The McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists recognizes and supports outstanding mid-career ceramic artists living and working in Minnesota. Applicants should demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence and may be working in any mode—functional, sculptural, relational, performative, etc.
Two $25,000 grants are awarded annually. Fellowship support may be used for: experimenting with new techniques and materials; purchasing materials and equipment; collaborating with other artists; and pursuing education, exhibition, or travel opportunities. McKnight Fellowship recipients will be featured in a workshop and an exhibition with a corresponding catalogue at the end of their grant year.
Applications are due Friday, May 21, 2021, by 5 pm CT.
>McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists
The McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists program provides exceptional mid-career ceramic artists with an opportunity to be in residence for three months at Northern Clay Center. Up to three, 3-month residencies are awarded each year.
Each resident artist will receive a $6,000 award, studio space provided at no cost, and a glaze and firing allowance. Artists also present a public lecture, and are featured in a catalogue and group exhibition at Northern Clay Center.
Applications are due Friday, May 21, 2021, by 5 pm CT.
>Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award
The WMAA provides an opportunity for students, apprentices, and recent graduates to continue their ceramic research and education for a period of up to twelve consecutive months within the grant year, further expanding their professional development.
One or two cash awards, up to $3,000 each, are made annually for travel, education, or research.
During the grant year, the recipients can research a new technique or process, study with a mentor or in an apprenticeship setting, travel to other ceramic art centers or institutions for classes and workshops, collaborate with artists of another media, and travel. Proposals to fund large capital equipment purchases will not be accepted.
Projects must take place between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022. Recipients contribute project updates to NCC’s social media and are required to give a public presentation at their school or other institution. See updates from past recipients at northernclaycenter.blogspot.com.
Applications are due Friday, April 9, 2021, by 5 pm CT.”
>Emerging Artist Residency
The Emerging Artist Residency (EAR) program encompasses two unique Fellowships, designed to provide up to three ceramic artists with an opportunity to be in residence for one year at Northern Clay Center, where they can develop their own work, as well as exchange ideas and knowledge with other ceramic artists. The residency culminates in an exhibition in NCC’s galleries the January following the residency.
Applications are due Friday, April 9, 2021, by 5 pm CT.
>Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education
Now entering its seventh year, MN NICE is a rigorous program developed in collaboration with Program Head Ursula Hargens. MN NICE provides personalized professional development for artists who are serious about taking the next step in their ceramic evolution. The program is designed to respond to the changing needs of emerging makers with high-level training and mentorship in ceramic materials, history and theory, and professional practice. Through innovative instruction and individual mentorship, artists build skills, knowledge, and insight.
Ruth Chambers shares her creative process, rooted in minute and careful observation of bulbs and flowers at all stages in their life cycle in this online Zoom video conference demo. Watch as she delicately sculpts blooms and roots in porcelain, and glean insight into her unique approaches, such as working coloured porcelain slip into the clay body to tint her sculpted objects.
Observation is the foundation of creation. Professor Ruth Chambers invites beginner and experienced ceramic artists to carefully observe and sculpt porcelain from life conveying sensitivity, amplifying empathy for the still life subject, and appreciating the sensual tactility of this delicate material in this day-long workshop held at SILT studios.
Learn the specialized methods developed over years of experimentation developing a special formulation of porcelain that has delicacy and strength and is prepared in such a way that it is malleable and resilient enough to sculpt by hand.
Workshop fee includes specially-prepared porcelain and kiln costs to dry and fire participants’ completed pieces. Pieces will not be glazed and re-fired, instead participants will learn how to colour their sculptures by incorporating stain pigments into the clay body itself.
Please observe social distancing protocols, wear a mask and follow sanitation procedures.
workshop offered in partnership with SILT Studio, Regina.
Get to know ceramic artists in your community! The Artist Is In is a forum for discussion featuring short presentations by artists about their work. The AGR has invited KC Adams (Winnipeg), Carole Epp (Saskatoon) and Brenda Wolf (Regina) to share their practices as they resonate or contrast with our scheduled main gallery exhibition, Tend, featuring a profusion of porcelain flowers and bulbs sculpted by Ruth Chambers.
Audience members are encouraged to ask questions following these presentations. AGR staff member Sandee Moore will direct questions to the panel as a whole and engage our Zoom audience in discussion about these artists’ diverse and innovative approaches to this challenging medium.
What leads an artist to work in clay? How does an artist develop their artistic voice and practice in clay? In this series, we’ll learn through conversation with eight multicultural contemporary artists and educators who use clay in ways that are functional, sculptural or performative. Each artist will present their work through images or a brief demo and host Fabio J. Fernández will guide the discussion through a range of topics including access, mentorship, and community.
Series Schedule:
Roberto Lugo, Saturday, March 6
Linda Lopez, Saturday, March 27
Paul Andrew Wandless, Saturday, April 3
Syd Carpenter, Saturday, April 10
Shawanda Corbett, Saturday, April 17
Sanam Emami, Saturday, April 24
Salvador Jiménez Flores, Saturday, May 1
Donté K. Hayes, Saturday, May 8
These events will be held live on Zoom and attendees will be able to ask questions, time permitting. Each event will be recorded, and registered participants will have access to the recording for 30 days.
Delve into the entire process of bringing narrative illustration to life on functional ceramics with Carole Epp! Over the course of this 2-hour all-demonstration workshop there will be discussions of design elements and color theory as it applies to surface and object design, as well as the how-tos of storytelling. Plus detailed handbuilding, Mishima, and underglaze painting techniques will be shown.
Carole Epp will teach you how to:
Handbuild a plate using found-object slump molds
Use the Mishima process to bring a variety of styles of illustration to life on your work
Create beautiful narrative surfaces using design elements and color theory
Use underglazes like watercolors to create depth and visual interest in your illustrations
Translate your ideas into interesting visual narratives
Our Workshop from Home webinars are just like in-person workshops, except you are guaranteed a front-row seat! Ask questions throughout, or during the Question & Answer session at the end.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021, from 1–3 pm EST USA
Registration fee: $35
Registrants can access a recording of the video for 30 days following the event to revisit techniques! (Registrants will be emailed a video link within 48 hours of the webinar conclusion.)
