Ceramics

Code: C1014-22

    • 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.

    • III

      Level III

      Students have significant experience with clay forming techniques, such as throwing, hand building and modeling. Students are comfortable with ceramics equipment, such as wheels, extruders and slab rollers. Students are self­-starting with some formal training and have taken a minimum of three classes or workshops.

    • IV

      Level IV

      Students have advanced skills and knowledge of the ceramics field. Students are highly motivated, have a minimum of five years experience in the field and have a portfolio of their artwork. Typical students are academics and professional artists.

Commentary in Clay: Increasing Your Impact

Aug 8 - 19, 2022

9AM-5PM

Concept

Richard Notkin has been a ceramic artist at the forefront of the movement for social/political commentary in clay for over fifty years. In this workshop Richard shares how he developed his philosophy–and several strategies–to effectively express passions and statements in their chosen media. Participants are challenged to dig into their deepest concerns and to express their innermost stories in a way that profoundly engages and impacts viewers. Images are chosen, juxtaposed, altered and manipulated to specifically engage a viewer’s eye, mind and heart. Richard demonstrates his many processes, including hand-building, carving, surface detailing, small-scale approaches, assemblage, press-molding and much more. Participants are prompted to expand both their conceptual aptitude and technical skills to achieve artworks which can mesmerize an audience and carry a profound message.

Media

Hand-building, stoneware, electric fire to cone 6

Supply List

Faculty

Richard Notkin

Richard Notkin is a studio artist whose work is in over 75 museum collections throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has taught workshops and been an artist-in-residence at over 350 schools and arts organizations worldwide. Among his awards are three National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grants, and Visual Arts Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Tiffany Foundation, and United States Artists Foundation. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council and an Honorary Member of NCECA.

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Richard Notkin, Heart Teapot Military Industrial Hostage

Join Waitlist for Commentary in Clay: Increasing Your Impact

Thank you for your interest in the waitlist. When space in a workshop or program becomes available, registration will open on the website. Everyone on the waitlist will be emailed to alert them of the opening. This ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to register for the workshop or program.

Ceramics

In 1966, American raku ceramicist Paul Soldner selected the site for what is now Anderson Ranch Arts Center, forming the foundation for a thriving ceramics program. Then and now, Anderson Ranch is a place where students exchange ideas and examine ceramic art and pottery-making techniques. It has always been a place where seminal moments of growth happen in an artist’s creative and critical thinking. Here, both beginning and emerging artists gain strong fundamental support, while established artists achieve new perspectives and advance their techniques.

The Ranch Ceramics team provides support, feedback and technical problem solving, giving each artist the freedom to experiment and grow. Our primary focus is on personal advancement through a process of creative discovery. We also offer community engagement through events like our Locals’ Clubs “Circle of Fire” where artists engage with the Ranch outside of the workshop setting.

The Soldner Ceramics Center makes up more than 10,000 square feet in three buildings. The Lyeth/Lyon kiln building is equipped with gas, electric, soda and wood kilns for both oxidation and reduction firings at all temperature ranges. The Ranch offers three wood kilns, four gas reduction kilns, one soda kiln and eleven high-temperature electric kilns.

Anderson Ranch is happy to extend a 20% tuition discount* in summer one- or two-week adult workshops for NCECA members. Please email reg@andersonranch.org with your NCECA membership information and we will send you a form to register and access the discount. Discounts are not available retroactively. You are also welcome to call 970-924-5089 to register. *Please note that the NCECA discount does not apply to The Center / Advanced Mentored Studies program, nor can it be combined with any other discount, scholarship or special offer. 

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Workshop Details

Supply List

Many of the items you'll need are available in the ArtWorks Store. Please click "View Full Supply List" to see a comprehensive list of items you'll need for this workshop.

Ceramic Tool Kit

Buy

Notebook

Buy

Variety of ribs

Buy

Watercolor brushes

Buy

Writing Utensil

Buy

X-Acto knife

Buy

Lodging & Meals

Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations. 

We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.

The Ranch Café meal plan that is included with Room and Board fees strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. The meal plan includes 5 days of continental breakfasts that will include a hot offering, 5 lunches with a selection of offerings, and 5 dinners.

 

Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts

Making Art Accessible

Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.

Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.

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    • IV

      Level IV

      Students have advanced skills and knowledge of the ceramics field. Students are highly motivated, have a minimum of five years experience in the field and have a portfolio of their artwork. Typical students are academics and professional artists.

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    The Center: The Mold and Matrix: Ceramic Process and Narrative Form

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    Code C1001-25

    This three-year mentorship program is intended for ceramic artists interested in critical feedback and immersion in a creative community and who are at a point of transition in their lives, careers, or artistic practices. Emphasis is placed on seeking connections, metaphors, and symmetries between processes for forming clay and developing ways of generating meaning. The objects we make tell stories and propose worlds; a coil and a mold are both techniques for forming clay and also propositions about the meaningful interface of material, body, mind, economy, and culture. We focus on ways stories emerge from physical objects and how narratives give structure to physical form. We welcome participants from many different backgrounds and experiences, centering on work in clay but with the potential for different outcomes, including work in other materials, writing, sculpture, and design. 2025 is the third year of this three-year intensive program. For more information about our next session of The Center, which begins in 2026, please contact Betsy Alwin, Visiting Director of Ceramics and Expanded Media at [email protected].  

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