Penland Clay Classes

Classes are open to serious students of all levels unless specified in course description; beginners welcome.

Richard Burkett, Kick-back Teapot, soda-fired white stoneware,

7 x 9 x 6 in. & Joe Molnaro, Covered Jar

Explore a full range of atmospheric firing! We will start by making work to fire in the wood kiln. Then we will make work for the soda and salt firings that will happen in the second week. We will focus on developing your pots (both thrown and handbuilt), expressive functional forms, evocative textures, and slips and glazes to enhance the work. Intermediate level: basic throwing or handbuilding skills required. Code 01CA

Richard: professor at San Diego State University; has been firing soda, salt, and wood kilns for more than 40 years. Joe: professor at Eastern Kentucky University; founder of the ClayArt listserv; author of A Pottery Tour of Kentucky; former program director for the NCECA. Both have built numerous wood and soda kilns over the years. Long-time friends, they bring a wealth of experience with firing, pottery, glazes, and teaching to this workshop.

Kensuke Yamada, Delightfulness,

stoneware, 38 x 18 x 8 in.

We will create original, narrative, figurative works that express the human condition and everyday life. Stories may come from childhood tales, comic books, movies, and your own personal experience. Demonstrations will include the basic handbuilding techniques used in making figurative forms. Individual instruction will help each student make ceramic figures in their own unique way. Earthenware, electric firing. Basic handbuilding skills required: figure drawing experience will be helpful. Code 01CB

Resident artist at The Clay Studio (Philadelphia); former resident at Archie Bray (MT); MJD Bray Fellowship award; exhibitions: Catherine Person Gallery (Seattle), John Natsoulas Gallery (CA), Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis), Lillstreet Art Center (Chicago).

1st Session also includes Conversation with Nature, a special mixed-media workshop with Kyoung Ae Cho.

Marc Leuthold, Still Life with Pottery, glazed

stoneware, mixed media, dimensions vary

Have you always wanted to learn to throw? Have you tried and become frustrated? Here’s a chance to learn from someone who has taught over a thousand people. We will start with basics and move on to developing fluid, clean, functional forms. Trimmed feet will be important--none of those footless pots in this class. You can also create nontraditional forms and sculpture. The class will include demos, individual instruction, history, and lots of visuals. Bring positive energy, a sense of humor, and a willingness to put in time and effort. High-temperature stone-ware. Beginning/intermediate level. Code 02CA

Professor of art at State University of New York-Potsdam; other teaching: Princeton University (NJ), Parsons The New School of Design (NYC); lifetime member of the International Academy of Ceramics; work in 25 museum collections including Metropolitan Museum (NYC), Smithsonian Museum of American Art (DC), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Students in this class will make and tune a variety of ceramic musical instruments and sound-producing sculptures. The class will cover many of the handbuilding, throwing, and assembling techniques I use to make my own sounding sculptures and musical instruments. We will cover clay bodies, firing techniques (particularly vapor firing) and the formal and informal sculptural processes used in creating sounding ceramics. All levels. Code 02CB

Professor of visual art at Eckerd College (FL); National Endowment for the Arts and Fulbright-Hays fellowships; musical compositions used in film soundtracks and ballet scores; exhibitions: Baltimore Clayworks, Mint Museum (NC), The Clay Studio (Philadelphia).

2nd Session also includes Crafting Memory, Dreaming History: Writing from Experience, a special writing workshop with Sharona Muir.

Susan Dewsnap, Cup, soda-fired stoneware, slips, and glazes,

4 x 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 in. & Paul Heroux, Cups, soda-fired

translucent porcelain with flashing slips and glazes, 5 x 3 in.

In this class we will make round pots on the wheel, taking an idea through a series of forms such as cups, bowls, and lidded jars so these forms clearly relate to each other as a series, set, or group. Surface will be addressed in the same way, concentrating on the forms as a primary source. We will do high-temperature reduction and soda firings. All levels, although some throwing skills will be helpful. Code 03CA

Susan: studio artist; teaching: Bates College (ME), University of Nebraska-Lincoln; representation: AKAR Gallery (IA), Lillstreet Art Center (Chicago), Schaller Gallery (MI). Paul: studio artist: teaching Bates College (ME), Haystack (ME); exhibitions: Society of Arts and Crafts (Boston), June LaCombe Gallery (ME), Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

This workshop will explore the use of slab and coil techniques to make plates, vases, lidded forms, and pots with handles and spouts. White slip and sgraffito in the greenware state will create a map for decorative approaches on bisque. Lectures, demonstrations, and individual and group discussions will encourage the development of a personal vision with these technologies. Intermediate level: basic handbuilding skills required. Code 03CB

Studio artist; recently retired as the Hixson-Lied Professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln; residencies: Spode Fine China Works (England), Watershed (ME), Archie Bray (MT); solo shows: Lux Center for the Arts (NE), Sheldon Museum of Art (NE), Firehouse Art Center (OK); work published in Ceramics: Art and Perception, Neue Keramik, Contemporary Ceramics by Emmanuel Cooper and Masters: Earthenware (Lark Books).

3rd Session also includes Sound and Light for Things, a special sound and lighting workshop with Shawn Decker.

George Bowes, Ego (Centric), cone 5 porcelain with

underglazes and glazes on inkjet prints 2-1/2 x 11 in.

In this class we will work with a different idea every day. Each morning we will focus on quick exercises that explore a specific topic. In the afternoons we will use the discoveries from these explorations to develop concepts and techniques to further our personal work. Using several different types of cone 5 clay and a multitude of surface techniques, we will expand our visual vocabulary. All of the information covered can be used with a variety of objects and temperature ranges. All levels. Code 04CA

Studio artist; Arts Midwest/NEA regional visual arts fellowship, multiple Ohio Arts Council individual artist fellowships; collections: Renwick Gallery (DC), Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Schein-Joseph Museum (NY).

David Gamble, Dead Bird Icon, hand-built terra cotta, cone 4

electric multi-fired, 11 x 14 x 1-1/2 in. & Tracy Gamble, Carved

Pitcher, wheel-thrown and carved stoneware, cone 5

electric fired, 4 x 5 in.

This class will be an exploration of low-fire clay and glazes for clay enthusiasts of all levels and will be particularly beneficial to k–12 art teachers. We will experiment with underglazes in various forms on wet and bisque clay. We will test glazes on bisque tiles. We will create quick and easy sushi plates for further testing with majolica on different colored base glazes. We will also create masks, nichos, and pitchers, and do some brushmaking as a bonus. All levels. Code 04CB

Studio artists and workshop teachers; have led hundreds of workshops in the U.S. and Canada and organized symposiums in Eastern Europe.

Peter Callas, Mentori, wood-fired clay,

natural ash glaze, 6 x 6 x 8 in.

IThis class will deal with all aspects of woodfired ceramics. There will be extensive information on clays, kiln designs, and firing techniques. Creative problem solving, personal expression, and objective evaluation of form will all be part of the workshop. Wheel-throwing and handbuilding demonstrations will deal with the aesthetics of woodfired ceramics. All levels. Code 05CA

Studio artist; teacher of more than 100 workshops; builder of the first U.S. anagama kiln; recent exhibitions: Daum Museum of Contemporary Art (MO), SOFA New York, San Angelo Museum (TX), American Museum of Ceramic Art (CA), Grounds for Sculpture (NJ); collections: Philadelphia Museum, Cleveland Museum, Powerhouse Museum (Australia), Museum of Modern Art (Brazil), National Museum of Contemporary Art (Korea), Guangdong Shiwan Museum (China), Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (Japan), American Museum of Ceramic Art (CA).

Kenneth Baskin, Artifact Series: Linkage, mid-fired

stoneware, 12 x 26 x 6 in.

Explore the potential of slab construction to create single- or multiple-component sculptures during this workshop, which focuses on inventive construction strategies. Among the many techniques taught will be custom template production and fabrication of bracing forms using simple materials. We will use creative means to develop surface textures that enhance the conceptual aspects of the sculptural forms. Further development will be explored through mid-range and soda firings. Stoneware clay. All levels. Code 05CB

Associate professor and head of ceramics at McNeese State University (LA); exhibitions: Blue Spiral 1 (NC), Goldesberry Gallery (Houston), Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan); collections: Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), Arkansas Arts Center, Hilliard University Art Museum (LA); work published in 500 Ceramic Sculptures (Lark Books).

Andy Shaw, Tableware Series, water-carved

wheel-thrown porcelain, dimensions vary

(plates are 8-1/2 x 8-1/2 x 1 in.)

Pots are human-scaled objects that are visual, tactile, and functional. We will create a dynamic blend of those three elements by identifying the design essentials of pots, uncovering our preconceptions about dishes, and considering innovative solutions to functional forms. We will examine how, when, and why we use dishes, and reveal much about the social conventions that guide that use. Slides, demonstrations, reading, and writing will all prompt discussions about tableware design. High-temperature stoneware and porcelain; some firings will be straight reduction, other reduction salt/soda. All levels. Code 06CA

Assistant professor at Louisiana State University; other teaching: Haystack (ME), Arrowmont (TN), Clemson University (SC); residencies: Archie Bray (MT), Arrowmont (TN), The Clay Studio (Philadelphia); collections: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Crocker Museum (CA), Schein-Joseph Museum (NY), Sanbao Institute of Ceramic Art (China).

Tetsuya Yamada, Study of Flight

#15, ceramic, 7 x 16 x 6 in.

In this mixed-media sculpture class, we will investigate perception, context and the meaning of objects. Objects, their surroundings, and our knowledge can be processed in our minds to create a kind of narrative. We will work with high-fire stoneware and other materials and cover how to handle clay and the use of simple plaster press molds. Discussions, slide lectures, and demonstrations will help students develop creative thinking. All levels. Code 06CB

Associate professor of art at University of Minnesota; grand prize at Gyeonggi International Ceramics Biennale 2011 (Korea), Louis Comfort Tiffany award, McKnight Foundation fellowship; solo shows: Yoshii Gallery (NYC), John Elder Gallery (NYC); collections: Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Mint Museums (NC), Schein-Joseph Museum (NY), Kohler Arts Center (WI).

This class will give students interested in developing rich and layered surfaces a chance to expand their palettes. We will use techniques such as china paint, decals, slips, underglazes, and overglazes, and we will incorporate drawing, photography, scanning, and collage to develop imagery. We will explore various surfaces including manufactured tiles and plates along with tiles and other items made in class. All levels. Code 07CA

Professor of ceramics at University of Florida; member International Academy of Ceramics; work in 500 Prints on Clay (Lark Books); co-author of an article on decals in Ceramics Technical.

Liz Zlot Summerfield, Ewer, handbuilt earthenware,

terra sigillata, underglaze, glaze, 4 x 3 x 2-1/2 in.

What makes your favorite pot so special? Is it the form, the feel in your hand, or the vibrant color that creates excitement within you? Pots have the power to evoke memories, feelings, and emotions. Let's make those pots! Students in the class will learn to create a variety of handbuilt functional pots using paper patterns and soft clay slabs. We will explore a variety of forms and attachments including lids, feet, and spouts. We will work with earthenware and devote some discussion and work time to surface treatments using terra sigillata and underglazes.

We will discuss how to draw from personal influences to better individualize our work. We will explore the broad term "function" through slide talks, class discussion, and making pots. There will be lots of individual instruction in a supportive, positive environment that will encourage experimentation and individual development. Students are encouraged to come with questions, sketches, and some pictures (not only of pots) they are drawn to. All levels, but some handbuilding skills will be helpful. Code 07CB

Studio artist; teaching: Western Piedmont Community College (NC), Shakerag (TN), Mudfire (GA), Arrowmont (TN); galleries: AKAR Gallery (IA), Schaller Gallery (MI), Crimson Laurel Gallery (NC), Penland Gallery (NC); featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times.

7th Session also includes Business Time, a special business practice workshop with Phil Sanders.