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Writing as Collage

with Ric Royer

Next session: June 12th to 14th, 2026

$395 More Info

All levels welcome

This exciting writing workshop will use collage methods to open new avenues of thinking and create fresh material. Participants will explore writing through the tactile and conceptual process of cutting, pasting, and assembling disparate elements to construct textual collages that serve as prompts for their writing. This method generates unique juxtapositions (sometimes via chance operation) and helps writers reflect on their own stories from multiple perspectives. The techniques explored in this workshop are often associated with non-traditional forms of writing like cut ups and chance operations and can easily be used to unlock new directions in any form of writing, prose or poetry, traditional or experimental. Writing As Collage is a writing workshop but is open to artists of all disciplines.

Ric Royer is a writer of performance and a performer of writing. His latest book, Niagara Falls, NY was published by Pig Roast Publishing in 2023. You can listen to him every second Thursday of the month on WGXC Wave Farm Radio with his music collaborator G Lucas Crane. Their show, Suddering Words, is an improvised mashup of various radio show formats, noise and sound poetry, resulting in unlistenable chaos.

Fee: $395 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $25 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Everybody Must Get Stonewared … Again

with Doug Peltzman

Next session: July 24th to 28th, 2026

$660 More Info

Some throwing experience needed

“I love making functional pottery for daily use, every aspect of the process is an opportunity to dig deep. I believe pots can be a powerful conduit for human connection, convey a sense of comfort, curiosity, and play. My choice of clay and glaze are hyper-intentional. The arrangement of slip/glaze, idiosyncratic marks, leaf motifs, horizon lines, circles, and grids represent my interest in seeing the world through a filtered lens, allowing my taste and experiences to bleed into my work. This approach helps to shift perceptions about what pottery can be; a profoundly soulful way to build relationships through a simple pot”.

Doug Peltzman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. Having a voracious appetite for risk, being a skateboarder and artist, Peltzman has been making pots since 2003 and painting and drawing his entire life. After graduating with his MFA from Penn State, he established a pottery studio in Shokan, NY. He has taught workshops throughout the country, was a founding member of Objective Clay (2012-2021), and is one of the principal creators of the successful Hudson Valley Pottery Tour. Doug is a dedicated husband, full-time studio potter, and father of three superbly talented and cheerful children.

Fee: $660 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Put a Lid on It

with David MacDonald

Next session: August 21st to 25th, 2026

$650 More Info

Some throwing experience appreciated

This wheel-throwing workshop offers a focus on exploring and experimenting with different "lidding systems" used in pottery making. Taught by one of the country’s most renowned potters, this exciting course will offer students detailed instruction and hands-on experience with an array of different approaches to making lids for pots and, alternatively, pots for lids. Come expand your skills ten-fold through this concentration on tools, techniques, and aesthetics. There will be lively discussions, demonstrations, and lots of individual attention.

David MacDonald received his MFA from the University of Michigan in 1971; and joined the faculty of the School of Art at Syracuse University, retiring in 2008. His creative work is mostly inspired by his investigation of his African heritage. His work has been featured in several ceramic textbooks and magazines. He has also been featured in several nationally televised programs.

Fee: $650 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $60 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

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Weekly Wheel-Throwing Pottery

with Meredith Kunhardt

Next session: July 1st to August 19th, 2026

$385 More Info

Skill level: Beginner - Advanced

There are endless reasons why making pottery on the wheel has become so popular. The process puts us in touch with our ‘elemental selves.’ Creating forms with our hands and minds serves our desire to invent and realize our imaginations. The ‘farm to table’s movement has made us more aware of the relationships between locally grown foods and handmade wares. At Sugar Maples we celebrate this relationship by offering this dynamic and meaningful course. Students learn how to prepare clay, make pots, glaze, and fire. Also, because we have a beautiful organic farm right here on campus, you can fill those bowls you make with fresh veggies!

Fee: $385 (Course Fee: $275 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Wild Color Workshop

with Lou Thorne

Next session: August 14th to 16th, 2026

$420 More Info

All levels welcome

This workshop offers an introduction to the practice of finding color within our immediate landscape. We'll explore Sugar Maples’ vibrant landscape to find wild materials suitable for artist pigments, engage in ethical foraging, and learn to process these materials into art supplies. We will cover a variety of methods and outcomes, including dye, ink, paint, laking, and more, guided by participant interest and available materials.

Lou Thorne is a multidisciplinary artist and pigment worker. Her current practice focuses on collaborations with hyper-local materials typically considered invasive, excessive, or otherwise undesired. She lives in the Oblong Valley (Mohican, Munsee Lenape, and Schaghticoke lands).

Fee: $420 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $50 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Savor the Moment: Introducing Oil Painting with Food Still Life

with Mia Brownell

Next session: August 7th to 10th, 2026

$520 More Info

All levels welcome

Join us for an immersive introduction to oil painting. Using the historic and vibrant world of food ‘still-lives’ as our inspiration, learn the fundamentals of capturing light, color, and form as we build layers of oil paint to create exciting depth and illusion. Participants will be introduced to approaches that consider the rich narrative threads weaving together food, culture, and human experience. Receive lots of individual attention and engage in group discussions as we practice daily painting methods. Perfect for beginners and those looking to refine their skills.

Mia Brownell’s paintings use the illusionistic conventions of traditional food still-life painting to explore larger conversations about being human. Referencing 17th-century Dutch realism and the swirling forms of molecular imaging, her work considers food as more than sustenance, examining how it is grown, processed, marketed, and consumed, and how it functions as a cultural signifier. Through illusionistic depictions, she probes questions of identity, values, and the parallels between microbiology and the social constructs that shape who we are. Mia is a Professor of Art & Design at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

Fee: $520 (Course Fee: $440 + Lab Fee: $40 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Weekly Hand-Building Ceramics

with Instructor TBD

Next session: July 1st to August 19th, 2026

$385 More Info

Skill Level: Beginner – Advanced

Using clay to create pottery, sculpture, architectural tile and forms, dates back 28,000 years when the paleolithic Venus figurines were sculpted. From magnificent Native American pots to modern tilework, hand-building processes play an important role in artists’ abilities to express their imaginations and traditions through this malleable medium. During this exciting course students will learn a variety of techniques for realizing forms. There will be demonstrations on pinch, coil, and slab, as well as glazing and firing. This is a fun hands-on course!

Fee: $385 (Course Fee: $275 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Flat to Functional: Slab Built Pottery Forms

with Jen Allen

Next session: July 24th to 28th, 2026

$650 More Info

All levels welcome

Using some of my hand-building templates as a starting point, students will learn how to design and create their own templates while transforming flat clay slabs into functional pottery forms. This class focuses on form development, template-making, surface texture, and thoughtful assembly/alteration techniques. Students will gain practical strategies for translating ideas into repeatable forms, strengthening problem-solving skills, and building confidence in slab construction.

Jen Allen is a studio potter, educator, and mother based in Morgantown, West Virginia. When she's not creating pottery, teaching, or designing templates, you’ll likely find her in the woods with her pup Margot, or at the hockey rink, cheering on her kids' teams.

Fee: $650 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $60 [first bag of clay included] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Visible Mending

with Megan Piontkowski

Next session: June 19th to 21st, 2026

$420 More Info

All levels welcome

Visible mending not only makes our clothing unique and extends wear, but it also lets others know that we have fixed our clothes. This visible alteration carries meaning in a fascinating number of ways. At the very least, mending can communicate personal aesthetics and care. It might even inspire others to take up mending as well! Students will learn a variety of mending techniques that can excite the senses and expand on how fashion can be made personal.

Megan Piontkowski is an artist and illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a BFA from Montclair State University, and her MFA in Painting and Drawing from Brooklyn College. Her book, Feminist Ships, celebrates the lives and achievements of women sailors. Piontkowski discovered visible mending a few years ago and has been off to the races ever since.

Fee: $420 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $50 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Stained Glass for Beginners

with Lisa Gnos

Next session: August 21st to 23rd, 2026

$430 More Info

All levels welcome

During this dynamic workshop students will learn different techniques of the art of stained-glass. Starting with a small 5-piece project without borders, students will learn how to cut, grind, foil, and solder stained-glass. Students will design and create a larger project learning how to set size and fit pieces together properly. The goal is to have fun and take home two beautiful projects!

Lisa Gnos has been an artist working with stained-glass for over 25 years. Her passions to create and teach have led to owning her own studio. Gnos’ practice includes repairing church windows, custom jobs, mosaics, and fusing glass in kilns. She enjoys repairing and painting antique clock dials, hiking, kayaking and working for a local dentist as an RDH.

Fee: $430 (Course Fee: $330 + Lab Fee: $60 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)