Some say stone carving is a dying art, but you couldn't tell at the Crucible, the educational foundry and arts facility where experienced practitioners and novices can master the tricks of various trades, learning everything from how to get around a machine shop to welding metal, forging steel, blowing glass, and crafting neon sculptures. One of the only places in the Bay Area to learn stone carving and the fiery arts of blacksmithing and welding, the rambling East Bay warehouse comes equipped with its own gallery, metal fabrication shop, and sculpture studio. Thanks to industrial partnerships and a thriving community of volunteers who trade teaching for studio time, classes for the general public are much cheaper than those at typical art schools. For example "Stonecarving Italian Style," a 10-week course on the basics of stoneworking and traditional hand-carving, will set you back just $320.