Things to Do in Beecher

Unpainted figurines and pottery pieces stand in single-file lines on the pine shelves of Haze Ceramics and More, patiently waiting for guests to brandish paint-dipped brushes and embellish their blank surfaces with artistry. The studio's instructors lead classes and special events throughout the week, demonstrating techniques for mixing colors and achieving a variety of smooth or grainy textures. Aside from giving children and adults the chance to select a ceramic coffee mug, coin tray, or spiked mace from the studio’s expansive collection, classes include all glazes, paints, and firing fees. Special events, such as ladies' night, fuel outbursts of creativity with wine and snacks, and private parties clear out the room so that birthday boys and girls can gleefully bash away at terra-cotta piñatas.

Nestled within a two-story brick house-turned-knitting shop, Charlene Hatfield helps fabricteers weave their marks with an assortment of classes and needlework supplies. An instructor certified by the Yarn Council of America, she offers tips and techniques on the craft and leads classes on topics that include crocheting, cross-stitching, and knitting. She stocks her shop with an extensive selection of fibers to ensure customers won't have to search the ends of the earth for a particular style of thread or surreptitiously unravel the socks of strangers on the bus.

Bounce Around Rental spices up gatherings with bright red, yellow, and blue bounce houses that let partygoers of all ages popcorn about to their heart’s content. The company, certified by the Safe Inflatables Operators Training Organization, dispatches staff members who promptly set up inflatable structures before birthday bashes or extraterrestrial welcome parties, then return after the event to efficiently disassemble and whisk away the structures. In between visits, jumpers can ricochet until they’re out of breath, play lively games of tag, and clamber up a blue incline while grasping yellow, red, and green handholds before whooshing down the slide.

A reiki healer and fifth-generation painter, Hannah Manges believes in the power of intuition, such as when she sensed that what her adult art students needed most was to finger paint. Though she's classically trained, Manges never cared for the rigidity and competitiveness that often characterized the art industry. She further saw that teaching her adult students in a classical tradition took the joy out of things; most of them were there to try something new and expand themselves, not master technique. So during a class in which her students struggled to find joy in their work, she put their canvases away and grabbed a stack of paper plates. Thus began her BYOB finger-painting class, which has evolved into an experience in which people "kick off their shoes, have some wine, and have some fun."

Though the BYOB finger-painting course remains among her most popular—it's earned recognition in local press, such as the Midland Daily News—Manges leads other classes that range from couples' painting workshops to watercolor for beginners. She also teaches art via her television series, Painting Pictures with Hannah Manges, on Midland Community Television Network Channel 99. "I'm becoming a celebrity to all the 80-year-old women in town who read the paper and watch public television," she laughs.

To further encourage students and visitors to become more comfortable with art, Manges posts signs throughout her gallery that say, "Please touch everything." She encourages everyone to fully experience each piece of her art, which includes The Healing Tree series, a collection Manges began to connect with her deceased mother.