workshops

We have some exciting workshops scheduled for 2010. To register for any of these workshops, please download a workshop registration form. Workshops are open to members and non-members. If you need a place to stay, please contact us.

Paperclay with Luca Tripaldi

Students will explore the many possibilities of paperclay in this 2 day hands on workshop  Luca will teach the class how to make paperclay and paperclay sheets and then how to build complex pieces from them.  The class will learn to build objects using cardboard structures  and will create a piece using a paperclay slip and a trailer on plaster moulds.

Raku with Bill Shillalies

3 WORKSHOP DATES for Hands on raku, sagger & horsehair firing workshops. Participants should bring lots of bisque ware. Pots for Raku should be no larger than 6" to 8". Pots for horsehair or sagger should be burnished round shapes. Use groggy stoneware or raku clay.

Workshop with Jeff Shapiro

This 2 day workshop will address the aesthetic and technical issues of making ceramic objects. Jeff Shapiro has been working in clay for over 30 years and 9 of those years were spent in Japan. He embraces the Japanese sensitivity to the imperfections of Nature as another perspective on beauty.

Workshop demonstrations:
*Foot wedging, rough wedging by hand (to mix 100 pound batches of mixed ingredients) spiral wedging
*Soft clay throwing and altering, soft and spontaneous trimming
*Tea bowls and sake cups
*Slab fabrication/construction
* Tall slab triangular bottle
* Altered forms from the extruder

Topics to be discussed during the workshop:

*The Japanese aesthetic
*The approach of ‘letting things happen vs forcing them to happen’
*Romanticism vs pragmatism in the artistic endeavor
*Problem solving

Tool Making with Hayne Bayless

This 1 day hands on workshop includes:
* How to make customized extruder dies using tools and materials found at any hardware store
* How to make your own hand tools and modify those you have to suit your individual needs

* Limited to 8 participants

Workshop fees must be paid at least one month in advance to reserve space or workshop may be cancelled.