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2008 Workshop Schedule :
This
year we have an exciting selection of 9 hands-on workshops. These
encompass a wide range of ceramic techniques practiced by our learned
instructors. As we continue to persue the goals of expanding our
knowledge into the exploration of new mediums, we've included a
non-ceramic workshop in encaustic wax relief painting.
Please click
on the workshop title links listed below to read more about each one,
or just scroll down to see them all.
6/14 - Plaster Plate and Platter
Molds, by Kate Tremel
6/21
- Figurative Sculpture, by Rachel Jensen
6/28
& 29
- Introduction to Encaustic Painting by Leslie Sobel
7/12
- Paper Clay is Real Clay, by Donna Williams
7/26
- A Bird in the Hand, by Nancy Bulkley
8/2
- Get It On!! Glaze & Decoration Exploration, by Deb Oliva
8/9
- Rattle Palooza, by Sandra Westley
8/16
- Textures Unlimited, by Christine Laginess
8/23
- Which Comes First, The Handle Or The Cup?, by Donna Williams
:: PLASTER PLATE AND PLATTER MOLDS
- Instructor Kate Tremel
- June 14, 10-5
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12
By
making a plaster mold we can duplicate our works. In this workshop we
will design plaster molds for a platter or plate form. We will begin by
designing and making plaster hump molds that can be used to create
multiple sets of plates or platters. To design our platters we will
work with extruded shapes. The height of the wall and the shape of the
rim and lip is determined by the shape of the extruder die. Many
different rim/lip shapes are possible and the instructor will
demonstrate the construction of extruder dies while discussing design
issues related to creating successful plate forms. We will then use the
extruder to make supports for our plaster molds. After a potluck lunch,
we will work with partners to pour plaster into the mold forms. The
instructor will demonstrate mold clean up as well as pressing a plate
into a previously made (and dried mold). We'll discuss strategies for
avoiding cracks and warping. In a week's time your molds should be
dried and ready for use!
This workshop is for all
skill levels.
Participants will need to bring: dust mask,
old clothing and or an aprons (plaster will not come out), rubber
gloves if you choose, If you have favorite tools, bring them.
Kate's
long time interest in vessel making began with wheel-thrown pottery and
extended to mixed media sculptures constructed from plaster casts of
her own body. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and has
exhibited her work both nationally and internationally.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $20
:: FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE
- June 21, 10-4
- Instructor: Rachel Jensen
Back again by
popular demand. This year we will work with a model to hone in on our
representational skills. In this workshop we will create a figurative,
or semi-figurative clay sculpture, using coil as the primary
construction method. We will look at some figurative art for
inspiration, and discuss some of the symbolism associated with the
body. Armatures will be provided for working purposes. We will also
work together to plan for the structural survival of our work. Finally
we will explore ways to finish our fired works.
This workshop is for participants with all skill levels.
If you have favorite tools, bring them
Rachel Jensen enjoys
creating in many mediums, but sculpting in clay is her favorite. She
has a BFA in Design and Ceramics from the University of Michigan.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $15
:: INTRODUCTION TO ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
- Instructor: Leslie Sobel
- June 28 & 29, 10-4
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
Those
of us who enjoy working with clay can appreciate texture and
relief in other mediums. As clay is an ancient medium, so is Encaustic.
Until recently, Encaustic has been all but forgotten and is now
undergoing a resurgence of popularity.
This
is not a ceramic technique but one using the medium of pigment and bees
wax combined to create relief paintings on wood. This two-day workshop
will introduce students to working with encaustic paint.
Encaustic is paint mixed in a bees wax-base rather than acrylic or oil.
It is worked hot with a heated palette and a propane torch along with
more traditional painting tools.
On
day one Students will get an introduction to using a torch for fusing
the paint. We will utilize encaustic as a collage medium and explore
some of the many additive and subtractive techniques used with this
ancient medium.
The
second day will build on the first, looking at a variety of substrates,
learning to build up more sculptural/textured surfaces and working into
the surface. Students will come away from the workshop with an
understanding of how to prepare a surface for encaustic, how to make
encaustic medium, a grounding in using encaustic to paint and collage,
studio safety, and sources for materials.
The first day of this workshop is intended for people who have no
experience with encaustic. The second day is open to those who
have worked with encaustic before as well as a continuation building on
the first day.
Leslie
Sobel has moved back and forth between the worlds of art and technology
for over 20 years. She is an artist well known for her unusual use of
encaustic combined with digital media.
Tuition: $95 two days/ $70 one day
Lab fee: *$55 two days/
*$50 one day
*Your Lab Fee includes the cost of a propane torch for your keeping.
:: PAPER CLAY IS REAL CLAY
- Instructor: Donna Williams
- July 12, 10-4
Coffee & bagel at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
What
differentiates paper clay from regular clay is that paper clay can be
worked in layers of wet over dry whereas regular clay cannot. Paper
Clay is a mixture of these two mediums into a working medium of its
own. This workshop will begin with an introduction to the paper making
process. There will be a demonstration of each step of the paper
making. We will then explore construction techniques used by ceramic
artists working with paper clay today. In this hands on workshop
participants will experiment with both wet paper clay and dried paper
clay to gain an understanding of the flexibility this medium affords.
During
the morning session we will make pinch or thrown paper clay forms to be
put aside for the afternoon session. When we continue after lunch we
will be incorporating dried paper clay pieces with the work made
earlier. Attaching wet to dry, adding slip to dry pieces for texture or
detail and joining multiple dry pieces together will all be explored.
The result can be sculptural, vessel related or functional as paper
clay opens up many possibilities.
This workshop is for participants with all skill levels. If you have
favorite tools, bring them.
The addition of paper
fibers to clay presented new possibilities for form and a new method of
working for clay artist Donna Williams. Her process oriented and
experimental approach to clay found a new home in this medium that
allows for multiple work sessions. The resulting experimentation at
nearly any stage in the creative process continues to inspire.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $20
:: A BIRD IN THE HAND
- Instructor: Nancy Bulkley
- July 26, 10-4
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
Sharpen
your hand building skills while making clay birds in this
workshop. We will pinch and paddle hollow forms, incorporate clay
slabs and learn the practice of paper templates for designing, by using
them to create bird shapes.
Once
our birds are formed we will individualize them further by working with
clay stamps and other textures. We will also learn to make our
own stamps out of clay that can be bisque fired and used later. The
birds can be purely decorative or become functional pieces such as
cups, creamers, candlesticks, salt and peppers or anything you can
imagine.
This workshop is for participants with all skill levels.
If you have favorite tools, bring them
Nancy
Bulkley received her B.F.A. from Alfred
University and is
currently a member of the Ann Arbor
Potters Guild. She
has effervescently shared her ceramics skills with adults and children
for over fifteen years and finds inspiration watching the process of
her students learning unfold.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $15
:: GET IT ON!! GLAZE AND DECORATION
EXPLORATION
- Instructor: Deb Oliva
- August 2, 10-4
This hands-on workshop
is designed for the beginning to intermediate artist wishing to expand
their glazing and decorating repertoire.
Participants will learn to read, measure, mix, and conduct simple glaze
tests. You will gain an understanding of the properties and uses of
glazes, slips and stains and will be introduced to various application
techniques. Students will explore the possibilities of slip trailing,
brushing, pouring, dipping, inlaying and the use of wax, paper, and
latex resists for decorating leather hard and bisque ware.
Leather and bisque tiles
will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own leather
hard and bisque to work on. If you have favorite tools, bring them.
This workshop is for
students who have taken at least one class.
Indulging
a longstanding interest, Debra began working with clay in 1988. She now
works mostly in porcelain creating functional and non-functional
vessels forms. She holds a BFA from Northern Illinois University.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $15
:: RATTLE PALOOZA
- Instructor: Sandra Westley
- August 9, 10-4
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
Learn some new
construction techniques, experience sound, look at the world for
unexpected influences and make some outstanding ceramic rattles.
This workshop will
explore the playful area of making ceramic rattles. Basic hand
building construction methods (slabs, pinching, coiling, extrusions)
will primarily be used to build small, thin-walled forms that contain a
ceramic ball/s (aka - the noise maker inside the hollow form).
Discussion will include choosing an appropriate clay body, surface
treatments, influences for rattle forms from the natural & man-made
world, and how to get these little noise makers through the firing
process.
This will be a very
hands-on workshop where participants are encouraged to explore and make
outstanding ceramic rattles.
This workshop is for all
skill levels
If you have favorite
tools, bring them.
Sandra’s
work encompasses small ceramic rattles to large sculptural
work/installations using clay in combination with other
materials. She has a MFA from the University of Michigan and is a
certified Master Gardener.
Tuition:
$55 Lab Fee: $15
:: TEXTURES UNLIMITED
- Instructor: Christine Laginess
- August 16, 10-4
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
This
workshop is intended for anyone who would like to learn a new technique
for creating unique textures and applying them to the surface of a
ceramic form. This technique can be used on functional as well as
sculptural work and will enhance the creative possibilities for
designing many different types of surfaces.
During this workshop we will learn to make one-of-a-kind, lightweight,
inexpensive, reusable texture sheets. After the textured sheets
are created, we will build a box from slabs of clay, that we’ve
textured using our texture sheets. We will then further personalize our
boxes with complimentary handles and feet.
This workshop is for students with all skill levels.
If you have favorite tools, bring them.
Christine
Laginess started out in the textile world but, was seduced by clay the
first time she touched it. She has her BFA from Marygrove College and
is currently a sculptural artist who teaches ceramics at Schoolcraft
College and Northville Art House.
Tuition: $55 Lab Fee: $15
:: WHICH COMES FIRST, THE HANDLE OR THE CUP?
- Instructor: Donna Williams
- August 23, 10-4
Coffee & bagels at 9:30 - Potluck lunch at 12.
The
technical construction of the cup and handle have been mastered by
some, attempted by many and avoided by others. Many times, the emphasis
is such that the creative element of cup making is ignored and the
handle becomes an after thought.
We
will start by looking at many cups and their handles, looking at their
relationship to one another. Participants will then be asked to
set aside their preconceived ideas and build the handle first, or pinch
out a cup and handle from a single lump of clay. We will construct,
throw or pinch cups and explore a variety of handle construction
applications.
There are many ways to connect a cup to its handle visually:
Using colored slips, texture, or drawing into leather hard clay are a
few of the many possibilities. Our emphasis will be on the visual and
physical connection between the two parts.
If you have a particular cup that you reach for each morning, please
bring it with you.
This workshop is for participants with all skill levels.
If you have favorite tools, bring them
"Pinch,
pull, stretch, scrunch, roll, combine and refine." Working intuitively
when exploring an idea, Donna Williams follows the lead and immediacy
of the clay to achieve those results.
Tuition: $55 Lab Fee: $15
Back to top
...........................................................................
SOME OF OUR PAST WORKSHOPS
...........................................................................
:: PERUVIAN
HAND & FEET - VESSEL BUILDING
- Instructor: Kate Tremel
:: WORKING
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
- Instructor: Joanne Daniels
::TEAPOTS
- Instructor: Kay Yourist
::
IMPROVING YOUR THROWING SKILLS
- Instructor, Kay Yourist
::
SURFACE DECORATION ON CLAY
- Instructor: Sandra
Westley
:: THROWING
BIG AND SCULPTING THE
HUMAN FACE ON POTS
- Instructor, Pamela Timmons
:: LEARN TO
THROW IN ONE DAY
- Instructor: Kay Yourist
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for workshops
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