2012 workshops at Touchstone Center for Crafts


April 26-30 Reinventing Kitsch: Creating Art with Molds Shoji Satake / All Levels / $375 / Extended Weekend Workshop /
May 11-13 Exploring Decal Usage in Sculptural and Functional Ceramics Dan Kuhn / All Levels / $250 / Weekend Workshop / May 17–21 Thrown, Darted and Decorated Jennifer Allen / All Levels / $375 / Extended Weekend Workshop /
May 25-27 Primal Pottery in a Modern World Becky Keck / All Levels / $250 / Weekend Workshop / June 4-6 Expand your Palette: Mid-range Glazes for the Electric Kiln Yoko Sekino-Bove’ / All Levels / $250 / Two Day Workshop /
June 11-15 Wheel-Thrown Pottery Intensive Joe Sendek / Beginner-Intermediate / $495 / Weeklong Workshop / June 18-22 Transitioning from Functional to Sculptural Ceramics Ian Thomas / Intermediate – Advanced / $495 / Weeklong Workshop /
July 9-13 Ceramic Decals in an Atmospheric Kiln Justin Rothshank /Intermediate – Advanced / $495 / Weeklong Workshop /
July 23- July 27 and/or July 30 – August 3 Clay Adornment: Object & Identity Sharif Bey /All Levels / $900 or $495 / Two-Week Workshop or One-Week Workshop /
June 25-29 Finding Creativity in Your Pottery Forms Jerry Wagner / Intermediate – Advanced / $495 / Weeklong Workshop /
August 6-10 Wheel-Thrown Pottery Valda Cox / $495 / All Levels / Weeklong Workshop /
August 13-17 Hand-Building and Surface Decoration Danna Rzecznik / $495 / All Levels / Weeklong Workshop / August 20-24 Tiles and Mosaics Karen Howell / $495 / All Levels / Weeklong Workshop /
August 27-31 Maximizing Naborigama: Creating Work that Gets the Most from Wood Firing Processes Dan Kuhn / Beginner – Intermediate / $495 / Weeklong Workshop / September 21-23 Gas Kiln Construction Dale Huffman /All Levels / $200 / Weekend Workshop / September 28-30 Exploring Raku Joe Sendek / All Levels / $250 / Weekend Workshop /Find more info and register here.
Touchstone Center for Crafts ▪ 1049 Wharton Furnace Rd ▪ Farmington, PA 15437 USA 724.329.1370 ▪ 800.721.0177 ▪ 724.329.1371 (fax)

The Lowdown: Tales from the Margin @ the Red Lodge Clay Centre.

Curatorial Statement:
The Low Down: Tales From The Margin is an exhibit of contemporary ceramics, which are bothhonest and current, reflecting narratives that are personal and shared, abstract and implied. The concept began with a volley of ideas and artists, until a group emerged whom consistentlygenerate objects that toy with definitions and tease visual, historical and/or technical boundaries. The second factor in our selection process was intent to extol the achievements of artists generating their main body of work within low temperature ranges.

Max Lehman, Carole Epp, Alex Kraft, Nick Ramey, Julie Guyot, Jason Bige Burnett and Melissa Mytty have created a spirited and vibrant collection of objects, the best of which will pull the viewer in to the tales they spin. Formal compositions pair sparse grounds with overwhelmed figures and the viewer is left to decide if the decadence is for the better or not. Some of the more obvious narratives still leave ample room for audience interpretation; and, like a visual mad-lib, we can fill in the blanks. There are elaborate dialogues between material pairings made in fantastical, imaginary worlds alongside very evident social commentary with an extremely clear point of view. This is an exhibition for a modern world with visual “sound bites” for those in search of over stimulation, however if one chooses to go deeper the conversation thread is there to pick up and carry. Perhaps this what can happen when a graphic novel impacts the oft-insular world of clay?

The exhibit is a targeted snapshot of a specific area of inquiry in the field of ceramics. A peripheral group generating more and more buzz and not just from the hum of an electric kiln. The Low Down: Tales from the Margin is a celebration of the creative exploitation possible with electric coils and eutectic compositions.

View the whole show online here.
PO Box 1527 Red Lodge, MT 59068 Ph. 406.446.3993

Upcoming workshop: “Smoke, Fire and Fumes”

Riggs Raku Pot April 28th & 29th, 2012
9am to 5pm daily
Registration Fee: $235.00
Class Limit: 15 Participants
Soup and Bread Lunch Provided Two ways to register…
Mail-In Registration Information [PDF]
Online Registration with PayPal ™ Pre-workshop Instructions [PDF] This two-day, hands-on workshop with Linda and Charlie Riggs will focus on ferric chloride fuming, 2 types of naked raku and horsehair firing. A special emphasis is on the use of pots polished with white terra sigillata. Students’ pots will be fired in or placed into atmospheres where the smoke and/or chemicals produce the final surface color. These colors range from the deep reds and oranges of saggar and ferric chloride firings to the stark black and white designs of naked raku. Riggs Saggar Pot
Charles Riggs
Charles has a Fine Arts Degree in Pottery. He has been featured in Clay Times, Ceramics Monthly, and Studio Potter as well as in the books, “Alternative Firing Methods” by Watkins/ Wandless and “Raku, The Practical Approach”, and “Mastering Raku” by Steven Branfman. Charlie has exhibited extensively in the US, and as far away as Canada and Norway. He also teaches workshops throughout the US and Canada in a variety of subjects including, Raku Methods, Saggar-firing, Pit-Firing, Raku Kiln Building, and Throwing Techniques. Riggs Raku Pot
Linda Riggs
Linda has Masters in Anthropology. She collaborates with Charlie to create some of the unique surfaces on their pottery including saggar-firing, naked raku, and carvings and slip designs. Linda has written a number of articles on pottery for Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. She is also featured in magazine articles on saggar firing, and in the books by Watkins/Wandless and Steven Branfman. She co-teaches workshops with her husband Charlie.
More info here. White Oak Pottery
3915 Rivermont Road
Durham, NC 27712
(919) 309-4747

Storytelling: featuring works by Debra Fritts, George Penaloza and Cheryl Tall.

January 21, 2012 – March 10, 2012
Dream of Coyote Song by Debra Fritts

Debra Fritts has achieved national recognition for her one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures which are hand-built and multiple fired with a painterly glazed surface. Her work is a continuous story of awareness and the celebration of daily living.

Mother Abiah by George Penaloza

George Penaloza gives voice to his creativity through ceramic sculpture that is inspired by fantasy movies and special effects design. His sculpture gives life to what exists within his heart and imagination.

Heads Above Water by Cheryl Tall

Cheryl Tall’s figurative sculptures focus on the relationships between people and their surroundings, especially their homes or workplaces. Her works are coil-built and are inspired by her personal experiences of travel and a study of mythology and primitive art.

Visit our new location in The Historic Depot at 410 N. Toole Avenue, # 120. Enter through the double green doors in the middle of the building.

Artists’ reception will be on February 4, 2012 from 6PM to 9PM.
Obsidian Gallery 410 N. Toole Avenue, #120 Tucson, Arizona 85701 T. 520-577-3598 F. 520-577-9018 [email protected] www.obsidian-gallery.com

Andrew Martin Workshop @ Lillstreet Art Center

ANDREW MARTIN WORKSHOP: MOLD MAKING AND SLIP CASTING -DISCOVERING NEW WORK (5 DAYS)

Monday, March 19, 2012 to Friday, March 23, 2012Level: Visiting Artist WorkshopsPrice: LAC Members $600.00 / Non-Members $600.00Lab Fee: $30.00

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Students should come ready to try something new, or with a latent idea that is yet to manifest. Dinnerware, teapots, vases, platters, and cups and saucers are but a few possibilities to explore. This five-day workshop will give participants the opportunity to explore and expand their knowledge of form and utility through the use of molds and slip casting. Andrew will discuss different approaches for designing prototypes and making molds, how to formulate slip specific to your needs, and explore how the workshop can initiate new directions in your work. Students should come with questions and ready to stretch their skill, knowledge, and experience.It will be possible to accomplish making one complex mold and/or several small molds. Because of the brevity of the workshop we will cast the molds but the pieces will not be fired.
For more info and to register please visit their website.

Lillstreet Art Center
4401 North Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 769-4226

Rangifer Sapiens by Michael Flaherty opens Feb 4th


Exhibition runs February 4th to March 11thIntriguing and haunting, this solo show of porcelain sculpture by Michael Flaherty is a sober examination of resettlement in Newfoundland and Labrador.

During his three months alone in the resettled community of French Cove on the Grey Islands off Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula, Michael Flaherty became fascinated with the remnants of the island’s inhabitants–gravestones, pottery shards and antlers. Flaherty’s porcelain sculptures are a fusion of caribou antler and pottery shard with an interesting twist. The shard portion resembles the decomposing bone while the antler section is surfaced with pottery decoration and pattern. A graduate of NSCAD and University of Regina, Michael Flaherty has maintained an active and diverse ceramics practice for the past ten years. Currently he resides in Corner Brook where he is the sculpture technician at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University.
View more of the work online at Michael website or see the show in person at:Craft Council of
Newfoundland and Labrador

Devon House Craft Centre
59 Duckworth Street
St. John’s NL, Canada
A1C 1E6
Tel: (709) 753-2749
Fax: (709) 753-2766
Email: [email protected]