Collaborative artistic communities are known for their aesthetic disagreements, passionate participants, and unforgettable parties featuring Slip 'N Slides greased with oil paint. Join in innovative recreation with today's Groupon: for $25, you get entry to a one-day workshop at the San Diego Art Department (up to a $65 value). This Groupon is not valid for the Get It While It's Hot: The Art of Encaustic Painting workshop, but can be used toward an upgrade for this workshop ($150).

A program of the nonprofit San Diego Art Institute, the San Diego Art Department enlightens craftspeople of all proficiencies in a collaborative community led by accomplished instructors. Choose from more than a dozen workshops, such as the wood-collage workshop on Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., which takes recycled materials and everyday objects and transforms them into abstract, 3-D art pieces (a $40 value). Fingers rejoice after donning textured décor shaped at the silver-ring workshop on Sunday, June 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (a $55 value). The personal-watercolor-journal session on Sunday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. whisks aspiring artists through the fundamentals of sketching, drawing, proper brush stroking, and color blending, allowing them to create striking depictions of their favorite landscapes or most-admired Geraldo mustache (a $40 value). Other workshops include the art of basket weaving (a $65 value), bookmaking (a $55 value), and mixed media with oil pastels (a $45 value).