Yana Payusova
Yana Payusova ,born in Leningrad, USSR, holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her studio practice — grounded in painting, sculpture, and installation –examines the tension between interior life and collective identity, often through the lenses of power, gender, and cultural displacement. She has exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally, with recent shows at the Museu de Ceràmica de L’Alcora (Spain), Ceramic Avenue Art Gallery (Jingdezhen, China), Santa Joana Museum (Aveiro, Portugal), Conduit Gallery (Dallas, USA), New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), and the 63rd Premio Faenza (Italy). Her work is held in the permanent collections of the DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA), Boston Public Library (Boston, MA), Museu de Ceràmica de L’Alcora (L’Alcora, Spain), and the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA). Payusova has been an Artist-in Residence at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Colorado). In 2023, she was commissioned to create an installation for the Real Unreal, Meow Wolf’s fourth permanent exhibition in Grapevine, Texas. She is currently Assistant Profesoor of Practice and FYE Program Chair at the University of Arizona School of Art.
Yana's Links:
Yana's Upcoming Workshops
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II
Level II
Photography students have a basic understanding of photography principles and technology and are comfortable using an SLR camera in manual mode. New Media students have a basic understanding of video, multimedia or animation software. Students have basic computer skills and are comfortable using a Macintosh computer.
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III
Level III
Photography students have some formal training and significant experience making, capturing and digitally processing images using Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop. New Media students have some formal training in conceptual and technological aspects of video, multimedia, coding or animation and are versed in the appropriate software applications. Students have a portfolio of their artwork.
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IV
Level IV
Photography students have advanced skills and knowledge of photography and digital image processing. New Media students have advanced skills and knowledge of video, multimedia, coding or animation. Students are self-motivated and have multiple portfolios of their artwork.
Jul 20 - 31, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM
Image + Clay: Exploring Mixed Media Ceramics
Yana Payusova
Tuition $1,650
Code P0818-26
In today’s contemporary art landscape, where mixed media is increasingly prominent, exploring the development of 2D imagery for 3D forms offers a timely approach in ceramics. This two-week immersive workshop investigates the intersection of photography, digital processes, and ceramics, encouraging students to combine and expand these media in innovative ways.Focusing on narrative development, participants work with personal, found, or generated images to create compelling visual stories on clay surfaces. The workshop emphasizes the conceptual potential of photographic imagery and pictorial illustration, guiding students in designing and producing photographic decals for transfer onto fired ceramic forms. Students may work with handbuilt forms, then move into image preparation, design, and transfer techniques. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained both technical skills and conceptual strategies to integrate 2D and 3D elements seamlessly, opening new possibilities for contemporary ceramic practice.
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II
Level II
Photography students have a basic understanding of photography principles and technology and are comfortable using an SLR camera in manual mode. New Media students have a basic understanding of video, multimedia or animation software. Students have basic computer skills and are comfortable using a Macintosh computer.
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III
Level III
Photography students have some formal training and significant experience making, capturing and digitally processing images using Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop. New Media students have some formal training in conceptual and technological aspects of video, multimedia, coding or animation and are versed in the appropriate software applications. Students have a portfolio of their artwork.
Aug 3 - 7, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM
The Palimpsest Surface: Photography, Ink, and Paint
Yana Payusova
Tuition $1,650
Code P1025-26
This workshop immerses students in the creative possibilities of mixed media by integrating photography with both traditional and experimental drawing and painting techniques. Participants work with watercolor, acrylic, India ink, graphite, and pastels to build layered, dynamic surfaces that merge photographic imagery with expressive mark-making. Through hands-on demonstrations and guided projects, students explore image-transfer methods, surface manipulation, and innovative approaches to combining materials. The workshop places strong emphasis on conceptual development, encouraging participants to transform personal, found, or generated photographs into evocative works that blur the line between representation and abstraction. By the end of the week, students create a cohesive series of artworks that demonstrate technical versatility and reflect their individual creative vision.