Clay Camp: Hand Building for Teens

During the workshop, participants discuss making forms that can be enhanced by the soda-firing process as well as what slips and materials to use for different effects in the firing. The workshop demonstrates a wide array of techniques for throwing and altering forms and gives students the opportunity to practice them. Vessels and sculptures will be created during the first week, followed by soda firings the following week.

In this intensive class on product design in clay, students focus on a combination of professional practices and hand-building strategies, learning the techniques behind crafting unique, tabletop-sized vessels. Through demonstrations, we learn essential design principles around shape, form, and silhouettes, and techniques for hand-building and coil-building. Participants receive personalized guidance and feedback on projects while developing technical and problem-solving skills. The goal is for each participant to complete a minimum of two models and two prototypes.

In Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag writes, "What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to See more, to Hear more, to Feel more." This community focused, discussion and critique-based workshop encourages artists to investigate their artistic intentions within a supportive environment of critical thinking, looking, and responding. As a cohort of artists who are active participants in the act of observation and interpretation, the intention is to expand one's understanding of how to speak about the work of our peers without judgment or categorization. Though this is not a traditional critique class, we focus on building skills in how to guide a studio visit with questions, avoiding art world sound bytes but rather spotlighting authentic and unique feedback. This workshop is for serious artists who are searching for community, dialogue, and honesty within a cohort. Participants are encouraged to bring physical work as well as digital images to share and discuss, with emphasis on awareness and being present among the group. TO REGISTER: Please contact Lindsey Yeager, Studio Coordinator of Painting, Drawing & Printmaking, at [email protected] to inquire about attending this workshop.