GREAT ESCAPE: Blue Dog Arts Café

Craft time isn’t just for kids anymore.

With a one-of-a-kind little place like the Blue Dog Arts Café in Bel Air, letting your inner artist out for a great escape this week is a masterpiece of an idea.

My recent trip to Blue Dog Arts Café started with picking a piece of unglazed pottery (commonly known as bisque) to paint. Thanks to the many choices, my mind was racing with the creative possibilities. Fortunately, my inspiration for being there—making a few Mother’s Day gifts—helped me maintain focus on the task at hand.  

The next step, choosing paints, was made much easier with the expert assistance of the staff member there. Because the color of your pottery after it has been glazed and fired will be different from paint color you see in the bottle, you’ll want to choose your paint carefully. This is also the point at which you will want to abandon any perfectionist tendencies you may have.

What makes this a great escape is getting in touch with your inner child who creates for the sake of creating—not just for the finished product.

I was amazed at how easy it was to get lost in my creations after I started. Forty-five polka dots, 16 stripes and a few diagonal lines later, my hands were speckled and smeared with paint (the messier the better) and I was pleased. In fact, I was so much at ease that I was helpless against the aroma of coffee and homemade baked goods coming into the art studio from the café. You will be too.

The colorful Art Deco-inspired décor coupled with the food and drink options (including year-round snowballs) make Blue Dog Arts Café a cozy destination.  Taking the time to transform a piece of pottery while you’re there will give you the chance (you deserve) to slow down and unwind. After all, why should our kids have all the fun with paint and paintbrushes?

Address:  802 Conowingo Rd. (Dell Plaza), Bel Air, MD

Phone Number: 410-420-2371

Website: www.bluedogartscafe.com

Unique Feature: Friendly drive-up service for food and drink items

Offerings: Blue Dog Arts Café is a venue for birthday parties, girlfriends' nights out, art classes and summer camps.