Weft is a free monthly craft night for grown-ups who miss making things with their hands, who crave community but don’t know where to find it, and who want to be around people doing things just because they love to. It’s held the last Tuesday of every month at Spiva Center for the Arts, and each night offers a new project, from indigo dyeing to zine making, eraser stamps to collage club collabs. You can bring a friend or come alone and leave with one. No experience needed, no pressure to be “good,” and no cost to attend — just a space to try, make, and be.
Weft started with me and a friend realizing that the kind of space we’d always longed for in Joplin didn’t exist, so we decided to build it. The seeds were planted over a decade ago, when we were teenagers taking weekly art classes at Spiva. But this idea isn’t just ours. The dream of a cozy, low-barrier, community-rooted creative space has lived in so many people’s hearts for so long. Weft is what happens when those threads finally start to weave together into something we hope feels deeply grounding, playful, and nourishing.
We want Weft to grow into more than just a once-a-month event. Our hope is to build real creative momentum, offer a soft landing for anyone feeling disconnected, intimidated, or new to the area, and help bridge the gap between Spiva and the vibrant local DIY scene. Down the line, we’re dreaming of a space of our own. But for now, you’ll find us here, one Tuesday at a time, weaving something together.
Spiva Center for the Arts is a non-profit art gallery working to make art accessible to all. Donations of any size help guarantee the sustainability of programs like this.
Sign up but can’t make it? No worries! Please call us at 417-621-9813 to let us know or email our Education Director at dhernandez@spivaarts.org so we can open a spot up to someone on the waitlist.
