SUMMER 2025
American Pottery Festival
September 5 – 7, 2025
Sales Gallery, Main Gallery, & Galusha Gallery
Opening Night! Friday, September 5; Members Hour: 5 – 6 pm; General Public: 6 – 9 pm
Online Benefit Sale: Saturday, September 6, 10 am CT
Daily workshops, demonstrations, & free artist gallery talks
Join us for the 27th Annual American Pottery Festival (APF), September 5 –7, 2025! Our annual fundraiser brings together ceramic artists from across the United States, showcasing the best in the field. Experience a stunning variety of creative processes, techniques, forms, and surfaces. The event kicks off with our Opening Night Party on Friday, September 5, 2025!
Your contributions to APF directly support NCC’s mission to advance the ceramic arts through education, exhibitions, scholarships, and grant programs. This festival serves as a thoughtfully curated platform for makers, clay enthusiasts, learners, collectors, and the curious to connect, create, and be inspired.
Each year, NCC prioritizes diversity when inviting artists, ensuring a wide representation of lived experiences and perspectives. The 2025 festival will feature an extraordinary lineup of artists whose work highlights a vast range of techniques, aesthetics, and materials. Their unique journeys to a career in ceramics will inspire participants of all backgrounds.
The weekend will offer engaging opportunities to connect with artists through artist talks, workshops, demonstrations, and casual gallery chats. Whether you’re a student, a collector, or a fellow maker, you’ll find valuable learning experiences throughout the event. Scholarships are available for all demonstrations and workshops, making them accessible to everyone.
Marissa Childers, Butter Dish.
APF Schedule & Fees
Invited Artists
Clarice Allgood, Milo Berezin, Birdie Boone, Sam Briegel, Wesley Brown, Marissa Childers, Mike Cinelli, Adrienne Eliades, Maddie Fowler, Yoshi Fujii, Delvin M. Goode, Ariana Heinzman, Stephen Heywood, Heesoo Lee, Forrest LeschMiddelton, Ernest Miller, Kristy Moreno, Sang Joon Park, Colleen Riley, Josh Scott, Mark Shapiro, Sam Taylor, Lars Voltz, and Kate Waltman.
APF GALLERY HOURS & FEES
OPENING NIGHT: Friday, September 5
Members Preview Hour: 5 – 6 pm
General Public: 6 - 9 pm
$25
Clockwise from top left: Josh Scott, Vase. Stephen Heywood, Pitcher. Forrest Lesch-Middelton, Bowl.
EXHIBITIONS
PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS
There are a limited number of scholarships and discounts available for pre-festival workshops. Please contact Sean Lofton at seanlofton@northernclaycenter.org.
Thursday, September 4
10 am – 4:30 pm
Mark Shapiro & Sam Taylor Fees: $150
Friday, September 5
12 – 3 pm
Milo Berezin Fees: $75
WEEKEND DEMONSTRATIONS
• 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees
• 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need
• 50% discount for K-12 through post-secondary students and educators
• $10 discount for NCC Members
Saturday All-day Demonstrations
Saturday, September 6, 10 am – 4 pm Fee: $60
Sunday All-day Demonstrations
Sunday, September 7, 10 am – 2 pm Fee: $45
DON'T MISS!
May Featured Artists: American Pottery Festival Preview April 29 – June 1
Sales Gallery and Online
The American Pottery Festival Preview is your ONLY chance to see and buy work by our visiting APF artists in the gallery until APF Opening Night on Friday, September 5. Please join us for this special opportunity. May is your month to visit the gallery and enjoy a sneak peek!
Online work will go live precisely at 10 am CT on April 29, so set your alarms!
For updates on APF events, volunteer needs, workshop and demonstration details, and to purchase tickets or artworks online, please visit northernclaycenter.org/americanpottery-festival
This page, from top: Ernest Miller, Garlic Keeper. Heesoo Lee, In Dreams Cup.
Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Milo Berezin, ‘Fine and Dandy’. Clarice Allgood, Plate. Delvin M. Goode, ‘Pottery Pieces’. Maddie Fowler, Plates. Lars Voltz, Mug.
Chris Burch; Speak With Plants, Avé Rivera.
Get Involved
Whether you are an artist looking for residencies, grants or exhibition opportunities, a teacher looking to share your knowledge and experience, a student looking to deepen your connection to the Center or fill an internship requirement—Northern Clay Center has many opportunities available for clay lovers.
Sales Gallery Representation
2025 brings the biennial Sales Gallery open call for artists. Possible opportunities include events, special features, and year-round gallery inclusion. The panelists prioritize equitable representation of artists from diverse identities.
Application Deadline: Friday, May 2, 5 pm CT
McKnight Artist Residencies for Ceramic Artists
Three-month funded residencies for midcareer artists, followed by an exhibition, traveling exhibition, and catalog.
Application Deadline: Friday, May 16, 5 pm CT
McKnight Artist Fellowships for Ceramics Artists
$25,000 grants for mid-career artists living in Minnesota, followed by an exhibition, traveling exhibition, and catalog.
Applications Deadline: Friday, May 16, 5 pm CT
Summer Clay Camp Assistants
Clay Camp Assistants provide classroom support for our weekly summer clay camps and gain insight into ceramic education.
Application Deadline: June 2025
Visit our website at northernclaycenter.org/about/ apply/ for full details about these opportunities and how to apply!
APRIL
27 April Featured Artists closes
29 May Featured Artists: APF Preview opens, 10 am
29 Applications open: Summer Education Access Scholarships
MAY
13 Summer Class Registration opens, 10 am
16 Applications due: McKnight Fellowships and Residencies 5 pm CT
18 AAH Workshop: In the Round, 10 am - 12 pm
25 In Touch and Stone Fruit closes 26 NCC Closed for Memorial Day
JUNE
1 May Featured Artists: APF Preview closes
3 June Featured Artists opens, 10 am
7 Six McKnight Artists opens
19 NCC Closed for Juneteeth
22 AAH Workshop: Birds and Bees, 10 am - 12 pm
29 June Featured Artists closes
JULY
1 July Featured Artists opens, 10 am
4 NCC Closed for Independence Day
12 McKnight Summer Open House, 1 - 4 pm AAH: Drop-in Workshop, 1 - 4 pm
27 July Featured Artists closes
29 August Featured Artists opens, 10 am
29 Applications open: Fall Education Access Scholarships
AUGUST
12 Fall Class Registration opens, 10 am
17 AAH Workshop: Summer Sizzle, 10 am - 12 pm
17 Six McKnight Artists closes
31 August Featured Artists closes
SEPTEMBER
1 NCC closed for Labor Day
5 - 7 American Pottery Festival
9 Early Autumn Featured Artists opens, 10 am
20 Be Still My Heart opens
All event times are Central.
In Touch
On view March 15 – May 25, 2025
Curated by David East
Main Gallery
Virtual 3D Tour available online
In Touch showcases a group of artists who engage with and utilize notions of touch from a broad perspective: Through the core act of forming and leaving one’s imprint, to the broader implications of agency within the material, and meaning accruing within process.
Material exploration and critical engagement move through multiple approaches and frames of reference, all with a distinct position in regards to how touch informs all of our senses. This exhibition brings together distinct objects, transient actions, and work created on site. Occurring in clay’s multiple states, from the transient to the geologic, this exhibit seeks to actualize the unique potential of ceramics through the language of touch to engage with ideas.
Participating artists include: Renata Cassiano Alvarez, Magdolene Dykstra, Sam Mack, Paige O’Toole, and Nicole Seisler.
Renata Cassiano Alvarez, a MexicanItalian artist born and raised in Mexico City, explores the interplay between material and process in her work. Her artistic practice centers on cultivating a deep connection with the materials she uses, delving into their varied languages and forms. Influenced by archeology and the collective Latin American experience, she believes in the power of the object as survival and witness to
transformation and endurance over time, binding us to a sense of continuity.
Cassiano Alvarez's work has been showcased internationally and is part of numerous public and private collections worldwide. She divides her time between her studios in Veracruz, Mexico, and Springdale, Arkansas, USA.
Cassiano Alvarez earned her BFA from Universidad Veracruzana (Xalapa, Mexico) and her MFA from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She is the
recipient of numerous awards including several residency fellowships from the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Skælskør, Denmark), Lanzhou City University (China), and the Master Artist Residency Fellowship at Clay Gulgong (Australia). Her most recent worldwide exhibitions include shows at Galería Banda Municipal (CDMX, Mexico), Lucy Lacoste Gallery (Concord, MA), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce (Morelia, Mexico), and Site Gallery (Sheffield, England). Cassiano Alvarez divides her
Renata Cassiano Alvarez, Mascara.
EXHIBITIONS
time between her studios in Veracruz, Mexico and Springdale, AK where she serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Arkansas (Fayetteville).
Magdolene Dykstra is a secondgeneration Egyptian-Canadian artist educator. Her work in sculpture, installation, and mark-making is grounded in research of feminist political ecology, anti-capitalism, and craft. Dykstra uses sculpture, installation, and mark-making to visualize, actualize, and reconfigure connections between human and more-than-human bodies across space and time, disrupting the fantasy of an independent self. She states, “We humans are a part of one heaving organism, entangled and tumbling over one another.”
Her work meditates on the power of the small when gathered into a collective, prioritizing accretive processes that depend on consistent effort over time. Working with clay, wood, and fiber facilitates an exploration of broader notions of kinship that transgress suggested boundaries of us versus them, self versus other.
Existing along a spectrum of becoming and undoing, Dykstra’s work reflects on the transience of our collective existence, full of the potential for continual change. She embraces ephemerality and precarity for their poetic and anti-capitalist potential. Each of her works is impermanent and embedded with the possibility of transformation, waiting to be refashioned in an alternate
Magdolene Dykstra, Remnants.
configuration. In this way, they exist as a momentary pause in a never-ending process of emergence and decay, a cycle of deconstruction and reformation.
After studying both biology and visual arts (BS and BA respecitvely from Houghton College, NY) as an undergraduate, she earned her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond). She also holds an MS Ed from Niagara University (Lewiston, NY).
Dykstra has participated in residencies at the Medalta Historic Clay District (Medicine Hat, AB), Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Newcastle, ME), and Concordia University (Montreal, QC). Dykstra has been awarded several grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, including Research and Creation Grants, Exhibition Assistance Grants, and Arts Abroad Grants. She has been recognized by the National Conference on Education for the Ceramic Arts as a 2024 Emerging Artist and received the 2024 Helene Zucker Seeman Fellowship for Women. Notable exhibitions include site-specific installations at the Gardiner Museum (Toronto, ON), Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery (Waterloo, ON), and the Art Gallery of Burlington (ON), as well as solo exhibitions at the Jane Hartsook Gallery (New York) and A-B Projects (Los Angeles).
Sam Mack uses clay, metal, found objects, and other materials to create sculptural works and vessels that ideally communicate a response to the site in which they are viewed. Each
installation is a discussion between the visible artworks and the “intentionally invisibilized…unseen forces” in the space around them. Mack states, “The installed objects reference strategies of survival, pleasure, and refusal used by queer and trans people in the US to navigate the expanding obstacles of systemic bureaucratic exclusion. Tools, consumer objects, and artifacts are remade as non-functional clay forms individually constructed to crack, resulting in surface
variation that values rips, fissures, and evidence of action.”
Mack earned a BFA in Studio Art from University of Missouri (Columbia) and an MFA in Studio Art from University of Arkansas (Fayetteville). They have shown nationally and internationally at the JEAE International Arts Center (Jingdezhen, China), the Aichi Ceramics Museum (Seto City, Japan), and The Clay Studio (Philadelphia). Mack is also the
Sam Mack, Midwest Mythologies.
EXHIBITIONS
recipient of the 19th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize (Baltimore, MD).
Paige O’Toole is a ceramic artist from the Hudson Valley region of New York (Garrison). Focusing on the intersection of gender, space, and the domestic, her work explores themes of memory through gesture, and illusion through perception. O’Toole’s mark in clay is both immediate and archival, lasting and tangible evidence of her insatiable touch.
O’Toole earned a BA in Art History and BFA in Ceramics from State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a recent MFA graduate from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. O’Toole is currently a long-term resident at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA).
Nicole Seisler creates dialogue and perspectives around ceramics that exist in the same conditions as the material: malleable, shifting, adaptable, and enduring; existing within, between, and beyond conventional definitions.
Seisler comments, “I hold the clay, and the clay holds me back. This is how it has always been…except for that moment in grad school when I broke up with clay. I had convinced myself that I didn’t want to be limited by clay or pigeonholed as a ceramic artist; I swore that clay and I were done. It took me all of two painful, uncentered weeks to come crawling back. This temporary fissure with clay marked the beginning of my mission to reclaim and reshape what it means to be a ceramic artist. I
Paige O’Toole, Chandelier.
became an artist because I wanted to learn to see the world differently. I am a ceramic artist because clay allows me to see myself differently in the world. Clay is a conduit that grounds me in myself, connects me to others, and embeds me in place. "
Three interdependent, mutuallyreinforcing areas comprise Seisler's practice: making, educating, and curating. This tripod enables each aspect to support the others, thereby creating a platform for her broader, pluralistic vision for ceramics as a conceptual field.
Seisler earned her BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA) and MFA from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She has exhibited her work at museums ranging from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MA) and the Museum of Fine Arts Tallahassee (FL) to the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago) and Craft Contemporary (Los Angeles). Her work was recently featured in a solo exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA), and the two-person exhibition In Hand: Contemporary Material Engagements with the Built World at the Kennedy Museum at Ohio University. (Athens).
Seisler has taught ceramics for almost fifteen years at as many universities including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the University of Washington (Seattle), Scripps College (Claremont, CA), and UCLA. She is currently Assistant Professor and Head of Ceramics at Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR). As Founder and Director of the contemporary ceramics platform, A-B Projects, Seisler has curated forty exhibitions and offers alternative educational programming that reevaluates and redefines the trajectory of contemporary ceramics.
Nicole Seisler, Accumulation of Minimization.
EXHIBITIONS
Stone Fruit
On view March 15 – May 25, 2025
Organized by artist, Jesse J Ring
Emily Galusha Gallery
Virtual 3D Tour available online
Stone Fruit is a site for contemplation. It is an orchard, a cemetery, a well, a beach. It is a participatory installation which is co-authored by the community that engages with it during its exhibition. During the exhibition, organized by Jesse J Ring, Stone Fruit is one iteration of this ongoing community sculpture intended to create locations where visitors leave thoughts as material in symbolic gesture at a site for contemplation. Stone Fruit invites you to participate with the installation through sculpting a small trace in soft clay to leave behind as part of the work. All contributions will be fired at the close of the exhibition and permanently added to the work.
Originally exhibited at the Pensacola Museum of Art in 2021, the installation’s prompt responded to the profound trauma we as a society suffered over the course of COVID-19 and acknowledged that we all had something to leave behind from the experience. Following its debut, the Director and Curator of PMA noted that on average participants spent 30 - 45 minutes with the installation. Following the exhibition, over 400 of these objects were photographed before being fired and added to the work. Approximately 200 photographs were then used to compile an artist book of visual poems that reflected the themes apparent in the objects left behind by the community. One goal of this exhibition is to produce a similar record of offerings from the local audience.
Stone Fruit at NCC presents an opportunity to update the prompt for
participation to respond to the Twin Cities and the communities that NCC Serves. Ring aims to identify and invite groups from the community, with a focus on community members who may not regularly visit the gallery, to add to the work through visits and short workshops in the exhibition. Through this exhibition, he hopes to expand the community’s exposure to ceramics and advocate for the importance of the cognitive and expressive value of craft and art.
Jesse J Ring was born in the Ozarks in an octagonal home that his father built. In his relationship with clay and sculpture, he has “come to understand making as a form of thinking.”
He shares, “As I shape materials, subtle shifts in form change their meaning, much like language. This process allows me to express ideas in both tangible and immaterial ways.
I focus on themes that challenge human-centered views, exploring subjects like the Janus, psychoactive plants, speculative technologies, and the synthesis of urban and natural landscapes. My installations encourage embodied experiences, such as pebble beaches that grow as audiences add sculpted symbols of what they need to leave behind or inviting visitors to draw on a steel monolith that broadcasts the
Jesse J Ring, Stone Fruit.
eerie sound of their marks, creating a unique audio landscape that fills the exhibition. Through my work, I ask how we can foster deeper connections between people and their environment. My sculptures provoke reflection on our place within the larger web of existence, inspiring a shift in perspective and encouraging a more thoughtful engagement with the world around us.”
Ring earned his BFA in Ceramics from Kansas City Art Institute (MO) and his MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He was a visiting artist at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing) and artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center (Johnson), Zentrum fur Keramik (Berlin), and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology (Otis, OR). His work has been shown nationally at the Aspen Art Museum CO), Burchfield Penney Art Center (Buffalo, NY, Pensacola Museum of Art (FL), and internationally in China, Germany, and Hungary. Ring is currently Assistant Professor of Art in Ceramics and Sculpture at University of Florida (Gainesville) in the School of Art + Art History.
Jesse J Ring, Pebble.
EXHIBITIONS
Six McKnight Artists
June 7 – August 17
Main Gallery
Summer Open House: July 12, 1 – 4 pm
Virtual 3D Tour on view July 10
In the summer of 2025, NCC’s annual Six McKnight Artists exhibition will provide the unique opportunity to view works by the 2024 recipients of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Maggie Jaszczak (Shafer, MN) and Ani Kasten (Shafer, MN), as well as the 2023 recipients of the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Larry Buller (Lincoln, NE), Karima Duchamp (Mulhouse, France), Joon Hee Kim (Oakville, ON), and Ellen Kleckner (Cedar Rapids, IA). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship or residency.
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesotabased family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience, and global food systems.
Larry Buller is a visionary ceramicist with a refined, yet evocative, portfolio of works. Buller’s work aims to undermine societal power structures that disenfranchise the queer community. His work first appears as masterfully delicate ornaments, common in domestic spaces and often used for iconography. Utilizing these decorative Rococo forms, he subverts expectations through his gay male BDSM imagery. Power play is not just a societal implication in his works but is pronounced with the use of Gothic lettering bearing words like “Daddy” and “Master”.
Buller’s work puts the “Dom” in domestic. Buller achieved his MFA from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and
Performing Arts in 2017 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has been honing his craft in recent years through reputable residencies such as Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass Village, CO), Red Lodge Clay Center (MT), and Zentrum für Keramik (Berlin, Germany). In 2022, his work was featured in the exhibitions Opulence: Performative Wealth and the Failed American Dream at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (Omaha, NE) and Queer Clay: Making in Between at American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA).
In addition to his creative practice, he is involved in his community, lecturing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on the foundations of art, and is a promoter and organizer of the yearly Lincoln Clay Tour.
Larry Buller, Obey Your Sir. Decal photo credit @___kozmos
Karima Duchamp is a French artist of Algerian descent whose work is inspired by both intentional and inherent links to her heritage. Duchamp’s ceramic forms are inspired by architecture, featuring fractal shapes on the structures’ facades. She is also a painter and fuses the angular marks on her vessels with flowing, abstract forms of color.
Duchamp achieved her MFA with honors from the Institut Supérieur des BeauxArts (Besançon, France) and went on to study ceramics for an additional year at Maison de la Céramique (Mulhouse, France). Duchamp’s work has garnered much attention and, in 2024, was featured in distinguished exhibitions such as the International Competition of Contemporary Ceramics (Castellamonte, Italy), and the International Ceramics Biennial (Manises, Spain). 2025 is a banner year for Duchamp. Her work is featured in a solo exhibition, de terre, de couleurs et de lumière, at Le Lézard Art Center, curated by Catherine Koenig (Colmar, France). She will also enter her work into the Faenza Prize international competition at the International Museum of Ceramics (Italy). Later in the year, she will undertake a residency at the Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Center (Jingdezhen, China).
Maggie Jaszczak is a potter and mixedmedia artist originally from Ontario, Canada. Jaszczak sculpts works that hold a quiet beauty–smooth and minimal, yet functional and pastoral. She uses slab, coil, and mold techniques in the foundations of her pieces, employing smoothing approaches and reduction
Karima Duchamp, Golden Rock Dragon 2.
EXHIBITIONS
firing to achieve the serene essence of her artworks.
Jaszczak completed her undergraduate studies at Kootenay School of Arts (Nelson, BC) and at Alberta College of Art + Design (Calgary) and earned her MFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She has participated in ceramic residency programs at the New Taipei Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT), Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass, CO), and Medalta Potteries (Medicine Hat, AB). Her work has been featured in publications such as Ceramics Monthly (2024), Ceramic Arts Network (2020), and American Ceramic Society (2019). After a three-year residency at Penland School of Crafts (NC), she and her husband moved to Minnesota where they work as studio artists.
Ani Kasten is a practiced and prolific ceramist, currently based in the St. Croix River Valley, MN. The foundation of her work is the exploration of clay’s materiality. Attuned to nature and geography, she investigates the meeting places between the marks of her hand and the essence of the material.
In 2024, Kasten participated in her first New York exhibition, Untitled (10 Women Artists), at Dobrinka Salzman Gallery. At 4 for Art (Lenox, MA), she was shown in the exhibition Three Masters in Ceramics in 2019. Kasten’s work is represented in ten galleries coast to coast across the US. Her work has been acquired by eight permanent
Top to bottom: Maggie Jaszczak, White Candle Holder. Ani Kasten, Desert Vessel.
collections, including prestigious institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Weisman Art Museum, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Notably, Kasten’s work has also been collected by highprofile collectors, such as when she was selected by Houseplant US in 2021 as a featured artist on their website, which showcased a commissioned, exclusive object for the collection of Seth Rogen. Kasten now practices from a small farm near Shafer, MN, which includes a barn that holds her studio and showroom. Her property is a host site for the annual St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour where she displays and sells her own work and the works of several other professional artists from around the country. She continually exhibits in galleries and fine craft exhibitions across the country and overseas.
Joon Hee Kim is a Canadian ceramic artist, originally from Seoul, South Korea. Kim’s work explores the human body as a vessel and the ceramic tradition of vessel-making. She expresses herself by sculpting her memories and language into her work. She aims to spark meaningful conversations between artist and viewer, as well as between viewers, prompting thought on how each person’s differences do not need to be barriers but rather opportunities for more complex interpersonal understandings and emotions.
Kim holds an advanced diploma in graphic design from George Brown College (Toronto, ON), a diploma in ceramics from Sheridan College
Joon Hee Kim, Sending you lots of LUV. (Oakville, ON), and a diploma in patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu (Ottawa, ON). In addition, she earned an MFA from Chelsea College of Arts—University of the Arts London. In 2024, a solo exhibition of Kim’s work, You, Me, Us, was presented at Kouri + Corrao Gallery (Santa Fe, NM). In 2023, Kim was featured in prestigious exhibitions
including Between Horizons at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Art Basel Miami. Kim’s artwork has been written about around the globe, including an Artist Feature Article in the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (Seoul, 2022). Kim continues to be a dedicated, practicing artist, currently based in Oakville, ON.
EXHIBITIONS
Ellen Kleckner is a practicing artist and creative educator based in Cedar Rapids, IA. Community and clay combine in Kleckner’s creations. She regularly engages with community members to bring a sense of playfulness and collaboration to the investigation of material in her work. She often combines materials in her pieces, such as adding wood, rope, and bristles to her ceramics.
Kleckner earned her BFA in ceramics from Tennessee Technological University at the Appalachian Center for Craft (Smithville) before continuing with a post-baccalaureate in ceramics at the University of Nebraska— Lincoln. She ultimately achieved her MFA in ceramics from Ohio University (Athens). Kleckner’s communal art-making approach was highlighted in the exhibition, Creating in Community, at Mount Mercy University (Cedar Rapids, IA) in 2021. Her work has also been shown internationally, including KVALITRA Gallery (Prague, Czech Republic) in 2020. In 2023, she won Best in Show in the Shapes of Influence exhibition in Springfield, Illinois. Kleckner currently leads as the executive director of the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio (Cedar Rapids). She also has an upcoming visiting artist residency this year at the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT).
Related event: McKnight Summer Open House Drop-in Workshop
Visit NCC for an afternoon of clay-centric fun—featuring a handbuilding activity during our McKnight Summer Open House. Drop in for this free hands-on activity any time between 1 and 4 pm! There will be 30-minute sign-up sessions on the day of the event.
24AAH9: Saturday, July 12, 1 - 4 pm, FREE
Ellen Kleckner, Echoes Without End.
McKnight Summer Open House
Reception for Six McKnight Artists
Saturday, July 12, 1 – 4 pm, FREE
We invite everyone to launch Northern Clay Center’s annual exhibition, Six McKnight Artists, with a free summer event. View the works of six talented and established artists from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, France, and Canada. Artists in the exhibition include the 2024 recipients of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Maggie Jaszczak (Shafer, MN) and Ani Kasten (Shafer, MN), as well as the 2023 recipients of the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Larry Buller (Lincoln, NE), Karima Duchamp (Mulhouse, France), Joon Hee Kim (Oakville, Ontario), and Ellen Kleckner (Cedar Rapids, IA).
Join our community of clay lovers for an open house and pottery sale. Partake in food, free hands-on clay activities, a Studio Artist Sale, and our fourth annual Collectors’ Sale. Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate the exhibition artists, the NCC community, NCC Studio Artists, and the amazing urban Seward Neighborhood that is our home!
Collectors and Pottery Owners!
Are you interested in downsizing your ceramic collection to make room for more artwork? Would you rather sell the work than donate it to our ReCollect program? The Collectors’ Sale is for you!
The Collectors' Sale takes place during the McKnight Summer Open House. Each collector is responsible for bringing the works to NCC and arranging them on their sales table, setting the sale price of each work, and being present at the sales table to answer questions
and delight the crowds. NCC will set up your space outdoors and manage all sales. We’ve also been known to lend a hand in setting up and offering guidance while pricing works if helpful.
The commission rate is 70% to each collector, and 30% to NCC. We can accept up to five collectors at this year’s open house, and the first names are already coming in. Past years have seen works by Sylvie Granatelli, Bill Gossman, Shirley Johnson, Maren Kloppmann, Eva Kwong, Warren MacKenzie, Kirk Mangus,
Ron Meyers, Mike Norman, Taiko Tanaka, and scores of others. It promises to be a compelling sale again this year! Please contact rachelnusbaum@ northernclaycenter.org if you would like to commit to the event or have questions.
From left to right: A visitor viewing works at the McKnight Ceramic Artist Fellows exhibition. A family enjoying hands on clay activities at the McKnight Open House.
About the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists Program
Since 1997, Northern Clay Center has been the steward of these awards, made possible by the generous contributions of The McKnight Foundation. These programs directly support mid-career ceramic artists in Minnesota through the McKnight Artist Fellowship program, and artists from around the world through McKnight Artist Residencies. Providing a threemonth opportunity for focused time in the studios at the Center, this residency program offers the opportunity for symbiotic sharing of ideas, techniques, and materials science while facilitating opportunities for critique and in-depth conversation between the visiting artist and our local community.
Applications for the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists are due May 16 at 5 pm CT. More information on the programs and how to apply is available at: northernclaycenter.org/artist-services/ grants-for-artists/
McKnight Artist Resident, Ellen Kleckner, working in her studio at NCC.
Applications due Friday, May 16, 5 pm CT
McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists: Suze Lindsay and KyoungHwa Oh
Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming 2024 Summer McKnight Artist Residents—Suze Lindsay and KyoungHwa Oh. As we welcome these artists and embark on this unique opportunity to host two McKnight Artists at once, we look forward to supporting their individual creative visions while establishing new connections within our community.
Suze Lindsay
With a focus on creating pottery that become companions for daily use, Suze Lindsay (Bakersville, NC) crafts altered forms to entice the user to take pleasure in everyday activities while inviting participation and promoting hospitality. Lindsay creates vessels that suggest figure and character through manipulation after they have been thrown. Her pots continue to take form as Lindsay adds handbuilt elements that are added to the thrown parts to give each pot a personality of its own. Experimentation and play, particularly with form and proportion, are at the heart of Lindsay’s functional practice. Lindsay also pays particular attention to the surface decoration of her work. She enhances her pottery through the use of patterns created with painted slips and glazes, with everything being completed in the salt kiln. Her mark making is focused on enhancing the volume of her pots.
Lindsay’s entrance to the world of craft started in New Orleans when she was working as a teacher in the public school system after completing a degree in special education at Penn State and receiving a Montessori teaching
certificate. She began her journey as a hobby potter, taking classes at a rec center one day a week, inspired by a potter at a local craft show. She was encouraged to take a summer workshop at Penland School of Craft, where she eventually became a CORE fellow from 1987 to 1989. Her time at Penland was followed by an MFA from Louisiana State University. Lindsay, along with her partner Kent, went on to form Fork Mountain Pottery where Lindsay continues her practice as a studio potter to this day.
Lindsay’s awards include Best of Show in the First Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, and Emerging Artist at the 2000 National Council on Education
for the Ceramic Art conference, and demonstrating artist for 2021 National Council on Education for Ceramic Art conference, along with a long string of Artist in Residence titles at many notable ceramic institutions around the country. Her work is in the permanent collections of George E. Ohr Museum in Biloxi MS; Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX; Islip Art Museum, NY; Kennedy Museum of American Art, Athens OH; Greenwich House Pottery, NY; Lancaster Museum of Art, East Petersburg, PA; Rocky Mount Arts Center, Raleigh, NC, and the North Carolina Potter Center, Seagrove, NC, and with numerous private collectors.
Suze Lindsay. Photo credit: LOAM marketing, loamnc.com.
ARTIST SERVICES
Lindsay’s solo exhibitions include exhibitions at Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in Pittsburgh PA, North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove NC, Roswell Art Center in Atlanta, GA, 18 Hands Gallery in Houston TX, and AKAR Gallery in Iowa City.
KyoungHwa Oh
KyoungHwa Oh (Grand Junction, CO) credits her life experiences and cultural background as inspiring her work. Oh creates ceramic objects that reflect traditional Korean culture and western contemporary style, developing a symbolic language between these ideas that is expressed throughout her functional and sculptural pieces.
Oh’s carved porcelain is also strongly influenced by the natural world. It is a unifying theme that allows for the expression of emotions and life’s experiences. A focus on texture and flowing lines that approximate the harmonic balance of the natural world ground Oh’s ceramic practice. Oh begins her pieces on the wheel, then alters them by adding, cutting, and paddling the form until a new object emerges. Organic flowing lines, meant to capture the essence of water, are carved into the vessel. These lines accentuate the Celadon glazes that Oh primarily uses on her work to capture the sense of the movement of nature. Throguhout her work, Oh hopes to express the
combination of traditional Asian values with modern Western society.
Oh was born and grew up in Seoul, Korea, where she naturally developed a connection to traditional Korean ceramics (Koryo Celadon). Oh studied fashion design in Korea and worked for five years as a designer before coming to the United States to gain more design experience. While in the United States, her interest in clay was revived and she changed her plans to study ceramics. After receiving her MFA degree from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, Oh worked as a Visiting Resident Artist at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Oh came to Colorado Mesa University as the Art Department’s first Artist-in-Residence in Fall 2011, as part of an initiative to expose art students to unique artistic approaches. She joined the department as an Assistant Professor in 2014 and teaches both ceramics and foundation courses.
Oh has been a visiting artist, lecturer, and resident at many universities and art organizations around the country and world. In addition, she has been the recipient of numerous awards including first place in the Contemporary Clay 2022 National Competition.
Related event:
McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Suze Lindsay and KyoungHwa Oh
Please join us in welcoming each of these artists to the NCC community for their summer residencies. During the first weeks of their time with us in Minneapolis, each artist will present a talk on their work, with time afterward for questions.
Friday, July 11, 6 pm CT, FREE
KyoungHwa Oh
June Featured Artists
Brian Geier, Sarah Haven, Ellen Kleckner, Kimberly LaVonne, Matt Watterson
June 3 – June 29
Sales Gallery & Online
Brian Geier
Brian Geier is a studio potter working out of Lakewood, CO. He focuses on making decorative and functional ceramic pieces using porcelain and crystalline glazes. Geier’s background in geography is the main source of inspiration for his crystalline glazes, specifically the mineral, ocean jasper, which is part of the quartz family. His beautiful surfaces and the process behind achieving such wonderful surface variation is what interests Geier most—no two crystalline pieces are ever the same. Geier received his AA from Waubonsee Community College (Sugar Grove, IL) and his BS in geography from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb).
Sarah Haven
A theatre major in undergrad, Sarah Haven took a ceramics class for fun, and over 20 years later, clay remains a staple of her life. In 2003, she relocated to Washington from Ohio for graduate school and decided to stay, enthralled with the Pacific Northwest. During the day, Haven works at a local nonprofit arts center, and at night she can be found pinching pots in her basement studio.
Ellen Kleckner
Ellen Kleckner is an artist and educator whose practice weaves together community engagement, material investigation, and collaboration. Kleckner utilizes the visual and mechanical vocabulary of makers and craftspeople to create forms that provoke ideas of utility while questioning recognizability. She studied ceramics at the Appalachian Center
for Craft (DeKalb County, TN) where she received her BFA. She went on to study at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) and Ohio University (Athens) where she received her MFA. Kleckner’s engaging work has also earned her a number of awards and grants in addition to exhibitions around the country. She has been a recipient of a Windgate Foundation Scholarship, the NCECA Graduate Student Research Fellowship, the Studio Potter Graduate Merit Award, Women of Achievement Award, an Artist Catalyst Grant from the Iowa Arts Council, and an Emerging Artist Fellowship from NCECA. In addition to these awards, Kleckner has shown her work in galleries both nationally and internationally.
Kimberly LaVonne
Kimberly LaVonne is a ceramic artist who handbuilds forms adorned with graphic illustrations depicting parts of her Panamanian heritage, family, connection, and remembrance. She received her MFA from Indiana University (Bloomington) and her BFA from the University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg). Her works have been on exhibit both nationally and internationally. Some of these venues include Oliva Gallery (Chicago); the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts (TX); Kiosk Gallery (Kansas City, MO); Stamp Gallery (University of Maryland— College Park); and the Kápolna Galéria (Hungary). She has completed two artist residencies at the International
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Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét, Hungary, as well as a residency with the Charlotte Street Studio Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2016 she presented her work and research at the Death, Art, and Anatomy conference at the University of Winchester, UK. Ceramics Monthly awarded her as one of the Emerging Artists of 2020. In 2021, she was awarded as one of the recipients of the American Craft Council Emerging Artist Cohort program.
Matt Watterson
As a ceramic artist, Matt Watterson finds a certain level of nostalgia and affinity in the cup. He believes the cup is one of the most intimate objects we interact with on a daily basis. It welcomes generously; it asks to be held and brought to our lips. Watterson’s cups are made with a translucent porcelain and are fired three to four times each. They are all hand painted, contain real gold, and are unique in their own way. As a foreign artist living in Jingdezhen, China, Watterson is drawn to the history imbedded in the city itself. His work uses traditional techniques but explores Western ideologies and thinking. They meld together East and West with floral and architectural motifs, each dripping and pooling as the city does. The surfaces are rendered slightly out of focus, like looking through a window on a rainy day. Watterson’s work is included in galleries, private collections, and kitchen cabinets internationally.
Previous page, clockwise from left: Brian Geier, Vase. Sarah Haven, Bowl. Ellen Kleckner, Bowl.
This page, top: Kimberly LaVonne, Mug. Matt Watterson, Mug.
SALES GALLERY
July Featured Artists
Maggie Jaszczak, Matthew Krousey, Jeff Oestreich, Doug Peltzman
July 1 – 27
Sales Gallery & Online
Maggie Jaszczak
Maggie Jaszczak is a potter and mixed-media artist originally from Ontario, Canada. She completed her undergraduate studies at Kootenay School of Arts (Nelson, British Columbia) and Alberta College of Art + Design (Calgary), and earned her MFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Jaszczak has participated in ceramic residency programs at the New Taipei Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT), Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass, CO), and Medalta Potteries (Medicine Hat, AB). After a three-year residency at Penland School of Crafts (NC), she and her husband moved to Minnesota where they work as studio artists.
Matthew Krousey
Matthew Krousey received his BFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is a current host of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. In 2018, he received both a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and an Essential Artist Award through the East Central Regional Arts Council. Krousey also recently participated in a panel discussion with Craft in America at the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project. Krousey says his aim is to create a historical record of the vanishing natural world around him. “I use imagery of Minnesota’s native flora and fauna on ceramics to bring awareness to the viewer of the environment I know and love.”
Jeff Oestreich
Jeff Oestreich received his education at Bemidji State University (MN), the
University of Minnesota, Twin cities, and at the Bernard Leach Pottery (St. Ives, EN). He has exhibited and taught throughout the United States, as well as in New Zealand. Oestreich is well known for his functional stoneware pots. Wheel-thrown and altered, the minimally-glazed work is fired in a soda kiln at his residence and studio near Taylors Falls, Minnesota.
Doug Peltzman
Doug Peltzman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. He has been making pots since 2003. Since graduating with his MFA from Penn State (University Park, PA) in 2010, he established a pottery studio with his wife, Pam, in Shokan, New York. He is a father of three young children, a dedicated husband, and a full-time
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studio potter. He has had the honor of being both a juror and curator of national exhibitions and has taught workshops at many art centers and universities throughout the United States. Peltzman is a founding member of Objective Clay and creator/organizer of the Hudson Valley Pottery Tour. His work has been featured in many national publications and can be found in homes and kitchens across the country.
Kate Marotz
Kate Marotz received her BFA in ceramics and BS in art education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie). Since 2015, she has been teaching high school art while simultaneously pursuing and exploring her own studio practice. Her current work bridges sculpture and functionality with pinched stoneware objects inspired by seed pods, chrysalides, shells, and other vessels of natural origin. The surfaces of her objects are painted with terra sigillata in calm, muted versions of both earthy and jewel-toned colors. Marotz’s pieces are ridged, speckled, playful, and precarious. They emanate the energy of creatures from a biome at the junction of desert and ocean, at once feeling newborn and contemporary, treasured and ancient.
Previous page, from top: Maggie Jaszczak, Candelabra. Matthew Krousey, Bowl
This page, clockwise from top left: Jeff Oestreich, Cup. Doug Peltzman, Mug. Kate Marotz, Earrings.
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August Featured Artists
Andy Bissonnette, Sarah Chenoweth Davis, Gruchalla Rosetti Pottery, Ani Kasten
Jewelry Spotlight: Tricia Schmidt
July 28 – August 31
Sales Gallery & Online
Andy Bissonnette
Andy Bissonnette, a recent MFA graduate from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, is a potter and educator currently residing in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is acutely interested in the union of form, surface, utility, and the relationship between clay body and glaze. He is interested in historical uses of pottery, both narrative and utilitarian, and often looks to the past when conceiving his work. His influences are far and many, ranging from Northern Song Dynasty Celadons to the form language developed by the ancient Greeks, to the modernist aesthetic of the Bauhaus in Germany.
Prior to graduate school, Bissonnette spent over a decade as a designer in the Minneapolis advertising community where he developed and nourished his penchant for subtle details. He crafts his pots with this same care and rigor which can be seen in his precisely fitting lids, carefully sculpted handles, and elegant vessel forms.
Sarah Chenoweth Davis
Sarah Chenoweth Davis, a porcelain and pastry addict, grew up in the Midwest and earned a BA in Biology from the College of Wooster (Ohio) and an MFA in Applied Craft and Design from the Oregon College of Art and Craft (Portland) and the Pacific Northwest College of Art (Portland). Chenoweth Davis' work has been exhibited throughout the US and Japan and has been featured in various publications including Ceramics Monthly, The Journal of Australian Ceramics, and the interactive e-book American i-Pottery.
Community-focused, Chenoweth Davis is a past President of the Oregon Potters Association, served as an on-site coordinator for the 51st annual NCECA conference, and wrangled potters as a Coordinator for Gather:Make:Shelter, an ongoing city-wide collaboration between housed and unhoused artists of Portland, OR. Previously, she managed Eutectic Gallery in Portland. She now serves as Retail Coordinator at The Clay Studio and teaches at Perkins Center for the Arts in New Jersey. Chenoweth Davis maintains a home studio with her husband Brian, a musician, and serves as the drummer and backup vocalist for a variety of his projects.
Gruchalla Rosetti Pottery
Richard Gruchalla and Carrin Rosetti are a husband-and-wife collaborative team making wheel-thrown and handbuilt
Raku-fired pottery. They each bring separate skills to their finished work. Gruchalla is an accomplished clay worker with over 50 years of experience as a professional potter. Rosetti is a trained fiber artist. Over 30 years ago, she brought her vision as a colorist and her exceptional skill in the presentation of fine detail to the clay studio. Both artists contribute to the completion of almost every piece they produce. Gruchalla is responsible for the wetworking of the pottery; wheel throwing, slab construction, burnishing, or the addition of extra texture and carving. He also does the actual firing of the pieces in the Raku kiln. Rosetti takes care of the detailed glazing of the carved surfaces and collaborates with Gruchalla on forms, glazes, studio output, and marketing. Pieces are sometimes passed back and forth several times before they
Left: Andy Bissonnette, Cup. Right: Gruchalla Rosetti Pottery, Box.
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are completed. Final embellishments include the addition of copper wire, metallic leaf, and small wooden pegs. Their pieces are intended to be decorative objects rather than functional because they are softer than stoneware, thus more fragile. They are food-safe, but not necessarily watertight.
Ani Kasten
Investigating the materiality of the clay is the foundation for all of Ani Kasten’s sculptural vessels. She writes, “These sculptural groupings explore the meeting point between natural and man-made worlds. The vessels take their influence from plants, water, rocks and clay, as well as from architecture, industry, and machinery... they investigate the nature of change, the compiling of memory, and a feeling of profound loss—the recognition of temporal beauty bound inextricably with grief.” Since completing her ceramic training in the UK in 2001, Kasten has developed a unique studio practice in which she draws from her extensive travel experiences. Her training in England, as well as the five years she spent working in Nepal, were a formative influence on Kasten’s ceramics. She is a current host of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour.
Tricia Schmidt
Tricia Schmidt has had a lifelong love of clay and illustration, and she marries the two in her functional and sculptural work. As a primarily self-taught artist, she embraces an aesthetic that is informed by the joy of doodling on a fresh sheet of paper and the satisfaction
of a voluptuously curving form. Schmidt’s animals and figures are often self-referential, but universal enough to appeal to a larger audience through the use of her favorite motifs: ambivalent sloths, playful cats, industrious bunnies,
malevolent squirrels, and introspective women. She references folklore in her archetypal red birds, symbolizing those who have passed on but are still watching over us.
From top: Ani Kasten, Vase. Tricia Schmidt, Earrings. Sarah Chenoweth Davis, Bowl.
ClayToGo Partner Spotlight: Golden Lake Elementary
During the winter of 2025, Northern Clay Center’s outreach program, ClayToGo, partnered with Golden Lake Elementary (Circle Pines) for an in-school residency. Led by our talented teaching artist Susan Obermeyer, this program ran for one month reaching over 400 students from pre-k to 5th grade.
Art classes are necessary for a well rounded education. Many schools continue to face budget cuts prioritizing tested subjects like math, science and reading, and as a result, a school’s art funding can be one of the first programs to be cut. What we know is that art is essential in our children's lives. Art programming can increase self expression, empathy and critical thinking – all of which helps us to become promising human beings in an increasingly complicated and divided world.
Our ClayToGo residency programs offer an enriching and unique experience for
students. Chris Gerst –the principal who helped bring this program to fruition–shared,
"The NCC residency was an exceptional experience, allowing the students to dive into hands-on creation and learning about the artistic process of working with clay."
The students handbuilt different animals, each designed with the different grades and abilities in mind. Kindergarteners made turtles, second graders made bald eagles –their school mascot– and 5th graders sculpted their pets. Susan made it a priority for her students to find joy in their uniqueness, sharing the importance of being the boss of their own creation and reveling in the fact that no one in the world can create something like they can.
These programs are meaningful for the teachers just as much as the students. Over the month that Susan was at Golden Lake Elementary, she built relationships with the school and their
students. Susan would walk the hallways and get leg hugs from kindergartners and joyous “Hi Miss Susan!” in addition to numerous questions like “Did you cook my clay yet?” “When are you coming to our class?”. Susan reflected on her experience at Golden Lake and shared that
“you don’t have to be good at it. You don’t have to be perfect. You participate in the process. Sometimes you're successful, many times you fail, but you do it again”.
That is our hope for the students in any of our outreach programs.
If you have a school or organization that is interested in working with clay as a part of a residency or after-school program, please contact the Community Engagement Manager at juliarodman@ northernclaycenter.com or 612.339.8007 x313. Thank you for your interest in programming with us!
Miss Susan helping students Eagles by 2nd grade students
Summer Classes & Workshops
Summer is nearly here! Treat yourself to a staycation and take a trip to the NCC studios for some uninterrupted time in clay. During summer daytime hours, many of NCC’s studios will have a bounty of Clay Campers making discoveries of their own in clay, but the evenings, weekends, and open studio hours are dedicated to you. Our summer class roster—a mix of signature classes with the added flavor of some special topics, atmospheric firing, handbuilding courses, and shortened format workshops—is sure to satisfy and sustain your clay cravings through the summer months. Our diverse group of expert makers and teachers are ready to transport you into a summer season of new discoveries in clay.
Open Studio Note: on weekdays during the summer term, the NCC studios will be hosting campers ages 6+ from 9 am - 4 pm. We will continue to offer open studio benefits to all enrolled adults for the duration of their class once Clay Camps have finished for the day/week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 4:30 - 9 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 pm - 12 am; Saturdays and Sundays, 9 am - 9 pm (subject to other NCC events and programming).
Students may use open studio time to practice techniques learned during class hours, experiment, or practice their craft independently. We ask that in utilizing these studio hours, please
be mindful of other students and make sure others feel welcome in this shared space. Weekly open studio schedules will be posted on the bulletin boards in each studio, as well as on our website; select the Education tab from the top menu on our homepage and click “Student Info” (northernclaycenter.org/ education/student-info).
We encourage you to register early as our in-person classes fill up quickly. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and ask to be added to the waitlist of your preferred class. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.
Education Access Scholarships
Applications open Tuesday, April 29 NCC is committed to maintaining accountability and pursuing action to build meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity in the ceramic community. We recognize that there are significant systemic racial and economic impacts that impede participation in the arts, and resulting financial barriers contribute to further divide. To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC has implemented scholarship options for our education programming. Our goal is to open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
We offer two scholarship options:
• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need
Scholarships are limited, so please apply early. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter.org under the Education tab.
Student trimming a bowl on the wheel.
BEGINNER CLASSES
Interested in clay but unsure where to start? Sign up for our beginner classes and get hands-on experience and guided instruction during our 4- and 5-week beginner classes. Learn all of the basics such as building, throwing, slab rolling, and/or glazing techniques. These classes have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little to no experience with clay and want to test your interest and grow your skills. We recommend you take a beginner class two or three times (within one term, or over consecutive terms) to build your skills and prepare for Intermediate-to-Advanced classes and beyond. Wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25 pound bag of clay up to a cost of $26, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.
Be sure to check out our series of oneday project workshops beginning on page 34 —ideal for makers with little or no previous experience.
Beginner Wheel Throwing
Get your wheels turning as you learn the basics of throwing pots on the potter’s wheel. This class will get you familiar with the material of clay and introduce foundational wheel-thrown forms such as bowls and cylinders. Formerly known as “Land of Round Pots.”
BW1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
June 16 – July 14
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
July 21 – August 18
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW3: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Maia Danks
June 18 – July 16
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Maia Danks
July 23 – August 20
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW5: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Lucy Yogerst
June 26 – July 17
Fee: $152 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW6: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Lucy Yogerst
July 24 – August 21
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW7: Friday, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Murphey Stromberg
June 20 – July 18
(no class on Independence Day)
Fee: $152 + $60 (5% member discount)
BW8: Friday, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Murphey Stromberg
July 25 – August 22
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
Student wedging clay.
Beginner Handbuilding
Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine. Formerly known as the “Three Graces of Handbuilding.”
BH1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
June 16 – July 14
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BH2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
July 21 – August 18
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
EDUCATION
BH3: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Moz Rude
June 18 – July 16
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
BH4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Moz Rude
July 23 – August 20
Fee: $190 + $60 (5% member discount)
INTERMEDIATE-TOADVANCED CLASSES
Looking to refine your techniques and further develop your voice in clay? Intermediate-to-Advanced classes will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay! Many of these classes have a specific focus but leave room for personal interests and growth. If you’re unsure which level to register for, our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class, via phone or email: 612.339.8007x309 or education@ northernclaycenter.org. As with all NCC classes, please wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25 pound bag of clay up to a cost of $26, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.
INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED WHEEL THROWING
Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel, build on your
foundations, and discover the secrets of making great pots during these 9- and 10-week classes. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing forms such as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments like glazing, staining, and slipping, and be introduced to firing procedures. These classes are designed for those with previous wheel-throwing experience, who have taken some beginner classes (or equivalent), and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.
Marbling, Facets, and Flare!
Learn to create novel, funky texture and pattern in your work by using a variety of common and uncommon techniques. Technical demonstrations will include marbling clay, creating different kinds of facets, hammering with custom stamps and paddles to create texture, and even some new and unconventional ways to put feet on our pots. If you've been in a rut and looking for a signature flourish to incorporate into your pots, this is a class for you.
AW1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Erin Holt
June 16 – August 18
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
Pots
for the Home
In this course students will focus on refining the core forms that make up functional pottery: mugs, cups, bowls, pitchers, and vases. Students will
explore the feeling conveyed through manipulating various forms, while placing an emphasis on functionality. Throughout the class, students will have the opportunity to reference historical pots, experiment with different textures and gestures, and focus on making beautiful, utilitarian pots for the home.
AW2: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Olivia Jenson
June 17 – August 19
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
Thrown and Altered
Learn more about thrown and altered techniques to make pots that break out of the traditional mold. Instructor demonstrations will teach you how to cut, add, and alter your pottery to create new shapes, forms, and textures.
AW3: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
June 18 – August 20
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
Dinner Party
Ready to throw a dinner party using your very own handmade ceramic dishes? Then this is the class for you! Elevate your wheel throwing skills to the next level and learn the craft of consistency. You'll learn how to make multiple sets of work, whether that be cups, plates, bowls and beyond. Plus, discover new design techniques and surface methods to enhance your work. Find your unique style to impress your guests, and yourself!
AW4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Alysha Hill
June 18 – August 20
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
Focus on Form
Learn the essential elements of form and function in this class tailored to individuals interested in honing their skills in crafting pottery that combines aesthetic appeal with practical usability.
AW5: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Leila Denecke
June 26 – August 21
Fee: $342 + $120 (5% member discount)
Surface Decoration
Explore the rich possibilities of surface decoration to enhance your ceramic forms. Do a deep dive in pottery decoration techniques like scraffito, inlay, and brushwork. This class will help you develop the imagery you are creating on your pots and expand your artistic voice in the process.
AW6: Sundays, 10 am – 1pm
Instructor: Lisa Himmelstrup
June 22 – August 24
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED HANDBUILDING
Take a break from crouching over the potter’s wheel and come over to Studio C for some handbuilding! Learn new techniques in coiling, pinching, and slab-building, and delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine working with clay. Bring your
favorite tools and challenging ideas to the first class.
Modern Artifacts
This 10-week class will look at historic ceramic forms made from the oldest techniques in ceramics - handbuilding. What kind of forms were made and for what uses in times before the pottery wheel? This class will learn about functional and small-scale sculptural forms from ancient history and apply them to their creative process and modern uses. This class is for those who want to dive deeper into the history of handbuilding and explore themes of prehistoric uses for clay. These classes are designed for those with previous handbuilding experience, who have taken some beginner classes (or equivalent), and who feel comfortable navigating basic handbuilt forms.
AH1: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm
Instructor: Moz Rude
June 21 – August 23
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
Cultivating Chaos
Clay is unique in the possibility for its individual particles to come to rest in near infinite arrangements. This makes it a pliable language to approach the complexities of what may not be seen to the naked eye including cosmic vortexes, unique neural webs, plant energies, spiritual bodies, and ideologies. In this sculptural hand building course, we will tap into the experiential and expressive properties of clay and disentangle the
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material from a need to serve us while instead existing as energetic objects in our spaces once the process is complete. Together we will embrace chaos, imperfection, repetitive motions, varied technical approaches, and the problem solving required to work within our studio boundaries.
AH2: Sundays, 2 – 5 pm
Instructor: Nat Nicholson
June 22 – August 24
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
EDUCATION
SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES
Soda Firing Methods
Join teaching artist Clarice Allgood in the studio and dive deeper into the techniques and materials to get the most from the soda kiln's kiss of fire. Load and fire at least three kilns on three firing dates and critically examine the results of each firing. Successive firings ensure that you will have the opportunity to understand the nature of atmospheric firing and, in turn, capitalize on the process by the end of the quarter. Explore more advanced forming and decorating techniques to take full advantage of what the kiln has to offer. Plan to participate in all kiln loadings, and in at least one unloading. This class is designed to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students who are keen to develop their approach to atmospheric firing. Primarily intended for those who are at intermediate to advanced levels of construction-throwers and handbuilders welcome.
T1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Clarice Allgood
June 17 – August 19
Fee: $380 + $195 (5% member discount)
Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class. Students are expected to participate in kiln loadings during class and unloading the weekend following for all firings. Studio meetings all other weeks.
Ceramic Tiles 101
Have a project in mind or want to learn the secret behind creating flat, visually engaging decorative or functional tiles? This is the course for
you! Spend ten weeks exploring the possibilities of creating dimensional tile-work with methods like sgraffito, resists, decorating with slips and glazes, relief, and tricks for creating multiples. Instructor Elizabeth Coleman will offer demonstrations to equip you to start your project, whether that be creating accent tiles for a backsplash, decorative wall pieces, or to simply inspire and give you a jumping-off point. Learn to integrate planning, design, and skill to build a composition or colony of ceramic tiles tailored to your imagination. All skill levels and experiences with clay are welcome.
T2: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
June 17 – August 19
Fee: $380 + $120 (5% member discount)
SPECIAL TOPICS WORKSHOPS
NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.
Double Walled and Pierced Pottery
Join guest teaching artist Autumn Higgins for this exciting two-day, technique-based workshop. Students will learn the core techniques Autumn uses to create her hollow double walled vessels. On the first day you will follow along as Autumn teaches you how to throw a hollow cup and plot out the perfect place to cut into your forms to create a decorative design. On the second day, students will learn how Autumn creates the delicate line work
on her pottery to emphasize the carved designs from the day before. Note: This is a technique-based workshop. Participants will receive bisque pieces but there will not be a glaze firing associated with this workshop.
T3: Saturday, June 14, 11 am – 3 pm & Sunday, June 15, 11 am – 3 pm
Instructor: Autumn Higgins Fee: $130 (5% member discount)
Leveling Up with Sectional Throwing
Interested in making bigger pots but unsure about the idea of trying to throw large amounts of clay all at once? Then this class is for you. Join teaching artist Sean Lofton for this one-day technical workshop, as he walks you through the process of sectional throwing. Learn to throw large forms in multiple, manageable parts, then join them
A student pierces their sculpture in the handbuilding studio.
together in the end. This workshop is perfect for anyone who already has some experience in throwing and is interested in beginning to make larger work on the potter’s wheel.
T4: Saturday, July 26, 1 – 4 pm
Instructor: Sean Lofton
Fee: $65 (5% member discount)
PROJECT WORKSHOPS
No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.
Crafternoon & Crafterdark Pottery Workshop
Bring your friends and make a few new ones as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $55 fee includes instruction and materials for one adult. Students can expect to make three to five pots and decorate them using colorful slips and textures. Your pots will be ready to pick up in about two weeks.
X1: Saturday, June 21, 1 – 4 pm
X2: Saturday, June 21, 5 – 8 pm
X3: Saturday, July 19, 1 – 4 pm
X4: Saturday, July 19, 5 – 8 pm
X5: Saturday, July 26, 5 – 8 pm
X6: Saturday, August 9, 1 – 4 pm
X7: Saturday, August 9, 5 – 8 pm
Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist
Fee: $55 (per person, per session)
Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops
Looking for a unique date activity that is sure to impress your partner? Try
NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other, BFF, or family member and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment. Already attended a session? Sign up again and take your skills to the next level. The $110 fee includes instruction, materials, and firings for two adults. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks after the workshop date.
X8: Friday, June 27, 6 – 9 pm
X9: Friday, July 11, 6 – 9 pm
X10: Friday, July 25, 6 – 9 pm
X11: Friday, August 8, 6 – 9 pm
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILIES
For all family classes, children must be accompanied by an adult. Neither children nor adults will have access to open studio time during the quarter. Weekend workshops are open to all skill levels, ages 6 and up for handbuilding workshops and 9 and up for wheel-throwing; there are no exceptions to stated age requirements.
Family Wheel Throwing Workshop
Learn to use the potter's wheel and explore the basics of wheel throwing as you center clay and shape it into cylinders and bowls. At the end of class, decorate your creations with colored slips. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.
F1: Saturday, June 28, 10 am – 1 pm
F2: Saturday, June 28, 2 – 5 pm
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
Fee: $65 for two people, one adult and one child. $30 for each additional participant. Please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
Plates and Trays
Outdoor dining with friends and family is synonymous with summer. Make it even better with a handmade plate or tray for your favorite dish to share. Learn how to build with slabs using paper templates and decorate with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.
F3: Saturday, July 12, 10 am – 1 pm
F4: Saturday, July 12, 2 – 5 pm
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
Fee: $65 for two people, one adult and one child. $30 for each additional participant. Please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
Pots and Planters
Does your favorite houseplant or its clippings need a new pot? Design and create a personalized planter for your plant babies. Learn handbuilding skills to create a variety of pots. Decorate your creations with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome. Consider bringing some clippings to share and swap with classmates.
F5: Saturday, August 16, 10 am – 1 pm
F6: Saturday, August 16, 2 – 5 pm
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
Fee: $65 for two people, one adult and one child. $30 for each additional participant. Please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
CLAY FOR YOUTH
Pottery Punch Card for Teens
Our Pottery Punch Card for Teens program is currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and request to
EDUCATION
be added to the waitlist. When a spot opens, we will reach out and extend the opportunity to register.
Teens may purchase eight, 2-hour classes, to be used on any Saturday, 10 am - 12 pm. Classes will cover the fundamental techniques of throwing basic forms on the potter's wheel and creating surface decoration using glazes, slips, and applied elements, with varied demonstrations and projects for advanced students. Create a series of functional pots with high-temperature clay bodies. Previous experience is not required. Students may attend on a drop-in basis and the complexity of projects will depend on multiple consecutive classes. Great for students and families with busy schedules. Wear
clothes that you don't mind getting dirty; NCC will provide the tools and the clay. Students do not have access to open studio time. For ages 13 to 17 only.
Y1: Saturdays, 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Erin Holt
Ongoing
Fee: $285 (5% member discount)
Four additional sessions: $145 (5% member discount)
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted (some Saturdays are not available due to holidays or NCC events). Students must sign up for sessions in advance for sessions on our online sign up form. Sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.
ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS
ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years and older (and their families!), ART@HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and hands-on activities.
Birds and Bees
Celebrate pollinators by making small plates in the shapes of birds and insects. Learn basic handbuilding skills and decorate with colored slips.
25AAH5: Sunday, June 29
Instructor: Eileen Cohen 10am – 12 pm Free
Summer Sizzle
Beat the heat with your favorite iced drink. Make a cup using a paper template and personalize with decoration. Paint your project with colored slips.
25AAH6: Sunday, August 17
Instructor: Eileen Cohen 10 am – 12 pm Free
ART@HAND student posing with class projects
Summer Class Registration Opens
Tuesday, May 13, at 10 am
Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, April 29
To Register:
Register with cash or any major credit card. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Member discounts are available online.
Due to the high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class.
NCC will send confirmation of registration. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel class, notify registered students, and refund all payments without penalty. Decisions are made approximately one week before classes begin.
Please register early or you might find that your favorite class is full, or canceled due to low enrollment. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to education@northernclaycenter.org and ask to be added to the waitlist of your preferred class.
Education Access Scholarships:
To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is implementing new scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
We offer two scholarship options:
• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners with financial need
• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
Scholarships are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis to adult students only. Students are eligible to receive only one scholarship per session. We will do our best to offer students one of their top three choices of class or workshop. Once enrolled, all scholarships are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Scholarship students are committed to their selected class, and the scholarship cannot be applied to a different class or term. Should a selected class cancel due to low enrollment, students will have the option to transfer classes. Previous recipients can apply multiple times per year, though priority will be given to new applicants.
Within a week of your application, you will be notified of the status of your application and will be aided in registration from there should you receive the scholarship.
For any questions regarding NCC’s scholarship program, please contact education@northernclaycenter.org
Policies:
Tools: Standard tool kits are available during check-in on the first day of class and in NCC’s Sales Gallery. Other specialty tools are available as well.
Open Studio: On weekdays during the summer term, the NCC studios will be hosting campers ages 6+ from 9 am - 4 pm. We will continue to offer open studio benefits to all enrolled adults for the duration of their class once Clay Camps have finished for the day/week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 4:30 - 9 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 pm - 12 am; Saturdays and Sundays, 9 am - 9 pm (subject to other NCC events and programming).
Minimum Age Restrictions: Unless otherwise specified, students must be 18 or older to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops. Family wheel throwing classes and workshops are open to attendees aged 9 and above, while handbuilding workshops for families are open for those aged 6 and above. NCC’s age restrictions are nonnegotiable and will be strictly enforced.
Continuing Education Credits: If you are a teacher in need of CEUs, contact the education department to learn how NCC’s classes and workshops can be taken for continuing education credit.
Weather: As a general rule, NCC will remain open during inclement weather. We take our cues from local colleges and universities for canceling or rescheduling classes during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe!
Tuition, Fees, & Refunds:
Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees. Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay (up to $26), basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be prorated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space.
Class Refunds: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a class no later than one week (7 days) before the day of the first class meeting. 50% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class within the seven days prior to the first class meeting. After this period, if a student elects to drop a class, tuition and fees will NOT be refunded for any reason except documented medical emergencies. There are no other exceptions to this policy.
Workshop Refunds: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least one week (seven days) prior to the workshop. No refunds will be given with less than one week’s notice.
If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, email education@northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.
2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.339.8007
nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org www.northernclaycenter.org
Visit Us
2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.339.8007
nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org
Gallery hours: 10 am - 5 pm, 7 days a week
Office hours: 9 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday
Information for Visitors with Disabilities
Please contact us at 612.339.8007 or nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org with any questions about our facility or with requests for accommodations.
Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with physical or cognitive disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event to make a booking
Signed Interpretation: Signed interpretation is available for any public NCC event. Please call us at least three weeks in advance to request an interpreter.
Wheelchair seating for classes or other accommodations: We offer a rehabilitationstyle potter’s wheel for those individuals that use wheelchairs. NCC is ADA compliant and is entirely wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance of attendance if there are other accommodations we can provide.
The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.
Mission: Northern Clay Center advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Ongoing programs include exhibitions by contemporary regional, national, and international ceramic artists, as well as historical and architectural ceramics; classes and workshops for children and adults at all skill levels; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Front cover: Joon Hee Kim, Love Wins.