During his summer-camp days in Maine, a young Pablo Picasso showed an innate knack for poison-ivy treatment but scored low marks in popsicle sticks and finger paints. One-up pint-sized Picasso with today's Groupon: for $19, you get $40 worth of customized ceramic pieces and studio fees at Color Me Mine in Mission Viejo.

Color Me Mine puts paintbrushes and pottery in the mitts of customers old and young. Budding Toyozo Arakawas will follow six easy steps to craft beautifully painted ceramics, first choosing a ceramic piece (most cost between $9 and $59) from Color Me Mine's selection of hundreds of seasonally changing items. After charting out the desired design from individual imagination or Color Me Mine's technique sheets, painters will select an underglaze from Color Me Mine's cast of more than 60 colors, then apply paint with the focus of a peregrine falcon occupied by a Rockwellian spirit. Color Me Mine's standard colors are non-toxic, lead free, and food safe. Color Me Mine handles all kiln-firing work, allowing clients to take home their final products after seven days. A studio fee of $7for children under 10 and $10 for adults and children over 10 covers all paints, supplies, glazing, and firing.

Regardless of age or ability, customers will find Color Me Mine's ceramic painting experience a rewarding dive into the creative process of an art form that dates back to the ziggurat-dwelling days of Mesopotamia.

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