Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced

This pivotal workshop will provide a great experience of wood-firing as a group. Various approaches to using flashing slips, glazing with materials to create texture, and firing techniques will be emphasized. Specific placement in the kiln, for various effects from the flame, smoke, and ash accumulation will be an important component of the experience. Philosophy, design, and specific ways of processing pottery will be shared. A hands-on workshop will take place while the wood kiln cools. Information on clays and materials to use for this workshop will be provided.

Ben Owen III is an American potter born and raised in Seagrove, North Carolina. A sixth-generation ceramist learning from his family, Owen holds a BFA in Ceramics at East Carolina University. He was awarded a fellowship in Japan, and was a visiting artist in Jingdezhen, China. Ben continues to work in the family business, “Ben Owen Pottery,” established by his grandfather and father. Wood firing has continued to influence Ben's work by creating moments in time for color and surface effects from the process.

Learn more: benowenpottery.com

Fee: $1,030 + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced

John Gill is known for his unique approaches to constructing planular vessels that exhibit both contemporary and historical associations. Gill’s expressive angulars challenge gravity with cantilever, colliding with surfaces that feature dynamic painting. There is undeniable magic in his hands, and a plausible logic guided by the idea that working with function opens-up possibilities. Join us in this workshop that could change your trajectories in thinking and creating. Gill has been a leader in our field, absorbing stories, and working intuitively to put together forms in direct yet activated relationships. He comes to materials with simple tools and ideas, solving problems in the moment. The opportunity to study with this artist is a rite of passage and not to be missed.

John Gill earned his MFA from Alfred University, and BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. A member of the International Academy of Ceramics, John Gill has presented lectures and workshops in the United States and internationally for over 30 years. He presented the keynote address at the Seventh International Ceramic Biennale in Korea.  His work is held in numerous permanent collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Crafts Council in 2014.

Learn more: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/828145

Fee: $650 (includes first bag of clay) + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced

Whether you’re a recent arrival to the glaze and clay calculation world, or you’ve previously studied this fascinating science, this workshop will exponentially expand your knowledge of glaze and clay-body development. Students will explore color behavior in glazes, that they invent, in both oxidation AND reduction atmospheres. Glaze and clay body formulation, the role of metal oxides and stains, the introduction of opacifiers, and causes of defects will be taught step by step. Testing “wild clays” will be welcome in our explorations. Students are encouraged to bring in their curiosities and challenges for discussion with this renowned, and fun, instructor.

Dr. William M. Carty is Professor Emeritus of Ceramic Engineering at Alfred University. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, and his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Washington. Dr. Carty and his research group have conducted research in aspects of traditional ceramics and advanced ceramics. The author of over 80 papers, he is slowly coming to understand (and can speak eloquently, but perhaps ad nausea, about) the benefits of applying the scientific method to solve art creation problems.

Learn more: ceramics.org/person/william-m-carty/

Fee: $560 + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner To Advanced

Using soft clay slabs, templates and several hand-building construction techniques, students will create a variety of functional pottery forms including mugs, pouring pots, vases, and platters. Students will also make their own clay stamps and rollers for making texture, surface patterns and designs on their pots. Emphasis will be on learning good craftsmanship and constructing functional forms. This workshop is designed for beginning level students, and teachers who want to expand their making skills and knowledge. There will be a bisque firing. Glazes and application will be demonstrated and discussed.

Bill Griffith is an artist, educator and former Arrowmont School arts administrator, living in Sevierville, Tennessee. His functional and sculptural ceramics continue to be exhibited and published in national juried and invitational exhibitions. He has taught many workshops, including at Arrowmont, Penland, Peters Valley, and Idyllwild. Bill is a recipient of a Tennessee Arts Commission individual Artist Fellowship and was awarded NCECA’s coveted National Outstanding Achievement Award for his contributions to the ceramics field. His ceramic art is included in the collections of the Tennessee State Museum, Asheville Art Museum, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Tokoname Cultural Museum, Japan.

Learn more: billgriffithclay.com

Fee: $550 (includes first bag of clay) + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: The ability to wheel-throw a cylinder is encouraged

Join us for 5 days of exploring imaginative approaches to creating zoomorphic pottery. Using techniques of throwing and hand-building, students will form vessels that incorporate animal figures by sculpting, carving, and alteration. Instruction will cover basic sculpting techniques such as the hollowing method and how to give their animals expression and detail. Katherine will provide individual guidance with each student to achieve a pleasing composition, structural integrity, and personal meaning in their finished work. The workshop also includes one glaze firing.

Katherine Maloney is a studio artist based on her family’s farm in Southeast Virginia. She received her BA in Ceramics at Guilford College and has participated in artist-in-residence programs, including STARworks Ceramics and as an assistant at Peters Valley ceramics studio. Katherine has taught workshops regionally and exhibited work nationally at galleries and prestigious shows including the Smithsonian Craft Show.

Learn more: katherinemaloney.org

Fee: $570 + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner To Advanced

This exciting workshop will emphasize ancient Chinese methodologies and concepts for painting and decorating on porcelain greenware, bisqueware, and glaze ware. Processes, that include applying “Qing Hua” cobalt pigment, color underglazes, glazes, computer decal transfers and China paints, will be shared. Students will learn two major brush painting techniques; fine-line brush painting and board brush expression. Ways of painting symbols and patterns, like bamboo, chrysanthemum, orchid, plum blossom, peony, dragonflies, and the iconic goldfish, will be covered. By understanding color field and exploring the subconscious, participants will connect with their body, mind, and soul.

Sin-ying Ho received her MFA from Louisiana State University in 2001. Ho is Associate Professor at Queens College, CUNY. She has taught and presented many international workshops, lectures, and exhibitions including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in China’s preeminent City of Porcelain, Jingdezhen.

Learn more: sinyingho.com

Phil Read received his MFA from Maine College of Art and Design. He has studied the art and techniques of Chinese Brush Painting/Sumi-e for 30 years. Read has presented workshops to artists and students from all over North America and exhibits internationally. He maintains a studio in Jingdezhen, China.

Fee: $595 (includes first bag of clay) + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner To Intermediate

If you are looking to improve your skills in throwing great pots with porcelain, this workshop is for you. Come study in our sunny studio with one of the most gifted teachers of the craft while focusing on making better pots. Through demonstrations, practice, and discussions, students will explore the anatomy of pots, and concentrate on aspects of their craft that deserve improvement. From feet to bellies, lids, glazing and beyond, more successful pots are guaranteed. Students will take home to their studios a greater knowledge of their own approach and ‘voice’, as well as greenware, bisqueware, and high fired celadons from our gas reduction kiln!

Francine Epstein is a ceramicist and educator based in Chester, New Jersey. For over 20 years, she has nurtured a thriving community of artists through her teaching studio. Her passion for the medium extends beyond the studio walls, where she cultivates an encouraging teaching practice. Francine has supported aspiring artists of all ages, sharing her knowledge and inspiring students to embrace responsible creative practices and appreciate the role of Art in society. Epstein is a “gem,” according to anyone who has been fortunate to cross paths with her.

Fee: $560 (includes first bag of clay) + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced

This workshop provides a hands-on experience in wheel throwing and soda firing. Students will experiment with altering and incorporating various flashing slips to enhance the aesthetic aspects of their work. Participants are encouraged to bring gathered materials, such as sand and small stones, to be added to slips. Each material can provide unique textures, patterns, or even contrasting colors. This process adds both aesthetic and tactile dimensions to the fired works. The combination of wheel throwing, alterations, slip additions and atmospheric firing allows for a diverse range of artistic expression. Fresh ways of throwing will be demonstrated, and individual attention emphasized.

Chad Steve was raised in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. He received his BFA from University of Wisconsin-Stout and his MFA from University of Hawaii at Manoa where he worked as an adjunct professor and a lab technician. Chad has instructed at a variety of institutions. He’s had the honor of being an artist-in-resident at Clay Studio of Missoula and the Armory Art Center. He’s currently the Director of Ceramics and Sculpture at the Lighthouse Art Center in Tequesta, Florida.

Learn more: ceramicchadsteve.com

Fee: $570 (includes first bag of clay + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee

Skill Level: Beginner

Last year, this revolutionary way of learning to work with clay was invented right here at Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts. Have a blast getting creative in this workshop with three Dynamos! Come be a part of a new paradigm in learning how to work with clay ... under the guidance of three amazing artists. Students will learn wheel throwing, hand building, glazing, and raku firing ... each technique important to building skills and knowledge quickly. You’ll feel like you’re in excellent hands with these Instructors who know how to work with clay, enthusiastically share their knowledge, and set the right pace and atmosphere for learning.

Marilyn Katz has been studying both hand built, and wheel thrown ceramics at The Art School at Old Church in New Jersey for many years. She currently has a studio in her home where she builds sculpture and throws pots. Marilyn is a member of the “The Firing Squad” at Old Church, helping to fire the community’s gas kilns. Marilyn has taught ceramics at Gilda’s Club of Northern New Jersey. Katz is an attorney, environmental advocate, and citizenship volunteer.

Gail Rutigliano is a mixed-media artist who works primarily in ceramics. "I find clay to be a meditative guiding force in which I also use paint and collage to express how I feel about current events." Gail has been part of the community at The Art School Old Church (NJ) for over a decade. Currently a member of the school's "Firing Squad" helping to fire the gas kilns, she creates porcelain jewelry, and hand built, or wheel thrown, pots for home and garden. Rutigliano is on the Board of Directors of The Art School in Demarest, New Jersey.

Karen Stern is a part-time potter and full-time clay enthusiast from northern New Jersey. She has been making pottery for 15+ years, with a focus on wheel thrown functional ceramics. She has studied at The Art School at Old Church, Penland School of Crafts, Snow Farm and Sugar Maples. Her work has been exhibited at Old Church, The Belskie Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and Noyes Arts Garage. Stern is a TV Producer with a pottery addiction and is on the Board of Directors at The Art School at Old Church.

Fee: $350 + $40 Non-Refundable Registration Fee