In a McMinnville warehouse crowded with machines, Halloween props, and half-finished creations, four people work silently, molding clay into monster-themed bowls in a class called “Geomancy 101: Mud Skull VooDoo.”

It’s a typical offering in an untypical makerspace: Astro-Zombie Bio-Labs, LLC, which seeks to provide a safe haven for all to practice the weird and wacky.

Matthew Taylor, a mental-health therapist based in Marion County, started Astro-Zombie in 2023 as a workshop for creatives, accessible via a monthly subscription. In 2024, he transitioned to paid classes, starting with a build-your-own laser turret class.

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“I wanted this space to be about silly goofiness. I thought it was a fun name, very punk rock, [inspired by] the band the Misfits.” The name also pays tribute to the bad sci-fi movies of the 1950s, “even though I know they’re terrible,” he added.

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Today, Astro-Zombie serves a largely neurodivergent clientele, with classes that range from ceramics to sew-your-own cryptid (think the Loch Ness Monster or Chupacabra) stuffie to “Mad Science 101,” an introduction to circuits, soldering, programming, and constructing mechatronics. Fees range from $60 to $120 for a set of classes over one month; in addition, an open lab from 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays provides a place for people to sculpt, paint, or indulge in other artistic pursuits for a $10 drop-in fee.

“The program is designed as a third space for neurodivergent people,” said Taylor, who has ADHD and works with neurodivergent individuals in his practice. “There’s not a lot of spaces for that, for people to feel safe doing whatever weird stuff they do. We’ve had kids as young as 8, folks with cerebral palsy, and more. I wanted to make a space that is not inclusive but instead based around inclusivity — I would almost say we’re neurotypical inclusive.”

The program is neurodivergent friendly, but students are often accompanied by their neurotypical siblings, parents, or friends. Most of the classes are taught by outside artists who collaborate with Taylor. “I want to create opportunities, but also helping people in this way is how I enjoy myself. It isn’t too distant from my clinical work,” said Taylor, who has recently taken up sculpting shrunken heads in the background of lessons.

Classes have included sewing, wiring, and mechatronics. Taylor said other instructors have approached him about teaching found-object art and needlepoint. “I am open to anything, as long as it has a curriculum I can get behind. I am not a nonprofit, but I also don’t care about profit. I would like for it to pay for itself — it’s currently not — but still, the point of this is supporting other people through art. That is important to me, and it’s how I give back,” Taylor said.

Mia Sublett, a recent McMinnville High School graduate, has been teaching ceramics as part of the Geomancy class series since April. When Taylor posted the instructor opening on Facebook, Sublett jumped at the opportunity and within a couple of months she was teaching.

Sublett said teaching at Astro-Zombie was a great opportunity to continue her craft, while helping the community. “I really like teaching the smaller classes, since I can really get into it and get to know” the students, she said. She added that “large classes are great, since there is so much life in them, and I just love watching people have fun. I love ceramics, and I said, ‘Why not teach people who love to learn.’”

Besides catering to a love of learning, the classes can provide an opportunity for family togetherness. On Astro-Zombies’ Facebook page, Martin Solano of McMinnville wrote of “Mad Science 101”: “I took this class with my nephew.  It was a great bonding experience.”

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In an industrial park smushed between auto shops and construction companies, the space — identified by Astro-Zombies’ colorful and cartoony logo — is packed with 3D printers, laser engravers, a CNC machine (a computer-controlled machining tool), pottery wheels, kilns, ceramic 3D printers, tufting guns, and more.

“I had an uncle who created a makerspace in Topeka, and he gifted me a 3D printer over quarantine,” said Taylor, who works with kids with disabilities and adults with mental health issues. “I kickstarted things by getting stuff I thought would be cool to work with kids in therapy. And then the boxes just kept coming, and coming, and coming, and I realized I had a lot of stuff. I didn’t have enough space, or enough time to learn all of it, so I thought it would be cool to have a space where I would like to go if I had less resources, to have access to these things.”

Astro-Zombie may face a pause in the immediate future, Taylor said, because of family health issues, but he hopes that down the road, he can expand the program with classes in different mediums.  He has some projects of his own to wrap up, including machining a goblin to ride his taxidermied antelope.

“This was all born from a punk rock sense of ‘I don’t need to know how to do it, I just need the time to learn.’ And then I just went from there,” Taylor said. “I’m really open to anything.”