The Clay Studio has ambitious plans: we’re building a new clay center in South Kensington, Philadelphia — the first of its kind in the U.S. Our expansion and relocation will create luminous new galleries and studios, more spacious classrooms and kilns, advanced equipment and sustainable new programming. Located in one of Philadelphia’s most vibrant arts corridors, our new center will bring together artists, art lovers, and people of all ages to discover and nurture their creativity with clay. We will greatly expand our role as art educators, while securing our place as a leader in the field of ceramic art.
This is a defining moment. Together, we will make this vision a reality! Together, we are an unstoppable force for good!
The Clay Studio
As Philadelphia’s only nonprofit solely dedicated to the education and promotion of the ceramic arts, and as one of the world’s leading institutions in the field, The Clay Studio offers a unique venue for arts enthusiasts.
Founded in 1974, The Clay Studio supports the ceramic arts through its artist residencies, gallery, studio space, educational & outreach programs. The Clay Studio has evolved from its origins as an artist collective into an internationally recognized ceramic art center. As a urban artistic community with a regional and international focal point on ceramics, The Clay Studio hosts artist and provides classes for all levels of interest.
The Clay Studio
139 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave E, Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.339.8007
Get concentrated time with some of the best ceramic artists in the field with Pre-Festival Workshops at American Pottery Festival 2019, September 6 – 8.
Jan McKeachie Johnston & Linda Christianson: Hygge in Clay
Thursday, September 5, 9 am – 5 pm
Friday, September 6, 9 am – 4 pm
Students, Educators, NCC Members: $200 (non-members $225)
Join these powerhouse potters for a two-day, hands-on workshop filled with astute tips, lots of individual instructor attention, and laughter born of Midwestern wit and pragmatism. Hygge (Hoo-gah) is a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality. The concept aligns with how Jan and Linda and their pots make us feel. Whether we are gazing upon one of McKeachie Johnston’s generous baskets, or warming ourselves drinking from Christianson’s mugs, we experience an overwhelming confluence of intention and execution. Primarily a handbuilder, McKeachie Johnston will demonstrate her slab work and carving from a solid. Christianson will work on a treadle wheel, creating various parts to alter and assemble. Throughout the workshop they will discuss proportion, form, intention, gesture, the benefits of cross-country skiing, and maybe a joke or two. One can expect to leave with a deeper knowledge of how to create energetic connections between parts of a form while capturing the intentional gesture of your hand in clay. Lunch included.
Friday, September 6, 9 am – 5 pm
Students, Educators, NCC Members: $115 (non-members $130)
Sunshine Cobb will share her approach to square things, like garlic boxes, and round things, like pitchers and vases. She will talk about how abstract concepts make their way into her work, and how to foster similar insertion into your own creative practice. Her demonstration will motivate you to experiment with new and old forms and methods of construction. Basic handbuilding methods will be applied to hard and soft slab construction as a way to generate various components for constructing pots. In this one-day workshop, participants can expect to complete one form. Lunch included.
The American Pottery Festival is a three-day event highlighting the immeasurable talent, the commitment, and the epic chops of your favorite ceramic artists and some icons in the making.
Ceramic artists from across the country will converge on Minneapolis to offer their wares and share glimpses of their studio practice, focusing on critical insight and technical information. In panel discussions, artist talks, demonstrations, and gallery chats, we will delve into the principles and elements of design in relation to dynamic utility. NCC will once again deliver a combination of engaging, influential voices from across the spectrum of American Ceramics!
Australian Ceramics Open Studios (ACOS) is an annual nationwide weekend held event that celebrates clay, community and creativity. Hosted by The Australian Ceramics Association, 170 ceramics studios – including many in and around Australia’s capital cities and regional centres – open their doors to offer insight, practical demonstrations and the chance to take home a handmade piece.
“I chose to become an artist to try to pursue a life of true questioning and subversion and an alternative position to what I saw as a common drive towards capitalist values of growth and progression and I want to just to continually have access to watching and observing and questioning that.” – Shary Boyle
On March 27, 2019, as part of the celebration of our new ceramics exhibit, “The Persistence of Mingei: Influence through Four Generations of Ceramic Artists,” we hosted a special gathering with women artists featured in the exhibition. Rebecca Sive moderated this informal conversation, focused on each artist’s ceramic practice, their relationship to the Mingei influence, and the role gender has played in their practice and larger context. Panelists included Margaret Bohls, Linda Christianson, Maren Kloppman, Jan McKeachie-Johnston, Linda Sikora, Sandy Simon, and Rhonda Willers.
