Our Summer 2021 Program is OPEN for Registration!
Ceramics
- Handbuilding: Tricks of the Trade
2021-CER-03
June 17 - 22, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$435+ $35 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 15+
Students Limit: 8Description
Our objective is to hand build with a sense of adventure and discovery. We will explore different approaches to pinch, coil, and slab construction with the hope of fostering an adventurous inclination to use handbuilding in new ways, opening up the possibility of original invention inaccessible through more familiar methods. Our primary concerns are design, construction, and decoration, but there may be the option to bisque-fire work to facilitate safe transportation. We will have a number of slide shows to introduce a range of important historical and contemporary handbuilt form and technique. Work will be bisqued as possible. Beginning through advanced – at whatever level you begin this workshop, you’ll advance significantly. Ages 15 to adult
Instructor
Vince Pitelka
Vince Pitelka has been professionally involved in ceramics for over forty years and completed his MFA in ceramics at UMass-Amherst. Vince has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, North Dakota State University, and from 1994-2018 at Tennessee Technological University’s Appalachian Center for Craft, where he was Professor of Art and Head of the Clay Program. Recent work includes slab and coil-built vessels employing impressed pattern and texture reinterpreting traditional utilitarian and industrial storage and pouring vessels. Vince is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and has exhibited work and taught workshops throughout the US and internationally. The completely re-written second edition of his book Clay: A Studio Handbook was published in 2016 by the American Ceramic Society.
See more at vincepitelka.com
- Basics & Beyond Weekly Class
2021-CER-01
June 23 - August 25, 2021 (Wednesdays)
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
$260+ $35 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
This weekly class will focus on learning techniques for making pots on the potter’s wheel. Students will be taught at their own level and class projects will be encouraged. Different types of surface treatment will be taught as well as slip decorations, trimming, glazing, and finishing. Altered techniques to make oval or square forms will also be covered. All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructor
Susan Bogen
Susan Bogen is a Studio Potter maintaining studios in NJ and the Catskill Mountains. She has taught ceramics at The Art School at the Old Church, Demarest, NJ for over 15 years. Susan works in both porcelain and stoneware. She has exhibited in various national juried shows. Her work is currently in many galleries and shops.
See more at bogenpottery.com
- Clay for Seniors (Call to be placed on the waiting list) Weekly Class - FULL
2021-CER-02
June 23 - August 25, 2021 (Wednesdays)
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
$185+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 65+
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
This class is being offered to senior citizens living in the Mountain Top area who have all levels of experience hand building with clay. The class will focus on different hand building techniques that will appeal to all skill levels. Come and learn to make special projects while enjoying the supportive & friendly atmosphere. Decorating and glazing will also be taught. All Skill levels, ages 65 and up.
Instructor
Susan Beecher
Susan Beecher is a nationally recognized studio potter whose work has appeared in more than 80 national juried shows over the past 28 years. She has taught workshops and weekly classes at art centers throughout the Northeast, Florida, and California,. Her work has appeared in many articles and eight books. A book exploring her work was published by Catskill Press: Susan Beecher: Wood Fired Pottery.
See more at www.susanbeecherpottery.com.
- Sensational Soda Firing (Call to be placed on the waiting list) - FULL
2021-CER-04
June 24 - 27, 2021 (Thursday to Sunday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$345+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
This four day workshop offers an opportunity to experience Soda firing your own work. Participants will bring 12 pieces of Cone 10 bisque ware, which we will decorate and glaze on the first day, then load the soda kiln. Participants should bring bisqueware of different sizes, more vertical pieces (mugs, pitchers, and vases) than horizontal pieces. In addition students may also bring 5-10 very small pieces that will help to fill the kiln. We will fire the kiln together on Saturday while having good conversations and a slide presentation/clay demonstrations will take place. We will unload and discuss the pots on Sunday afternoon. (4” x 4” x 5” = 1 piece (please no bowls or plates) All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructor
Bruce Dehnert
Bruce Dehnert received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana and his MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University. He has taught at Hunter College, Parsons School of Art and Design, The School of Art [New Zealand], University Malaysia Sarawak, and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His work is held in a number of museums and collections including The Crocker Museum, the Yixing Museum of Ceramic Art, The New Dowse Museum, The Liling Museum of Ceramic Art, The New Museum, and The White House. Dehnert remains active as a writer and has written a number of forewords for exhibition catalogs and books, including Woodfired Pottery: Susan Beecher. He is currently writing a biography of Japanese artist, Takeshi Yasuda. In 2016, Bruce was named a Fellow to the International Academy of Ceramics. Currently he is Head of Ceramics at Peters Valley School for Crafts in Layton, New Jersey.
See more at brucedehnert.blogspot.com
- Delicious Dishes
2021-CER-05
July 2 - 4, 2021 (Friday to Sunday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$325+ $35 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 15+
Students Limit: 8Description
This 3 day hands-on workshop will focus on making serving dishes to enhance your table. We will make unique dishes such as square, oval and round baking dishes, (with decorative rims) covered casseroles, gravy boats, square serving bowls, double lipped bowls, & pie plates. You choose! And we will work to improve your throwing skills. Students are invited to work in Cone 6 or Cone 10 clay and arrange to come back to glaze fire in Cone 6. Work will be bisqued as possible. All levels of skill are welcome but some wheel experience is necessary. Ages 15 to adult
Instructor
Susan Beecher
Susan Beecher is a nationally recognized studio potter whose work has appeared in more than 80 national juried shows over the past 28 years. She has taught workshops and weekly classes at art centers throughout the Northeast, Florida, and California,. Her work has appeared in many articles and eight books. A book exploring her work was published by Catskill Press: Susan Beecher: Wood Fired Pottery.
See more at www.susanbeecherpottery.com.
- Level Up Your Pattern
2021-CER-06
July 8 - 12, 2021 (Thursday to Monday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$495+ $35 Materials Fee
Intermediate to advanced
Students Limit: 8Description
In this 5 day hands-on workshop we will focus on wheel-thrown pots and embellishment of the clay surface. Participants will be guided through fun exercises to familiarize themselves with mark-making and the structure of pattern using brushwork, stamping and incising. We will make clay stamps to be used to decorate the surfaces of our pots. Michael will discuss and demonstrate strategies for pattern with brushwork, pigmented wax resist and inlay, and will help students find patterns that are meaningful and appropriate for their forms. The workshop will focus on techniques rather than finished pieces. This workshop is designed for students with a solid foundation in wheel-throwing.
Instructor
Michael Kline
Michael Kline is a full time studio potter from Bakersville, North Carolina. He received his BFA from the University of Tennessee/Knoxville and was artist in residence at the Penland School of Crafts from 1998-2001. Michael’s work is in the collections of several museums, including The Gregg Museum in Raleigh, NC. He is married to goldsmith, Stacey Lane.
See more at klinepottery.com
- Coiling and Slab Construction: An Unorthodox Approach to Traditional Techniques - FULL
2021-CER-07
July 15 - 20, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$495+ $45 Materials Fee
Intermediate to advanced
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
This workshop will explore ideas, attitudes and approaches to using traditional techniques in innovative ways. The workshop will include 3 days of demonstrations, hands on making, and discussions about ideas, as well as opportunities for critiques of either work brought to the workshop or made during the workshop. There will be experimentation as to surface effects for the salt firing. Be ready for a provocative and challenging experience. No previous technical experience necessary. What is necessary is a desire to experiment and a sense of curiosity. This can and should happen no matter what level of experience you are at. Participants will bring 15 pieces of Cone 10 bisque ware to fire in the soda firing. (4” x 4” x 5” = 1 piece (please no bowls or plates).
Instructor
Jeff Shapiro
Jeff Shapiro was born in the Bronx, NY in 1949. He presently works and lives in upstate NY with his wife Hinako. He studied ceramic arts while living in Japan for 9 years from 1973-1981. His work has been exhibited internationally in: Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, England, and Japan. His work can be found in numerous Museum collections including: The Carlo Zauli Museum, Faenza, Italy, The Massachusetts Museum of Fine Art, Boston MA, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, The Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY, The Fuller Museum, Brockton, MA. He has given workshops and seminars in many countries around the world, and has built 2 wood fire kilns in Italy.
See more at jeffshapiroceramics.com
- An Experimental Sculpture Salt Firing
2021-CER-08
July 22 - 27, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$435+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
This workshop offers an opportunity to experience Salt Firing with a focus on deconstructing the con- straints we hold ourselves to when firing utilitarian pots. Through demonstration, presentation, and discussion we will step outside of our comfort zone within our own studio practice & focus on building a body of work. Stephanie & Max will build on traditional techniques & offer alternative modes of making to create sculptural objects that focus on texture, line, and color. This workshop will investigate processes while using a range of clay bodies and testing materials to see how they fire in the salt kiln. Participants will bring 6-10 sculptural pieces of Cone 10 bisque ware to fire in the salt firing alongside the objects we make in our workshop. In addi- tion, please bring a sketch- book, objects or images that inspire you, natural objects like yarn, leaves, lace, or any fibrous materials you may want to soak in liquid slip and burn out in the firing. All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructors
Max Seinfeld
Max Seinfeld is the Director of Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts, & a studio artist in CT. In 2014 he received his BFA from the University of Hartford. Max continues to exhibit and teach private lessons, workshops, nationally as well as internationally.
See more at maxseinfeld.com
Stephanie Lanter
Stephanie Lanter has been a maker and educator working in clay, fiber, mixed media and words since 2000. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of Hartford Art School in Connecticut, after teaching at Emporia State, Washburn, and Wichita State Universities in Kansas for 15 years. She has been awarded an extensive amount of artist residencies across the nation and is a proud contributor to ArtAxis and NCECA. She received her MFA from Ohio University (Athens) and BA from Xavier University (Cincinnati).
See more at stephanielanter.com/index.html
- Expressive Tips & Soda Firing
2021-CER-09
July 29 - August 3, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$495+ $45 Materials Fee
Intermediate to advanced
Students Limit: 8Description
This workshop will focus on making thoughtful and considered utilitarian forms for the soda kiln. Participants will bring 15 pieces of Cone 10 bisque ware to fire in the soda firing and students will work with porcelain and stoneware clays to explore a range of approaches and techniques to make your work more personal. Through discussions, images and demonstrations students will learn a variety of ways to build layers of depth on the surface of your pots. A range of forms will be covered including cups, bowls, covered jars, teapots and pitchers. (4” x 4” x 5” = 1 piece (please no bowls or plates). Some throwing experience necessary
Instructor
Kenyon Hansen
Kenyon Hansen is a full-time studio potter in Dollar Bay, Michigan. He has been a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. In 2013 he was selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly. Kenyon has taught at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Greenwich House Pottery in New York City. He has led workshops at numerous universities and art centers throughout the country. His pottery has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in homes all over the world. Currently, Kenyon is a visiting artist at Finlandia University.
See more at kenyonmhansen.com
- Marrying Form and Surface with Brenda Quinn (Call to be placed on the waiting list) - FULL
2021-CER-10
August 5 - 10, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$475+ $35 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
Whether you are interested in finding ways to make more complex functional forms, or more complex surfaces, this workshop is for you. Brenda will demonstrate ways she marries form and surface to create her decorative utilitarian wares. Techniques that will be covered include·How to create simple slump and hump molds·How to combine coiling and pinching with parts made from molds·Combine wheel throwing and hand building·Strategies for developing new forms and surface patterns· Various surface and glazing techniques including: underglaze layering, wax resist, custom sponge stamps, sprigging and more. Students are asked to bring basic pottery tools for both wheel throwing and handbuilding, as well as some small, basic bisqued objects to work on surface techniques. Open to all skill levels, but some basic knowledge of clay would be helpful.
Instructor
Brenda Quinn
Brenda Quinn creates decorative functional pottery using mid-range porcelain. Combining a variety of building processes, both wheel-thrown and handbuilt, she works to create forms embedded with the history of the processes used to make them. She received her BFA in ceramics from Tyler School of Art and her MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She maintains a studio in Ossining, NY and shows her work at various venues across the country.
See more at brendaquinn.com
- Which Came First, the Pot or the Idea
2021-CER-11
August 12 - 16, 2021 (Thursday to Monday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$445+ $35 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
As a maker, a question I often get—Where did that idea come from? Everywhere! This class will focus on the investigations and explorations that go into creating and refining functional pottery. We will have daily discussions, demonstrations, and experimentation-oriented exercises. Primarily using a stoneware clay, we will work on the wheel and with hand building techniques including slab, carving, and other simple alterations. Investigations include, making bisque molds, spouts and handles, what ‘feels’ right, and mark making. We will be bisque firing. All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructor
Lindsay Oesterritter
Lindsay Oesterritter is currently a full-time studio potter in Manassas, Virginia. She is also a Co-Founder and Organizer of Clay Week, member & Co-Founder of Objective Clay, two online organizations aimed at building and educating the ceramics community. She is an active board member of Studio Potter & co-organizer of Southern Crossing Pottery Festival held in Louisville KY. In 2020 she published her first book, Mastering Kilns & Firing. She earned her MFA from Utah State University in Logan Utah. She held the position of Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Western Kentucky University & earned Associate Professor in 2015. Lindsay had the fortune to be a resident artist at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg and in Australia at Strathnairn Arts Association. She has had the opportunity to lead workshops, curate exhibitions, lecture and exhibit nationally and internationally and is continually inspired by the craft community.
See more at loceramics.com
- The Poetic Picture: Clay as Canvas
2021-CER-12
August 19 - 24, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$465+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
This daily hands-on workshop offers the opportunity to explore your poetic voice and narratively express your individual story through clay. Discover the power of imagery with the help of daily writing prompts, playful drawing exercises and pattern research. Emphasis will be on generating a lexicon of imagery and symbols which translate well on a variety of clay canvas forms. Shanna will demonstrate printing techniques, image transfers, underglaze application, sgraffito, mishima, and wax resist glazing, while simultaneously offering guidance regarding composition and color. Participants will have access to a variety of thermofax printing screens - stencil types that are customizable and made ready to use without using photographic emulsion. Demonstrations on both red and white clay bodies will include building forms which lend themselves well to surface embellishment including press molded tiles, textured tablets, slab built platters, coil built textured vessels and wheel thrown pottery. Electric firing will be the conclusive finish, closing out the workshop with unified surface and shared camaraderie. All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructor
Shanna Fliegel
Shanna Fliegel grew up in New Jersey & attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA where she earned her BFA. Shortly after graduating, she accepted a year-long residency at the Cub Creek Foundation in Appomattox, VA. She has since worked as a resident assistant at Greenwich House Pottery in the West Village; received her MFA at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL in 2008; worked in many different facets at the Clay Art Center in NY; was awarded a summer residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT; and soon accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Art/Ceramics at Montana State University in Billings, Montana. Since has transitioned to teaching ceramics and sculpture at Governor’s Academy in Byfield, MA.
See more at shannafliegel.com
- Pattern on the Clay Surface (Call to be placed on the waiting list) - FULL
2021-CER-13
August 26 - 31, 2021 (Thursday to Tuesday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$465+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to introduce nuanced design elements to surface decoration by layering with slips and underglazes. Through demonstrations participants will learn how to use different resist methods—wax, paper, and tape—to construct patterned surfaces on leather-hard clay. Learn more about how pattern and color work, whether you prefer precise or painterly approaches; a colorful palette or black and white. Through hands-on application and discussion this workshop will encourage curiosity and inventiveness to enable you to delve deeper into your personal understanding of visual language. We will be working on leather hard tile, and hand-built or wheel thrown forms. Open to all levels.
Instructor
Adero Willard
Adero Willard is an artist and educator living in Western Massachusetts. She received a BFA at Alfred University in 1995 and MFA at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2006. She completed a one-year residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine. Nationally and internationally, Adero has exhibited work in solo and group galleries, craft shows, and pottery invitationals. Her work has been featured in a number of publications and books on ceramics.
See more at aderowillard.com
Painting
- Chinese Brush Painting
2021-P-01
June 26 - 27, 2021 (Saturday to Sunday)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$195
All levels welcome
Ages: 15+
Students Limit: 8Description
Nature is the heart of Chinese Brush painting. It is intended to be a meditative and spontaneous art form, capturing the essence of an image or idea with very little attention to precise details. Come and learn the basics for this meditative art form. Using the “Four Treasures”—the brush, ink stick, ink stone, and the paper—you will learn the techniques to create “Two Gentlemen”—the bamboo and orchid. Each “Gentleman” introduces a new stroke or idea and reinforces techniques already learned. Continual demonstrations will be provided throughout the classes, along with individual attention. This class is appropriate for those ceramic makers who wish to have more decorating skills for their clay pieces. No experience needed—ages 15 & up.
Instructor
Linda Schultz
Linda Schultz has an MS in Art Education and a Certificate of Completion from the prestigious Art Farm Gallery for Studies in Chinese Brush Painting. She has studied with Professor I-Hsuiing Ju and Leigh Wen for more than 20 years. She has further studied Chinese Brush Painting with master painters in the city of Jan Ying, China. Her work is in many private collections and galleries. Linda teaches Chinese Brush painting privately and has given numerous demonstrations.
Mosaics
- Magnificent Mosaics Workshop (Call to be placed on the waiting list) - FULL
2021-CER-14
July 23 - 25, 2021 (Friday to Sunday)
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
$265
All levels welcome
Ages: 14+
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
Glass mosaics are colorful, fun to make, and will last forever. Learn about the mosaic color palette, how tile shape creates visual texture, the way laying patterns affect overall mosaic design, and much more. You will create a mosaic panel working on sticky mesh in the indirect method. Be prepared to fall in love with this medium! All materials and tools will be provided. All levels welcome ages 14+
Instructor
Cynthia Fisher
Cynthia Fisher has been creating mosaics since 2000. Formerly a children’s book illustrator, she found the allure of the mosaic medium irresistible, and established her studio BIG BANG MOSAICS in rural western MA. Her award winning work can be found in both public and private settings nationwide.
See more at bigbangmosaics.com
Fiber Arts
- Basics & Beyond: Weekly Weaving Class Session I (Call to be placed on the waiting list) Weekly Class - FULL
2021-WE-01
June 7 - July 26, 2021 (Mondays)
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
$195+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
This is a project based class designed to teach students the mechanics of four-harness floor weaving. Students will learn how to plan a project, read a draft, dress a loom, and be comfortable at their loom. Students will learn foundational techniques that will teach an understanding of the potential of the ancient and therapeutic art. Students will choose and complete several projects during the class as time permits, and be encouraged to work at their own level. The studio will be open for extra work time. No experience is necessary.
Instructor
Laura Pierce
Laura Pierce was taught by Master Weaver Norma Ingles and has been weaving for 30 years. Inspired by nature, Laura enjoys weaving household textiles and wearables in a variety of fibers and sharing her knowledge with others.
- Intro to Rigid Heddle (Call to be placed on the waiting list) - FULL
2021-WE-03
August 7 - 8, 2021 (Saturday to Sunday)
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
$150+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Students Limit: 8Description
Please call our office at 518-263-2001 to be placed on the waiting list for this course.
In this introductory level rigid heddle weaving class you will learn to warp the loom and practice basic weaving techniques. This is a wonderfully simple way to begin weaving and explore color and texture. Students will work on a scarf or a table runner, which will allow for the opportunity to learn the basics, and troubleshoot any issues that may arise with a first project. Students will learn how to plan their project, pick out yarns and colors, warping your loom, preparing shuttles, weaving, and finishing techniques. No experience needed.
Instructor
Teresa Curtiss
Teresa Curtiss has enjoyed fiber arts from an early age. Mostly self taught, she has honed her craft by taking workshops and classes locally. Teresa has a natural gift for all things fiber. From raising a German angora rabbit, carding, spinning, dying and ultimately weaving. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge with others and has previously taught at the Primrose Hill School and Olive Free Library.
- Basics & Beyond: Weekly Weaving Class Session II Weekly Class
2021-WE-02
August 9 - September 27, 2021 (Mondays)
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
$195+ $45 Materials Fee
All levels welcome
Students Limit: 8Description
This is a project based class designed to teach students the mechanics of four-harness floor weaving. Students will learn how to plan a project, read a draft, dress a loom, and be comfortable at their loom. Students will learn foundational techniques that will teach an understanding of the potential of the ancient and therapeutic art. Students will choose and complete several projects during the class as time permits, and be encouraged to work at their own level. The studio will be open for extra work time. No experience is necessary.
Instructor
Laura Pierce
Laura Pierce was taught by Master Weaver Norma Ingles and has been weaving for 30 years. Inspired by nature, Laura enjoys weaving household textiles and wearables in a variety of fibers and sharing her knowledge with others.