Ceramics
Code: C1113-26
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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.
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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.
Piecing it Together: Slab Building with Clay Fabric
Aug 10 - 21, 2026
9 AM - 5 PM
Tuition: $1,795.00
Course Fee: $500.00
Registration Fee: $45.00
Concept
Learn innovative slab surface treatment techniques in this dynamic workshop that combines hand-building, textured decoration, underglaze screen-printing, and particularly the process of building textured slab-molds using fabric and plaster. Students design and create their own cast textured clay slabs, transforming them into sculptures or functional wares, and explore a technique for applying underglaze color patterns with EZ screens—a technique that can be done easily in a home studio. We learn the art of creating templates and stencils for printing onto clay slab surfaces, and come away from the workshop with plaster texture molds, screenprinted stencils, and several finished works. The workshop is ideal for students who are skilled in slab building functional pottery and want to invigorate their practices with new surface techniques.
Media & Techniques
Ceramics, plaster casting, screenprinting, mono-printing, slab building, handle making, slab throwing, template making
Faculty
Samantha Briegel
Sam Briegel is from Knoxville, TN, and lives outside of Baltimore, MD. She received her MFA from Ohio University and shows her work nationally. Briegel has taught virtual and in-person workshops across the country and is a part-time instructor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Sam Briegel, Skirted Mug
Tuition: $1,795.00
Course Fee: $500.00
Registration Fee: $45.00
Workshop Details
Workshop Supplies
For general information about studio access, shipping, and more, please visit our info page.
If you have any questions regarding your supplies for your workshop, please contact Joanne Seongweon Lee, [email protected].
Provided by Anderson Ranch
Equipment
- Banding wheel
- Blender
- Digital Scale
- Electric Kilns
- Fabric scissors
- Plaster bucket
- Plaster rasps
- Rolling pin
- Scraper
- Slab roller
- Wheel
- X-acto Knife
Supplies
- 2 gallon trash bags
- Blank Rice paper form San Bao
- Box Cutter
- Commercial Glaze
- Duct Tape**
- Insulation foam
- Mason stains
- Nitrile gloves
- Plaster
- The clay allowance is 125 pounds for this two-week workshop. Only the clays and glazes chosen for the workshop will be available for use, which are predetermined by the instructor. Please do not bring additional clay from your studio.
- Undergalze
What you need to bring
Required Tools and Supplies
- 11" x 17" sheets of craft foam
- 8" x 10" adhesive backed craft foam
- Apron and/or towel**
- Basic pottery tools for plaster**
- EZ screen stencil
- Fabric textures
- Favorite pottery tools from your home studio
- P-100 Respirator/N-99 dust mask**
- Rubber ribs**
- Sketchbook/Notebook**
- Variety of brushes**
- Basic pottery tools**
Optional Tools and Supplies
- Light colored T-shirt for screen printing**
- Mason stains. Anderson Ranch will provide limited amount of mason stains. Students are welcome to bring their own.
- Packing materials**
- Underglazes. Anderson Ranch will provide a limited amount of underglazes. Students are welcome to bring their own.
* Available for purchase in the studio.
** Available to purchase at the Anderson Ranch ArtWorks Store for 10% off. The store aims to stock comparable items, though specific products from the supply list may vary based on inventory.
Learn more about shipping supplies and artwork to and from the Ranch in the Student Handbook.
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.
NEW: Course fees includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of course fees for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
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.
Ceramics
Ceramics Studio at Anderson Ranch, Aspen / Snowmass
The ceramics studio at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, located in Snowmass Village near Aspen, Colorado, is a fully equipped professional ceramics studio designed to support immersive workshops and advanced studio practice. The facility offers dedicated workspaces, high-quality kilns, glazing areas, and technical infrastructure for artists working in clay across a range of processes and firing methods.
Interested in enrolling? Explore the full schedule of Ceramics Workshops at Anderson Ranch.
In 1966, American 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 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.
The Soldner Ceramics Center makes up more than 10,000 square feet in three buildings with 3 studio spaces and 1 kiln yard; Soldner Studio, Long Studio, Sorenson Studio and Lyeth/Lyon Kiln Building. Soldner and Long studios are used for wheel-throwing, hand-building, or general ceramics creativity. Sorenson studio is equipped with five PotterBot 3d clay printers. The Lyeth/Lyon kiln building is equipped with gas, electric, soda and wood kilns for both oxidation and reduction firing at all temperature ranges. The Ranch offers three wood kilns including a gas/wood hybrid kiln, three gas reduction kilns, one soda kiln and eleven high-temperature electric kilns.
Don’t know where to start? View the skill levels for ceramics workshops.
Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a historic, rustic campus that features gravel pathways and uneven terrain that may pose challenges for individuals using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. We strive to provide accommodations to ensure all guests can access and enjoy our programs and facilities. With advance notice, our staff can offer personalized assistance and coordinate access to studios and campus spaces. For questions or to request an accommodation, please contact us at (970) 923-3181 or [email protected].
Anderson Ranch is happy to extend a 20% tuition discount for summer one- or two-week adult ceramics workshops for NCECA members at the student membership level or above. Please email [email protected] with your NCECA membership information prior to registering and we will send you a promo code to complete registration with your discount applied. You are also welcome to call 970-924-5089 to register after verifying your membership with us. **Please note, this discount must be approved prior to registering and cannot be applied retroactively. NCECA discount does not apply to Advanced Mentored Studies programs or Destination Workshops, nor can it be combined with any other discount, scholarship or special offer.
Related Events
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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Advanced Mentored Studies
Aug 10 - 21, 2026
9AM - 5PM
Advanced Mentored Studies: Centering a Ceramic Studio Practice Through Material and Meaning
Audrey An, Shoji Satake
Tuition $3,000
Code C1112-26
This three-year mentorship program supports ceramic artists in deepening their practice and expanding their professional portfolios through guided mentorship within an immersive studio-research environment. Participants receive individualized support, dedicated studio time, and critical dialogue while working independently within a collaborative community of peers. The program emphasizes conceptual development, craftsmanship, experimentation, and interdisciplinary approaches. Over its course, artists refine their practice, develop innovative methods, and complete a capstone project that reflects their artistic growth while exploring clay's unique capacity to shape ideas, narratives, personal histories, and identities in transformative ways. In-Person Sessions at Anderson Ranch: August 10 - 21, 2026 August 9 - 20, 2027 August 7 - 18, 2028 Participants engage in a two-week in-person residency at Anderson Ranch (one each of the three consecutive summers), complemented by ongoing virtual engagement throughout the program. Each year includes two personalized one-on-one mentorship sessions via Zoom and a virtual group critique held in January. The program's final online Zoom meeting will be in April 2028, followed by the final on-campus two-week-long session in summer 2028. The final in-person session on campus culminates with a capstone exhibition in Anderson Ranch's Patton-Malott Gallery. Tuition is listed per year. Lodging and meals are additional. To Apply: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with a deadline of February 28, 2026. To apply, please complete the 2026 Advanced Mentored Studies Online Application. A non-refundable deposit of $650 per workshop is required to reserve a space for an adult. Questions? For more information about the next session of the Advanced Mentored Studies Program, please contact: Betsy Alwin, Artistic Director of Ceramics and Expanded Media, [email protected].