Ceramics
Code: C1514-21
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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.
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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.
Decorative Surfaces at Mid Range
Sep 13 - 24, 2021
9AM-5PM
Concept
This workshop focuses on glazing at mid-range temperatures using various resists and overlapping glazes to create designs and patterns. Students practice hand building techniques (e.g., coil and slab construction) as well as throwing on the wheel with some simple altering with the goal of learning to sculpt and glaze simple, elegant, cohesive forms. Finally, students learn finishing techniques that add further visual richness.
Media
Mid-range clay and glazes, hand building, coil and slab, cone 6 electric firing
Supply ListFaculty
Donna Polseno
Donna Polseno received degrees from the Kansas City Art Institute and Rhode Island School of Design and is a studio artist living in the mountains of Virginia, where she makes both figurative sculpture and functional pottery. She is the recipient of two NEA Artist Grants and has taught and exhibited nationally and internationally in places such as China, Turkey and Italy. She is the creator/director of the “Women Working With Clay” Symposium.
Donna Polseno, Avatar
Join Waitlist for Decorative Surfaces at Mid Range
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@
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 / Basic Ceramic Tools
All ceramic participants are responsible for bringing their own personal hand tools. This list of general tools below is considered basic for all ceramic classes. Basic starter tool kits are available in The ArtWorks Store at the Ranch. If you would like to order this tool kit so it is waiting for you when you arrive, please call the store at 970-923-3181. Each Tool Kit contains:
- Potter’s Rib
- Steel Scraper
- Wood Modeling tool
- Needle tool
- Ribbon tool
- Loop tool
- Sponge
- Wire Clay Cutter
Fettling knife
Variety of ribs
X-Acto knife
Variety of brushes of different sizes, shapes and marks (for glazing)
Notebook
Writing Utensil
Paddle (optional)
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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Code ZSC0101-25
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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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9AM - 5PM
The Center: The Mold and Matrix: Ceramic Process and Narrative Form
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Tuition $2,250
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].