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Four ways to get red

Annual summer workshops listings

the Archie Bray Foundation turns 60

Working with local clay and making roadside glazes

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www.ceramicsmonthly.org april 2011 1

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This new generation of Bailey ENERGY SAVERgas kilns produces consistently reliable & beautifulreduction or oxidation firings. It can be manuallyfired or program fired, and it even allows delayedstarts so your kiln is at body reduction first thing inthe morning!

Britt & Bailey WorkshopRenowned potter, John Britt, has written what is arguably the most com-prehensive book on high fire glazes. During this inspiring workshop, hewill provide an overview of cone 10 ceramic glazes and theory designedfor beginner to intermediate potters. He will discuss cones, kilns, & firingdynamics. Emphasis will be placed on how to achieve shinos, copperreds, ash, celadon, temmoku, and oil spots glazes. Participants will beable to bring bisque pieces which will be glazed Friday evening and firedin a Bailey Kiln for shino carbon trap, celadon, and copper red glazes.

Jim Bailey started Bailey Pottery Equipment back in 1976. He is well known for hisinnovative pottery equipment and fuel efficient gas kilns. During the workshop, Jim will beexplaining firing theory, the use of oxygen probes, CO2 analyzers, reduction and oxidationstrategies. Use of data loggers for recording oxygen & temperature levels, and theprogramming of the new Bailey Advanced Logic Kiln Controller will be explained in detail.

This exciting workshop will begin on Friday evening on June 3rd, with a glazing session andstacking of the kiln. Saturday will include lectures, slides presentation, glazing techniques,hands-on burner demonstrations, and reduction firing techniques. The kiln will be opened onSunday so participants can take home their work.

Space is limited. Reserve Now!

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2 april 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.org

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Ceramics:Post-DigitalDESIGNCeramics: Post-digital Design places the ceramic work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, producing clean, simplistic forms that integrate with nature. The emphasis of producing limited-edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the mid-century modern design movement, or pays a tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.

April 23: Open to the public: 12 noon-5 pm

May 7: Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey Ceramics Inc. Production Warehouse. 10-11 am Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909)865-3146 or by email: [email protected] May 14: Opening Reception 6-9 pm in conjunction with Pomona’s Second Saturday Art Walk

May 21: Family Day: Making molds! 1-4 pm

June 4: Educator’s Night and AMOCA Docent Recruitment. 6-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: [email protected]

June 11: 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD

Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011April 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011Opening Reception May 14, 6-9 pmApril 23 through June 25th, 2011

Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Ceramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalCeramics:Post-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalPost-DigitalDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNDESIGNCeramics: Post-digital Designwork of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born Ceramics: Post-digital Designwork of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born Ceramics: Post-digital Designwork of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born Ceramics: Post-digital Designwork of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born Ceramics: Post-digital Design places the ceramic work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born

places the ceramic work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born

places the ceramic work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born

places the ceramic work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers who favor a minimalist aesthetic, producing clean, simplistic forms that integrate with nature. The emphasis of producing limitededition multiples through the use of molds,

producing clean, simplistic forms that integrate with nature. The emphasis of producing limitededition multiples through the use of molds,






producing clean, simplistic forms that integrate with nature. The emphasis of producing limited-edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the midcentury modern design movement, or pays a

edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the midcentury modern design movement, or pays a





edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the midcentury modern design movement, or pays a century modern design movement, or pays a tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style.tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model

April 23: Open to the public: 12 noon-5 pm

Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey

Open to the public: 12 noon-5 pm









Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey May 7:Ceramics Inc. Production Warehouse. 10-11 am Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909)

Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey Ceramics Inc. Production Warehouse. 10-11 am Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909)





Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey Ceramics Inc. Production Warehouse. 10-11 am Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909)865-3146 or by email: [email protected]

May 14:

865-3146 or by email: [email protected]

Opening Reception 6-9 pm in conjunction












Opening Reception 6-9 pm in conjunction with Pomona’s Second Saturday Art Walk

May 21:

with Pomona’s Second Saturday Art Walk

Family Day: Making molds! 1-4 pm











June 4:Recruitment. 6-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by calling

Educator’s Night and AMOCA Docent Recruitment. 6-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by calling



Educator’s Night and AMOCA Docent Recruitment. 6-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: [email protected] Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: [email protected] Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: [email protected] Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: [email protected] Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email:


Educator’s Night and AMOCA Docent Recruitment. 6-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by calling Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email: Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email:

June 11: 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD 2nd Saturday Lecture Series: 6 pm TBD

Peter Saenger

Heather M

ae Erickson

David Pier

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Publisher Charles SpahrEditorial

[email protected]: (614) 794-5867fax: (614) 891-8960editor Sherman Hallassociate editor Jessica Knappassistant editor Holly Goringeditorial assistant Erin Pfeifertechnical editor Dave Finkelnburgonline editor Jennifer Poellot Harnetty

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Editorial Advisory BoardLinda Arbuckle; Professor, Ceramics, Univ. of FloridaScott Bennett; Sculptor, Birmingham, AlabamaVal Cushing; Studio Potter, New YorkDick Lehman; Studio Potter, IndianaMeira Mathison; Director, Metchosin Art School, CanadaBernard Pucker; Director, Pucker Gallery, BostonPhil Rogers; Potter and Author, WalesJan Schachter; Potter, CaliforniaMark Shapiro; Worthington, MassachusettsSusan York; Santa Fe, New Mexico

Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly, except July and August, by Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of The American Ceramic Society, 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and additional mailing offices.

Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American Ceramic Society.

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editorial10 From the Editor Sherman Hall

12 letters

techno file14 Four Ways to Red by Dave FinkelnburgOne of the most difficult colors to achieve in ceramics may not be as tough as you thought—as long as you choose the right method for your work.

recipes Low-Fire Red, Iron Red, Copper Red, Chrome/Tin Red

tips and tools16 Foot Pedal Extruder by David D’UrsoIncrease your mechanical advantage with a little extra leverage.

exposure18 Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

glaze53 Roadside Glazes by John BrittIf someone left a perfectly good glaze on the side of the road, wouldn’t you pick it up and use it? Good news: geology has done exactly that!

recipes Tenmoku, Oil Spot, Ash, and Celadon

reviews56 Ò BAm Biennial 2010: Clay throwdownÓThe biennial exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle, Washington, focuses on ceramics. Reviewed by Matthew Kangas

resources72 Summer WorkshopsA comprehensive listing of educational (and vacational) opportunities.

77 Call for EntriesInformation on submitting work for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals.

78 ClassifiedsLooking to buy? Looking to sell? Look no further.

79 Index to Advertisers

spotlight80 A tale of Adventure by Rebecca HarveyTwo artists set parameters in order to discover a battle against the arch nemesis Mediocrity, with a secret lab, a fetching scientist, and an active volcano—told in graphic novel format, on clay cups, and on Twitter.

19

contents april 2011 volume 59, number 4


news:geology


clay culture26 From Center to Edge The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts celebrates 60 years. Images made by visiting photographer Nelson Guda present a complex and engaging portrait of both the historic and modern aspects of a clay center that has changed with the times.

30 Back to BasicsBiomedical researchers use ceramic “ink” and origami techniques to make complex structures meant for use in the lab (and the human body) that may well have interesting uses in creative exploration.

32 learning with WoodA survey of wood firing in US academic institutions of higher learning “takes the temperature” of the status, efficacy, and interest in wood as a firing fuel and as an aesthetic approach.

34 A Blog Worth ReadingThere are many blogs worth reading, but this one in particular resonates with the fundamental culture of clay from the perspective of a maker born in one culture, and living and working in another.

studio visit36 Guillermo Cuellar, Shafer, minnesotaBeginning his pottery career in his native Venezuela, a potter figuratively and literally follows the work that resonates with him, culminating in a move that affects his lifestyle as well as his livelihood.

features40 local Clay by David PetersAs recently as half a century ago, most pottery (even in industry) was made using materials that were local to the site of manufacture. Today, even though our prepackaged materials are a click away, many folks are coming back to materials closer to home.

44 my own Backyard by Robert BalabanAn interest in environmental impact and cost savings leads one potter to poke around his neighborhood to see what he could use in the studio. He was surprised to end up with unique materials from his own backyard.

48 Big Creek Pottery by Karen Thuesen MassaroThe first residential pottery school and workshop center on the US West Coast was open for a short 16 years, but it leaves a long legacy, especially for those who found it to be their singular resource for utilitarian training.

48cover Front: Seated Woman, by Kensuke Yamada, 2008. Rear: Light Cistern, constructed of small wooden pallets that the sewer tile and brick used to be stacked on in the brick factory, by Nicholas Bonner, 1992; installed in the historical tile factory drying shed at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana; see page 26. Photo: Nelson Guda.



from the editorrespond to [email protected]

to define my own perspective has forced me to realize that my point of view is perhaps a bit different than I once thought it was. This has become much more obvious after having gone through this recent redesign. We had so many discussions on staff here about which way to go, what direction to follow, and how best to serve what each of us thinks are the most important needs of the readership. And at the risk of looping this all back to Mark and laying it at his feet, there certainly is a connection between the somewhat sweeping changes we have

made, and that one conversation a few years ago. It seems almost comical that just one person telling me what he thought would be a good idea changed my mind about starting a new section of the magazine, but that’s exactly what happened. In fairness, some members of our editorial advisory board had brought it up previously, but Mark said it not so much as a wise structural or editorial

strategy, it was because he was personally interested in my perspective and what I might have to say. Now, maybe he’s just an expert at flattery, to which I say, “well done, Mr. Issenberg,” but I think he really wanted to see something in the magazine he had not seen before.

So, we hope you see something on the following pages that you like and you haven’t seen before, but we realize that can’t possibly be true for all of you, and you may even find something you don’t like, and don’t want to see, in which case you should let me know and I’ll give you Mark’s email address.

vinced me that I didn’t need to have a fully formed agenda or a backlog of letters ready to go, I just needed to start writing. This is so different from anything else we do in making magazines, and I have to say it still makes me nervous every time I sit down to a blank page and start writing after the magazine has been put together, with no specific plan or agenda. It seems so simple now that I should approach this with a curious intent, and it has become progressively more natural over time—at least it feels that way to me. That said, I

do have a few tricks to get me started. At first, I would actually pretend I was writing to Mark, and I may have actually joked to him that I would be writing these to him specifically, and that he should read them that way. I don’t know if he does that, but I hope that he won’t mind (and you won’t mind) that I use him as a stand-in for the rest of you from time to time.

Something I did not realize until recently, which I bet even Mark hadn’t considered at the time he suggested I write this column, is that this exercise might turn out to be a very positive experience me, personally. Sure, I spend a fair amount of time pulling at my hair, rewriting, crumpling imaginary sheets of paper and throwing them onto an imaginary pile of previous efforts, but the truth is that trying

When I first started writing this column (not this particular column, but this col-umn in general) I almost titled it “Letter to Mark” instead of “From the Editor.” Now, I’m sure some of you are named Mark—maybe even a lot of you—but probably not enough to warrant the switch. Plus, I had one particular Mark in mind at the time, and that would be Mark Issenberg. He’s a potter who lives in Rising Fawn, Georgia, and operates Lookout Mountain Pottery (www.lookoutmountainpottery.com). Once upon a time, when he was the president of the board of the Potters Council, and we were both attending the Arrowmont Utilitarian Clay Symposium, we had a conversa-tion during which I asked him what he thought could make the magazine better. He said I should write a letter to the readers in every issue. Of course, I was hoping he would say something like, “Just keep do-ing more of what you’re doing; it’s great—maybe more pictures would be nice.” But he didn’t say that; he said the very thing I had been pondering and did not want to pursue because of my then short-term perspective that only took into account the time and effort it would take; not what Mark likely already knew, which was that an honest presentation of my perspective from “behind the pages of the magazine” would point out for all of you considerate people that this magazine is for you, from people like you. (He may also have said some thing like, “You’re such a nice guy, and you have such fascinating things to say; how could you deprive the readers of that?” That could be a bit of creative memory on my part, but I prefer to recall it that way.)

In the end, Mark’s encouragement pushed me to start the column and con-

“It seems almost comical that just one person telling me what he thought would be a good idea changed my mind about starting a new section of the magazine, but that’s exactly what happened.”



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lettersemail [email protected]

The CM RedesignWhen I received the magazine in the mail, my first thought was “I don’t subscribe to this.” But I realized I do! It looks and feels fantastic. I love the clean font on the front cover and I love the texture as well. Potters are tactile, you know! More importantly, though, is what goes into a magazine. Some of the art is egotistical, and I realize that’s the nature of humans. Some of the art is transcendent and that is the nature of nature. It’s all fun to look at and learn from. Keep up the good work and many more years of publishing.

Lauren Helfand, Alameda, California

Congrats on the new look, I like the different sections identified and some how-to items. I must admit that I concur with Rebecca Fraser in the March issue of letters [regarding variation in Studio Visits]. Maybe you have achieved what the intent of CM is supposed to be and don’t cater so much to the private potter like myself. There have been some good ideas over the years, and I have at least 12–14 years of the back issues I keep for that very reason. So keep up the good work and send those formulas for us amateurs out here to play around with.

Cliff Bennett, Wenatchee, Washington

You have produced the most awesome and sensuous texture and surface I have ever felt on a magazine cover. I would love to be able to reproduce that feeling on some of my pots. It would be a great selling point; the pot not only speaks to you, but holds your hands, too.

David Munz, Oronoco, Minnesota

The current issue may be the most beautiful issue in twenty years. Well done.

John Bauman, Warsaw, Indiana

Kudos to you all for the remake of CM! The relaunch edition is visually beautiful. The reorganization of content reflects the

progress CM has made towards remaining relevant and stimulating across a broad spectrum of the ceramic world.

This issue seems to confirm CM’s role also as an open place of discussion encour-aging many different points of view. The monthly publication allows more imme-diate exchanges of information and com-ment. The diversity of material, ranging from a Matthew Kangas review, to a Jack Troy article, and a letter by Ron Newsome, reflects a growing maturity of both the magazine and the field of ceramics.

With this, you also issue a clear chal-lenge and opportunity for the ceramic community to participate in the discus-sions and information that shape the “clay culture.” Many thanks for the thought and effort.

Jim Romberg, Abiquiu, New Mexico

Love the new look! I especially love the “Exposure” section, which highlights the work of various potters and sculptors. There are thousands and thousands of talented artists at work today and it is nice to see the work and names of people we don’t know but should; they are the future of ceramics. I also love “Clay Culture” and “Techno File,” which could be more hiply named “Tekno-Phile.” Looking Phat! The only thing I will miss is the “Comment.” Keep up the good work.

John Britt, Bakersville, North Carolina

Editor’s note: Lest you assume we are unfairly presenting these responses, we did receive some feedback critical of the redesign, but the authors requested that their comments not be published.

The Proof Is in the CarbonI was thrilled to read the article “Aesthet-ics and Environment, Kilns and Carbon,” by Denise Joyal in your February issue. As ceramists, we struggle with so many issues, be it the environment, ergonomics, or economics to name a few. I sometimes

wonder how anyone gets any work done! Denise’s article was so beneficial to those of us who are concerned about the health of our environment as well as our own. I have wondered over the years, what is my carbon footprint, and how can I minimize it? In the 1970s, I changed from cone 10 propane to cone 6 electric oxidation. This change was difficult at the time as there were few cone 6 glazes available and electric firing was consid-ered second rate—for hobbyists, not “real” potters. My aesthetic qualms subsided as I prevailed, developing many beautiful mid-range oxidation glazes, which I have used for the past 35 years, (see “The Oxidation Reverberation, How The Gas Crisis Of the 1970s Influenced American Ceramics,” CM, Sept. 2005, pp. 66–69). I have promoted electric kiln firing for the obvious reasons of being cost effective, and a political alterna-tive to fossil fuels, but now I see that it also offers a low carbon footprint.

When I moved to Maryland and realized that my entire home would be electric, I was concerned that our fuel prices would be very high. We found that we could opt into an electricity program that was wind power based, with a reduced rate. There are similar program in many areas. I hope your readers might benefit from my experience, as I feel that this has been one of the more important decisions I have made. After reading Denise’s article, now I am sure of it.

Jayne Schatz, Arnold, Maryland

Tantalizing E-lookThe Neanderthal woman is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of her CM hard copy after a peek at the new issue online. The new issue looks superb, but she still wants to hold it in her clay spattered hands. Thanks for letting her have it both ways.

CM is getting better and better each year—and my subscription started back in the dark ages of the late ’60s.

Carolyn Nygren Curran, New Bern, North Carolina




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Chinese ceramic lore includes the tragic tale of a potter who became so frustrated with his many failures to produce a red glazed pot for his emperor that he finally threw himself into his kiln. When the kiln cooled and was opened, so the tale goes, the finest red glazes were found. Modern materials make it considerably easier to produce red glazes, although challenges remain. Knowing the chemistry and firing requirements of the types of red glazes will save you from throwing yourself into your kiln.

teChno file

Defining the TermsStain—Essentially a frit made of colorant chemicals, compatible fluxes, and possibly glass formers, which has been melted, cooled, and pulverized to a fine powder.

Encapsulated Stain (Inclusion Pigments)—A new generation of stable stains made by melting metallic colorants with zirconium silicate, cooling the melt, and grinding the result to a fine powder. Because zirconium silicate is refractory, stains containing it can produce brighter colors up to cone 10 using pigments that would otherwise fade at high temperatures. These colors are safe to use in the studio.

Flux (molar) Unity or Seger Formula—The chemical composition, commonly of a fired glaze, expressed as one mole of total flux to the number of moles of all other ingredients in the glaze. The term ‘unity molecular formula’ does not specify whether the flux, alumina, or glass formers are in unity. Each can be at different times for different purposes, but flux unity is used almost universally by ceramic artists.

Selenium/Cadmium Red

The easiest, most reliable path to red is to use relatively recently developed cadmium inclusion stains. These stains also contain selenium combined with sulfur, and they will produce the full range of colors in the red spectrum from yellow through orange to brilliant red. They work in both translucent and opaque glazes, in oxidation and reduction firings, and at all firing temperatures.

Historically, cadmium and selenium have produced glamorous red glazes but only at low temperatures. The colorants burned out at higher kiln temperatures and the resulting red glazes were pale. The discovery of the encapsulation process (the of melting the colorants into a zirconium silicate glass at high temperatures) has now made the many hues of yellow through red reliable at temperatures through cone 10 in both oxidation

four ways to red by Dave Finkelnburg

Iron Red

Iron red glazes often have vibrant names like Tomato Red or Ketchup Red, and they are generally warm reds. The true reds are produced in oxidation around cone 5. By cone 10, they tend to turn toward orange or persimmon. High-iron glazes fired in heavy reduction will turn maroon to black.

Iron reds are mainly iron saturated, which means they contain between 5 and 10% iron oxide in the glaze recipe (most recipes use 7% or more). Iron reds with bone ash (calcium phosphate) as a source of phosphorous (phosphorous in general causes opalescence

and brighter colors) typically contain on the order of 10%.

Even considering the above specifications, there is wide variation in iron red recipes. Traditional persimmon or kaki recipes, for example, are very high in both alumina and silica but contain no phosphorous.

The source of iron oxide is important to the color produced and is possibly the most variable colorant used in glazes. The percentage of iron, particle size, and amount of clay, silica or other contaminants may be dramatically different from one source of iron oxide to another.

and reduction atmospheres. These stains are refractory at pottery temperatures and do not melt much, if at all. However, the manufacturers recommend that the stain not be ball milled.

As with lead, cadmium stains can produce food-safe colors. However as with lead, cadmium under certain circumstances can be leached from the fired glaze. A sample of any cadmium stain-tinted glaze used on potential food surfaces should be tested for leaching by a

qualified laboratory.Inclusion stains are

suitable for use in a wide variety of base glazes. The amount of stain to use must be determined by testing, because the base glaze and application thickness will influence

the fired results. Reds produced with these stains, while very reliable, tend to be flat and lack the variation produced when using oxides and/or atmospheric kilns.

iron red glaze Cone 10

Bone Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.91 %Pearl Ash (Potassium Carbonate) . 10.68Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.24Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.80Grolleg Kaolin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.92Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.45 100.00 %

Add: Red Iron Oxide (Spanish) . . . 9.71 %From Pete Scherzer, CM Sept. 2003

low-Fire Satin glaze Cone 04

Ferro Frit 3195 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 %Dolomite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30EPK Kaolin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 100 %Add: Encapsulated Mason Stain #6025 Coral Red . . . . . . . . . . . 15 %



Have a technical topic you want explored further in Techno File? Send us your ideas at [email protected].

Copper Red

Copper reds are achieved between cones 5 and 11 by reducing the copper (either copper oxide or copper carbonate) in the glaze. Only a small quantity of copper is necessary for this; 0.25% copper carbonate is sufficient, though more is often used. The red color is aided by the presence of a limited amount of tin. Iron can also help produce a red color in copper red glazes, but too much iron will lead to muddy reds.

The various hues of copper red are influenced by the amount of alumina, magnesium, and boron present in the glaze. High alumina tends to produce cooler reds, as does magnesium, while high boron produces warmer reds.

Copper red glazes tend to be somewhat fluid, so glaze runs should be guarded against in glaze application. Boron particularly enhances the fluidity at cone 10. Where copper reds flow off of rims or high points, they tend to turn white.

Oxidation copper reds in electric kilns are achieved by mixing a reducing agent, silicon carbide, with the copper in the glaze. Because

Chrome-Tin Pink

Chrome-tin pink glazes are, as their name implies, a combination of chrome and tin that produces somewhat cool reds from a light pink to a deep burgundy. The combination works well from low fire into the cone 6 range, but poorly above cone 9.

According to Cullen Parmelee in his book Ceramic Glazes, the glaze chemistry necessary is fairly specific: calcium is the most important flux because it gives the color a greater stability and a more fiery red color while sodium promotes yellow shades. Boron should be limited because it tends to shift the color toward purple. Additionally, if your base glaze contains barium, the color effects will be stronger in the absence of boron. Zinc should be avoided because chrome and zinc can interact to produce brown. High alumina works against the red. Because a glaze can dissolve some of the clay body, changing the alumina and flux content of the glaze, these glazes require careful testing.

A good starting point for creating a chrome-tin glaze at cone 6, in terms of flux unity, is from 0.7 to 0.9 moles CaO, from 0.1 to 0.3 moles alkalis, 0.25 to 0.3 moles Al2O3, not more than 0.25 moles

silicon carbide can be a source of glaze blisters and pinholing, its use presents its own set of problems in the studio.

At cone 10, any combination of glaze ingredients that contains, in terms of flux (molar) unity, 0.3 moles of alkalis, 0.7 moles of alkaline earths (preferably most or all as CaO), 0.4 moles of alumina, 3.5 moles of silica, 0.15 moles of B2O3, 1% tin, and 0.5 % copper carbonate can produce a fine copper red if properly fired.

Understanding and controlling the reduction atmosphere in a kiln to achieve copper reds is usually by far the most difficult part of working with this family of glazes. The glaze above is best if the kiln is placed in moderate reduction at cone 010 and held there until cone 9 drops. The kiln can then be soaked in oxidation until cone 10 is down. A smoky fire, as used with carbon trap glazes, is never necessary to

achieve copper reds. In fact, a sooty atmosphere in the kiln is likely to produce gray, dingy copper reds due to carbon trapping.

B2O3, 2.5 to 3 moles SiO2, up to 7.5% tin oxide, and not more than 0.5% of chrome oxide (0.15% is often enough).

A thin application of a chrome-tin glaze will tend toward gray rather than red. Close examination of the glaze with a magnifying glass will

reveal the red is present in small islands within a matrix of clear glass. This explains why a thicker application will produce more vibrant red. Chrome-tin pinks can be produced more reliably from commercial stains than from the raw materials, but stains are not required to produce this red.

Chrome-tin pinks present special challenges when working at cone 5–6, because chrome (either from chrome green glazes or chrome-tin reds) can vaporize at the peak of the firing and give a pink blush to adjacent ware with white glazes containing tin. Since tin is occasionally used as an opacifier, this is not an uncommon occurrence. This can be especially problematic

if working with commercial glazes where the full list of ingredients is not obvious.

Copper red #11 glazeCone 10 Reduction

Colemanite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.80 %Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.73Kona F-4 (sub Minspar 200) . . . . . 15.57Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.43English China Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.48Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.99 100.00 %

Add: Tin Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.72 % Copper Carbonate . . . . . . . . 0.42 %A vibrant red that may turn blue, green, or purple where thick; runs when thick. From Andy Cantrell, CM May 2000.

raSpberryCone 6

Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.0 %Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.0Ferro Frit 3134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.0OM-4 Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.0Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.0 100.0 %Add: Tin Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 %Chrome Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2 %This glaze often benefits from a controlled slow cooling. From Mastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth and Ron Roy.




I make hundreds of extrusions when making my pieces. I also suffer from carpal tunnel and arthritis symptoms, as my hand and wrist take a beating from pulling on the handle all the time. To alleviate the problem, I began searching for a solution beyond buying expensive hydraulic equipment. What I came up with is inexpensive, works very well, only takes an hour or so to build, and effectively transfers, all or most, of the pressure to the foot pedal rather than the handle. I mounted my extruder to a 2 in.×8 in.×7 ft. piece of wood and hinged a short length of a 2×6 in. board for the pedal at the bottom. The pedal is connected to the extruder handle by a cargo strap.

Most of the materials can be purchased easily at your local home store. The key component is the cargo strap. It works better than chains and ropes because it is strong, light weight, easily adjustable, inexpensive, and readily available. The problem with chain is that it collapses into an endless mess and is heavy and noisy, while cables and ropes are difficult to adjust to length.

To make the handle connection, drill a hole in the handle for a threaded link. The cargo strap is hooked onto the link. Adjust the length of the strap to raise the foot pedal to an appropriate height for the pulls.

Any sturdy hinge will work for the hinge assembly. Use at least a four inch screw-threaded eyebolt for the pedal connection.

If you’re familiar with extruding, you know that, once the barrel is filled and you’ve put the plunger/handle on, you work the system in a series of downward ratcheting operations, pulling down the handle as far as you can, re-adjusting the lever center and continuing on until you’ve emptied the barrel. On my system, I probably get about five full handle pulls and the length of the extrusion I need does not always coincide with a single pull. What this boils down to is that

foot pedal extruder by David DÕ Urso

tips and tools

you will, when adjusting the location of your lever/plunger, need to adjust the length of the cargo strap. This is where the adjustable strap becomes crucial.

As you work the system down to the end and have extruded all the clay, you remove the cargo strap with the hook and set it aside so you can remove the plunger. Once you’ve got the plunger/handle out you can re-load, set the plunger/handle back on, hook up the cargo strap, and start the process all over again.

Send your tip and tool ideas, along with plenty of images, to [email protected]. If we use your idea, you’ll receive a complimentary one-year subscription to CM!

1 Pedal connection with screw-threaded eyebolt. 2 Hinge assembly for foot pedal. 3 The handle connection with adjustable cable. 4 The foot pedal extruder at work.

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Potters love their clay tools and if there is anything they like more, it’s making their own tools. This extruder extension is the ultimate in bigger, better, and stronger homemade tools.

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http://www.sofaexpo.com/


for complete calendar listings see www.ceramicsmonthly.org

exposure

1 Liz Quackenbush’s four lobed oval dish, 20 in. (51 cm) in length, earthenware, 2010. “2011 Summer Workshop Artists’ Preview,” at Santa Fe Clay (www.santafeclay.com), in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through April 9. 2 Matt Wedel’s Poodle, 42 in. (1 m) in height, fired clay, glaze, and luster, 2010. “67th Scripps College Ceramic Annual,” at Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College (www.scrippscollege.edu/williamson-gallery), in Claremont, California, through April 9. 3 Judith Rosenstein’s pair of faceted bowls, cone 10 porcelain. 4 Marian Baker’s Green Dot Bowl, porcelaneous stoneware. 5 Matt Mitros’ square bowl, soda-fired stoneware. “Bowls” at Guilford Art Center’s Mill Gallery (www.guilfordartcenter.org), in Guilford, Connecticut, through April 22.

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http://www.santafeclay.com

http://www.scrippscollege.edu/williamson-gallery

http://www.guilfordartcenter.org


1 Jane Shellenbarger’s Equilibrium, 18 in. (46 cm) in diameter, black stoneware, soda fired to cone 10, and post fired, 2010. 2 Aysha

Peltz’s lidded jar, 17 in. (43 cm) in height, wheel-thrown and altered porcelain, oxidation fired to cone 10, 2010. 3 Linda Sikora’s covered

jar, 14 in. (36 cm) in height, porcelain, polychrome glaze, wood, oil, and salt fired to cone 10, 2010. 4 Todd Wahlstrom’s cruets, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, stoneware with applied slip, reduction

fired to cone 10, 2010. “Islamic Influence,” at The Crossroads Art Gallery at St. Petersburg College (www.spcollege.edu/clw/finearts_

graphicdesign/gallery_schedule.htm), in Clearwater, Florida, through April 7.

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http://www.spcollege.edu/clw/finearts_graphicdesign/gallery_schedule.htm

http://www.spcollege.edu/clw/finearts_graphicdesign/gallery_schedule.htm



exposu re

1 Amy Santoferraro’s Winner, 15 in. (38 cm) in height, slip-cast porcelain, decals, foam, and found materials, 2010. 2 Shane Harris’ His #5, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, slip-cast porcelain, glaze, and metal, 2010. “Pouring Performance,” at Interior Motives (www.interiormotivesstpete.com), in St. Petersburg, Florida, through April 30. 3 Elephant aquamanile (water jug), slightly opacified white glaze, turquoise and cobalt blue in-glaze stain, 12th or early 13th century. Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Copyright Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust. “Passion for Perfection” at De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam (www.elmhurstartmuseum.org), in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, through April 17. 4 Henk Wolvers’ untitled, 12 in. (30 cm) square, porcelain, 2011. “Henk Wolvers Solo Exhibition,” at Galerie Terra Delft (www.terra-delft.nl), in Delft, The Netherlands, through April 15.

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http://www.interiormotivesstpete.com

http://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org

http://www.terra-delft.nl




exposu re

1 Dalita Navarro’s vessel, 18 in. (47 cm) in height, clay, engobes, oxides, and pigments, fired to cone 04. “Dalita Navarro: Las Heridas y el Llanto de la Tierra” at Museo Nacional de Ceramica y Artes Sutuarias Gonzalez Marti Valencia (http://mnceramica.mcu.es), in Valencia, Spain, through April 3.

2 Heather Mae Erickson’s Platter with Vases and Double Volume Bowls, 15 in. (38 cm) in length, slip-cast porcelain with black stain, 2008. “The Casting Party” at Red Star Studios (www.redstarstudios.org), in Kansas

City, Missouri, April 1–30. 3 Shawn O’Connor’s butter dish, 8½ in. (22 cm) in length, wood-fired stoneware, 2010. “2011 Arrowmont Artists in Residence

Exhibition” at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts’ Sandra J. Blain Galleries (www.arrowmont.org/galleries), in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, through May 9.

4 Sheryl Zacharia’s tray and bowl, 20 in. (51 cm) in length, 2010. “Resident Artists” at Museum of Art and Design (www.madmuseum.org), in New York,

New York, through May 31. 5 Scot Cameron-Bell’s goodmorningcups, 4½ in. (11 cm) in height, wheel-thrown red clay, underglaze, stain, and liner glaze, fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln, 2010. “Ceramic Showcase 2010” Oregon

Potters Association (www.oregonpotters.org), at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, April 29–May 1.

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http://mnceramica.mcu.es

http://www.redstarstudios.org

http://www.arrowmont.org/galleries

http://www.madmuseum.org

http://www.oregonpotters.org


http://www.kocef.org/eng/index.asp


exposu re

1 Tube vases in various colors, fired to cone 3. Courtesy of Gainey Ceramics Inc. 2 Various ceramic knives. Courtesy of Kyocera Co. 3 Scale model of hydraulic pressed clay. Courtesy of Center for Architecture Science and Ecology. 4 Vintage porcelain insulators. Courtesy of Victor Citrin. 5 Chemical and scientific ceramic labware. Courtesy of CoorsTek. 6 Scale model of high performance ceramic envelope systems. Courtesy of the Center of Architecture, Science, and Ecology. “Ceramics for the New Millennium,” at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (www.ceramicmuseum.org), in Pomona, California, through April 9.

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http://www.ceramicmuseum.org


http://www.greatkilns.com/


clay culture

from center to edge

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as the archie Bray Foundation for the ceramic arts turns 60 in 2011, events and festivities to commemorate this anniversary are planned for late June. For full details, you can check out www.archiebray.org, but in the meantime, we present here a photographic Ò portraitÓ of the Bray.

1 The historical buildings on the site of the Bray Foundation are on the

National Register of Historic Places. The historical tile factory on the left, and the beehive kiln in the center, are joined by

The David and Ann Shaner Resident Artist Studio Complex. So, among

these hulking testaments to industry past, new buildings have emerged to

serve the ceramic field into the future. Photo: J. David. 2 Steven Young Lee, Resident Artist Director, in The David

and Ann Shaner Resident Artist Studio. The piece on the floor is just one of

the pieces included in the auction that will be held in late June to benefit the residency programs at the Bray. 3 At the Bray, the past and present exist

beside one another, and the place and artists working there are richer for it.

The half wall shown to the left side of the resident studio building is the last

remaining wall of the historical brick factory building. 4 Works installed on the grounds of the Bray. Left: Michael

Osborne’s Dogu 51, 1993. Right: Kensuke Yamada’s Feet, 2010.

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http://www.archiebray.org



1 Courtney Murphy, 2010–2011 Lincoln Fellow, on the grounds of the Bray. 2 Gwendolyn Yoppolo, 2009–2010 Lincoln Fellow, in the historical tile factory. 3 Aaron Benson, 2010–2011 MJD Fellow, in the historical tile factory. 4 Brickyard Kiln, by Louis Katz, 1988. 5 Nicholas Bivins, 2010–2011 Matsutani Fellow, in the historical tile factory. 6 Sean Erwin, 2009–2010 Lilian Fellow, with his installation in the historical beehive kiln.

Photos (unless otherwise noted) by Nelson Guda, Archie Bray Foundation Visiting Artist, 2010. For more information and images, see www.nelsonguda.com.

clay culture

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http://www.nelsonguda.com


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I recently saw a post on the Ceramic Tech Today blog (www.ceramictechtoday.org), edited by my colleague Peter Wray (Editor of the Bulletin of The American Ceramic Society), that caught my at-tention: Jennifer Lewis, a professor of materials science and engineering, and her team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fig-ured out how to make intrigu-ing and beautifully simple (yet complex) structures by bending and folding planar lattices that are made by extruding “inks” of ceramic material using a pre-cise, direct-write method. The beads of ink are laid down in a pattern and allowed to partially dry. They are then trimmed, folded, and finally annealed.

Lewis states that, “Most of our inks are based on aque-ous formulations, so they dry quickly.” She says the challenge in the beginning was to find a solution that would render the printed sheets pliable enough to manipulate, yet firm enough to retain their shape after folding and annealing. The answer came by combining wet-folding origami techniques (where paper is partially wetted to enhance its foldability) with special inks containing a mixture of fast- and slow-drying sol-vents. The basis of the “ink” is titanium hydride.

Since titanium is already used for bone replacement and repair, I see the obvious initial uses as mostly medical, for building substrates for bone and tissue engineering (which is why the team began these explorations in the first place), but we can definitely see some potential uses in the studio. Currently, this may require access to, or affiliation with, a lab or institution of higher learning that is equipped with proper machinery (not to mention one that would be willing to let you try something they have likely not tried themselves). But, as with all things, the new will become the tried-and-true before we know it.

The Illinois team’s solvent combination yields a lattice that can be partially dry but flexible enough to fold through multiple

clay culture

back to basics by Sherman Hall

steps. This marriage of printing and origami techniques allows for greater structural complexity—such as the crane’s overhanging wings, which can’t be produced by direct printing methods alone. In addition, Lewis’ team can print sheets with a variety of patterns, adding yet another level of architectural detail. Lewis notes, “By combining these methods, you can rapidly assemble very complex structures that simply cannot be made by conventional fabrica-tion methods.”

Practically speaking, this technique could provide an alternative to existing “rapid prototyping” where there are limits to building 3D structures. Also, direct printing layer after layer of material can cause a sagging of lower layers or compressing under their own weight. The next step, according to the team, is to try much larger and much smaller structures and test ink compositions that would contain other ceramic and metallic materials.

Bio-engineering researchers are using ceramic materials and an old-school craft technique to make complex forms for medical use. and they are learning that, just like in studio ceramics, timing is everything.

Many of the patterns and forms shown here are simply experimental, meant to show the range of possibilities in direct printing with viscous ceramic “ink.” If issues of scale can be addressed, options for creative studio work could open up.

http://www.ceramictechtoday.org



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clay culture

According to John Neely, who has been a professor at Utah State University for 26 years, “Wood firing has been an integral part of the USU program for more than 25 years.”

In contrast, Doug Browe, a professor at Mendocino College in California, fires with his students at his home and states, “I am new at the institution and previously there was no exposure to wood firing. Now the students are becoming involved and seeing the results, and popularity is growing.”

Elmer Taylor, profes-sor at the University of North Texas, says wood firing popularity is staying the same and emphasizes, “Only a certain type of student will spend the time and energy [to fire with wood].”

Technical informa-tion is the most com-mon discussion point to come up during a critique with wood-fired pieces. However, the majority of responses also addressed ideas related to critical thinking. One phenom-enon is that the looseness

of wood firing can lead students to ignore the compositional and conceptual aspects that will make their art more

successful. Marc Lancet, a professor at Solano Community College, in California, says, “A

lack of integrity of form and technique will not long be disguised by an elegant wood-

fired surface. Learning is foremost. Chance is not a significant factor when learning from results.”

To read the full survey results, go to www.davezdrazil.com/blog/.

The results of a survey on wood firing at US academic institutions were recently presented at the International Woodfire Conference in Bröllin, Germany. According to the survey designers Shannon Sulli-van and David Zdrazil, the institutions surveyed included public and private colleges, universi-ties, and high schools. The goal of the survey was to analyze current pedagogical aspects of wood firing in these institutional settings.

The survey was distributed to more than 500 individuals, of which 55 chose to complete it. This response rate falls within the 10–15% average response rate for online surveys.

There were 41 unique institutions repre-sented. Of these participants, 63% prefer wood firing for their own work, 2% never wood fire their own work, and 35% sometimes wood fire their work. Approximately 25% of the wood kilns used by institutions are located somewhere off campus and most of these are situ-ated on a professor’s private land or at a home studio.

Most respondents were instructors at wood-firing institutions, and their re-sponses cannot necessarily be interpreted as an objective gauge of the value or status of wood firing in US insti-tutions in general. None-theless, there were some interesting components to the results, including the apparent relationship between the individual instructor and the popularity of wood firing at a given institution.

learning with wood

58.2%

12.7%

18.2%

3.6%

7.3%

From the Survey: If a student wanted to learn about wood firing and could only participate in one aspect, which would be the most important?

Making work that is conducive to wood firing

Loading the kiln

Firing the kiln

Unloading the kiln

Reviewing the results/critique

1 A student loads the wood kiln at the College of the Redwoods. 2 The kiln is warmed before the door is bricked up for the firing. 3 Students gather for a group critique after the firing.

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An analysis of a firing method that seems like it was meant for the kind of collaborative learning that is possible (and hopefully encouraged) at educational institutions.


http://www.davezdrazil.com/blog


Syracuse University’s

College of Visual and

Performing Arts

proudly acknowledges

our own Professor Emeritus

David R. MacDonald,

recipient of the

National Council on Education

for the Ceramic Arts’

Excellence in Teaching Award

April 2011

Congratulations David!

You have been an inspiration to

students and colleagues alike for

the past 40 years.

vpa.syr.edu

The Folk School changes you.

John C. Campbell Folk SChoolfolkschool.org 1-800-Folk-Sch

BraSSTown norTh carolina

engaging hands and hearts since 1925. come enjoy making crafts and good friends on 300 natural, scenic acres

in western north carolina.


http://vpa.syr.edu/

http://www.idyllwildarts.org/

https://www.folkschool.org/


clay culture

Okay, there are actually a lot of ceramics blogs worth reading, but one of those I check regularly is Euan the Potter (www.euancraig.blogspot.com). euan craig, the author of the blog as well as Ò the art of Function and the Function of artÓ (December 2008 cM), doesnÕ t post maniacally, so I feel like I can keep up with him, but when he does post, he brings disparate and insightful cultural influences to bear on what is essentially a conversation about the joys of food, family, and making pots.

Ñ Sherman Hall, Editor

a blog worth reading

A little bit of early potter training occurs as Euan Craig and his son Sean discuss stoking the kiln.

The fired ware in a newly opened kiln, as seen from Craig’s 5-year-old son Sean’s vantage point.

“Opening Day” from Euan the Potter, November 2010

The customers have gone; I am alone. Midnight has just passed and the five antique clocks which hang on the walls of Ebiya Gallery just struck sixty o’clock. It was a quiet opening, partly due to the fact that the advertising didn’t start ’til Thursday, but also because that is what I wanted this time.

I had prepared half the exhibition two months ago, but there were always those other vessels that I wanted to make . . . and so the Mashiko Pottery Festival came and went, and the shelves were full of pots waiting to be fired. I selected the best 400, and stacked the kiln. After over 200 wood firings, I know where the flame will flow, where the ash will fall, where the clouds of vapor will caress the surface of the vessels. Using sea shells and Igusa straw I stacked the pots, and when the kiln was full I sealed it up and prayed. My skill is only a fraction of the finished pot, for at every stage I am borrowing the forces of nature and adding to them a purpose. It is the nature of matter, of amorphous clay, to find a shape which will bring balance, peace and harmony within the parameters of the natural forces at work upon it. . . . And so I fire my kiln, knowing about how carbon and oxygen and hydrogen and sodium will all play their parts, but understanding that the kiln, the flame, will tell me when it needs more wood, or less draft, or more air.

Sean, with all the wisdom of a five year old, asked if he could help. “Of course,” I said, though the kiln was seething at volcanic temperatures. “Can you count to five?” I asked.

“Yes,” said a confident small voice.“Then please pass me five pieces of wood.”And so he did, and he arranged them in rows, and passed them

to me when I needed them, and the firing belonged to him as well. When the pots emerged from the kiln, they were his pots also, and they were the most beautiful pots I have ever made.

Beauty is not a noisy thing. It is quiet and strong and gentle. I sit in the gallery alone, but not lonely at all, for these pots are

born of my love of life, and each is a voice singing softly to my soul. All of my experience, those I have loved and who are gone, those who love me and give me strength, those who wait for my return, are part of these quiet pots, and I will sleep in peace tonight.

http://www.euancraig.blogspot.com



Hollins University | P.O. Box 9552 | Roanoke, VA 24020-1552 | [email protected]

Join us for the Women Working with Clay Symposium at Hollins University, June 13-16. Observe the presentation of various working methods in pottery, art vessels, and sculpture and participate in discussions that examine and explore the connections of the history of women in cultures all over the world as vessel makers, artists and artisans. Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll find inspiration as you explore the creative process from every level. Led by remarkable ceramic artists, you will gain valuable insight from demonstrations, lectures, and panel discussions. Space is limited, so visit www.hollins.edu/tmva or call (540) 362-6229 to register today.

W O M e n W O R k i n g W i t H c L A y S y M P O S i U M

Andrea Gill | Dara Hartman | Donna Polseno | Kari Radasch | Jeri Virden | Kala Stein | Silvie Granatelli

June 13-16, 2011

92nd Street Y Art CenterLexington Avenue at 92nd Street

An agency of UJA-Federation

Visiting ArtistBryan Hopkins: Wheel-Thrown Parts, Handbuilt FormsMon & Tue, May 16 & 17, 9:30 am-3:30 pm, 2 sessions

Rebecca Hannon: Ceramic Techniques for JewelersMon-Fri, Jul 18-22, 10 am-4 pm, 5 sessions

SculptureSculpture from the ModelTue, May 24, 10 am-12:30 pm, 6 sessions

Weekly ClassesHandbuildingWheel Private InstructionIndependent Study

For a full listing of master classes and to register visit www.92Y.org/StudyMasters or call 212.415.5500.

Bryan HopkinsBasket, porcelain 2010

http://www.92Y.org/StudyMasters


http://www.hollins.edu/tmva


http://www.aardvarkclay.com/


StudioMy studio in Venezuela was southeast of the capital, Caracas, in Turgua, a small village in a traditional coffee farming area. It was an impractical tropical paradise of trees, ferns, bromeliads, orchids, sloths, birds, and beautiful butterflies. The view from my studio looked out through trees and vines to the forested hills and valleys many miles to the south. The 480-square-foot rammed-earth building was perched on a slope with a materials storage and clay preparation area underneath. Translucent corrugated roofing and many windows allowed abundant natural lighting. It felt like being outdoors. Below that was a roofed concrete slab for two kilns. There were no flat areas so there was a lot of carrying of materials and pots up and down trails. I had to transport propane gas bottles and drums of oil for firings from Caracas along a precarious mountain road on my pickup. It was too far for people to drop by and see pots on a regular basis. Pots didn’t dry in the rainy season. Landslides and tree falls often blocked the roads. As I said, an impractical paradise.

In Minnesota we now live in the St. Croix River valley, an hour drive northeast of the Twin Cities. Located on a rise next to the beautiful St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, we enjoy rural views of the bluffs along the river and beyond to Wisconsin. The house has a finished walk-in basement so I simply moved my wheels in and made some ware racks in that space. We built an addition with a kiln room downstairs and showroom above. The garage is now a packing area for shipping and space for storage of materials and clay and glaze preparation. I built an efficient, propane fired, 80-cubic-foot downdraft car kiln, just unpredictable enough to be interesting, and installed a 1000-gallon gas tank. A two acre lot provides ample outdoor space to set up surfaces for my studio sales in the spring and fall. Given the less-than-tropical nature of Minnesota weather, all the activities of pottery making are now indoors. As I have

Just the FactsClaystoneware

Primary forming method wheel throwing

Primary firing temperaturecone 10 propane reduction

Favorite surface treatmentslips and glazes, altered form and surface

Favorite toolsbesides my hands, maybe a rib

studio visit

Guillermo Cuellarshafer, Minnesota

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aged, energy has become a more precious resource so I appreciate how this functional working space allows me to focus on the pots.

Paying Dues (and Bills)I fell in love with clay at Cornell College, in Iowa, in 1970, and dis-covered A Potter’s Book, by Bernard Leach. I was fascinated with the Mingei folk art philosophy of beauty in handmade useful objects and devoured Soetsu Yanagi’s The Unknown Craftsman. I aspired to make useful pots that enriched peoples’ lives, the way the old pots did.

When my parents discovered that I was spending so much time in the ceramics department my funding dried up. After two years I obtained financial aid through the Venezuelan government and returned to Cornell, but my scholarship required a geology major. Time for pottery was limited. Upon graduation I married my college sweetheart, returned to Venezuela, and found inspiration and work in an environmental organization. In the following years, obituaries appeared for Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, and Michael Cardew in the local press, and I felt I was losing the links to the kind of pottery I wanted to learn. I decided to try to make pots for a living, made really bad pots, and despaired.

In 1981, by chance, I heard that Warren MacKenzie was invited by a local potters group to come and teach in Venezuela. The course

was full, but I was accepted as an interpreter and assistant. I had never seen anyone who could really throw pots on the wheel. Warren tossed off pots quickly, casually, with an ease that belied the skill, like a virtuoso musi-cian. Aside from the workshop time, there were trips to visit the Venezuelan countryside. Warren and I had time to get to know each other and I hoped I could continue learning from him.

After the workshop I travelled to Minnesota to visit Warren. Canadian potter John Reeve, who had also been an apprentice at the Leach pottery, was working there at the time and while Warren taught at the University of Minnesota, I spent several days watch-ing and learning from John. In 1984, Warren invited Clary Illian, Christy Wert, my wife Laurie, and me to work in his studio for a month, fire a kiln, and have a sale.

In the years that followed I became a regular guest, spending four to five weeks almost every summer in Stillwater making pots in Warren’s studio. At first I wasn’t much help, but as time went on I learned the ropes and eventually Warren and his wife Nancy would travel while I

1 Guillermo Cuellar gets some serious production going in his

Shafer, Minnesota, studio. Photo: Dennis Chick. 2 The sales shop in Turgua, Venezuela, with tables set up for a group sale. Photo: Gabriel

Reig. 3 The cooperative studio in Turgua. Photo: Jorge Vall. 4 Cuellar’s

home and studio are less tropical, but more practical in terms of making

a living. Photo: Laurie MacGregor.

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made pots and took care of the shop, showroom, and house. Through discussions, from living with his collection of great pottery, his library, and Warren’s own work, I avidly soaked up the spirit of the old pots I admired so much. I absorbed his consistent, steady work ethic and the rhythm of studio cycles. I was never his student or apprentice; I was a friend from abroad who occasionally visited and we made some pots together. As Warren was inspired by Leach’s A Potters Book and sought out an apprenticeship with him in St. Ives, I was also inspired by Leach and found my way to learn from Warren.

Over the years, a great relationship evolved between the thriving Venezuelan clay community and the Midwest potters. Many came to teach, including Jeff Oestreich, Linda Christianson, Randy Johnston and Jan McKeachie Johnston, Clary Illian, and Mark Pharis. My relationship with Minnesota became richer and deeper as those friend-ships evolved. When we surveyed our options for a new life in the US, Minnesota offered a beautiful natural setting, a rich community of potters, nearby family, and a good possibility of surviving as a potter.

We had been considering leaving Venezuela for some time. The arts were progressively falling by the wayside in the turbulent political climate. Many clay suppliers closed. It was not easy to convert local currency into dollars, so importing materials was very costly and risky through the notably corrupt ports. In Venezuela, a relatively peaceful existence making pots was gone. Other factors contributed to the decision to pick up roots: family in Iowa, children heading off to college in the US, and the feeling that it was now or never.

BodyWe have expensive, high-deductible (catastrophic) health insurance. Any health problem that could prevent me from working would be financially serious. Keeping fit and well is a priority. We have been lucky. I make time to work out three or four times a week. Cross-country skiing is my current passion, and I love kayaking and canoeing in the summer. I am addicted to yoga.

MindOver the years, I have worked on and off as a wilderness guide in South America, and that has brought me into contact with native people and their handwork, current and historic. Getting out in the natural world recharges me physically and creatively. Setting up teaching situations, talks, and slide shows takes me out to engage with people both here and abroad. I taught a workshop at Taller Huara Huara in Chile in March.

As of January 2011, I am now a citizen of the US, a part of this larger community. I was unexpectedly moved by the experience of the naturalization ceremony. I don’t know of another country that celebrates its immigrants, and I can’t imagine another place that would have been so supportive for us starting over. This, my adoptive country, is a great place, and I hope those who have been here longer can keep that perspective as they voice their criticism of current issues. As the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone said, “We all do better when we all do better.”

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MarketingThe experience I took away from my first group sale at MacKenzie’s studio in 1984 was the power of shared group work for mutual ben-efit. Pooling resources, gathering like-minded crafts people together to eat good food, critique recent work, and engage with the public energized me, and I took that experience back to Venezuela. For a long time, we were very isolated there. We had no land line and only got a telephone when cell phones were introduced, and we had to walk up to the ridge to get a signal. There was no Internet service in our rural setting. The interdependence of our pottery collective, Grupo Turgua, made it possible to have two group sales a year with a dozen or so potters and guests in other media for over a decade.

Gathering people around an idea, and strength in diversity, are elements I still seek out. The pottery tour provides that experience for me. After three years as Linda Christianson’s guest on the Potters of the Upper St. Croix River Valley Studio Tour, I was invited by the group to become a host. I believe being part of that tour will be the foundation that will make our studio self supporting. As a host, I now have guests who bring their own great pots and energy to the event and make it even richer and more diverse.

Starting over in the US at this stage (we are 59) is a stimulating challenge. Laurie and I have embraced new options to reach out to an audience: a website, social media, and email marketing, as well as traditional venues such as galleries and the showroom. I am very happy that my pieces are represented in some wonderful galleries,

both online and brick-and-mortar. In all of the above, we try to de-velop honest relationships and engage and communicate with people.

We have an online showroom on my website, and I am pleasantly surprised that people are becoming increasingly comfortable in committing to a purchase from a screen without actually seeing or holding the piece in their hands. It is important to respect that trust. When responding to an inquiry, I make an effort to be certain that the piece is going to be satisfactory. Ultimately, if someone would like to return a piece, I am happy to accept it.

I don’t seek orders but do accept them. My preference is to have a variety of pieces always in the showroom, which is open daily. I try to be available to answer questions if people arrive and help is required. Attendance varies quite a bit with the seasons, though Minnesotans are hardy folk and do turn up even in the middle of winter!

It is no surprise to anyone that making pots and making a living require creativity and effort. It has to be treated as two separate jobs: making pots and selling pots. Being self employed demands a lot of work, and it always seems to generate less income than one would like. Having several income streams provides more stability. There is no certainty, but we are still here. I can’t imagine a better life.

Most Important LessonKeep working. Ideas lead to new ideas, pots lead to new pots.

www.guillermopottery.com facebook: Guillermo Cuellar Pottery

1 Cuellar glazes a platter with the help of a trash can lid. 2 Platter, 18 in. (46 cm) in diameter. 3 Small serving bowl, 6 in. (17 cm) in diameter. 4 Cuellar puts the finishing touches on the last teapot in a session. Studio photos: Laurie MacGregor. 5 Five yunomis, approximately 3¾ in. (10 cm) in height. All pieces are glazed stoneware fired with propane to cone 10 in reduction. Photos of pots: Mark Rasmussen.

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http://www.guillermopottery.com


LocaL cLay by David Peters

During my time as a resident at the Archie Bray Foundation I would often walk the grounds of the dilapidated brickyard when I felt overwhelmed or troubled. Walks have always had a way of calming me and I always found solace and inspiration in the old buildings and rusting equipment. Over time the immensity of the kilns and huge piles of bricks made me wonder where all the clay had come from. I had used some local brick clay when I was finishing up my undergraduate work at Utah State University and was missing the edgy and robust character it gave to my clay body. After asking around a bit, it seemed like the old Bray pits were not

really accessible any more and the clay was prone to dunt and/or to have occasional lime pop outs. I left the idea alone for a while.

Soon my walks around the Bray turned into long drives down dirt roads with no destination in mind, and it was during these drives that I would look for clay, but I lacked the confidence to actually stop and see what I could find. One day I saw some yel-low ochre pouring out of a wall of black rock in a road cut. It was such a striking sight I stopped and gathered some to take back and play with. A week later I returned and found a lens of marbled white, red, and yellow primary clay about 20 feet away. It smelled



like a sulfur rich hot spring and was perched on a road cut that overlooked a mountain range that seemed to never end. I filled my little Escort until it had just a little bounce and headed back to the studio in euphoria. I had been changed and would have a new perspective on clay from then on.

Ever since I began using local clay to make my work, I have become aware of how truly exciting and interesting a time it is to be making ceramics. Not so long ago, say even as recent as sixty or seventy years ago, the majority of ceramics were made from locally available materials. When Peter Voulkos was first learning how

to throw, he dug his clay with his teacher Francis Senska from a canyon near Bozeman, Montana. This was not out of ideology, but out of necessity. At the time, the large distributors of clay that we know today didn’t exist, and if you wanted to make a lot of pots like Voulkos did you got a shovel and went to work. Today it is very easy to obtain a wide variety of affordable quality materials from virtu-ally anywhere in the world within a week or so. We no longer go to the hills for our materials; we now go to our phones or computers.

This easy access to materials has arguably had a huge effect on our art form. As craft education was absorbed into the fine arts in

Opposite page: Shrinkage bars and pinch pots of various local Montana clays ready to be fired, 2009. Below: The author digging clay near Basin, Montana in 2009.



academia, work made from clay could be used to explore any of the numerous facets of the art world. This has certainly changed the way we use clay, but without this great access to materials, I argue that the huge radiating conceptual leaps ceramics has taken in such a short time would have been extremely difficult. The time and effort we save by using industrially produced materials can be redirected to making and thinking. New ideas and their relation-ships to the greater art world can be explored more easily when one is not processing clay for months on end. This convenience, while aiding us in our explorations of the potential of ceramics as a contemporary art practice, has also possibly physically detached us from one of the most powerful and poetic truths of ceramics that clay comes from the earth, that clay is the earth. Sure, perhaps we learned while pinching a bowl from a ball of clay in our first beginning handbuilding class that clay is a mineral formed in the earth from rocks being weathered down, blah blah blah, but like much of artistic learning it takes the physical experience to bring it all home. And it is in this “homecoming” that a huge and rich part of our art form can be reclaimed and can further enrich our work.

So let us look at where that stuff in the nice neat paper bags comes from and why it is the way it is. Of all the clay mined and processed around the world, ceramic artists use a minuscule amount. We are a tiny and curious blip on the radar of the ma-jor clay manufactures. For example, the vast majority of kaolin mined is used not for ceramics but in the paper industry. It is used as filler because it is white and cheaper than pulp and takes ink nicely. The next largest consumer of kaolin is the ceramic industry, and it has extremely exacting standards that need to be

met. Factories cranking out thousands of toilets or millions of tiles a day need clean, consistent, well rounded raw materials to avoid costly glitches. Clay manufacturers, therefore, prefer huge and easily mined deposits, and several of these clay deposits are then milled and blended together to produce specific properties in a product that can be reproduced over a long period of time. Small deposits of curious materials, no matter how interesting or unique they may be, are often ignored or mixed in because their scarcity inhibits them from being efficiently utilized by huge industrial systems. Artists are limited in some ways by tagging along with industry. It is true that we do rely on the predictability and consistency of our materials to mitigate the risks we already take to push our ideas forward, yet our goals are very different than those of industry. These goals are extremely personal and are as diverse as the clays that the earth produces. Finding, digging, and processing one’s own materials is hard work and can also be limiting in some ways, but can offer countless moments of insight and opportunities to make creative decisions about one’s materials for oneself. It is a true joy to use a clay that has never been used by anyone else, and most likely the results will be unique as well. Even if it doesn’t become a major part of your studio practice, it is certainly a worthwhile experience.

It isn’t so much that finding local clays is difficult as much as it seems a bit foreign. Chances are you never really entertained the thought to do so; therefore, it can be strange to just grab a shovel and try it. I think the best way to get started is to just look around where you live. Clay is everywhere. You might get lucky and be sitting on a nice batch right in your backyard. I have heard

Pinch pots made from clay dug straight out of the ground, 2009.

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several stories of potters who got started using local clay when they discovered clay while putting in a sprinkler system or some other summer do-it-yourself project. Road cuts and construction sites are also great spots to look [see “Roadside Glazes” on page 53]. Layers are exposed nicely and are easy to access. If it looks like clay, acts like clay, and smells like clay it is probably clay. Trust your senses and you will find something worth testing sooner than you think. Slaking some down in a bucket and screening it may be necessary to remove large rocks, twigs, and roots. There is no sense in sieving it down to 60 mesh until you know a little more about it. Let it stiffen up on some plaster and play with it a bit, rolling out a coil and wrapping it around your finger to see how plastic it is. Maybe try throwing a pot with it. Make some shrinkage bars and fire them first in your bisque then in a catch tray in a glaze firing. You will soon have a good idea if what you have is worth bottoming out your truck with. Reading about geology and how to find and process clay will definitely help out, but it is this kind of simple and straightforward experimentation that will give you the physical experience that makes it easier to learn more form other resources.

Geologic reports of the region in which you live can be difficult to decipher, but are extremely helpful. Local and state libraries usually have copies and often there will be reports done specifically on clay. These publications can be gold mines for information on clays in your area, because they not only tell you the location and geologic origins, but often include mineralogical identification of clays, data collected from laboratory tests on shrinkage, plasticity, firing range, fired appearance, strength and even chemical analysis.

I have found geologists to be a great group of bright and knowledgeable scientists who are often easily seduced by ceramics and usually happy to share their knowledge over a cold beer. Their experience in the field can help you learn to read the geology of your area, which is fascinating in itself, much less helpful for finding clay. Farmers and ranchers know their soil and land well because it is their livelihood. Chances are, if you are respectful to them and their land, they will be happy to give you all the sticky stuff you ever wanted because they sure don’t have any use for it. The best part is these interactions can be just as rewarding as using the material itself. I have found that these exchanges often lead me to a new place in my work, and that keeps me coming back even when the results from the kiln are frustrating.

People who use local materials in their work do so for many different reasons. Some are primarily interested in the unique and

distinctive characteristics that unrefined clays can offer. These folks are often driven by the material itself and develop ingenious processes to deal with the idiosyncrasies of their unique materials. They are often more interested in what the clay wants to do than what they can make the clay do. The defects become the effects and are celebrated. Others enjoy the intimacy with the process, gaining satisfaction from being intimately involved in every stage of their craft. Some do so because it makes sense. Perhaps they have clay on their land. It’s free and works well, so why not use it? Others still may do so to strengthen their connection to the land and the community in which they work.

In truth, there are as many reasons to dig your own clay as there are people who do it, but these reasons are often realized after the fact. The urge to do something that takes so much time and energy and that appears to be antiquated is often hard to understand, even if you find it within yourself. Artists are good at following their intuitions and by giving themselves a chance to see where it leads they make discoveries. Today’s reflective urges are not unique to art, however. The slow food movement and the rising popularity of farmers markets and gardening could be seen as parallels. Sure the food is different, and arguably better for us, but perhaps more interesting is that, through these practices, people’s relationship to food changes. Meals become more than just fuel, nutrition, or

entertainment, and become a way to reconnect to ourselves and each other. Perhaps the pervasive media, constant movement, and re-lentless pursuit of progress that characterize our lives have lead some of us to search for the essence of things, to find our own unprocessed, unpackaged experiences from which to make our own meaning.

Local clay examples in their raw and processed forms, 2009.



The transition to using local materials in my studio arose from an interest in generating novel glazes and clay bodies at low cost and low environmental impact. From a financial point of view, I realized that, in many cases, I was paying much more for the total shipping (including wholesaler and retailer shipping costs), than the actual cost of the materials. If I could procure some of my own materials, I could reduce both my costs and carbon load in moving hundreds of pounds of material around the world. As

an example, early in my work I used a very common cone 6 oxi-dation glaze called Floating Blue Glaze. The composition of this glaze (with the most common sources) is: Gerstley borate (Death Valley, California), nepheline syenite (Ontario, Canada), EPK Kaolin (Edgar, Florida), flint (Texas), cobalt oxide (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa), rutile and red iron oxide (multiple sources including Brazil and Australia). The total shipping mile-age associated with this simple and common glaze is astounding.

Backyard by RobeRt balaban

My Own



In response to these issues, the desire to create a novel clay body and glaze as well as reduce cost and global impact of my studio work, I began to explore my own environment. I am fortunate to have a couple of acres of wooded land that happen to be right next door to an abandoned gold mine in suburban Maryland. In my backyard, I discovered a wealth of materials, including pure quartz, iron pyrite (fools gold, FeS2), garnet, various schists, mica, and some actual gold. After a large tree had been uprooted during a storm, I found a remarkable yellow ochre clay, the color of which comes from a high content of hydrated iron oxide (FeO (OH)) that fires beautifully at cone 6. In its dry form, it is a brilliant yellow, it bisques to pink, and fires to a lovely dark rich brown in oxidation at cone 6.

Clay Acquisition and Processing

It is remarkable how much clay can come from a small hole in the ground. I avoid large rocks or roots and collect the raw material loosely in a large bucket, filling it to about ¾ full. I then add water to fill the bucket. I let the clay soften for a few hours, then I mix it using a paint stirrer and an electric drill. This works surprising well even with some small roots and stones in the mix. I add a pint of apple vinegar to acidify the slurry and increase the clay’s plasticity. I then run the slurry through a sieve, taking care to not damage the sieve with sharp stones in the raw clay. Once the clay has been sieved, the settling process begins. I pour off excess

water after two or three days. At this stage, I usually put a large amount aside for use as slip or for glaze formulation.

To make a clay body, I can take the slow route and simply wait for adequate drying to occur or move the clay onto a larger canvas covered plaster block to speed drying. This process of sieving and drying can take up to two weeks depending on the weather. If I am in a hurry, I use my extruder as a manual pressure filter system. I take the settled clay and double bag it into small canvas bags. I place three to four of these bags into the extruder’s chamber, which is fitted with a strong metal grid replacing the die and I apply an even pressure on the clay by hanging a bucket of water on the handle of the extruder. The multiple bags increase the surface area contacting the canvas, permitting water to flow out of the clay much like a commercial filter press used by large-scale manufacturers. By knowing the weight of the slurry added and capturing the extruded water, I can quickly calculate the amount of removed water and then easily repeat this procedure in subsequent batches from the same clay. With a little practice I can process 20 to 30 pounds of clay in a day. Many suggest fully drying the raw clay before reintroduction of water to create the slurry, but I have found no advantage of this added step (at least not with this particular clay).

Though my backyard clay (I call it Nevis Clay) is very use-ful, I am not entirely satisfied with its color and plasticity for all projects. I have tried to find sources of ball clay or white stoneware

Geographical map of Maryland. Courtesy of

the Maryland Geological Survey, Baltimore, Maryland,

www.mgs.md.gov.

Backyard by RobeRt balaban


http://www.mgs.md.gov


locally to mix with this clay. I was lucky to find the very useful Maryland Geological Survey by Bullock Clark, commissioned by the Governor of Maryland in 1902 and scanned in by Google. Old sources are sometimes the best as we were more dependent on local sources then, and the geology has not changed much since. Other more current online sources are available such as the Maryland Geological Survey (www.mgs.md.gov). I have reproduced the overall geological map of Maryland from this site to guide my mining. From perusing this document, I found sources of more plastic clays about 20 to 40 minutes from my studio. These clay deposits were a major source of Maryland revenue in the early 1900s when Maryland pottery goods rated seventh in the US.

The map was good at providing the name of the farm or rail-way cut where particular clay was found, but another method was required for modern day prospecting to find accessible outcrops as these earlier landscapes may be gone. Sometimes simply the names of areas, such as “White Clay Creek” were a clue. A simple Google satellite image of a region of interest revealed all of the mining sites and even the exposed clay due to the naturally bright white/yellow color. I marked a couple of sites based on the map

and sought permission to collect a couple of buckets of dirt. I was fortunate that several of the sites I found were active sand or clay collecting mines that were within minutes of my studio and they were more than happy to let me take a couple of large buckets of clay to test. Additionally, I have collected clay from different regions of Maryland and Virginia as I travel or kayak along streams and rivers. Though I primarily use my backyard source as my major supply, mixing clays from the region has provided a unique palette of clay bodies and slips as well as ad-ditives for new glazes.

Glaze Production

I use a basic Bernard Leach ash glaze containing ash, a source of silica (quartz or feldspar), and clay. I have an active fireplace gen-erating primarily oak ash that I collect, and I am very careful to avoid contaminating the ash with dirt. I make a slurry of the ash and remove any large unfired wood pieces with a hand strainer. This is followed by straining it through a sieve. The ash slurry is then slowly concentrated by pouring off the excess water every 24 hours. I continue this process for a couple of weeks. The water that’s

1 Canvas sacks that fit inside the barrel of an extruder are used to contain the clay after excess water has been poured off. 2 Using a sturdy metal mesh in place of a die in the extruder allows it to operate like a filter press. 3 A bucket weighted with water is used to put pressure on the extruder handle to squeeze the remaining water from the clay slurry.

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http://www.mgs.md.gov



With a little more effort you can find sources of many more materials. In Maryland in the late 1800s there were both copper and cobalt mines in Carrol county; indeed one of the forms of cobalt is called Carrolite named after the finding in one of these mines. Thus, local small sources for these coloring agents might be available in your area. An added attraction to these natural sources of colorants is the presence of other minerals, providing not just the effects you want, but unexpected surprises that could be helpful, or that you may need to work around. Limestone, flint, feldspar, and many other minerals are also mined in many areas if you look at older sources developed in the early 1900s deposits may be accessible in modest quantities useful on a studio pottery scale.

Before any clay bodies or glazes are used as functional pottery, I highly recommend that leaching and stability tests be conducted. Since the materials you are using are from your environment, you cannot be certain of the composition and the stability of your glaze.

A walk in the woods or along a river, with the owner’s permis-sion, can provide remarkable additions to your pottery palette. It is important to note that a complete reversion to local materials is not necessary to have an impact on your creativity or energy footprint. Indeed, if this is taken to the extreme, reliance on only local materials may limit your options depending on your local environment. I suggest studying your local materials to discover their properties and possibilities, then incorporate them into your broader palette of materials. In this way, you can sign your work with your environment.

poured off is very alkaline and I take care to neutralize this in the soil. Since no water is added to the ash after the first slurry mix, most would consider this unwashed ash. For immediate use, the ash slurry is directly mixed with clay slurry. Since test firing is absolutely required using native materials, the inac-curacy of using slurry materials is acceptable since everything will be tested anyway. Using ash and clay slurries saves a huge amount of time and ef-fort. To store excess ash for long periods, I place the thick ash slurry in a few large bisqued flat-bottom bowls to dry in the sun. The dry ash is crushed and stored in a plastic container.

My major source of silica is a beautiful white quartz found all over my property. I initially crush the stone with a sledge hammer and then place the smaller pieces in a galvanized pipe cap that matches the diameter of the sledge hammer. I place the hammer head over the crushed quartz and hit the hammer head with another smaller sledge. This pulverizes the quartz, which is then run through a fine screen. I always perform this task outdoors and wear a respirator to avoid breathing silica dust. This method works with other types of rocks as well.

When you build your own glazes from native materials, your kiln is in great peril. If you are not careful, you can have melted clays and glazes running all over your kiln furniture as well as running all the way down the kiln to damage the floor bricks. I have had all of the above occur, so I make high-fire test trays to catch any drips.

The major component of my glazes is ash, so I usually start a test series with pure ash slurry brushed onto a tile to get an idea of what wood I burned and what might have contaminated it. I then create three different aliquots of ash slurry with increasing additions of clay slurry. After testing these three on test tiles, I systematically add increasing amounts of quartz, or other stones to provide silica. These tests seem to capture most of the character-istics of the combinations from a runny brown transparent glaze with high clay and low quartz to a tan matt glaze with low clay and high quartz. It can take several rounds of tests to find the range you are looking for. Variations can come from different clays in your area (varying iron content) or using different silica sources. For example, feldspar or commercial silica can replace quartz.

Quartz and other rocks can be crushed into smaller pieces with a sledge hammer and a pipe cap. A smaller sledge is used to drive the larger one into the rocks.



The Big Creek Pottery School, by many accounts the first workshop oriented residential learning community in the Western United States, was opened by Al Johnsen and Bruce and Marcia McDou-gal in 1968. Until it closed in early 1984, the school offered an enlightened style of education in comparison to what was avail-able at area universities during that time—one focused on making functional, wheel-thrown pottery from start to finish, benefitting its temporary residents with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the ceramic process alongside others.

Mid-Century San Francisco Bay Area Clay Education

Attitudes toward studio pottery as a viable career path were im-proving during the post–WWII era, influenced by the examples from the British and Japanese studio pottery movements as well as earlier American potters of New England and the southeastern US.

Japanese folk-art potter Rosanjin was a 1954 artist-in-residence at Mills College in Oakland where his activities contributed to an

increase in Abstract Expressionist ceramics. Later, in 1963, Her-bert Sanders invited Shoji Hamada and his son to San Jose State College to demonstrate and exhibit their work. Abstract Expres-sionism and Japanese sensibilities linked process and chance with artistic intention.

Across America, ceramic programs often limited student access to firing and sometimes even to glazing into the 1960s. Students were expected to learn a discipline notwithstanding incomplete access to information and studio experience.

It can be said that the San Francisco Bay Area does not now have, and has never had, a teacher who successfully built a strong functional pottery program. Anthony Prieto at Mills College brought a fine contemporary Mediterranean sensibility to the Bay area, but he was not a functional potter. Herbert Sanders researched special glaze effects and enhanced his curriculum with examples from his personal collection. Again, the vessel or platter was explored as a fine art form rather than a particularly useful

Big Creek POTTERy by Karen Thuesen Massaro

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one. Many of Sanders’ and Prieto’s students went on to teach in the region, focusing on the “artful vessel” and ceramic sculpture.

Rules for studio practice reversed 180 degrees at California College of Art and Craft (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland where, until Vernon Coykendall’s retirement in 1969, only a “pot” form could be made. Ironically, the program was weakened by his inactivity as a potter.

Perhaps the strongest training option for functional potters began at Pond Farm in 1949 when Marguerite Wildenhain began teaching each summer until 1980. Unfortunately, her program was very restrictive. There are those who thrived on her rules, but studio time was limited and few pieces were fired.

By the early 1960s, fast morphing Bay Area Pop and Funk ceramic art was a nexus for ideas bootstrapped on the demise of European–derived vessel aesthetics. Many young sculptors led by talents such as Voulkos, Arneson, Melchert, Frey, and others had themselves jumped the fence from potting to change the scene.

1 Students in the first year of workshops throwing at the 24 wheels constructed by the McDougals and Johnsens. 2 Bruce and Marcia McDougal at Big Creek, 1968. 3 The Big Creek Pottery site in 1967, before construction began. 4 Bruce and Marcia McDougal’s plate, 17½ in. (44 cm) in diameter, stoneware, glaze, 1982. Photo: Paul Schraub.

As ceramic sculptors were hired in Bay Area art departments, functional pottery making was neglected or deleted from cur-ricula: it was their way of leaving the past behind, defensive but understandable. Few departments had the resources to cover the burgeoning interests of clay users. Aspiring potters found few learning sites or mentors; there simply weren’t many functional potters in the Bay Area. No wonder that, in 1968, Big Creek Pot-tery School began with full enrollment.

Responding to a Need

Bruce and Marcia McDougal, who met at the Chimney Potters, a cooperative studio started by Marcia and others, watched the swell of desire by Californians to live with handcrafted useful items: they began selling from their Berkeley studio in 1957. A decade later Johnsen and the McDougals sold from neighboring booths at a summer San Francisco art fair. Socializing led to a discussion about founding a pot-tery school. Al tossed out the idea and Bruce quickly put in his “yes.”

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Dissatisfied with constraints of academia, Bruce had recently quit his teaching job. Meanwhile, Marcia had grown a ceramic jewelry business that paid more than Bruce’s teaching salary; the idealistic decision to leave was affordable. Both couples were ambi-tious to achieve their dreams and were builders by nature.

In 1967, the back-to-the-land movement was just beginning. Sixty miles south of San Francisco, wooded, hilly, and pastoral acreage rolled down to bluffs rimming the Pacific Ocean. Quiet roads betrayed emptiness, Route 1 revealed abandoned barns, and land was still cheap. The McCrary family, owners of Big Creek Lumber Company, had purchased an abandoned ranch, one of the oldest coastal cheese dairies in California. In partnership with the

1 Cynthia Bringle’s vase, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, stoneware, 1980. 2 John Glick’s small pitcher, 65/8 in. (17 cm) in length, stoneware, mid 1970s. 3 Warren MacKenzie’s celadon jars, to 45/8 in. (12 cm) in length, porcelain, 1979. 4 (opposite) Michael Cardew’s covered casserole, 12¼ in. (31 cm) in length, salt-fired stoneware, 1976.

three artists, they agreed to assist in making the buildings ready for a live-in school.

“The winter of 1967–68 was spent in preparation, as we camped on the site every weekend, cleaning, building, and painting. We rebuilt the old cheese house into a dormitory and gallery, built 24 potter’s wheels, printed and mailed brochures to schools and museums.”1 In the spring of 1968, the McDougal family and the Johnsens moved to the school site. Al and Bruce moved their kilns to Big Creek Pottery. Bruce surveyed Art De-partments across the country and sent flyers to those with three or more faculty members, reasoning that the third instructor would likely teach ceramics. “Inquiries began to arrive from all over the country. One student found our flyer on the floor of the New york subway.” 2

The first flyer proclaimed idealism: “A Unique Pottery Experi-ence. We like pots. We believe in them, and in the potters who make them. We believe that the only way to be a good or a better potter is to make pots. Many pots. And to make or take the time

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to devote a concentrated and uninterrupted period to working with clay and consciously striving to improve. In order to make this possible, we have searched for and found a beautiful location where we can offer students a summer of serious study and instruc-tion in throwing and traditional techniques.”

Two years later, the McDougals bought out the Johnsens and remained the owners/directors of the school. During 1970 new student housing was constructed. Bruce taught all the pottery sessions. High fire gas and raku kilns led the firing menu, later augmented with salt kilns and wood-firing kilns. The initial contact person for students, Marcia attended to school needs from housing to poetry readings. Big Creek Pottery School was a family operation with older and younger residents doing daily chores together. Breakfast began at 7am, morning class at 9am with lunch at 12pm, followed by afternoon class, dinner, and a relaxing evening. Classes were held five days a week, and the studio was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The McDougals’ goal was for the Big Creek weeks to be a life learning experience: how to live with and learn from others, build a community and problem solve.

Bruce continued to teach throwing and firing sessions every year. Students also experienced kiln building and kick wheel construction. His published kick wheel plans were available through the then ubiquitous Whole Earth Catalogue. [The plans for McDougal’s wheel can be downloaded from the Ceramics Monthly website in PDF format. Visit the table of contents page for this issue and click on the “kick wheel plan” link below the title of this article.]

Expanded Influence

Big Creek Pottery might have remained a regional school except for Bruce and Marcia’s friendship with Dan and Lyllian Rhodes. The McDougals had helped them find their neighboring retirement home site and housed them during its construction.

In return, Rhodes gave a one-day demonstration, paired with a smaller one-week workshop. In 1971 Dan gave demonstrations at-tended by 89 mostly Bay Area ceramists that catalyzed change: this workshop leader was not himself a production potter. Attendees had access to a master internationally recognized for his particular talents. Potters with experience were attracted to continue learn-ing with other masters as well: Paulus Berenson, Cynthia Bringle, Michael Cardew, Michael Casson, Harry Davis, Ruth Duckworth, John Glick, Karen Karnes, Warren MacKenzie, Jim and Nan McK-innel, John Reeve, Toshiko Takaezu, and Paul Volkening.

Marcia and Bruce invited teachers they admired. Workshop leaders designed their own one- to nine-week programs. Some, like British potter Mick Casson, brought a few hand tools for his wood firing workshop, “Jugs and Jars,” while at the other extreme, John Glick gave three orchestrated workshops. He sent pieces ahead and used the Julia Childs cooking show method of ending his demonstration with a completed result, voila! Glick also taught business practice and ethics for the potter. He writes, “Marcia and Bruce were role models of how to live generously. My own career was at a formative stage back then, so Big Creek reinforced the importance of sharing ideas with others in the field, experimenta-tion, experience, techniques, and my philosophy of keeping work fresh and fun.”

Warren MacKenzie and Canadian pot-ter John Reeve each wrote about their joint 1977 workshop. MacKenzie wrote, “The students were from all over the US and some foreign countries. My memories of Big Creek are of students who were eager to try anything. There were few ‘assign-ments’ but there were no empty times. People worked hard in the studios at all times. They worked hard and also played hard. Everyone pitched in on what needed to be done from clay making to kiln pack-ing and firing and at the end of the session the studios were scrubbed.”

Marcia noted that Michael Cardew felt the lively 1976 session was his best workshop of all time. His letters reveal that, surprisingly, this was the first time he had led a three-week workshop. Previ-ously, Cardew had chosen to give shorter demonstrations or lectures. He expressed, “Thank you for all your kindness to me. I can’t begin to tell you adequately how much I enjoyed and appreciated the whole experience of those 3–4 weeks. What I

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admired especially in you and in the whole of Big Creek Pottery is the beautiful way you run the place—such a harmonious blend of ease and efficiency combined—organized, and yet always that lovely feeling of freedom all around, and a spirit of generosity which is the real fruit of vitality, and is the most important thing! And the FOOD—all those lovely fruits of the garden.”

Although Big Creek Pottery School’s focus remained partial to educating functional potters, it also welcomed others to share their skills. Recognized masters Duckworth and Takaezu gave shorter 2–7 day workshops. Another example was the two-day 1983 hands-on brick-making and construction workshop led by Nader Khalili, an Iranian architect who partnered with global organizations to promote building safe, cheap, livable structures of handmade clay bricks. These arched structures could be glazed and fired in place.

The Legacy

In all, over 1100 students attended workshops at Big Creek, in-cluding Debra Butterfield, Kathy Erteman, John Toki, and Arnie Zimmerman. We cannot see a “Big Creek Style.” That was never intended. Students were encouraged to make and fire quantities of pots; each person needed many personal experiences with clay to find his/her path. The 1981 flyer reads as a mission statement, “Big Creek Pottery has for many years offered the best in individual instruction in the art of working with clay, both in traditional tech-niques of pottery and in the special gifts of eminent guest artists whose knowledge and skills provide the maximum in exposure to new ideas and techniques.”

The last workshop year was 1983. Declining student numbers alerted Bruce to change: college students were now more likely to

major in business than in the arts. Fortunately, the McDougal style is naturally welcoming with openness to alternatives. By the late 1980s, Bruce and Marcia phased out their pottery making and focused on the Davenport Cash Store, built in 1978 as a sales extension and studio space for the advanced students (until 1983). Not surprisingly the Cash Store, overlooking the ocean on Highway 1, became an icon for both locals and tourists. The restaurant, an outgrowth of the meals for many at Big Creek, is remembered for creative California food served on tableware produced by Big Creek potters. Its gallery showcased work by local potters. The Davenport Cash Store was sold in 2005.

On the McDougal’s Swanton Road home site, firebrick paths enveloped with pots evidence devotion to vessels. More and more pots through the doorway, hallway, and rooms culminate in the kitchen where Big Creek specimens complement those from the US and other lands. Thin splits in clay walls,

chips, stains on a few vases and pitchers witness how the inanimate can become an old friend, as potters have long intended. Early this March, Michael Casson’s crock was emptied of flour, cleaned and readied for a vacation, with other fine vessels to stand “spic and span” on a pedestal at the Museum of Art and History @ the McPherson Center in Santa Cruz, radiating what master potters have done with clay and talents they brought to Big Creek Pot-tery School.

“Big Creek Pottery: A Social History of a Visual Idea 1967–1983,” curated by Karen Thuesen Massaro, will be on view through July 17, 2011 at The Museum of Art and History @ the McPherson Center, in Santa Cruz, California. The school is profiled with 70 vessels made by visiting masters, the founders, and students along with photographs primarily from the McDougal collection. Writings by those who came to Big Creek, filmed portraits of Al Johnsen, Bruce and Marcia Mc-Dougal, as well as a recorded audio interview of Michael Cardew enhance the exhibition. A DVD of a 2009 interview with Bruce and Marcia, an essay, and a photo archive will be for sale during the exhibition, with proceeds to cover the exhibition costs as well as to create an archival document.

There will be a reunion for all students and staff who attended the Big Creek Pottery workshops taking place from July 2–4, 2011. For information and reservations email [email protected] or visit the reunion website at www.bigcreekpottery.org.

the author Karen Thuesen Massaro is a ceramist and curator living in Santa Cruz, California.

Notes:1. “Recollections of Santa Cruz and Big Creek Pottery” by Bruce McDougal from Time and Place: Fifty Years of Santa Cruz Studio Ceramics pub. Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA, 1997:18. 2. Ibid.

Kick wheel designed by Bruce McDougal.



http://www.bigcreekpottery.org


Over the years, things have gotten easier for potters. We don’t have to find and dig our own clay, transport it to our studio on a mule, slake it down, sieve it, dry it, and then wedge it just to make a cup. Now we can simply buy an amazing variety of premade and pretested clay bodies online. When glazing, we don’t have to find a feldspar deposit, mine it, test it, and process it. We don’t have to figure out all our own glaze recipes, we can simply search the Internet for recipes with detailed mixing and firing instructions or just purchase ready-made glazes in clean plastic bottles.

Developing your own glazes from natural materials has become much easier too, but you still get the satisfaction of making unique glazes that don’t come from neat plastic containers. Usually the hardest part is col-lecting and processing the natural materials. Thankfully this can now be done simply and easily.

I am sure you have noticed while driving on the roadways that roads have been cut through amazing rock formations many feet thick on almost any interstate. Smaller (and safer) secondary roads have them as well. These road cuts reveal the millions of years of deposition and metamorphosis in a single glance and can be accessed with little effort.

The only problem is identifying what rock you are collecting, espe-cially if you don’t know much about geology. But this is easily overcome with an outstanding series of books called Roadside Geology. you can get these books for most states and they explain in detail the geology of the roadways in that state. For example you can get the Roadside Geology

RoaDSiDe GlazeSby John Britt



PIg SkIN TENMokuCone 10

Shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.08 %Vulcan Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.14Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.12Wood Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.20Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.50 100.00 %

JohNSoN CITy oIL SPoTCone 10/11 Oxidation

Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.03 %Dolomite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.53Bone Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.06Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.73Talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.08Kentucky Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.46Sevier Shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.12 100.00 %

Add: Red Iron Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50 % Rutile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00 %

of Ohio or of Virginia, etc. It locates outcroppings and lists the type of rocks. Then all you have to do is stop and collect samples. These books are outstanding because they often also give you the history of the area. In the Roadside Geology of Ohio there is an excellent history of the pottery industry in eastern Ohio, how the rivers and natural deposits of clay and gas created this booming industry in the 1800s and an explanation of why it died.

I often collect natural glaze materials on various trips I take and then label and save the material until I have time to process it. The process-ing is actually pretty easy (depending on the material) if you are not in a hurry, and you have a bisque kiln and a ball mill. For example, clay or shale is pretty easy to process by slaking it down or ball milling, but processing feldspar can be a bit more challenging because the bonds in the rock are very strong. But even this is not that hard to do with a bisque kiln. For example: if I have a 5lb chunk of feldspar, normally what I would do it is to crush it with a sledge hammer until it was in small enough pieces and then use a hammer mill or a smaller hammer to grind it up. But an easier way is to just put it in a bisque bowl and run it through the bisque. Then, when it comes out, the feldspar will start to crumble. What is happening is that the bonds in the rock that have formed over thousands or millions of years are being broken with the heat and then not allowed to reform as the cooling is so quick, so the rock starts to fall apart. After the bisque firing, I usually see what I can knock off the big chunk and then if it is still hard underneath, I put it through the bisque again. Large chunks of rock possess a lot of mass so they don’t get completely heated in a quick bisque and you have to fire them again to heat the whole rock chunk. After I get it into smaller pieces, I put those in a ball mill for several hours. Then I screen the material from the ball mill and decide if I need to redo the larger chunks or simply throw them out.

There are other ways to find out where materials are other than the Roadside Geology book series. For example you may just come across an unknown outcropping at a local road cut. I often collect shale in Johnson City Tennessee on the east ramp onto State Route 381. It is where 381 and 36 (a.k.a. North Roan Street) intersect. I saw this outcropping which is just below a new General Shale Brick Headquarters. I did not know what type of shale this was so I searched on Google and found an abstract that showed a map of outcroppings of various types of shales in the area, many of which are on the roadways.

you can also search on the US Geologic Survey (USGS) or just go to your local office of the USGS and ask them for information on what is in your area. There are also offices of the US Soil Survey or Department of the Interior that may be able to help you. They will often have exten-sive maps of your area and will probably already know the composition of the clays and rocks in the area. If not, they can have them tested for you. Another good source for local rock and mineral deposits is a local university geology program. They may have academic papers on local rocks and minerals.

The outcropping of shale I collect can actually be looked up on Google Maps. you can actually see the black outcropping in a Google Earth image. you just look up “3103 North Roan Street, Johnson City, TN” on Google and then click “Maps.” (It is near Scully’s Bar and Grill and Ken’s Shop-ping Center.) Then take the little yellow person on the left zoom arrow and place him on the ramp to 381. That will make it turn into a photo

Johnson City oil Spot and oil Spot Cover Glaze, fired to cone 10 in oxidation, slow cooled, 2009.

Pigskin Tenmoku, fired to cone 10 in reduction, quick cooled.



PuMICE CELAdoN Cone 10 Reduction

Hess Pumice 325 Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . 80 %Wollastonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 100 %

JohN’S ASh Cone 10

Wood Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 %Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sevier Shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 100 %

and you can navigate up the ramp by clicking the white circle. When you get up a way and see the car, make the viewer turn to the right and you will see a black outcropping which is the Sevier Shale.

Other materials I collect include clays, limestone granite, gneiss etc. One really easy way that I find partially processed local materials is to head to the bottom of my driveway. I live in a rural area and have a gravel road and driveway. The “gravel” on the road is a ground granite that is mined and processed by Vulcan Materials, a stone supplier for road bond and rock. I contacted them and got a detailed analysis of their stone.

you can get this rock in varying sizes and mixtures. It is essentially ground up granite and if you have a driveway that is on a slope, the fine particles (silt) will wash down the driveway and deposit at the bottom just like it would in nature after thousands of years of erosion. It is actually a small alluvial deposit.

These found and processed materials can then be supplemented with store bought materials until you have the necessary ingredients to make a glaze. you can purchase whiting, dolomite, silica, or more unusual materi-als like rice hull ash, etc., whatever you need to give you a glass former, some fluxes, and some refractory materials.

If you still want unique materials to flux your glaze you can collect various types of wood ash. This is pretty easy if you have a wood stove. you can process specific types of wood simply by cleaning it out and then only burning one type of wood at a time. Plant and grass ash are a bit harder because you need to burn a lot and so that may be better done in a brick pit outside. (you want a brick pit because you don’t want other materials getting into the ash, like dirt from the ground or iron from a metal trash can, etc.)

Other ways of getting materials would be to use cullet or crushed glass bottles. Some people use pop or wine bottles. Brown bottles contain iron oxide while the blue ones contain small amounts of cobalt oxide. you can also find recyclers who process recycled florescent bulbs or medical glass. Another option would be to contact large suppliers for one pound samples of their materials, like pumice, which comes in various mesh sizes. For example, Hess Pumice (www.hesspumice.com) sells Grade F, 325, ½ and FFFF. The Pacer Corporation, which mines Custer Feldspar, sells it in various grades (mesh sizes), e.g. 200 m, chips, etc.

Frank Hohenstein’s method is to use granite countertops cut-offs. He just gets the scrap pieces, crushes and sieves them into different mesh sizes, e.g. 100 m, 80 m, etc. Then he simply substitutes the crushed “granite” for the feldspar in the glaze recipe to give it a unique look. It turns out that “granite” countertops aren’t actually granite but rather various types of polished feldspars.

Once you have the materials, you can start to run basic melt tests, progression and line blends, or triaxial blends. These will give you a wonderful range of glazes from your natural materials with little effort.

Disclaimer: Prospecting for materials along the highway may be dan-gerous or not permitted. Attempt at your own risk and use caution. Find out the laws in your area before attempting any digging.

the author John Britt is the author of The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes. For more information about John and his work, see www.johnbrittpottery.com.

John’s ash,fired to cone 10 in an electric kiln with 4 hour cooling soak at 1800°F. (982°C).

Pumice Celadon, fired to cone 10 in reduction.


http://www.hesspumice.com

http://www.johnbrittpottery.com


reviews

This exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum (www.bellevuearts.org) in Bellevue, Washington, was exemplary, demonstrating how group shows with ceramics should be selected, juried, curated and displayed. Not perfect, it was nonetheless the most important museum survey of contemporary Pacific Northwest ceramics since curator and historian LaMar Harrington’s 1979 double-museum survey, “Another Side of Art,” at the Seattle Art Museum and the University of Washington Henry Art Gallery. The accompanying book has become an iconic record and guide.

Thirty-two years later, ceramic art from Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington has matured and improved considerably. The emergence of strong individual talents not necessarily tied to regional trends like Funk art (as was the case with the Harrington show) was the most newsworthy and critically significant factor. With 33 artists chosen by a jury out of 170 entries, there were a few who barely merited museum inclusion but, by and large, the artists selected were impressive. Jurors were BAM chief curator Stefano Catalani; professor and artist Akio Takamori; collector and ex-dealer Bif Brigman; and Museum of Contemporary Craft curator Namita Wiggers. Each entrant was asked to suggest a museum-specific installation or special project.

Catalani shrewdly followed up on the accepted artists’ proposals, sug-gesting they pursue something special, less commercial perhaps, for the exhibition. Like a true biennial, say the Venice Biennale (where Catalani lived briefly), artists had a chance to make special installations in some cases, taking advantage of the museum’s sleek, 7000-square-foot, third-floor area and outer rooftop sculpture court (containing Arun Sharma’s deteriorating human figure, (de)composition man).

Thanks to the presence of the Canadians, the whole affair took on an international character that was missing from the 1979 extravaganza. Un-like a true international biennial, however, there was no big catalog filled with learned and trendy essays. Instead, there was one all-day symposium that artists, collectors, curators, and critics attended. Again, unfortunately,

there was no proceedings document either. BAM has generated over a dozen catalogs in the past four years; these documents should have been among them.

Pottery, sculpture, gallery vessels, and installation art were the pre-dominant categories on view, spread throughout the spaces in generously lit and displayed areas.

Chris Antemann [see the September 2010 CM, p. 22], for example, had an entire “formal dining room” set aside for her spectacular riff on 18th-century Meissen porcelain figurines of young men and women. Spin-ning off a banquet table at its center, Antemann (now a visiting artist at the Meissen factory) arranged couples in racy embraces, secret encounters, and humorous assignations, all of which were echoed in surrounding framed color photographs detailing the couples engaged in amorous acts. By alluding to an era that produced the French novel of seduction and betrayal, Les Liaisons Dangeureuses (1782) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Antemann draws analogies to the naughty “hooking up” generation of today who, as in her photos, are often caught in flagrante delicto thanks to video, iPhones, and Facebook presences.

With the Canadians Paul Mathieu, Kathy Venter, Dirk Staschke, and Brendan Tang [see February 2011 CM, p. 30], Pacific Northwest ceramics look more sophisticated and Euro-tilted than in 1979—when the Canadians were left out. Mathieu’s Odalisque bowls are now produced in the People’s Republic of China. Reversing the feminist male gaze to-ward women to the gay male gaze of other men, reclining nude men are photo-filtered and applied to the bowl’s interior and outer lip. Probably the most widely acclaimed among all the chosen artists, Mathieu’s new work has evolved in much more interesting ways beyond his fragmented and deconstructed pots of a decade or more ago. He also symbolized a trend (revived by Howard Kottler 30 years ago) of outsourcing fabrication and construction and using photographic decals. Remaining big gallery vessels and failing as sculpture, Mathieu’s Odalisques could only have their

Bellevue Arts Museum Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown by Matthew Kangas

reviews

1 Yuki Nakamura’s Brightness, porcelain, DVD, DVD player, projector, 2010. 2 Dirk Staschke’s My Beautiful Nothing, ceramic, mixed media, 2010. Courtesy of Kobo, Seattle. 3 Kathy Venter’s Coup D’Oeil, terra cotta, 2010. 4 Nathan Craven’s Kosmeo Wall (detail), ceramic, glaze, 2010. 5 Sean Erwin’s Guilty Pleasure, porcelain, glaze, China paint, luster, mixed media, 2010. 6 Patti Warashina’s Gossipmongers, whiteware clay, underglaze, cords, steel, 2010.

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http://www.bellevuearts.org



impact executed in ceramics. Art-historical allusions, rather than Ante-mann’s ceramic-historical ones, strengthen Mathieu’s new vision. Can we now look forward to bowls based on David’s Death of Marat or Courbet’s controversial double nude lesbian portrait, La Source?

Smith People’s Choice award winner Nathan Craven made Kosmeo Wall, which comprises an entire wall viewable from both sides. Cleverly accentuating the Steven Holl–designed building as container, the idea of architecture was expressed as a tour de force of extruded and fabricated forms; each perforated or punctured, many with witty sayings or words on them. This provided an unusual see-through screen that also recalled Islamic and Indian Mughal latticed sunscreens.

Yuki Nakamura’s Brightness was in a darkened area nearby, all the better to see the video projection of light-bulb filaments onto the cast-porcelain floor display of differing light bulb shapes. This contrasted with the fantastic satire of social networking media by Patti Warashina, Gossipmongers, a cir-cular display of seated figures connected by wires and earphones, each face expressing a different surprise as the original message is distorted and relayed.

Celebrity culture is delightfully skewered by Charles Krafft. Why is it that only older artists seem to be the critical voices about the shallowness of today’s tabloid-driven society? Coming on the heels of important group shows in European museums and a solo show in London at Stolen Space in the East End, Krafft adapted his signature blue-and-white ware to five celebrities who combine warped political power with cheesy, personal absurdity: Kim Jong Il of North Korea; President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran; popular singer Amy Winehouse; serial killer Charles Manson; and turn-of-the-century charlatan and occult poseur Aleister Crowley. Their animated facial expressions contrast well with Tip Toland’s contorted, gold-covered male nude. Both artists nod to the facial contortions on the figures of 18th-century Austrian ceramic sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt.

The human figure, so strong in Harrington’s survey, is still an impor-tant subject in Northwest ceramics, but perhaps not quite as important

as before. Sean Erwin’s Guilty Pleasures, and works by Cynthia Lahti, Saya Moriyasu, and Jason Walker suggest that size plays less a part when bolstered by numbers and density of display. Elsewhere, Daniel Duford adapts tabletop display by painting scenes on the “walls” of the table. It was hard to detect the connections between the side images and the figurative objects up top, including a self-portrait as a severed head on a platter.

Critic Donald Kuspit long ago made the comment that Seattle artists seemed to create out of a sense of occasion rather than inner necessity. (At the time, public art was riding high, but the charge may still hold in shows like this.) Not all of Catalani’s generous faith was repaid: one Ken Shores gilt-edged and feathered assemblage would have been enough.

On the other hand, stacked-shelf and tabletop displays of functional wares by Nicholas Bivins, Rob Fornell, Damian Grava, Sequoia Miller, Kevin Snipes, Gwendolyn Yoppolo, and looked great. Fornell deserves a museum show of his own with his luscious glazes and woodfiring genius. But then, for young curators and critics, “Clay Throwdown” was a god-send: plenty of new artists to watch (my money is on Nicholas Nyland); time for mid-career assessments (Attention, curators: catch up with European museums and Charles Krafft.); and lots to discuss about the jury system; awards funding; institutional politics; and the national craft leadership position that BAM is gradually staking out for itself.

Dirk Staschke’s Price Award piece, My Beautiful Nothing, ends the exhibition on an enigmatic note. Garlands of flowers descending to a black hole in a table, it embraces celebration but somehow, like a vanitas still life, reminds us of imminent mortality as well. With all due respect to the late LaMar Harrington (who once had a rock band named after her, to be fair), Pacific Northwest ceramics have come a long way.

the author Matthew Kangas, frequent CM contributor, has a new selection of art reviews, Return to the Viewer (Midmarch Arts Press), which also includes some pieces that originally appeared in these pages.

7 Charles Krafft’s National Futurist Object for Stefano C., slipcast, hand-painted porcelain. 8 Paul Mathieu’s Damien (Odalisque Bowl), porcelain, hand painted in China from Photoshopped photographs morphed over a virtual bowl form. 9 Arun Sharma’s (de)composition: man, clay, plastic. Courtesy of Monarch Contemporary, Seattle. 10 Jason Walker’s Nuisances, Bread Crumbs, and the Pedestrian, porcelain, underglaze, overglaze enamel luster, concrete, 2008. Courtesy of Ferrin Gallery. 11 Nicholas Nyland’s Totem, glazed stoneware, 2010. All images courtesy of the artists and, where applicable, of the galleries noted. All photos: Nora Atkinson.

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Randy Brodnax Flashing & Fuming 7/21 - 26

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Mark Shapiro Pouring & Drinking Pots: A Tour 8/4 - 8

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I N S P I R E D C E R A M I C S U R F A C E S

Potters Council Regional Conference May 20-22, 2011 | Temple, Texas

Forming, Finishing and Firing Lead to Inspired Surfaces

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2011summer workshops Alabama, Fairhope“Studio Skills,” with Maria Spies (August 15–17). Fee: $275. Contact Melinda Hicks, Eastern Shore Art Center; [email protected]; www.esartcenter.com; 251-928-2228.

Alabama, Silverhill“Saggar Fire,” with Maria Spies (June 4–5). Fee: $125. “Take the Fear Out of Mixing Glaze,” with Maria Spies (July 9–10). Fee: $180. “Raku Day of Firing,” with Maria Spies (July 30). Fee: $50. Contact Maria Spies, Maria Spies Pottery; [email protected]; www.maria-pots.com; 251-689-8869.

Arizona, Flagstaff“Building and Firing a Hybrid Train Wood Kiln,” with Jason Hess, Takashi Nakazato, and Kazu Oba (July 5–16). Fee: $1100. “Firing the Wood Kilns,” with Jason Hess (July 18–29). Fee: $1100. Contact Jason Hess, Northern Arizona University; [email protected]; www.nau.edu/ceramics; 928-699-8984.

Arizona, Prescott“Silvie Granatelli: Wheel Thrown/Altered/Carved Porcelain,” with Silvie Granatelli (June 25). Fee: $180. “Carbon Trap Raku,” with Karen vanPrice (July 23–24). Fee: $95. “Full Head/Bust Sculpture,” with Carol Russell (August 13–14). Fee: $75. Contact Karen vanPrice, van-Price Studio; [email protected]; www.vanprice.com; 928-443-9723.

Arkansas, Mountain View“Animated Animal Sculpture,” with Coral McCallister (August 19–21). Fee: $150. Contact Arkansas Craft School; [email protected]; www.arkansascraftschool.org; 870-269-8397.

California, Aptos“Tea Pot for Beginners,” with George Dymesich (June 17–19). Fee: $175. Contact George Dymesich, Santa Cruz Adult School; [email protected]; 831-429-3966.

California, Idyllwild“Hot Clay: The Figure,” with Debra Fritts (June 26–July 2). Fee: $685. “Hot Clay: Soda and Salt Firing,” with Richard Burkett and Joe Molinaro (June 26–July 2). Fee: $685. “Hot Clay: Surface Decoration,” with Lisa Orr (June 26–July 2). Fee: $695. “Hot Clay: Colored Clay,” with Chris Campbell (July 3–8). Fee: $725. “Hot Clay: Perfecting Porcelain,” with Martha Grover (July 3–9). Fee: $725. “Santa Clara Pottery,” with Nathan Youngblood (July 4–9). Fee: $780. “Clay Works: Ceramics for Adult Instructors,” with Greg Kennedy and David Delgado (July 11–22). Fee: $655. “Hopi Tewa Pottery,” with Mark Tahbo (July 11–16). Fee: $710. “Cahuilla Style Pottery: Paddle and Anvil,” with Tony Soares (July 11–15). Fee: $710. “Clay Works: Ceramics for Adults,” with Greg Kennedy and David Delgado (July 11–22). Fee: $680. “Youth Ceramics Workshop,” with Greg Kennedy and David Delgado (July 24–August 6). Fee: $2650. “Junior Arts Ceramics Workshop, 11–13,” with David Delgado (August 7–20). Fee: $2650. Contact Diane Dennis, Idyll-wild Arts Summer Program; [email protected]; www.idyllwildarts.org/summer.aspx; 951-659-2171.

California, Mendocino“Introduction to Soda Firing,” with Derek Hambly and Nicole Beauchemin (June 6–10). Fee: $550. “Moldmaking and Prototyping,” with Heather Mae Erickson (June 20–24). Fee: $550. “Paper Clay: A Sculptural Approach,” with Rebecca Hutchinson (July 5–9). Fee: $700. “Hand Building: Developing Forms and Surfaces,” with Sandy Blain (July 11–15). Fee: $550. “Creating Sounds With Clay,” with Brian Ransom (July 25–29). Fee: $550. “Anagama on the Edge,” with Nick Schwartz (August 8–12). Fee: $550.

“Find Your Throwing Bliss!,” with Andy Ruble (August 22–26). Fee: $550. Contact Michael McDonald, Men-docino Art Center; [email protected]; www.mendocinoartcenter.org; 800-653-3328.

California, Nevada City“Developing Ceramic Surfaces,” with Vince Pitelka (June 13–17). Fee: $395. Contact Rene Sprattling, Studio 540; [email protected]; www.studio540.net; 530-277-1510.

California, Ojai“Luster Glazes Unveiled,” with Myra Toth (June 16–19). Fee: $575. Contact Kevin Wallace, Director, Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts; [email protected]; www.beatricewood.com; 805-646-3381.

California, Ojai“Throwing, Slipping and Soda Firing,” with Matt Long and Frank Massarella (June 13–18). Fee: $600. “Function/Art Fusion: Throwing, Altering and Surface Decoration,” with Frank Massarella (July 25–29). Fee: $550. “Soda and Porcelain,” with Tom Coleman (August 15–19). Fee: $700. Contact Frank Massarella, Massarella’s Firehouse Pottery, Gallery & Clay Studio; [email protected]; www.firehouse-pottery.com; 805-646-9453.

California, Pomona“Two Days with Christa Assad,” with Christa Assad (March 5–6). Fee: $165. Contact Christy Johnson, American Museum of Ceramic Art; [email protected]; www.ceramicmuseum.org; 909-865-3146.

California, Santa Cruz“Large Pots for Beginners,” with Geroge Dymesich (June 24–26). Fee: $175. Contact George Dymesich, Santa Cruz Adult School; [email protected]; 831-429-3966.

California, Walnut Creek“2 Day Intensive: Making Plaster Molds,” with Coreen Abbott (June 11–12).“5 Day Intensive: Techniques In Slip and Glaze Decoration,” with Lesley Jensen (June 20–24). “5 Day Intensive: Bubbling Over With Ideas: Creative Variations on Fountains,” with Ellen Sachtschale (June 20–24). “5 Day Intensive: The Human Figure: From Any Angle,” with Chris Kanyusik (June 20–24). Contact Peter Coussoulis, Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education; [email protected]; www.arts-ed.org; 925-943-5846.

Colorado, Arvada“The Narrative Figure,” with Linda Ganstrom (July 2–3). Fee: $160. Contact Bebe Alexander, Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities; [email protected]; www.arvadacenter.org; 720-898-7239.

Colorado, Arvada“How to Make Hand-made Cane Handles,” with Connie Christensen (June 4). Fee: $80. “Pit and Smoke Firing,” with Sumi von Dassow (June 18–27). Fee: $85. “Cone 6 Glaze Testing,” with Linda Dadisman (July 23–29). Fee: $80. “Extruder Extravaganza,” with Donna Kitchens (August 13–14). Fee: $75. Contact Kit Martinez, Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild; [email protected]; www.arvadaceramicarts.org; 303-378-3055.

Colorado, Bayfield“Raven Ridge Anasazi Pottery Workshops,” with Clint Swink (July 1–August 31). Fee: $250/day. Contact Clint Swink, Swink Art; [email protected]; www.swinkart.com; 970-563-4624.

Colorado, Grand Junction“Salt Vapor, Saggar Fire, and Raku Workshop,” with Terry Shepherd (July 8–10). Fee: $250. “New Ideas: Functional Pots,” with Bill Van Gilder (August 12–14). Fee: $325. Con-tact Terry Shepherd, The Art Center; [email protected]; www.gjartcenter.org; 970-243-7337.

Colorado, Pagosa Springs/Durango“Anasazi Pottery at Chimney Rock Archaeological Area,”

with Gregory Wood (July 29–31). Fee: $160. Contact Greg-ory Wood, Adams State College; [email protected]; www.ancientarts.org; 970-222-2322.

Colorado, Snowmass Village“Pottery Basics,” with Doug Casebeer and Bradley Walters (June 6–17). Fee: $1030. “Growing Sculp-ture: From Clay to Metal,” with Michael Sherrill (June 6–17). Fee: $1030. “Your Symbols and the Conscious Portrait,” with Arthur Gonzalez (June 13–24). Fee: $1130. “Constructed Forms and Slipped Surfaces,” with Victoria Christen (June 20–July 1). Fee: $1130. “Beyond Molds: Experimenting with Plaster and Porcelain,” with Andrew Martin (June 27–July 8). Fee: $1130. “Keep Practicing: Pottery Making,” with Simon Leach (July 4–15). Fee: $1130. “The Narrative: Realizing Form,” with Sunkoo Yuh (July 11–22). Fee: $1130. “Soften Up: Hand Building with Slabs,” with Marc Digeros (July 18–29). Fee: $1130. “Interpreting the Figure,” with Cristina Cordova (July 25–August 5). Fee: $1130. “Changing Scale: Horizontal and Vertical,” with Suze Lindsay and Kent McLaughlin (August 1–12). Fee: $1130. “Photo-Based Surfaces for Ceramics,” with Mark Burleson (August 8–19). Fee: $1130. “Pottery: Coil Building,” with Takashi Nakazato and Sam Harvey (August 15–19). Fee: $1030. “Cut and Construct,” with Christa Assad (August 22–September 2). Fee: $1030. “Exploring Form with Amazing Surfaces,” with Brad Miller and Ralph Scala (August 22–September 2). Fee: $1030. Contact Doug Casebeer, Anderson Ranch Arts Center; [email protected]; www.andersonranch.org/; 970-923-3181.

Connecticut, Kent“Smoke Fire,” with Paula Shalan (June 11–12). Fee: $200. “All About Woodfire,” with Fred Olsen (June 29–30). Fee: $200. “Decorating with Layers,” with Adero Willard (July 23–24). Fee: $200. “Decorating for Woodfire,” with Sam Taylor (August 13–14). Fee: $200. Contact Alison Palmer, Alison Palmer Studio; [email protected]; www.alisonpalmer.com; 860-927-4680.

Connecticut, Westport“Raku, Glazing, and Firing,” with Kevin Thomas and Kenjiro Kitade (June 5). Fee: $130. “Glazing Your Cone 10 Work,” with Kevin Thomas and Kenjiro Kitade (June 23–24). Fee: $85. “Experimental Firing: Salt Kiln and Pit Firing,” with Kevin Thomas and Kenjiro Kitade (June 18–July 2). Fee: $190. “Experimental Firing: Salt Kiln and Pit Firing,” with Kevin Thomas and Kenjiro Kitade (July 9–23). Fee: $190. “Raku, Glazing and Firing,” with Kevin Thomas and Kenjiro Kitade (July 10). Fee: $130. Contact Kevin Thomas, Kevin Thomas Studios; [email protected]; www.kevinthomasart.com; 203-979-0409.

Georgia, Cave Spring“Cone 6 Studio All Production Methods,” with John Johnston (June 16–18). Fee: $150. Contact John John-ston, Cave Spring Arts Center; [email protected]; www.burtonvision.com; 706-777-8546.

Georgia, Decatur“Silk-Screen Decals Made Easy,” with Rimas VisGirda (June 10–12). Fee: $325. “Altered States: Unique Forms And Intense Surfaces,” with Ronan Peterson (July 29–31). Fee: $325. “Drawing Both Sides,” with Kevin Snipes (August 5–7). Fee: $325. Contact Luba Sharapan and Erik Haagensen, directors, MudFire Clayworks & Gallery; [email protected]; www.mudfire.com; 404-377-8033.

Idaho, Ketchum“Character Traits: Throwing Workshop,” with Deborah Schwartzkopf (June 10–12). Fee: $250. “Raku Work-shop,” with Jim Romberg (August 12–14). Fee: $250.

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Contact Susan Ward, Boulder Mountain Clayworks; [email protected]; www.bouldermtnclay.com; 208-726-4484.

Indiana, Indianapolis“Silk-Screen Printing Made Easy and Decals for Ceramics, Glass, and Enamel,” with Rimas VisGirda (June 27–July 1). Contact Katherine Fries, University of Indianapolis; [email protected]; www.art.uindy.edu; 317-788-3253.

Iowa, Okoboji“Clay Experimentation,” with Brad Travis (July 18–21). Fee: $95. “Silk Screen Printing Made Easy/Decals for Ceramics, Glass and Enamel,” with Rimas VisGirda (June 20–24). Fee: $365. Contact Katie Meyer, Pearson Lakes Art Center; [email protected]; www.lakesart.org; 712-332-7013.

Kentucky, Lexington“Maiolica: Forms for Decoration,” with Steve Davis Rosen-baum (June 18). Fee: $75. “Pots/Possibilities,” with Nick Joerling (August 6). Fee: $165. Contact LeAnne Ash, Ken-tucky Mudworks; [email protected]; www.kentuckymudworks.com; 859-389-9681.

Maine, Deer Isle“Timeless/Timely: Explorations of Pottery Form,” with Linda Sikora and Matthew Metz (May 29–June 10). Fee: $790. “When Animals Go Tactile,” with Bernadette Curran (June 12–24). Fee: $790. “Figurative Sculp-ture,” with Ovidio Giberga (June 26–July 8). Fee: $790. “Traditional Language: Contemporary Voices,” with Josh DeWeese (July 17–29). Fee: $790. “Imagery in Clay: The Passionate Narrative,” with Richard Notkin (July 31–August 12). Fee: $790. “Printmaking for Ceramics,” with Andy Brayman (August 14–26). Fee: $790. “Object/Maker/Storyteller,” with Kevin Snipes (August 28–September 3). Fee: $420. Contact Candy Haskell, Registrar, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; [email protected]; www.haystack-mtn.org; 207-348-2306.

Maine, Monroe“Tai Chi, ChiKung, and Throwing Pots,” with Squidge Davis (June 17–20). Fee: $425. “Pottery Immersion: The Full Cycle,” with Squidge Davis (August 19–28). Fee: $1300. Contact Squidge Davis, Starflower Farm & Studios; [email protected]; www.starflowerfarmstudios.com; 207-525-3593.

Maine, Newcastle“Catenary, Wood-fired, Salt/Soda Kiln-building,” with Markus Urbanik and Hunter Stamps (June 5–17). Fee: $1375. Contact Reeder Fahnestock, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts; [email protected]; www.watershedceramics.org; 207-882-6075.

Maryland, Arnold“Large Scale Vessel Making: Traditional Japanese Throw-ing Technique Using a Contemporary Blowtorch,” with Jayne Shatz (June 1–August 31). Fee: $100. “How to Design an Efficient Potter’s Studio and Develop Ceramic Curricula,” with Jayne Shatz (June 1–August 31). Fee: $100. “Strategies For a Successful Business in Art: Using Websites, Emails, Facebook, YouTube, and Etsy to In-crease Your Network,” with Jayne Shatz (June 1–August 31). Fee: $100. Contact Jayne Shatz, Jayne Shatz Pot-tery; [email protected]; www.jayneshatzpottery.com; 410-757-6351.

Maryland, Frederick“Art and Marketing,” with Rebecca Bafford (June 6–16). Fee: $700. “Throwing Large Forms,” with Kevin Crowe (June 20–25). Fee: $475. “Ceramic Sculpture,” with Shawn Grove (June 27–July 12). Fee: $700. “Porcelain,” with Joyce Michaud (July 14–27). Fee: $700. “Under-standing Pottery Glazes,” with Phil Berneburg (August 6–7). Fee: $175. “Masters’ Throwing,” with Joyce Mi-chaud (August 11–14). Fee: $300. “East Asian Coil Tech-nique,” with Joyce Michaud (August 20–21). Fee: $175. Contact Karen Taylor, Hood College; [email protected]; www.hood.edu/ceramics; 301-696-3526.

Massachusetts, Allston“Adaptive Radiation,” with Christopher Adams (June 23). “Print on Clay,” with Kathy King (July 21). Contact Shawn Panepinto, Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard; [email protected]; www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/ceramics/; 617-495-8680.

Massachusetts, Stockbridge“Alternative Firings: Smoke Fire,” with Paula Shalan (June 6–13). Fee: $95. “Alternative Firings: Soda Fire,”

with Ben Evans (June 20–27). Fee: $150. Contact Kaitlyn Squires, IS183 Art School; [email protected]; www.is183.org; 413-298-5252.

Michigan, Saugatuck“The Land is as Land is Land Art: Experiments with Clay,” with Anna Mayer (June 5–18). “Color has Depth: Ceramic Sculpture/A Thing Painted: The Colors of Ceramics,” with Patricia Rieger and Xavier Toubes (June 19–July 2). “Clay Form Invention,” with Nicole Cherubini (July 3–16). “Ceramics: Material and Processes: Woodfire,” with Edge Barnes and Jack Troy (July 17–30). Contact Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists Residencies; [email protected]; www.ox-bow.org; 800-318-3019.

Minnesota, Wrenshall“Wheel Throwing,” with Kitty Jacquot (June 3–12). Fee: $660. “Sculpture,” with Kitty Jacquot (July 15–24). Fee: $660. “Raku,” with Kitty Jacquot (August 12–21). Fee: $660. All fees include hous-ing and meals. Contact Kitty Jacquot, Dragon-fire Ceramics; [email protected]; www.dragonfireceramicsworkshops.com; 218- 384-9374.

Missouri, Ellsinore“Raku with Dave: Exploring Raku Styles,” with David Porter (June 3–5). Fee: $150. “Down On the Floor and Up On the Wheel: Improving Your Throwing Skills and Slab Built Construction,” with David Porter (June 6–11). Fee: $300. “Working to Fill and Fire the Wood Kiln: A Focus on Throwing Techniques, Slips, and Glazes,” with David Porter (June 18–30). Fee: $450. Contact David Porter, Raven Center for the Arts; [email protected]; www.ravencenter.org; 573-998-2611.

Missouri, Kansas City“Assembling Parts Into a Whole: Rims, Bellies, Feet, Handles, Spouts, and Lids,” with Steven Hill (June 11). Fee: $75. Contact Susan Speck, KC Clay Guild; [email protected]; www.kcclayguild.org; 816-363-1373.

Montana, Helena“Richard Notkin Moldmaking Institute: Inaugural Two-week Workshop,” with Richard Notkin (August 22–Sep-tember 2). Fee: $975. Contact Richard Notkin, Richard Notkin Moldmaking Institute; [email protected]; 406-442-4382.

Montana, Missoula“Alluring Surfaces: Tricks and Techniques,” with David Regan (June 18). “Build and Burn: Raku, Handbuilding, and Alternative Methods,” with David Smith (July 9–16). “The Pottery Triangle-Creating, Marketing, Selling,” with Jayson Lawfer (August 13). Contact Shalene Valenzuela, The Clay Studio of Missoula; [email protected]; www.theclaystudioofmissoula.org; 406-543-0509.

Nevada, Incline Village“Exploring Form in Utilitarian Pottery,” with Alleghany Meadows (June 6–10). Fee: $575. “Thrown, Altered, and Decorated,” with Loran Meaden (June 13–17). Fee: $575. “Putting It Together: Altered Functional Pots,” with Meira Mathison (June 20–24). Fee: $575. “Studio Techniques: Upside Down Throwing,” with Shuji Ikeda (June 25–26). Fee: $280. “Traditional Forms: Unconventional Approaches,” with Doug Browe (June 27–July 1). Fee: $575. “Pushing Porcelain to the Limits,” with Skeff Thomas (July 11–15). Fee: $575. “Graphic Clay,” with Diana Fayt (July 18–22). Fee: $575. “The Great Wall Mural,” with John Toki (July 23–24). Fee: $280. “Animal Masquerade: Pottery Safari,” with Joe Bova (July 25–29). Fee: $575. “Fast Fire Pottree,” with Randy Brodnax and Don Ellis (August 1–5). Fee: $575. Contact Sheri Leigh O’Connor, Sierra Nevada College; [email protected]; www.sierranevada.edu/clay; 775-881-7588.

New Jersey, Layton“Innovative Handbuilding and Color,” with Lana Wilson (June 3–7). Fee: $545. “Prototyping, Mold Making and Slip Casting,” with Heather Mae Erickson (June 10–14). Fee: $550. “Master’s Throwing with Joyce Michaud,” (June 17–21). Fee: $540. “Good Technique and Beautiful Form,” with Angela Fina (June 24–28). Fee: $545. “Firing the Naborigama,” with Fred Olsen (July 2–10). Fee: $900. “Low Fire Layering,” with Lisa Orr (July 15–19). Fee: $545. “Soda Firing Workshop,” with

Robert Brady (July 22–26). Fee: $605. “The Organic, The Figure: Structure and Scale,” with Matt Burton (July 29–31). Fee: $400. “Making Work for the Anagama,” with Bruce Dehnert and Kristin Muller (August 5–9). Fee: $615. “Firing the Anagama Kiln,” with Kristin Muller (August 10–16). Fee: $860. “Making an Impres-sion,” with Tony Clennell (August 26–30). Fee: $545. Contact Jennifer Brooks, Peters Valley Craft Center; [email protected]; www.petersvalley.org; 973-948-5200.

New Jersey, Loveladies“Altered and Ornamented,” with Kristen Kief-fer (June 13–17). Fee: $595. “Not So Superficial,” with John Williams (July 11–15). Fee: $495. Contact Candice MacLusky, Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences; [email protected]; www.lbifoundation.org; 609-494-1241.

New Mexico, Abiquiu“Raku: An Exploration In Pottery,” with Barbara Campbell (July 4–10). Fee: $360. “Playing With Fire: Clay From Start To Finish,” with Barbara Campbell (July 11–17). Fee: $360. “Playing With Fire: Clay From Start to Finish,” with Barbara Campbell (July 18–24). Fee: $360. “Let’s Play With Fire and Clay,” with Doug DeLind (August 1–7). Fee: $325. Contact Gail Ander-son, Marketing Coordinator, Ghost Ranch Abiquiu; [email protected]; www.ghostranch.org; 505-685-4333.

New Mexico, Bayard“Clay: An Architectural Approach,” with Kathryn Allen (August 12–14). Fee: $225. Contact Kathryn Allen, Kallenclay Studio; [email protected]; www.kallenclay.com; 575-537-3332.

New Mexico, Santa Fe“Heritage of Clay: Southwestern Exploration,” with Lia Lynn Rosen (June 6–17). Fee: $295/week, $550/two weeks. “Creating Vessels of Spirit,” with Lia Lynn Rosen (June 20–26). Fee: $350. Contact Lia Lynn Rosen, Clay Kodesh Arts and Learning; [email protected]; www.claykodesh.com; 505-463-5822.

New Mexico, Santa Fe“Throwing Small and Large with Porcelain,” with Heidi Loewen (July 18–22). Fee: $1600. Contact Heidi Loewen, Heidi Loewen Porcelain Gallery & School; [email protected]; www.heidiloewen.com; 505-988-2225.

New Mexico, Santa Fe“Decoration: Techniques and Meanings,” with Liz Quackenbush (June 13–17). Fee: $575. “Sculpting The Self,” with Claudia Alvarez (June 20–24). Fee: $575. “Soul Work,” with Curt LaCross (June 27–July 1). Fee: $575. “Pouring Possibilities,” with Charity Davis-Wood-ard (July 4–8). Fee: $575. “Extravagant and Ornate,” with Kristen Kieffer (July 11–15). Fee: $575. “Elegant Pinching,” with Emily Schroeder (July 18–22). Fee: $575. “Large-Scale Figures,” with Lisa Reinertson (July 25–29). Fee: $605. “Plaster And Clay: Made For Each Other,” with Steven Heinemann (August 1–5). Fee: $575. “Nar-rative Tableaus,” with Pattie Chalmers (August 8–12). Fee: $575. “Allegorical Analysis,” with Chuck Aydlett (August 15–19). Fee: $575. Contact Avra Leodas, Santa Fe Clay; [email protected]; www.santafeclay.com; 505-984-1122.

New Mexico, Taos“Image and Narrative in Clay: An Introduction,” with Rebecca Barfoot (June 10–12). Fee: $225. “Learn to Woodfire in New Mexico,” with Logan Wannamaker, Scott Rutherford and John Bradford (June 18–26). Fee: $725. “Inspired By Nature,” with Akira Satake (July 5–8). Fee: $345. “Kissed by the Fire,” with Simon Levin (July 15–17). Fee: $275. “Traditional Micaceous Pottery,” with Henrietta Gomez (August 1–6). Fee: $575. “Jeff Shapiro,” with Jeff Shapiro (August 19–21). Fee: $325. Contact Logan Wannamaker, Taos Clay; [email protected]; www.taosclay.com; 575- 770-4334.

New York, Corning“Anagama Fire Works,” with Doug Jeppesen (June 27–July 3). Fee: $200. Contact Fred Herbst, Atrium Gallery, Corning Community College; [email protected]; www.corning-cc.edu; 607-962-9354.

New York, Freehold“Udu Drum Workshop,” with Frank Giorgini (July 9–16).

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Fee: $350. Contact Frank Giorgini, Udu Inc/Handmade Tiles; [email protected]; www.udu.com; 518- 634-2559.

New York, Middlesex“Craft Weekend: Listening to the Clay,” with Annie Schliffer (June 24–26). Fee: $275. “Large Platter Workshop,” with David McDonald (August 5–7). Fee: $200. Contact Annie Schliffer, Rochester Folk Art Guild; [email protected]; www.folkartguild.org; 585- 554-5463.

New York, New York“Thrown and Altered,” with Brenda Quinn (July 29–31). Fee: $365. “Expressive Handbuilt Pottery,” with Marga-ret Bohls (July 29–31). Fee: $365. “Surfaces: The Real and Imagined,” with Kurt Weiser (August 5–7). Fee: $365. “Teapots: Utilitarian vs Diminutive,” with Fong Choo (August 5–7). Fee: $365. Contact Adam Welch, Greenwich House Pottery; [email protected]; www.greenwichhouse.org; 212-242-4106.

New York, Port Chester“Simultaneous Demonstrations with Shoko and Matt,” with Shoko Teruyama and Matt Kelleher (June 18–19). Fee: $200. “Patch and Repair,” with Caitlin Applegate (July 16–17). Fee: $200. “Cut And Paste,” with Deborah Schwartzkopf (August 1–5). Fee: $415. “Figures and Animals in Clay: An Experimental Workshop,” with Su-san Halls (August 20–21). Fee: $200. Contact Leigh Tay-lor Mickelson, Clay Art Center; [email protected]; www.clayartcenter.org; 914-937-2047.

New York, Water Mill“The Parts Make The Whole,” with Mark Shap-iro (July 23–24). Fee: $250. “Where Does Change Come From?,” with Jack Troy (August 27–28). Fee: $250. Contact Nancy Robbins, Clay Art Guild of the Hamptons; [email protected]; www.hamptonsclayart.org; 631-726-2547.

New York, Windham“Clay Mask Making,” with Dina Bursztyn (July 16). Fee: $150. “Tile Workshop,” with Frank Giorgini (July 30–31). Fee: $400. “Clay Mask Making,” with Dina Bursztyn (August 5). Fee: $150. “Raku,” with Ruth Sachs (August 21–26). Fee: $525. Contact Kip Christie, Banner Hill School of Fine Arts & Woodworking; [email protected]; www.bannerhillllc.com; 518-929-7821.

North Carolina, Asheville“Humor: It’s Serious Business,” with Kathy King (May 30–June 3). Fee: $475. “Finding Your Form Through Nature,” with Alice Ballard (June 13–17). Fee: $475. “Animal Masks,” with David Gamble and Tracy Gamble (June 20–21). Fee: $150. “Making Faces,” with Alex Irvine (June 22–24). Fee: $250. “Hand-build with Style,” with Liz Zlot Summerfield (June 27–July 1). Fee: $475. “Thrown, Altered, and Soda Fired,” with Lorna Meaden (July 11–15). Fee: $485. “Slow Pottery,” with Shoko Teruyama and Matt Kelleher (July 18–22). Fee: $475. “Meaningful Expressions,” with Melisa Cadel (July 25–29). Fee: $475. “Build-ing Surface Content,” with Thaddeus Erdahl (August 1–5). Fee: $475. Contact Cara Gilpin, Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts; [email protected]; www.highwaterclays.com; 828-285-0210.

North Carolina, Brasstown“Folded Forms,” with Mary Kay Botkins (June 5–11). Fee: $546. “Beginning Wheel Made Easy,” with Ken and Melody Shipley (June 12–18). Fee: $546. “Pottery Basics: Handbuilding and the Wheel,” with Marcia Bugg (June 26–July 2). Fee: $546. “Beginning Handbuilding: A Great Way to Start,” with Molly Marsh (July 3–8). Fee: $488. “Smoke, Fire, and Color,” with Susie Duncan (July 10–16). Fee: $546. “Beginning Wheel and Slab: What a Combo!,” with Dylan and Angela Cox (July 17–23). Fee: $546. “Stretching Your Techniques,” with Steve Loucks (July 24–30). Fee: $546. “Polymer Clay in Basketry: A New Approach,” with Karen Woods (July 31–August 5). Fee: $488. “Understanding Basic Glaze Materials and Formulas,” with Mike Lalone (August 5–7). Fee: $308. “Raku, Salku, and the Potter’s Wheel,” with Rick Berman (August 7–13). Fee: $546. “Finishing Your Pottery,” with Rebecca Floyd (August 14–20). Fee: $546. “Woodfire,” with Rob Withrow and Steve Turpin (August 21–28). Fee: $796. “Polymer Clay: Color and Caning,” with Nancy Mackoviak (August 26–28).

Fee: $308. Contact Anna Shearouse, John C. Campbell Folk School; [email protected]; www.folkschool.org; 828-837-2775.

North Carolina, Highlands“Happiness Is a Warm Extruder,” with Hayne Bayless (July 26–29). Fee: $475. Contact Norma Hendrix, The Bascom; [email protected]; www.thebascom.org; 828-526-4949.

North Carolina, Mars Hill“Attention to Detail,” with Tom Turner (June 25–26). Fee: $200. Contact Tom Turner, Tom Turner Porcelain; [email protected]; www.tomturnerporcelain.com; 828-689-9430.

North Carolina, Penland“Terra Cotta Throwdown,” with Ronan Peterson (May 29–June 10). Fee: $855. “The Slow Pot Duet,” with Sandy Pierantozzi and Holly Walker (May 29–June 10). Fee: $855. “Wheelthrown Pottery Inside and Out,” with Emily Reason (June 12–24). Fee: $855. “Modeling, Mapping, and Molding Technology,” with Del Harrow (June 12–24). Fee: $855. “Thrown, Altered, Embel-lished, Assembled,” with Steve Loucks (June 26–July 8). Fee: $855. “Figurative and Narrative Ceramics,” with Stephen Dixon (June 26–July 8). Fee: $855. “Porce-lain: Wheelthrowing and Carving,” with Cliff Lee (July 10–22). Fee: $855. “Figuring Out The Figure,” with Keith Wallace Smith (July 10–22). Fee: $855. “Throwing Soft,” with Phil Rogers (July 24–August 9). Fee: $1092. “Innovative Handbuilding Plus Color,” with Lana Wilson (July 24–August 9). Fee: $1094. “Throwing Intensive,” with Phil Rogers (August 14–26). Fee: $855. “Open/Closed Handbuilding,” with Sang Roberson (August 14–26). Fee: $855. “Exploring Pouring Vessels,” with Linda McFarling (August 28–September 3). Fee: $490. “Handbuilding: Developing Forms and Surfaces,” with Sandy Blain (August 28–September 3). Fee: $490. Contact Robin Dreyer, Penland School of Crafts; [email protected]; www.penland.org; 828-765-2359.

Ohio, Westerville“Personal Iconography: Creating a Visual Dialog,” with Kristen Cliffel (June 13–24). Fee: $650. Contact Jim Bowling, Otterbein College; [email protected]; www.otterbein.edu; 614-823-1268.

Oregon, Corbett“Ceramic Sculpture,” with Sara Swink (July 31–Au-gust 6). Fee: $740. “Handbuilding,” with Dennis Meinors (August 7–12). Fee: $740. Contact John Kinyon, Creative Arts Community; [email protected]; www.creativeartscommunity.org; 503-760-5837.

Oregon, Portland“Line Blends for Glaze Surface and Color,” with Chic Lotz (June 9–12). Fee: $424. “Figurative Sculpture on the Wall,” with Lisa Reinertson (July 8–10). Fee: $386. “Molds for Slip Casting,” with Dara Hartman (August 1–5). Fee: $285. Contact Thomas Orr, Oregon College of Art and Craft; [email protected]; www.ocac.edu; 503-297-5544.

Pennsylvania, Lancaster“Keep Practicing,” with Simon Leach (June 4–5). Fee: $127. Contact Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen; [email protected]; www.pacrafts.org/workshops; 717-431-8706.

Pennsylvania, Little Meadows“Throwing Large Forms: No Mystery: Methodology Not Muscle,” with Kevin Crowe (August 6–7). Fee: $275. Contact Ruth Cohen and Archie Johnson, Mud and Fire Potters; [email protected]; www.mudandfirepotters.com; 570-623-3335.

Pennsylvania, New London“Printing With Colored Clay,” with Mitch Lyons (June 13–17). Fee: $595. “Printing With Colored Clay,” with Mitch Lyons (June 25–26). Fee: $235. “Print-ing With Colored Clay,” with Mitch Lyons (August 27–28). Fee: $235. Contact Mitch Lyons, Mitch Lyons Studio; [email protected]; www.mitchlyons.com; 610-869-8652.

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia“Screen Printing for Clay and T-shirts,” with Hope Rovelto (August 20). Fee: $50. Contact Joanie Turbek, The Clay Studio; [email protected]; www.theclaystudio.org; 215-925-3453.

Tennessee, Gatlinburg“Extrude Your Way to Fame, Wealth and Happiness,”

with Hayne Bayless (June 5–11). Fee: $475. “Cross-Pollination,” with Chuck Aydlett (July 3–9). Fee: $475. “Sculptural Vessels: Hollow Forms,” with Jerilyn Virden (July 31–August 6). Fee: $475. Contact Bill May, Arrow-mont School of Arts and Crafts; [email protected]; www.arrowmont.org; 865-436-5860.

Tennessee, Sewanee“Adjusting Volume: Insights into Handbuilding,” with Randy Johnston (June 12–18). Fee: $775. “Thoughtful Considerations in the Making of Everyday Pots,” with Jan McKeachie-Johnston (June 12–18). Fee: $775. “Pot-tery: Ideas and Making,” with Linda Christianson (June 19–25). Fee: $775. “From Flat to Fat: Function, Context, and Process,” with Mark Pharis (June 19–25). Fee: $775. Contact Claire Reishman, Shakerag Workshops; [email protected]; www.shakerag.org; 931-598-5652.

Tennessee, Smithville“Glazing Techniques,” with Susan DeMay (June 3–5). Fee: $300. “Architectural Ceramics,” with Marcia Selsor (June 12–July 1). Fee: $1750. “Ceramic Decals and Screen Printing,” with Rimas VisGirda (July 10–15). Fee: $500, $50 materials fee. “Paper Clay Sculpture,” with Rebecca Hutchinson (July 17–22). Fee: $500. “Slow Pots,” with David Eichelberger (July 24–29). Fee: $500. Contact Beth Smith, TTU Ap-palachian Center for Craft; [email protected]; www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/workshops/; 931-372-3051.

Texas, Dallas“Handbuilding Large Scale Sculptural Forms,” with Lisa Ehrich and Jerilyn Virden (June 15–July 1). Fee: $396. Contact Lisa Ehrich, Brookhaven College; [email protected]; www.dcccd.edu; 972-860-4733.

Texas, San Antonio“Animated Vessels,” with Stan Irvin (June 24–26). Fee: $190. Contact Dennis Smith, Southwest School of Art; [email protected]; www.swschool.org; 210-224-1848.

Texas, San Marcos“Big Clay Sculpture,” with Billy Ray Mangham and James Tisdale (June 6–10). Fee: $475. Contact Billy Ray Mangham, Eye of the Dog Art Center; [email protected]; www.eotdac.com; 512-754-8171.

Utah, Blanding“Anasazi Pottery at Edge of the Cedars State Museum,” with Gregory Wood (June 6–11). Fee: $295. Contact Gregory Wood, Adams State College; [email protected]; www.ancientarts.org; 970-222-2322.

Vermont, Bennington“Alternative Firing Techniques,” with Bob Green (July 17–23). Fee: $950. “Wheelworking: Orthodox and Reform,” with Ben Ryterband (July 24–30). Fee: $950. “Hand-Built Ceramics,” with Bob Green (July 24–30). Fee: $950. Contact Nancy McCarthy, Massachusetts College of Art and Design; [email protected]; www.massart.edu/ane; 617-879-7175.

Vermont, Bradford “Throwing in the Pond Farm,” with Bruce Murray (July 4–15). Fee: $600. Contact Bruce Murray, South Road Pot-tery; [email protected]; www.brucemurraypotter.com; 802-222-5798.

Virginia, Arlington“Pouring and Lidded Forms Exposed,” with Bradley Birkhimer (June 11–12). Fee: $165. Contact Lee Arts Center; [email protected]; www.leeartscenter.org; 703-228-0558.

Virginia, Floyd“All Bottled Up! Throwing Ceramic Bottles,” with Chris Lively (June 3–5). Fee: $300. “Cone 10 Firing and Pottery Workout,” with Emily Reason (August 18–21). Fee: $400. Contact Amy Avery-Grubel, The Jacksonville Center for the Arts; [email protected]; www.jacksonvillecenter.org; 540-745-2784.

Virginia, Lorton“Surface It! Brushmaking,” with Marianne Cordyack (June 11). Fee: $75. “Raku Firing Workshop,” with Dale Marhanka (June 25). Fee: $90. “Surface It! China Painting,” with Erika Radke (July 23). Fee: $75. “Raku Firing Workshop,” with Joe Dailey (July 30). Fee: $90. “Surface It! Non-Traditional Surfaces,” with Pam Eisen-mann (August 13). Fee: $75. Contact Dale Marhanka, Workhouse Arts Center; [email protected]; www.workhousearts.org; 703-584-2982.

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Virginia, Nellysford“All About Lamps: A Hands-On Workshop,” with Nan Rothwell (August 6–7). Fee: $200. Contact Nan Rothwell, Nan Rothwell Pottery; [email protected]; www.nanrothwellpottery.com; 434-263-4023.

Virginia, Roanoke“Women Working With Clay,” with Donna Polseno, Andrea Gill, Silvie Granatelli, Dara Hartman, Kari Radasch, Kala Stein, and Jerilyn Virden (June 13–16). Fee: $385. Contact Christine Powell, Hollins University; [email protected]; www.hollins.edu; 540-362-6225.

Washington, Coupeville“Pots for the Table and Kitchen: Hone Your Skills, Ex-plore Your Aesthetic, Develop Your Practice,” with Rob-bie Lobell (June 28–July 2). Fee: $585. Contact Robbie Lobell, Robbie Lobell Pottery; [email protected]; www.robbielobell.com; 360-678-1414.

Washington, Ferndale“Ancient Clay,” with Vince Pitelka (July 18–22). Fee: $300. Contact Michael McDowell, Mc-Dowell Pottery; [email protected]; www.mcdowellpottery.com; 360-384-2543.

Washington, Freeland“Architectural Tile,” with Peter King and Xinia Marin (June 27–July 1). Fee: $450. Contact Carol Rose Dean, Dean Tile; [email protected]; www.deantile.com; 360-331-1295.

Washington, Harstine Island“Loading and Firing an Amerigama Wood Kiln,” with John Benn and Colleen Gallagher (June 8–12). Fee: $325. Contact John Benn, Harstine Island Wood Kilns; [email protected]; www.benngallagher.com; 360-426-3918.

Washington, Tacoma“Summer Raku Workshop,” with Dave and Boni Deal (July 16). Fee: $115. Contact Joseph Brecha, Clay Art Center; [email protected]; www.clayartcenter.net; 800-952-8030.

Wisconsin, Dodgeville“Communing With Clay,” with Phil Lyons (June 12–17). Fee: $450. “Communing With Clay: Session II,” with Geof Herman (June 19–24). Fee: $450. “Wisconsin Wood-Fire Weekend,” with David Smith (July 8–10). Fee: $350. “Professional Studio,” with Linda Chris-tianson (July 10–17). Fee: $495. “Wisconsin Wood Kiln Firing,” with David Smith (July 10–16). Fee: $50/day. “Family Clay Camp,” with Linda Schrage (July 15–17). Fee: $150/adult, $75/children 12 and under. “Communing With Clay: Session III,” with Linda Leighton and Stephanie O’Shaugnessy (July 24–29). Fee: $450. “Clay Ventures,” with Ryan Myers (August 7–12). Fee: $450. Contact Krista Loomans, Bethel Horizons Art Ventures; [email protected]; www.bethelhorizons-artventures.org; 608-574-8100.

Wisconsin, Herbster“The Best Little Wood-Fire Workshop,” with Mike Weber (June 11–25). Fee: $545. Contact Mike Weber, Weber-woodfire; [email protected]; www.weberwoodfire.com; 715-774-3707.

Wyoming, Buffalo“Perfecting Porcelain: Discover the Idiosyncrasies of Por-celain On and Off the Wheel Under the Peaks of the Big Horn Mountains,” with Martha Grover (June 11–12). Fee: $175. Contact Bonnie Schlesselman, Potters’ Depot LLC; [email protected]; www.pottersdepot.com; 307-684-4555.

Wyoming, Jackson“Hands on Ceramic Sculpture,” with Robert “Bob Dog” Brubaker (July 22–23). Fee: $185. “Working the Porcelain Surface,” with Emily Free Wilson and Bobby Free (July 28–30). Fee: $235. “Using Cold Patina on Ceramic Sculpture,” with Robert “Bob Dog” Brubaker (August 26–27). Fee: $185. Contact Sam Dowd, Art Association of Jackson Hole; [email protected]; www.jacksonholeworkshops.org; 307-733-6379.

Canada, Alberta, Medicine Hat“From Prototype to Production,” with Russell Hackney (August 5–14). Fee: $792.56. “Pots for the Kitchen, Bread for the Table,” with Fredi Rahn (August 5–14). Fee: $792.56. Contact Aaron Nelson, Artistic Director, Medalta International Artists in Residence Program; [email protected]; www.medalta.org; 403-529-1070.

Canada, Alberta, Red Deer“Exuberant Clay: Form and Surface,” with Carol Gouthro (July 4–8). Fee: $525. “Connecting the Parts,” with Cathi Jefferson (July 4–8). Fee: $525. “Figurative Sculpture: Real Life to Inspire Art,” with Sharon Moore-Foster (July 11–15). Fee: $525. “Glaze Decoration: Ideas and Techniques for Functional Pots,” with Sarah Jaeger (July 18–22). Fee: $525. “Discover a Form in Clay,” with Brenda Danbrook (July 25–29). Fee: $525. Contact Jillian Best, Red Deer College; [email protected]; www.rdc.ab.ca; 403-357-3663.

Canada, British Columbia, Burnaby“Clay Animal Sculpture,” with Nan Jacobsohn (June 25–26). Fee: $297. Contact Sharon Reay, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts; [email protected]; shadboltcentre.com; 604-205-3012.

Canada, British Columbia, Victoria“Aesthetic of Ceramic Form,” with Les Manning (June 3–10). Fee: $575. “Handbuilt Pouring Pots,” with Sam Chung (June 6–10). Fee: $425. “Enlightened Clay Sculpture,” with Elaine Brewer-White (June 6–10). Fee: $455. “Cultivating an Inward Significance,” with Robert Piepenburg (July 4–8). Fee: $475. “Life-Size Clay Bust,” with Brian McArthur (July 4–8). Fee: $475. “Porcelain: Colour and Light,” with Curtis Benzle (July 4–8). Fee: $425. “The Decorative Tile,” with Dawn Detarando (July 4–8). Fee: $425. “Throwing: Pots/Possibilities,” with Nick Joerling (July 4–8). Fee: $425. “Printing on Clay,” with Alwyn O’Brien (July 9–10). Fee: $178. “Assembling Parts Into a Whole: Rims, Bellies, Feet, Handles, Spouts, and Lids,” with Steven Hill (July 9–10). Fee: $173. “Head Sculpture,” with Elly Scheepens (July 11–15). Fee: $430. “Handbuilding: Tricks of the Trade,” with Vince Pitelka (July 11–15). Fee: $425. “Glaze: Building a Personal Repertory of Cone 6 Color and Surface,” with Steven Hill and Pete Pinnell (July 11–15). Fee: $475. “Throwing: Surface Enrichment, Decoration and Form,” with Alan Burgess (July 11–15). Fee: $460. Contact Meira Mathison, Metchosin Intl. Summer School of the Arts; [email protected]; www.missa.ca; 250-391-2420.

Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax“Product Plus Artist,” with TBA (July 4–August 19). Fee: $687. “Graphics,” with TBA (July 4–August 19). Fee: $687. Contact Neil Forrest, NSCAD University; [email protected]; www.nscad.ca; 902-494-8225.

Canada, Ontario, North Bay“Advanced Throwing and Handbuilding Techniques,” with Keith Campbell (July 4–8). Fee: $268.72. Contact Linda Topolie, Canadore College; [email protected]; www.canadorrec.on.ca; 705-474-7600.

Canada, Ontario, Waterloo“Summer One Week Throwing Intensive Workshop 2011,” with Jason L’Abbe (August 15–19). Fee: $393.72. Contact Jason L’Abbe, L’Abbe Pottery; [email protected]; www.labbepottery.com; 519-725-2028.

Canada, Saskatchewan, Meacham“L’Agamine: Anagama Wood Firing,” with Char-ley Farrero and Bonnie Gilmour (July 1–7). Fee: $40 per cu.ft. fired pots. “Build and Burn,” with Charley Farrero and Bonnie Gilmour (July 23–August 23). Fee: $306.80. Contact Bonnie Gilmour, Ceram Canada; [email protected]; www.ceramcanada.ca/ceramime.html; 306-376-4423.

England, Somerset, Queen Camel“Pottery Workshop,” with Douglas and Jennie Phillips (July 18–September 3). Fee: $644.06. Contact Douglas and Jennie Phillips, Ridge Pottery; [email protected]; www.mud2fire.com; 441-935-3585.

France, Poitou-Charentes, Lessac“Porcelain Design,” with Christian Couty and Jeremy Ed-wards (June 2–11). Fee: $2,063.63. “Porcelain Design,” with Pieke Bergmans and Patrick Audevard (July 3–16). Fee: $2,063.63. Contact Gala Fernandez, Domaine de Boisbuchet; [email protected]; www.boisbuchet.org; 335-458-5896.

France, Gard, Allègres-les-Fumades“Throwing-Raku,” with Michel Simonot and Julia Si-monot (June 6–August 15). Fee: $870. Contact Françoise et Michel Simonot, Mas Cassac; [email protected]; www.mas-cassac.com; 046-624-8565.

France, Midi-Pyrenees, Cordes sur Ciel“Stoneware and Porcelain,” with Frank Theunissen (June 12–18). Fee: $597.80. “Throwing and Woodfiring,” with Frank Theunissen (June 4–July 10). Fee: $597.80. “Throwing and Woodfiring,” with Frank Theunissen (July 11–17). Fee: $597.80. “Throwing and Decorat-ing,” with Thomas and Katrin König (July 18–23). Fee: $700.87. “Paperclay Plus,” with Heide and Peter van Veen (August 21–27). Fee: $700.87. “Throwing and Fir-ing,” with Frank Theunissen (August 28–September 3). Fee: $597.80. Contact Frank Theunissen, la Céramique; [email protected]; www.laceramique.com; 33 5 63 53 72 97.

Ghana, Volta Region, Denu“African Crafts Travel: Apprentice 2011 in Ghana,” with Winnie Owens-Hart (July 25–August 16). Fee: $5916. Contact Winnie Owens-Hart, ILE AMO Research Center; [email protected]; www.africancraftstravel.com; 703-754-1307.

Ghana, West Africa, Accra“Indigenous African Inspiration,” with traditional African potters (July 11–24). Fee: $1999. Contact Ellie Schimelman, Cross Cultural Collaborative; [email protected]; www.culturalcollaborative.org; 617-277-0482.

Hungary, Bacs-Kiskun, Kecskemét“Iconography,” with Jason Walker, Gyorgy Kungl, Dalia Lauckiate-Jakimaviciene, and Rytas Jakimavicius (July 4–22). Fee: $1,057. “Painted Porcelain,” with Jason Walker (July 27–August 2). Fee: $755. “Exploring Naked Raku,” with Wally Asselberghs (August 24–30). Fee: $755. “Sound and Form,” with Maria Geszler-Garzuly (August 25–30). Fee: $755. Contact Steve Mattison, The International Ceramics Studio; [email protected]; www.icshu.org; 36 76 486867.

Indonesia, Bali, Sayan, Ubud“Memory Trip: Handbuilding Into Memoire,” with Cath-erine Lane (June 24–25). Fee: $140. “Finding Center: Yoga and Clay,” with Hillary Kane (July 3–16). Fee: $2300. “Self: Contemporary Representations,” with Catherine Lane (July 22–23). Fee: $140. “Journey: Story-Telling Through Tiles,” with Catherine Lane (August 5–6). Fee: $140. “Polished Porcelain,” with Julie Shepherd (August 14–27). Fee: $2200. Contact Hillary Kane, Director, Gaya Ceramic Arts Center; [email protected]; www.gayafusion.com/ceramic; 6203617451413.

Ireland, Co. Waterford, Lismore“Two Week Residential Woodfire Workshop,” with Marcus O’Mahony and Phil Rogers (June 4–19). Fee: $1600. “Master Class with Shozo Michikawa,” (July 10–13). Fee: $500. Contact Marcus O’Mahony, Glencairn Pottery; [email protected]; www.marcusomahony.com; 353 58 56694.

Italy, Tuscany, Certaldo“The Agate Technique: Inlaid Colored Porcelain,” with Susan Nemeth (June 5–11). Fee: $1,181.85. “Sign and Color: Decoration Techniques,” with Pietro Maddalena (June 12–18). Fee: $1,181.85.“Burnt Siena: Handbuild-ing with Tuscan Dirt,” with Virginia Pates (June 25–July 2). Fee: $1,594.13. “The Domestic and the Wild: Sculpt-ing Gesture into the Figure,” with Beth Cavener Stichter and Tip Toland (July 3–16). Fee: $2,336.22. “Throwing Techniques and Vapor Glazing,” with Pietro Mad-dalena (July 17–23). Fee: $1,181.85. “Smokefiring with Paperclay and Porcelain,” with Luca Tripaldi (July 24–30). Fee: $1,181.85. “Confident Pots!,” with Donna Polseno and Rick Hensley (July 23–August 13). Fee: $2,033.89. “Raku with Tuscan Fun,” with Pietro Maddalena and Orietta Mengucci (August 14–23). Fee: $1,649.10. “Realizing and Exploring Your Own Creativity Through Throwing and Soda Glazing,” with Ruthanne Tudball (August 24–September 3). Fee: $1,511.67. Contact Claudia Bruhin, La Meridiana; [email protected]; www.lameridiana.fi.it; 39 0571 660084.

Italy, Tuscany“Italy: Art, Culture, and Wood-fired Terracotta,” with Don Davis (June 10–24). Fee: $2800. Contact Don Davis, Spannocchia; [email protected]; www.dondavisceramicart.com; 423-557-5008.

People’s Republic of China, Jiangxi, Jingdezhen“Traditional Blue and White Painting,” with Jackson Li (July 25–August 25). Fee: $1500. Contact Jackson Li, China Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute; [email protected]; www.chinaclayart.com; 011-86-798-849.

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http://www.nanrothwellpottery.com


http://www.hollins.edu


http://www.robbielobell.com


http://www.mcdowellpottery.com


http://www.deantile.com


http://www.benngallagher.com


http://www.clayartcenter.net


http://www.bethelhorizons-artventures.org


http://www.weberwoodfire.com


http://www.pottersdepot.com


http://www.jacksonholeworkshops.org


http://www.medalta.org


http://www.rdc.ab.ca



http://www.missa.ca


http://www.nscad.ca


http://www.canadorrec.on.ca


http://www.labbepottery.com


http://www.ceramcanada.ca/ceramime.html


http://www.mud2fire.com


http://www.boisbuchet.org


http://www.mas-cassac.com


http://www.laceramique.com


http://www.africancraftstravel.com


http://www.culturalcollaborative.org


http://www.icshu.org


http://www.gayafusion.com/ceramic


http://www.marcusomahony.com


http://www.lameridiana.fi.it


http://www.dondavisceramicart.com


http://www.chinaclayart.com



http://www.archiebray.org/

http://www.lameridiana.fi.it/

http://www.mkmpotterytools.com/

http://www.runyanpotterysupply.com/

http://www.4clay.com/


international exhibitions

April 15 entry deadlineTaiwan, PR China, New Taipei City

“The 2012 Taiwan Ceramics Bien-nale” (July–November 2012) open to ceramic work no larger than 150 cm and completed in 2009 or later. Juried from digital or slides. No fee. Contact Ms. Du, Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, No. 200, Wenhua Rd., New Taipei City, Yingge Dist. 23942 Taiwan, R.O.C.; [email protected]; http://competition.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/en-us/ID/Informat/Index/55.htm; 886 2 8677-2727 Ext. 509.

April 29 entry deadlineWales, Aberystwyth “Potsclays

Emerging Makers ICF Award 2011” (July 1–3) open to clay artists who have graduated from college in the past five years. Juried from digital. Contact Sophie Bennett, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Ab-erystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Cere-digion SY23 3DE Wales; [email protected]; www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre.

May 10 entry deadlineCalifornia, San Francisco “Ceram-

ics Annual of America” (October 7–9) open to work primarily made of clay. Juried from digital. Juror: Suzanne Baizerman. Contact Ceramics Annual of America (CAA), 521 First St., Davis, CA 95616; [email protected]; www.ceramicsannual.org; 877-459-9222.

May 31 entry deadlineRepublic of Korea, Icheon-si “GICBi-

ennale 2011: International Competition” (September 24–November 22) open to ceramic artists. Juried from digital. Contact The Korea Ceramic Founda-tion (KOCEF), 406 Gwango-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 467-020 Re-public of Korea; [email protected]; www.kocef.org.

June 1 entry deadlineTurkey, Eskisehir “2nd International

Symposium of Overglaze-Underglaze Paintings 2011” (June 20–July 1). Jur-ied from digital. No fee for up to three entries. Contact S. Sibel Sevim, Anadolu University, Ceramics Department, 26470 Tepebasi, Eskisehir, 26470 Turkey; [email protected]; [email protected]; http://seramik.anadolu.edu.tr; 90 222 335 1290.

June 15 entry deadlineAustria, Kapfenberg “7th Interna-

tional Kapfenberg Biannual of Ceram-ics” (September 30–November 6). Juried from digital. No fee for three entries. Contact KulturZentrum Kap-fenberg, Mürzgasse 3, Kapfenberg, A–8605 Austria; [email protected]; www.keramik-biennale-kapfenberg.at.

July 5 entry deadlineWashington, Bellevue “NCECA In-

vitational: Push Play” (January 19–June 17, 2012) open to work with the theme of play. Juried from digital. Fee: $25; members $10. Juror: Linda Ganstrom. Contact Linda Ganstrom, Exhibitions

Director, NCECA, 77 Erie Village Square, Ste. 280, Erie, CO 80516-6996; [email protected]; www.nceca.net; 866-266-2322.

July 20 entry deadlinePortugal, Sao Pedro do Estoril

“Seapots, Teapots and a Sunday Tea Party” (September 23–25) open to teapots with a maritime theme. Juried from slides. Fee: $15 per entry. Jurors: Marcia Selsor, John Shirley, and Sasha Wardell. Contact Rosemary Alexander Freitas, Rua do Banco 10 1-esq, Monte Estoril, Cascais 2765-397 Portugal; [email protected]; 351 913 592 042; www.seapotsteapots.com.

September 15 entry deadlinePennsylvania, Wayne “Craft Forms

2011” (December 2–January 21, 2012) open to all craft media. Fee: $40 for three entries. Juror: Elizabeth Argo. Contact Nancy Campbell, Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Ave., Wayne, PA 19073; [email protected]; www.wayneart.org; 610-688-3553.

united states exhibitions

May 1 entry deadlineNew Jersey, Surf City “Jersey Shore

Clay National 2011” (June 25–July 25) open to functional and sculptural work. Juried from digital. Fee: $25. Juror: Heather Mae Erickson. Contact Matt Burton, m.t. burton gallery, 1819 N. Long Beach Blvd., Surf City, NJ 08008; [email protected]; www.mtbur-tongallery.com; 609-494-0006.

May 2 entry deadlineTennessee, Smithville “Call for Pro-

posals for 2012–2013 Exhibitions” (Janu-ary 1, 2012–December 31, 2013) open to all media. Juried from digital. Fee: $25. Contact Gail Looper, Appalachian Cen-ter for Craft, 1560 Craft Center Dr., Smith-ville, TN 37166; [email protected]; www.tntech.edu/craftcenter; 615- 598-6801.

May 4 entry deadlineVirginia, Lorton “Workhouse Clay

National 2011” (August 3–28) open to functional or sculptural work. Ju-ried from digital. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Ellen Shankin. Contact Dale Marhanka, Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Ox Rd., Lorton, VA 22079; [email protected]; www.workhousearts.org; 703-584-2982.

May 15 entry deadlineIllinois, Monmouth “64 Arts: National

Juried Exhibition” (September 9–Octo-ber 22) open to 2-D and 3-D work. Juried from digital. Fee: $20 for each entry, up to three. Juror: Adrian Arleo. Contact Susan Twomey, Buchanan Center for the Arts, 64 Public Sq., Monmouth, IL 61462; [email protected]; 309-734-3033.

May 23 entry deadlineColorado, Carbondale “Atmospheric

Fired” (July 1–August 2) open to atmospheric fired clay work. Juried from digital. Fee: $20 for up to three entries. Juror: Lorna Meaden. Contact

K Rhynus Cesark, Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main St., Carbondale, CO 81623; [email protected]; www.carbondaleclay.org; 970-963-2529.

June 30 entry deadlineTexas, Houston “Dining In IV: An

Artful Experience” (August 6–Septem-ber 28) open to clay work. Juried from digital. Fee: $25 for up to five entries. Contact Karen Cruce, 18 Hands Gal-lery, 249 W. 19th St., Ste. B, Houston, TX 77406; [email protected]; www.18handsgallery.com; 713-869-3099.

August 6 entry deadlineOhio, Nelsonville “Starbrick Clay

National Cup Show 2011” (September 25–October 25) open to cups, goblets, mugs, tea bowls, teacups, and tumblers. Juried from digital. Fee: $20 for three entries; $30 for five entries. Juror: Kristen Kieffer. Contact Ann Judy, Starbrick Gallery, 21 W. Columbus St., Nelson-ville, OH 45764; [email protected]; www.starbrick.com; 740-753-1011.

September 29 entry deadlineWashington, Seattle “NCECA Na-

tional Juried Student Exhibition” (March 6–31, 2012) open to students. Juried from digital. Fee: $25; members $10. Jurors: Mark Burns and Kathy King. Contact Linda Ganstrom, Exhibitions Director, NCECA, 77 Erie Village Square, Ste. 280, Erie, CO 80516-6996; [email protected]; www.nceca.net; 866-266-2322.

regional exhibitionsApril 15 entry deadline

Rhode Island, Kingston “38th Earth-works: Open Juried Clay Annual” (April 21–May 14) open to New England artists. Juried from actual work. Fee: $15 per entry, up to five entries. Juror: Steven Branfman. Contact Rhonda Shumaker, South County Art Asso-ciation, 2587 Kingstown Rd., Kings-ton, RI 02881; [email protected]; www.southcountyart.org; 401-783-2195.

April 16 entry deadlinePennsylvania, Philadelphia “Call

for Solo or Small Group Exhibition Proposals” (August 30–March 24, 2012) Philadelphia artists preferable but all submissions will be reviewed. Juried from digital. No fee. Contact Jeanne Bracy, University Gallery, Saint Joseph’s University, 5600 City Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19131; [email protected]; www.sju.edu/gallery; 610-660-1840.

May 16 entry deadlineColorado, La Veta “Clay Continuum

6” (July 19–August 20) open to CO, NM, and WY clay artists. Juried from digital. Fee: $25 for five entries; $20 students. Juror: Nancy Utterback. Contact Nicole Copel, Spanish Peaks Arts Council, PO Box 713, La Veta, CO 81055; [email protected]; www.spanishpeaksarts.org; 719- 742-0213.

May 20 entry deadlineNew York, Buffalo “Art in Craft

Media 2011” (October 15–January

8, 2012) open to clay, fiber, glass, metal, and wood work completed in the last two years by artists who cur-rently live or who have lived in western NY state. Juried from digital. No fee. Juror: John McCoy. Contact Phyllis Camesano, Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222; [email protected]; www.burchfieldpenney.org; 716-352-6163.

June 1 entry deadlineNorth Carolina, Southport “Summer

Regional Show” (June 27–July 23) open to painting, pottery, and sculpture work by NC and SC artists. Juried from actual work. Fee: $30 for two entries. Jurors: Don Johns and Kate Lagaly. Contact Joyce Grazetti, Associated Artists of Southport, 130 E. West St., Southport, NC 28461; [email protected]; www.franklinsquaregallery.org; 910-268-7560.

June 15 entry deadlineColorado, Arvada “Uncommon

Ground: Impact and Influence” (Septem-ber 15–November 13) open to US artists West of the Mississippi River. Juried from digital. Fee: $25; members $20. Juror: Bebe Alexander, Linda Ganstrom, and Collin Parson. Contact Linda Ganstrom, Exhibitions Director, NCECA, 77 Erie Village Square, Ste. 280, Erie, CO 80516-6996; [email protected]; www.nceca.net; 866-266-2322.

fairs and festivalsApril 15 entry deadline

New Jersey, New Brunswick “New Jersey Folk Festival” (April 30) open to outdoor work. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $10. Contact New Jersey Folk Festival, American Studies Dept., 131 George St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901; [email protected]; www.njfolkfest.rutgers.edu; 732-932-5775.

April 16 entry deadlineNorth Carolina, Hillsborough “The

Hillsborough Downtown Arts and Crafts Show” (April 16). Contact Hill-sborough Arts Council and Gallery, PO Box 625, Hillsborough, NC 27278; [email protected]; www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org; 919-643-2500.

June 1 entry deadlineMaryland, Germantown “Call for

Fall 2011 Exhibitors “ (September 30–December 11) open to artists working in any media. Contact Sugar-loaf Craft Festivals, Sugarloaf Moun-tain Works, Inc., 19807 Executive Park Circle, Germantown, MD 20874; [email protected]; www.sugarloafcrafts.com; 301-990-1400.

July 8 entry deadlineSpain, El Vendrell “VI Biennial de

Ceramica El Vendrell” (October 13–16) open to ceramic artists. Juried from digi-tal. Contact Patronat Municipal de Ser-veis Culturals, La Rambla, 24, El Vendrell, 43700 Spain; [email protected]; www.elvendrell.net/default2.aspx; 0034 977 66 56 84.

call for entriesdeadlines for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals



http://competition.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/en-us

http://competition.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/en-us


http://www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre


http://www.ceramicsannual.org


http://www.kocef.org


http://seramik.anadolu


http://www.keramik-biennale-kapfenberg.at


http://www.nceca.net


http://www.seapotsteapots.com


http://www.wayneart.org


http://www.mtbur-tongallery.com




http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter


http://www.workhousearts.org



http://www.carbondaleclay.org


http://www.18handsgallery.com


http://www.starbrick.com




http://www.southcountyart.org


http://www.sju.edu/gallery


http://www.spanishpeaksarts.org


http://www.burchfieldpenney.org


http://www.franklinsquaregallery.org




http://www.njfolkfest.rutgers.edu


http://www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org


http://www.sugarloafcrafts.com


http://www.elvendrell.net/default2.aspx


Ceramics Monthly welcomes classifieds in the following categories: Buy/Sell, Employment, Events, Opportunities, Personals, Products, Publications/Videos, Real Estate, Rentals, Services, Travel. Accepted advertisements will be inserted into the first available print issue, and posted on our website for 30 days at no additional charge! See www.ceramicsmonthly.org for details.

employmentResident Potter. Full time, salary, furnished apartment, estab-lished gallery and studio, gas, salt, raku kilns, wheel and slab, use of all facilities. North Georgia Mountains, close to NC, GA pottery centers. Apply at hickoryflatpottery.com.

Full-time Master Mold Maker Needed at pottery production facility for Simon Pearce in Windsor, VT to create all master and working molds. Must have ability to take a prototype model and determine best way to make a finished mold for hydraulic presses and slip cast operations. Minimum of 5 years experience. For more information, visit www.simonpearce.com and send resume to [email protected].

Apprentice / Internship. Small production pottery in northwest Montana seeks motivated individual for one-year position starting end of August. 40 hours/week in exchange for studio space (includes materials and firing), room and board, monthly stipend, gallery sales. Check www.whitefishpottery.com for more details about applying.

Director: Experienced, visionary leader to provide artistic and organizational leadership for Northern Clay Center (Min-neapolis MN), an internationally recognized ceramic art center. Programs include exhibitions, education, artists’ services (studios, grants, sales). Requirements: Demonstrated passion for visual arts & strong knowledge of ceramics; minimum of 10 years experience in organization leadership or management; excellent financial analysis & communication skills; record of successful fundraising. BA required, advanced degree in arts-related or business fields preferred. Budget $1.7 million. Salary & benefits competitive. More information on NCC & detailed job description at http://www.northernclaycenter.org/apply/employment.php.

eventsKILN BUILDING. This is a one time workshop of kiln building where you actually build a “Salt Kiln” and a “Sawdust Kiln” using hard bricks, soft bricks, fiber, and castable refractory cement. We will fire them with your work and unload them together exploring the results. You learn about terra sigillata and burnishing with 2-3 pots for sawdust kiln and glaze 8 pots for the salt kiln; learning about the firing process, about kiln design, construction, and how to fire special kilns. I’ll give lectures about designs and materials we construct with. There will be plenty of demonstrations. We will load together, fire together, and unload together. May 7–8, 14–15, 21–22, 28–29 and June 4. $275.00. (203) 979-0409; [email protected]; www.kevinthomasart.com.

Tom Turner’s Pottery School. For details, please visit www.tomturnerporcelain.com; or call (828) 689-9430.

Pre-Columbian Pottery 5-day Workshop. Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica. 7/4–7/8, 2011. Arbin Espinoza Guevara, master Chorotega potter, instructs in traditional methods. Info at www.tamarindopottery.com or (562) 916-3451.

Thrown Together Spring Pottery Sale, April 30, 2011. 1225 Dade St., Charlotte, NC 28205; 10am–4pm; (704) 560-5662. Jen Mecca, Ron Philbeck, Amy Sanders, Julie Wiggins, Matt Jones and Gay Smith.

Clatsop Community College Presents: Yoshihiko Yoshida, An exhibit of Ceramic Pottery in Mino Tradition. Exhibit will be held at CCC Art Center Gallery, 1653 Jerome Ave, Astoria, Oregon from May 20 to June 30, 2011. Opening reception May 20, 6 pm. Clay workshop May 21, 9 am to 3 pm. Workshop Fee: Students $20, Professional Artists $30. Free Public Lecture on May 21 at Performing Arts Center, music by Larry Tyrrell Shakuhach—Traditional Bamboo Flute. See website for details. Contact Richard Rowland at [email protected] or visit http://www.clatsopcc.edu/community/art-gallery/yoshida-yoshihiko-master-potter-mino-tradition.

Nantucket Island Summer 2011 Ceramics Workshops. Majolica • Image Transfer and Surface Design • Tiles and Textures • Hand-building • with Miranda Howe at Nantucket Island School of Design & Arts • Seaview Farm Studios • NISDA Harbor Cottage Colony living. Professional Development Points. G/UG College Credit courses also. Send emails to [email protected] (508) 228-9248. Slideshow at www.nisda.org.

Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist Residency Teaching Program in the Sierra Foothills, California. Featured Artist Richard Not-kin. November 5–7, 2011 — Ceramic Sculpture: A Plethora of Techniques. November 18–20, 2011 — Relief Tile Design and Production. Registration Fee $330 per workshop. Limited to 18 participants. For information: scgART.com or email [email protected].

opportunitiesRESIDENCY info at www.cubcreek.org.

One Year Post Baccalaureate Special Student Program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. 24 hr. access to fully equipped studio and 3 faculty members. For more information contact Jason Hess at [email protected] or (928) 523-2398.

Midcoastal Maine Potter’s Retreat. Inspiring ceramics studio/living space on 150 acres of fields, woods trails, swimming pond. Private lessons and critiques. Group workshops. Nearby ocean and sailboat. www.starflowerfarmstudios.com; (207) 525-3593.

Looking for self-motivated, hardworking potter for resident position available at community studio in exchange for private studio, use of wheel and all studio equipment, clay, firing, an opportunity to develop your own voice in clay and build a portfolio. Great opportunity to experiment with glazes in our well-stocked glaze room. Resident is required to teach classes, assist at workshops, load and fire kilns and help manage the studio (Average less than 20 hrs/wk). Opportunity to earn money teaching private lessons and classes. Must be people oriented and willing to teach adults and children. Very friendly environ-ment, great studio facilities, beautiful location. Find out more at www.natchezclay.com. Contact [email protected].

productsFULL MOON RIBS. Beautiful hardwood ribs. Perfect for throwing bowls. Hand made in Kerrville, Texas. See demo. www.fullmoonribs.dudleyharris.com

publications/videosPotteryVideos.com — DVD’s with Robin Hopper, Gordon Hutchens and Graham Sheehan. Video Workshops for Pot-ters at all levels of experience. Choose from 21 titles. (800) 668-8040; [email protected].

Tom Turner’s 2-day workshop, 4-disc DVD set. To order, see www.tomturnerporcelain.com; or call (828) 689-9430.

real estate3 Bedroom Contemporary Home + 2,000 sq.ft. studio on five acres. River front, 3 miles from Penland School. For photos & further information P.O. Box 41, Penland, NC 28765 or call (828) 765-6539.

1000 sq.ft. studio with gas car kiln, three-bedroom farmhouse, two barns, and 900 sq.ft. woodshop on 15 acres in beautiful north central Pennsylvania. Three hours to NYC and Philadel-phia, four to D.C. $225,000. (570) 394-6805.

National Historic Registry Ceramic Studio and Gallery for sale. Located one mile from Monongahela National Forest on Main St. in Richwood, West Virginia. 2,500 sq.ft. building

includes wood/soda kiln, CXC wheel, electric kiln and all glaze materials. Completely rewired. $38,000. Pictures at www.wix.com/LoriDoolittle/Studio. (304) 846-6822.

FOR SALE: STONEHAUS, PETER KING, Artist: the oldest continuously operated gallery and studio in Northwest Florida. The sale includes all equipment, materials, contents, gallery, business name and home. Location: 2617 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32503 in the Historical East Hill Arts District. Kathy Tanner Realty (850) 982-0755.

5500 sq.ft. ceramics studio in Midtown Manhattan available for lease with extra rental units. Comes with extra $3000/mo. income. Can be used for production and classes. Studio comes with kilns, slab roller, slip mixer, slip cast table, pugmill, wheel. For details (917) 903-3896; [email protected].

1850 sq.ft., 3 bedroom/ 2 bath. This home has a fully func-tioning detached studio with a total work area of 1300 sq.ft. The Studio includes a potters wheel, gas kiln, work prep area and 220 power. You can create pottery, bronze casting, metal working and painting. Conveniently located near I-4, accessible for delivers and has street traffic. Only 30 miles from Daytona Beach and Orlando. Sturdy block construction with 2-car garage. The Florida climate is suited for year round productivity. $149,500. Please email [email protected] for more information.

servicesCeramics Consulting Services offers technical information and practical advice on clay/glaze/kiln faults and corrections, slip casting, clay body/glaze formulas, salt glazing, product design. Call or write for details. Jeff Zamek, 6 Glendale Woods Dr., Southampton, MA 01073; (413) 527-7337; email [email protected]; or www.jeffzamek.com.

Master Kiln Builders. 26+ years experience designing and building beautiful, safe, custom kilns for universities, colleges, high schools, art centers and private clients. Soda/salt kilns, wood kilns, raku kilns, stoneware kilns, sculpture burnout kilns, car kilns and specialty electric kilns. Competitive prices. Donovan. Phone/fax (612) 250-6208.

Custom Mold Making—Increase your productivity and profits with quality slip-casting molds of your popular designs! Petro Mold Co. offers a complete range of mold-making services, including sculpting and 3-D models, master and case molds, and production mold manufacturing to thousands of satisfied customers. Visit www.custommolds.net; or call (800) 404-5521 to get started.

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index to advertisersAardvark Clay & Supplies ........... 35ACerS Books ................... 58, 59, 71Amaco and Brent ....Cover 2, 61, 63American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) ............. 3Anderson Ranch Arts Ctr ............ 66Archie Bray Foundation .............. 76Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts 60Art NewEngland/MA College of Art 61

Bailey Pottery .................... 1, 11, 21Bamboo Tools ............................. 62Bennett Pottery.............................. 7Boulder Mountain Clayworks ...... 61Bracker’s Good Earth Clays ....... 65

Carolina Clay Connection ........... 70CeramicArtsDaily.org .................. 13Chilean Ceramics Workshop ...... 70Chinese Clay Art ......................... 66Classifieds ................................... 78Clay Art Center/Scott Creek........ 63Continental Clay .......................... 68Coyote Clay & Color ................... 71Cress Mfg .................................... 60

Dolan Tools .................................. 65

Euclid’s/PSH ................................ 61

Florida Clay Art ........................... 70

Geil Kilns ..................................... 31Georgies Ceramic & Clay ........... 31Giffin Tec ....................................... 6Great Lakes Clay ........................ 66

Herring Designs/SlabMat............ 65Historic Clay District - Medalta Artists in Residence ............... 60Hollins University ........................ 35Hotchkiss School ........................ 67

Idyllwild Arts ................................ 33

John C. Campbell Folk School ... 33

Kentucky Mudworks ................... 67

L & L Kiln Mfg .............................. 67La Meridiana ............................... 76Larkin ........................................... 64

Market House Craft Ctr ............... 64Master Kiln Builders .................... 67Metchosin Intl School of the Arts 70MKM Pottery Tools ...................... 76Mudtools...................................... 31

92nd St. Y .................................... 35

North Star ...................................... 4

Odyssey Ctr ................................ 69Olympic Kilns .............................. 25

PCF Studios ................................ 63Penland School of Crafts ............ 66Peter Pugger .......................Cover 3Peters Valley Craft Ctr ................. 69Portion Master ............................. 70Potters Council ................ 69, 71, 79

Runyan Pottery Supply ............... 76

Shakerag Workshops .................. 62Sheffield Pottery .......................... 68Shimpo .......................................... 5

Sierra Nevada College ................ 70Skutt Ceramic Products ......Cover 4Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick .............. 68Snow Farm .................................. 71Socwell ........................................ 76SOFA ........................................... 17Spectrum Glazes ........................ 65Speedball Art Products ................. 2Sugar Maples Ctr ........................ 64Syracuse University .................... 33

Taos Clay ..................................... 63Trinity Ceramic Supply ................ 68Truro Ctr for Arts .......................... 70Tucker’s Pottery ........................... 62

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Ward Burner Systems ................. 64Workhouse Arts Ctr ..................... 70World Ceramic Expo ................... 23

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• 20% Discount on Magazines, Art Books and DVDs

• Affordable Health Insurance

• Member-Only Yearly Calendars

• Member-Only Juried Show

Potters Council — Celebrating 10 Years

2011 NEW Member Benefits

• Online Member Directory

• Online Mentoring Program

• Online Juried Student Member Show

• International Potters Council Conference

NOW is the time to join an organization that works for you. Our member benefits touch every aspect of your life — from money saving discounts, and eligibility for group health insurance, to learning new techniques at conferences. Visit www.potterscouncil.org or call 800.424.8698 to join and celebrate our 10th Birthday with us.

{Est.2001}

http://www.potterscouncil.org



SPOTlighT

a tale of adventure by Rebecca Harvey

“In the Cups” was a serial adventure tale by husband and wife Rebecca Harvey and Steven Thurston that was created over 12 weeks. The stipulations were as follows: 1. Each weekly episode was made up of 3 cups. 2. The story on each set of cups had to be 140 characters so that it could be tweeted each Monday. 3. The episodes could not be preplanned. 4. There had to be a hero.The story became a battle against the arch nemesis Mediocrity, with a secret lab, a fetching scientist, and an active volcano.The project was framed overall by the concept of “rough and perfect.” We spoke to Rebecca about the project.

RH: Many different elements coalesced and converged for this project. At The Ohio State University’s ceramics department, where

Steven and I both teach, we got this really fancy color decal printer a few years ago. Unfortunately, almost everything that anybody tried to do with it came out looking pretty stupid. I had been poking around trying to get something to work, without success. I was teaching ceramic history at the time, and one of the projects we worked on each week was our graphic novel of 10,000 years of ceramics. We were looking at stuff in the cartoon research library on campus, and also watching this great video about the reconstruction of Mayan cylinder cups. I was also looking at all these little Golden Books on science topics that had badly printed diagrams. So driving home in the car, the whole idea finally dropped into place. A way to finally use the decal printer and bring in ideas of story and serialization. So the entire set of parameters, the story, the Twitter feed, etc., all came on the drive home. I told Steven

about it as soon as I walked in. “Okay,” he said, “let’s go.”

This was the first time we had tried this. Part of putting the project out there publicly with deadlines was to keep it from getting lost in all the other stuff that we do. Every week it would get to be Wednesday and we would say, “Yikes, better get going on that.” It was a completely different way of working for both of us.

We have talked about another adventure story, but still need to work out the rules. All we know now is that it will take place in the Arctic.

RH: I would write the story every week, fit it to 140 characters,and

break it down into bits. I would tell Steven what I was looking for, and the great image hunt would begin. Some came from old family photos, a lot came from the Internet; other sources were books, maps, anything we could find. Sometimes we would pose in front of our one white wall so we could Photoshop ourselves into some scene or other. For example, there was one scene where there was a line about destroying Mediocrity, “didn’t he die in the Paris experiment?” I came across this old Star Trek comic book (who knew there was even such a thing?) and there was this picture of Spock and Captain Kirk racing away from a toppling Eiffel Tower. Perfect. (There was much discussion about who got Captain Kirk’s body and who had to be Spock’s.)

One of the important things was that we had to do this quickly, so if we were looking for an image to go with the phrase “start the cascade” we would both race to find the best image. While we might start off with a clear idea of what that would look like, often we would have to sort through what was readily available—an idea reduced to a button or a hand or a diagram.

RH: A couple of different things. First, the really tight rules—we had to use all the characters and

spaces (no fair going under the limit) so the story would often change to fit. Plus it seemed really fun, something that would blast out into the ether and then be gone. And it seemed marginally more interesting than tweeting “Hey, I just had a muffin.” We had a contest on Facebook one week to describe the stench of Mediocrity. The winning entry was “Chicken McNuggets” and that’s how Mediocrity got his evil chicken sidekick. So that part of it, the Twitter feed and the Facebook thing, really added to the sense of the serialization—a kind of “tune in next week, same bat time same bat station” sort of thing.

RH: I cast the cups from eight different sized molds. So every week we built paper skins on top of the actual cups, very

unscientific. We would find a background that fit (scribbled journal writing for the secret lab, seismic data for the volcano, etc.) and build on top of it with two to three more images. We would Photoshop and color in the scenes, print them out and cut them up and glue them onto the cups with the backgrounds taped down first, and then slice the skins off and rescan them to make a flat template for the decal. It was really fun—and also a giant pain. Because we were on a deadline, we had to go with the most direct way: cutting and pasting. Nothing was standardized, so we had this kind of really imperfect process with these crazy rules for a structure, a hurdy-gurdy lumbering creaking ball of almost chaos—rough and perfect.

To see the entire process, go to the current issue at www.ceramicsmonthly.org, and click on the Spotlight link on the table of contents page.

To follow more of Rebecca Harvey and Steven Thurston’s adventures, visit their blog http://roughandperfect.blogspot.com/ or website www.roughandperfect.com.

CM: How did the physical process of pasting imagery and drawings onto the cups work?

CM: How did you developed a brief for yourself to fulfill, a set of very specific parameters in which to operate?

CM: What did the Twitter feed of the story line for each 3-cup series add to the project?

CM: How did the stories develop?



http://roughandperfect.blogspot.com

http://www.roughandperfect.com

http://www.peterpugger.com/

powerfultoughinnovative

smoothvalue

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to see video of Steven discussing the ergonomics of throwing.

“Some days I’m standing up, some days I’m sitting down when I throw. So being able to adjust the height of the legs in nuanced ways is a real advantage... I also love the large aluminum built-in splash pan. It gives me something very stable to lean my body into as I’m throwing. It gives me extra stability and a little extra strength.”

Steven Hill

Visit skutt.com/video/hill

http://www.skutt.com/

http://www.skuttwheels.com/videos/video2_s.hill.html

m o nthly - Network Home - Ceramic Arts Network · Send the magazine address label as well as your new address to: Ceramics Monthly, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 15699, North

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