Education & Classes in Blaine

Named one of 2012's top 100 five-star bicycle retailers in the United States by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Penn Cycle & Fitness has helped its customers enjoy smooth cycling for more than 50 years. From spare parts to automobile racks, the shop carries a large assortment of bike-riding gear for casual and serious excursions, while also offering repairs. During repair classes, the staff imparts its knowledge of bicycle mechanics onto pupils, who walk away from the 90-minute sessions with the ability to adjust brakes, fix faulty chains, and recite owners’ manuals backwards.

Current and former military and law enforcement officers comprise the staff of instructors at Blue Line Defense, who aim to increase firearm awareness and the training level of the general public with each class they teach. The course list runs the gamut from introductory defensive handgun lessons to women's self defense and advanced group training classes. The site also provides firearm-related resources for the community, such as familiarization with use-of-force laws, firearm-sales intricacies, and gun-naming dos and don’ts. Blue Line also regularly participates in fundraisers and charities to help give back to the community.

Swift Music wants its students to forge a relationship with music, no matter their level of engagement. Whether students want to learn a few simple licks, pursue a professional career, or simply play music as a stress reliever, instructors await with the knowledge and patience to help them reach their goals. The bustling building teems with students working in seven lesson rooms and two ensemble rooms, and it entertains visitors in a waiting area stocked with complimentary drinks and wireless Internet. Axe men and women can also bring instruments to the Swift’s in-house repair shop, where technicians can correct a guitar’s faulty bridge.

Started in 1998, Fired Up Studios has quickly evolved from a small pottery studio to an art center with classes and a gallery. Despite this growth, its mission remains the same: to raise the spirits of anyone who enters. In the 7,200-square-foot studio, experienced potters provide a judgment-free creative outlet for students and visiting artists alike, inviting them to have fun and experiment with the studio's collection of pottery wheels, kilns, and glazes. These potters also teach students how to throw clay, shape up elegant bowls and vases, and sculpt pixelization onto nude figures.

In the midst of an industry so saturated in emerging technology that fierce competition is law, the Twin Cities Photography Group operates as a cooperative to nurture the artistic development and technical skills of amateur and professional photographers. To expand the photographic community and foster a passion for creativity, the group keeps a clean studio space for picture snappers to host shoots and workshops.

Skilled instructors educate the public on basic photography fundamentals and camera-specific tips that allow students to get the most from advanced equipment without threatening to cut its weekly allowance. Regular meet ups assemble members for photo walks at area parks and photogenic seasonal events, such as air shows and free outdoor concerts.

The designer of eight Peanuts and Diggin' Dinos statues that dot various sidewalks in St. Paul and also the recipient of praise from publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Shane Anderson began his artistic journey doodling expressive cartoons on the covers of his middle-school notebooks. With an eye for detail and bold colors stitched into each of his whimsical drawings, Shane creates layered 3-D work, such as an original painting for the St. Paul Winter Carnival, as well as graffiti-esque pieces that appear on city walls or the exterior of his mother's refrigerator. His distinctive style inspires students of all levels, who glean artistic tidbits from him as they learn to sketch from their own inimitable perspectives.