YoonJee Kwak
Originally from South Korea, YoonJee Kwak is an artist and educator who has exhibited internationally and participated in numerous artist residencies and teaching workshops. She was a long-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation and Pottery Northwest. She holds an MFA in Ceramics from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a BFA in Ceramics and Glass from Hong-Ik University in Seoul. Kwak’s work draws on a Korean metaphor that describes a person’s character as a “vessel” of tolerance and depth, while exploring contemporary themes of openness and human connection. Her work has been recognized with honors including the James Renwick Alliance Chrysalis Award, Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artist Award, and a 2024 Teaching Artist Cohort grant from the Center for Craft. Her pieces have been featured in major international biennials, including those in Icheon and Cheongju, Korea, and Jingdezhen, China. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Ceramics in the School of Art and Art History and Design at the University of Iowa.
YoonJee's Links:
YoonJee's Workshops
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I
Level I
Students are new to ceramics and have no formal training.
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II
Level II
Students have a basic understanding of forming techniques, such as throwing and hand building. Students have taken one or two ceramics classes or workshops.
Aug 11 - 22, 2025Past9AM-5PM
Patterned Expressions: Sculpting Your Memories into Vessels
YoonJee Kwak
Tuition $1,910
Code C1114-25
This course focuses on artist Yoonjee Kwak’s unique hand building technique in which clay coils and bits are accumulated outward and upward, in a technique similar to fiber weaving but in clay. Demonstrations cover a range of sculptural vessels from functional cups to larger moon jars. Over the course of two weeks, participants investigate the beauty of progressive, meditative growth of building one coil at a time.
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O
Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
Jul 24 - Aug 4, 2023Past9AM-5PM
Patterned Moments: Making Sculptural Vessels
YoonJee Kwak
Tuition $1,400
Code C0810-23
This course focuses on artist Yoonjee Kwak’s unique handbuilding technique in which clay coils and bits are accumulated outward and upward, in a technique similar to fiber weaving but in clay. Demonstrations cover a range of sculptural vessels from functional cups to larger moon jars. Over the course of two weeks, participants investigate the beauty of progressive, meditative growth of building one coil at a time.
No workshops to show.