to be found in the same location.

For almost 30 years, The Workspace has provided these amenities to art students and enthusiasts from the Ames community. Enduring the test of time, The Workspace has survived to be a treasured facility for many artists.

When The Workspace opened in 1969, it was called the Union Craft Center and was established to increase student awareness in arts and crafts.

Located in a small room behind the bowling alley, the Union Craft Center was the meeting place for two mini-classes which consisted of nine students.

The number of students doubled by the following year and in 1971, the Student Union Board (SUB) decided to make the center a permanent addition to the Union.

According to Kathy Svec, former director of the Union Craft Center and current marketing director for the Union, the facility was opened to “provide art classes that were offered strictly for the love of learning” and to provide a workshop area for art students.

Svec said the Union Craft Center was underway before the College of Design building existed.

“Because art classes were so squished, art students used to like to come to the workspace because of the nice facilities,” Svec said.

As more students became interested in the classes, the center was granted more money from the Union which was used to build a ceramics studio and buy equipment such as potter’s wheels and electric kilns.

The center continued to expand every year so that by 1979, 300 students were participating in the classes. Opportunities to take classes involving clay, wood, jewelry, two-dimensional media and fiber were available as well as children’s classes, workshops and Artist in Residence programs.

Because the center was beginning to offer such a variety of programs and opportunities, the name was changed to The Workspace.

“We thought we wanted to change our image,” Svec said. “We thought we were offering a broader base of classes than just craft classes.”

The Workspace has continued to flourish in the ’90s because of the innovation and guidance of its supervisors and teachers.

Whenever there is a new trend in the art world, the center has been faithful in offering classes that cater to that special mode.

Svec said when macram‚, a method of knot tying, was popular in the ’70s, The Workspace offered a class that taught macram‚. As airbrushing is being commonly used in commercial art in the ’90s, the center has offered classes for these techniques.

“People like to do things when it’s easy to see how other people are using it,” Svec said.

Many of the classes that are offered in The Workspace can be taken at Iowa State, although there are a few that are specifically unique to The Workspace.

Some of the unique classes that were offered for the spring semester included a glass bead making demonstration and a class that taught helpful techniques for home-brewing beer.

In addition to art classes, Leslie Melvin, director of The Workspace, said it also provides screen printing for businesses and makes buttons for student groups.

“Students can come in and make the buttons themselves and save even more money,” Melvin said.

Because of its many services and facilities, The Workspace has attracted over 1,031 visitors within the past semester. In addition to the people who come in to take the classes and use the facilities, The Workspace conducts tours for student groups including dorm floors and freshman honors groups.

According to Svec, newcomers are welcome to make an appointment for a tour, but they are not necessary. Svec said the staff is always happy to help people who need direction or have questions.

“The staff is very friendly and would be willing to show anyone around,” Svec said. “I think it’s worth the trip for adventuresome people.”

Due to the Union’s remodeling project, some might say it is an adventure to find The Workspace. While there used to be a door on ground floor through which students could enter, the facility is now only accessible via elevator.

“[The remodeling] caused a problem for us,” Melvin said. “It’s getting better because we’re getting more signs up.”

Melvin encourages anyone who is interested in any of The Workspace’s programs to stop by and check it out.

“Anyone can come down when they feel the urge to,” Melvin said.

The Workspace is located in the northeast corner of the Union.