The Answers to Your Questions

"Where are you moving?"

Finally, the search over! 

Bear Hands hopes to be completely moved into our new location, 1208 Pollock Street, by Mid August. We would love to be able to hold our Student Art Show in our new store so that you can celebrate this transition with us. 

Its been a long search, and we are so thankful for the support that you have shown us for this transition. 

1208 Pollock Street

Our lovely new location will be on Pollock Street, right beside the Ghent Sandwich Shop! We are excited to be able to get in there and make it our own. This was my personal favorite location out of the buildings that we were looking at. 

"What about the frame shop?"

The Framing Ladies will be moving "Ballentyne Framing and Art" to 220 Craven Street, across the street from Mitchel's Hardware. They' will be moving their business in June. We are so excited for them!

"What is Bear Hands going to be?"

Bear Hands Art Factory is going to continue to be a fully equipped, growing, thriving pottery studio.  The studio will offer memberships, kind of like a gym, and new classes for members and non-members. We will still be able to provide potters in the community with quality clay, glazes, and tools. We hope that this new studio will attract more potters to the New Bern area, and draw in renowned potters to teach classes and workshops.

We will also have a large classroom where I will be teaching art classes for kids of all ages. Over the years, I have seen a need for art classes for younger children, so I hope to create programs for kids starting at age 3, and to run more classes, painting workshops, and events.

We will also be hosting some wonderful "Painting and Wine" events for adults on Friday and Saturday Nights! I am thrilled to welcome Sandy Bruno and Beth Conley to our teaching team to teach these fun painting events. 

We will also be teaching painting parties for kids on Saturday Afternoons for kids and young people!

As always, thank you for your continued support and encouragement as we grow our business to better serve the needs of  New Bern's art community.

~Hannah Mathiot,
Art Teacher 

Experience Art

At Bear Hands Art Factory, we expose kids to real, quality art materials. Our students use the same clay as our professional potters. Our students use the same quality paints and canvas as the local artists who shop with us. When your kids make art at Bear Hands, you can be sure that they are learning to create with real art materials.

Our Schedule of Classes 

Painted Stained Glass Windows

I did this project with my kids in my mixed media painting class on Friday. 

 I created a template with a few simple lines that formed a little bird sitting in a tree. I printed out enough for my class and taped them against the front side of a document frame. 

I gave my kids sharpie markers and had them trace the bird onto the back of the glass. Then, they used Galleria Acrylic paints to paint in each section of the glass. Its okay if they paint over the lines that they drew, because the line still shows up on the other side of the glass. 

When they are finished, we removed the bird templates and held their pictures up to the light. This was a win-win project. The kids really enjoyed the process, and the results were beautiful! 

Jimmy shows off his painting. 

Emma and her fantastic painting.

I will be doing this project again many times! Hopefully in a Saturday Kids' Painting Club event!

Student Art Show, August 10th

If your child is taking part in our Summer Camps this year, they should also participate in our Student Art show. Allowing kids showcase their work in an art show is a great way to give them confidence as an artist. When I was younger, I took part in a kids' art show at the local library, where I sold my first painting, and took my first commission. I was thrilled! I felt like a real artist and gained confidence in my work.

I want our students at Bear Hands to have the same kind of opportunity. This art show is free entry for anyone who participates in our Summer Camps. We want to hold the show at our new location, although we are not sure yet where that will be! Stay tuned in to our email newsletters, blog, or website to find out.

I'm excited to see the artwork that our kids will produce in these classes.

~Hannah Mathiot
Art Teacher

2013 student art show from Hannah Mathiot

Materials Liquidation Starts Today

Hi All,
Materials at Bear Hands are 50% off for the next two weeks with this Customer Loyalty Discount Card. We want our loyal customers to have the chance to get any materials they want before we start to advertise our liquidation. So come on in during our two week sale and get the materials you need!

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to find out about our new location!
~Hannah C. Mathiot