Off to collage: Crafting at Artascope Studios

The rain deigned to give us a precipitation reprieve on Saturday.

I think it was accidental, like a sinister prison guard who fell asleep on shift, just long enough for the inmates to spend a few happy hours writing letters, digging holes and passing shivs to gang affiliates.

But the rain-one-minute, gone-the-next weather is enough to make anyone go a little mad. We're all going to crack under the unsteady barometric pressure.

It's imperative, in a time like this, to find a creative outlet. Maybe write that novel or sculpt busts out of flooded lawn sod.

If you're tentative about tackling an artistic endeavor on your own, let Artascope Studios in South Portland guide you.

The Cottage Road studio hosts a multitude of classes each month - enough to keep Seasonal Affective Disorder at bay for an entire tumultuous summer.

The well-equipped studios include all the working space and tools you'll need to, say, solder a silver necklace or create a stained-glass portrait of your puppy.

The store sells finished pieces as well. All have been hand-crafted by local artisans, many of whom also teach classes here. If you're into unique jewelry, pendants, greeting cards and such, the Artascope store is worth a visit.

Artascope staffer Suzanne gave us a tour of place before class and said she encourages unsure folks to browse the samples to see what strikes their creative fancy.

Choose from felted purses, hammered silver jewelry, batik pillows, etched pendants, sewn metal, simple photo albums and a load of other options.

On Thursday, I tried my hand at resin jewelry. Three-dimensional collages are created and placed in a silver or bronze mold, then covered with resin. Teacher Deb (far right) walked us through the process.

And no, black and white stripes are not a required Artascope uniform. But they coincidentally go along with the prison-reprieve reference I made earlier.

You can bring in your own images or sift through the well-organized boxes of scrap and craft paper in one of the Artascope rooms. I uncovered too many options and spent the first 45 minutes of class deciding which to choose.

Ah! The tortures of the creative mind! Er, the wannabe creative mind.

While we worked, and sipped wine and took hearty bites of freshly baked brownies, it was dang near impossible not to be swept up in the creative wave.

Even the most artistically defunct will feel like a crafting master here.

And to prevent a resin disaster, Deb keeps an eye out.

We all managed to put together our own two individual pieces. Jolene created a patriotic pendant of the Statue of Liberty - complete with bright beads on the torch and a blue ring on her finger.

Sarah used photos from a recent trip abroad and Karen created an inspirational collage of words.

I went the "creepy lurker" route, combining a sketch I found in the bins with some foliage cut from page on botony.

I wear it with pride.

For all the upcoming classes, check the Artascope schedule or look 'em up on facebook.

And if you're more of a "buyer" rather than a "creator," hit the Summer Sale at Artascope on August 1st from 10am-4pm. Details in the Artascope blog.