In the next few weeks, I'll be firming up dates for my summer teaching schedule. I also have a few spaces available for individual or small group mentoring for advanced students looking to develop their throwing, design or technical ceramic skills. Dates for classes will be announced within the next two weeks--get in touch if you'd like more information!
July:
Clay Play for Pre-K: Children ages 3-5 and their grown-ups are invited to come and build, experiment, smoosh, smash, cut and mold clay together. Child/caregiver pairs will explore many methods of clay play, explore simple tools for shaping and learn low-mess options for using clay in the home.
Clay and Glaze from Scratch: An Introduction to Ceramic Chemistry: If you’ve learned to throw pots or hand-build using commercial clays and glazes, this class will fill in the missing pieces in your ceramics education. What are clay and glaze made of? What’s the difference between the clay veins you see in soil and the stuff you buy? What’s the difference between high and low fire materials? What happens when a pot is fired and how can we use our knowledge of the ceramics chemicals and raw materials to help us make the work we envision? This intermediate class is primarily didactic and students are welcome to bring technical questions related to current work.
August:
Wool to Cloth: Children’s Introduction to Fiber Arts
Students will learn all the steps in turning wool from a fluffy mass of fiber into a piece of woven cloth. We will cover drafting and spinning using a drop spindle, plying yarn into usable fiber and basic weaving techniques on a frame or backstrap loom. Students will leave with a beginner’s spinning kit, including a drop spindle and roving.
Intro to Weaving: Building Frame and Backstrap Looms
Frame and backstrap looms are an efficient, portable and relatively simple way to experiment with making cloth or tapestries. The basic design of these loom appear across multiple world cultures, with regional variations. In our first session, students will learn the basic skills to weave on a prepared loom and build their own frame or backstrap loom. In our second session, students will learn how to string their loom, plan a project and begin weaving.
Sustainable Clay: Replacing Plastic with Functional Ceramic Kitchen Ware: Building on the philosophy of the international Less Plastic, More Clay movement, we’ll explore how to replace common plastic household items with durable ceramic versions. Students will learn building, finishing and glazing techniques that make work suited to the rigors of everyday use. We’ll look at what makes an clay piece food-safe and build beautiful functional ware that isn’t afraid of a few rounds in the dishwasher.