AUTUMN EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST SERVICES
2020
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Northern Clay Center
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
As we embark on a path to carefuly and strategically reopen the facility, we have been afforded the opportunity to reflect upon some of the great strides made in the last several months. Under new leadership by two familiar faces, we navigated the difficult decisions to close the facility and redirect efforts to developing new and safe tactics to stay connected to the community.
Education Coordinator, Sam Longley, prepping for Clay-Along kit pick up. The Clay-Along program offers virtual classes and camps for adults and kids, one of many ways NCC has adapted offerings to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through a period of incredible chance and evolving circumstance, Northern Clay Center has remained strong and dedicated to the pursuit of its mission to advance the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Finding new meaning in this statement with each new challenge, we have remained nimble and open minded while exploring new avenues to build upon the existing strengths that compose the core of NCC’s purpose and identifying areas for further development. Bringing with them incredible opportunities to make programming, exhibitions, and artist opportunities more adaptable and accessible, these reimagined approaches and additional tools will allow for the cultivation of new connections to grow our community while serving those who are already a part of the organization.
This includes: • developing remote programming and resources to connect learners and educators with opportunities to facilitate their continued development • ongoing expansion of our digital platforms to connect everyone with the makers in the sales gallery and exhibition spaces • integrating these new additions with existing tactics to provide robust opportunity to connect with audiences remotely and in-person. Carrying forward in our roles as Interim Co-Executive Directors of Northern Clay Center, Tippy Maurant and I continue to find new strength in our complimentary and cohesive skillsets. Through the development of programming, platforms, and protocols to protect the health and well-being of those who will come to the Center, our guiding principals have been built upon trust and transparency in every avenue. While many aspects of NCC will look different and continue to evolve to meet the world around us, we are certain that all of us have the capacity and determination to
persevere and maintain the strength of this organization. I could not be more proud of our staff who have embraced and facilitated incredible change, thankful for the continued support from our Board of Directors, beholden to Tippy and our symbiotic undertaking of this great responsibility, or humbled by the unprecedented support from every area of the Center’s community. It is with a great sense of optimism that I look ahead to the future developments and achievements for the organization. Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp Interim Co-Executive Director
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
American Pottery Festival September 2 – 6 Virtual Event Sales Gallery, Main Gallery, & Emily Galusha Gallery by ticketed appointment
22ND ANNUAL —
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
2 – 6 SEPTEMBER 2O2O
“Humans make things, we always have. We make shoes, cakes, pots, buildings, gardens, hats, music, skateboards, tools, clothes, drawings, and on and on. Our objects of expression contain our spirit, our life mission, tell about our woven lived paths, and a statement of values.” — Peter Jadoonath
Welcome to Northern Clay Center’s 22nd annual fundraising benefit and celebration of notable clay makers. American Pottery Festival guest ceramic artists from across the country will illuminate and celebrate the honor in, and value of, the millions of ways to be and live and create in the U.S. Thank you for your visible support as we continue to listen and learn with intent and relentlessly evolve our mission to ensure meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity.
American Pottery Festival 2020 Invited Artists Ashley Bevington, Patty Bilbro, Andy Bissonnette, Doug Casebeer, Pattie Chalmers, Amanda Dobbratz, Justin Donofrio, Sanam Emami, Brett Freund, Stuart Gair, Guillermo Guardia, Mike Helke, Peter Jadoonath, Randy Johnston, Bill Jones, Kathy King, Forrest Lesch-Middelton with Arash Shirinbab, Jordan McDonald, Catie Miller, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Tricia Schmidt, Mike Tavares, Sandra Torres, Daniel Velasquez, Kurt Brian Webb
WHAT IS AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL? Fundraiser: First and foremost, APF is Northern Clay Center’s annual fundraiser. All contributions and NCC’s portion of the purchased work, created by the 2020 APF artists, support NCC’s programs in advancement of the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Never has our annual fundraiser been more valued and necessary. Community: APF is a moment to come together to explore and to celebrate the studio pottery tradition in the United States. Over the last 22 years, APF has evolved into a revered tradition, one that is steeped in depth of talent, breadth of knowledge, and the generosity of artists, buyers, educators, students, volunteers, sponsors, staff, neighbors, and our board of directors. NCC is a non-profit ceramic arts center with a regional, national, and international presence. Thousands of people connect with NCC annually through outreach, education, studio programs, and through the sales and exhibition galleries. This year, we are working relentlessly to keep those connections whole. Whether you are an up-and-coming or long-time student, an emerging studio artist or maker on the road to mastery, a new shopper visiting our online gallery or experienced collector, we inviteand encourage you to engage with this year’s American Pottery Festival. We have a place at the table for you. Come to learn, explore, splurge, and connect with our welcoming clay community. Exhibition and Sale: APF launched this year with a Preview Show introducing participating artists and featuring their work in our online gallery. Annually, NCC invites a group of artists whose wares represent an array of aesthetics and materials— from humble wares rooted in historic processes, to audacious
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
EXHIBITION & WORKSHOP SCHEDULE APF: On-site Exhibition and Sale* View the work of this year’s APF artists in NCC’s galleries. Between Wednesday morning and Sunday night, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy over 1500 pots and purchase your favorites for your growing collection. Tickets are available for 1.5 hour-long gallery appointments with a maximum of 10 guests in the gallery at a time. Gather nine of your friends and make it a private party! Please watch for our Members Only Ticket Pre-Sale! *We will continue to make decisions based on the health and safety of our community and will communicate any changes to our event as soon as they occur. Should the cancellation of gallery appointments be necessary, a refund of the full ticket price will be offered.
APF artist Kurt Brian Webb carving a piece near a display of his work during the 2019 festival.
explorations of form and surface, to technical mastery of new technologies—all established in balanced composition and service to utility. Every September, APF presents over 1500 wares from the hands of the most accomplished ceramic artists in the country alongside makers who carry the promise of tomorrow. All are remarkable. This year, the festival is a five-day opportunity to choose from an array of finely-crafted objects from engaging artists in support of NCC programming. Your APF purchases underscore the impact makers have on our world. Conference: This year, we determined the safest way for us all to come together for the education component of APF weekend is through virtual platforms. Local workshop participants will have the opportunity to come to NCC to pick up the clay and supplies needed to participate, and return their work to be bisque fired as part of their workshop fee. APF artists will offer weekday interactive virtual workshops and a full weekend of demonstrations, panels, and lectures, all with the opportunity to immerse yourself in their worlds and pose questions. In addition, everyone is welcome to join us nightly, Wednesday through Saturday, for evening social hours and artist lectures. Rather than our hallmark Friday Opening Night Party, we will open the sale on the morning of Wednesday, September 2 and will offer time-specific tickets throughout the week so you can safely come into the gallery to shop in person. For conference details, please see page 4.
Opening Day: Wednesday, September 2 9 am – 7:30 pm,* 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $35 6 – 8 pm, Evening Social with Artist Lectures: Free Thursday, September 3 9 am – 7:30 pm,* 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $25 6 – 8 pm, Evening Social with Artist Lectures: Free Friday, September 4 9 am – 7:30 pm,* 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $15 6 – 8 pm, Evening Social with Artist Lectures: Free Saturday, September 5 9 am – 7:30 pm,* 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $5 6 – 8 pm, Evening Social with Artist Lectures: Free 10 am – 4 pm, All-day Virtual Workshop Pass: $45 NCC Members and Educators: $35 | Students: $30 Sunday, September 6 9 am – 7:30 pm,* 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $5 10 am – 2 pm, All-day Virtual Workshop Pass: $35 NCC Members and Educators: $25 | Students: $20 *Ticketed shopping appointments are available every 1.5 hours, beginning at 9 am, with a maximum of 10 tickets per time frame. Social distancing, gloves, and masks are required and will be provided. For more details, please see page 7.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
EVENT PACKAGES New this year, NCC provides the opportunity to support our annual fundraiser and ensure you’ll enjoy all that our event has to offer at various levels of patronage. LUSTER $500, Includes: • One-year Individual or Dual Membership • First tier access to schedule two 1.5 hour gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments • Registration for one weekday workshop with Randy Johnston & Doug Casebeer or Kathy King, including Clay-Along Kit • All-day Virtual Workshop Passes on Saturday and Sunday PORCELAIN $250, Includes: • One-year Individual Membership • Second tier access to schedule two 1.5 hour gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments • All-day Virtual Workshop Passes on Saturday and Sunday CELADON $125, Includes: • One-year Individual Membership • Third tier access to schedule one 1.5 hour gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointment • All-day Virtual Workshop Passes on Saturday and Sunday
CONFERENCE Clay-Along Virtual Workshops The tradition of offering dynamic, pre-festival educational opportunities with select artists continues in 2020 even if we can’t all gather in person! Doug Casebeer & Randy Johnston Between the Idea and the Making This workshop is a rare opportunity to spend uninterrupted (virtual) time with internationally-recognized ceramic artists Randy Johnston and Doug Casebeer. They will focus on the exchange of ideas involved in making pots related to form and function with sculptural intention. This engaging and memorable workshop, filled with personal discussions about traditional and new ways of making, surface decoration, wood firing, soda firing, gas firing, and their relationship to contemporary ceramics, will come to you from their personal studios and is fully interactive.
Thursday, September 3, 9 am – 5 pm Friday, September 4, 9 am – 4 pm Virtual Workshop price includes a Clay-Along Kit and bisque firing of pieces created during the workshop: $225 NCC Members and Educators: $200 | Students: $115 Virtual Workshop Only: $170 NCC Members and Educators: $150 | Students: $75 Kathy King Unearthing Story Kathy King, ruler of the narrative vessel, invites you into her world full of texture, feminism, and critical perceptions. Her sensual carvings on utilitarian vessels work as a conduit to provoke impressions of gender, sexuality, and the influence of popular culture on the stories we believe. Journey with King as she demonstrates her vessels from conception, to creation, to carving. She will demonstrate her sgraffito and carving techniques and share the influence and crossover of printmaking and mixed media in her work. As you absorb her process, lean in to unfolding the story you have to tell, whether it be personal narrative or thematic perspectives, and explore profound ways to share and embody them through the physicality of clay. Friday, September 4, 9 am – 5 pm Virtual Workshop price includes a Clay-Along Kit and bisque firing of pieces created during the workshop: $130 NCC Members and Educators: $115 | Students: $75 Virtual Workshop Only: $100 NCC Members and Educators: $85 | Students: $50 Saturday Workshop Session September 5, 10 am – 4 pm All-day Virtual Workshop Pass: $45 NCC Members and Educators: $35 | Students: $30 • Tippy Maurant chats with Patty Bilbro, Guillermo Guardia, Catie Miller, & Mike Tavares Inside the Potter’s Studio, 10 – 11 am We launch into our weekend of virtual demonstrations with our tradition of coffee and a behind-the-scenes dialogue between a talented cast of makers. There will be insights into the life and times of a studio artist, candid conversations about everything from failed kilns and challenges with the material, to studio realities and personal collections, to navigating this year’s challenges through art. You are invited to listen to the stories behind the pots you love.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
• Ashley Bevington & Tricia Schmidt Allusive Zoomorphism, 11:15 am – 12:30 pm Ashley Bevington and Tricia Schmidt will transform a wheelthrown form, Bevington through adding adapted features and lavish texture, and Schmidt through building embellished creatures onto and incising them into form. Discover the use of animals as symbols in their work that speak to their own personal experience and the human condition, and contemplate these connections in your own life. • Sanam Emami & Forrest Lesch-Middelton History Repeats Itself, 1 – 2:45 pm Discover the historical and cultural influences and collaborations in Sanam Emami’s deliberate patterns and Forrest Lesch-Middelton’s intricate designs and poetry. Since both artists draw from Middle Eastern design, join them as they discuss this common thread and demonstrate the distinct sensibilities of their individual works. Emami will demonstrate her stencil and slip techniques and Lesch-Middelton his volumetric transfer process. This dynamic duo will leave you curious and craving a surface evolution of your own. • Andy Bissonnette & Justin Donofrio Ordering a Surface, 3 – 4 pm Andy Bissonnette directs us to contemplate mysteries achieved by hand, and Justin Donofrio’s rhythmic objects ask us to reflect on our relationship with the earth and ways we attempt to control it. Join them as they demonstrate their different approaches to designing and executing an ordered surface and the layered assembly and carving processes that serve the entrancing rhythms of their work. Sunday Workshop Session September 6, 10 am – 2 pm All-day Virtual Workshop Pass: $35 NCC Members and Educators: $25 | Students: $20 • Catie Miller Transfixing Transfers, 10 – 11 am Travel through layers of hand-drawn motifs, vibrant color, symbolism, and playful intention as Catie Miller demonstrates her illustrated surface transfer technique. Miller’s fresh forms are as alluring as her ritualized process, and the inviting combination elevates our perception of everyday objects and recasts them as beloved home staples that contribute to and ground tradition. Be equipped to experiment with transfers of your own, better the marriage of form and surface, and be inspired to define a narrative language unique to the way you interpret the world.
• Amanda Dobbratz & Mike Tavares Earthenware and Extracurricular Activities, 11:15 am – 12:45 pm Join Amanda Dobbratz and Mike Tavares as they discuss their fondness of a common material and demonstrate their different approaches to earthenware. Stay intent as they bring forms to life and share conversations about influences in their work and how their creative energies overflow to other avenues like Tavares’s Clay Siblings Project, Dobbratz’s design work and teaching, and other arenas that inform or have grown out of their ceramic practices. • Mike Helke, Peter Jadoonath, & Jordan McDonald Endurance of the Object, 1 – 2 pm Every object tells the story of an interaction with its maker. We will end our weekend together with a time of sharing and reflecting on a medium that captures and preserves moments in time and how the artist and object persevere and evolve together. Join Mike Helke, Peter Jadoonath, and Jordan McDonald as they casually build objects in tandem, share how their careers have adapted and grown over time, and how their making endures and is shaped by the unexpected turns of life. Chat with them about building successful pottery sales, career triumphs and failures, and the importance of the clay community as they together navigate a new way of making.
HELP NCC ACHIEVE FUNDRAISING GOALS Fundraiser The American Pottery Festival is NCC’s most impactful annual fundraiser. Money raised during these few important days goes to support the advancement of the ceramic arts through our education, exhibitions, outreach, and artist services programming. There are many ways you can engage in our fundraising efforts throughout our APF weekend: • Purchase an all-access event package and enjoy everything APF has to offer. Available in three levels of patronage: Luster at $500, Porcelain at $250, and Celadon at $125. • Purchase a piece of donated work. Every year, each of our generous APF artists donates one hand-selected piece to our fundraiser, so 100% of the selling price funds programming. (Thank you, kind artists!) • Attend our on-site gallery (prices vary, depending on the day) with a few of your fellow clay fans. • Become an NCC member and enjoy the benefits that come with supporting your favorite local ceramic organization. • Round up your ticket price throughout the week for an added contribution.
Northern Clay Center
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EXHIBITIONS
Left to right: 2019 APF artist Liz Pechacek discussing her work with a collector. 2019 APF artist Linda Christianson giving some one-to-one instruction to a Pre-Festival workshop attendee. 2019 APF artists Joanna Powell and Mike Cinelli enjoying some laughs during our sure-to-be-missed-in-2020 volunteer get together.
• Be inspired by the exhibition and artist lectures, and then buy your new favorite pot (or several) online to ship as a gift to introduce someone new to clay. • Support NCC’s fundraising efforts with a larger gift, and double it with your company’s matching contributions. $2000 can accomplish the following: support a studio fellowship for one emerging artist for an entire year; fund a ClayToGo virtual residency for 100 school children; or create up to 10 lecture or workshop opportunities for artists visiting from around the world. NCC Membership Purchase or renew your NCC membership before APF to take advantage of special workshop pricing and access to the onsite event ticket pre-sale. Members are invited to be the first to purchase tickets to see the American Pottery Festival exhibition in person and purchase pots. NCC members are included in a rare community of artists and supporters working to advance the ceramic arts. In addition to supporting a unique, medium-specific organization and its programming, your membership will provide you with discounts to classes, workshops, and pottery by sales gallery artists year-round. You may purchase your membership online, in the gallery, or by telephone. Ceramic Purchases Here are a few tips to help with purchase choices for the festival week whether you engage from the comfort of your home or purchase a ticket to visit the gallery: • Shop online for hundreds of pieces by this year’s APF artists as well as the artists represented full-time in the sales gallery. This year, because the event is nearly entirely online, the online selection is more robust than ever before.
• We offer a personal shopping service for those of you who choose not to attend the festival in person, but would still like to see all of the artwork whether available only in the galleries, or listed online. Please register as soon as possible so we are able to send images and to work with you to choose your favorite pieces. Sales of APF work open on Wednesday, September 2, at 9 am CT with a Wednesday ticket purchase of $35. It’s advisable to partner with our staff in the days leading up to the event so we can set aside exactly what you’d like as soon as the exhibition opens. Sales on subsequent days do not require the purchase of a gallery ticket. We are also happy to assist you in the purchase of work by our year-round gallery artists and exhibition artists. Please submit our online form or send a request for a personal shopper to salesgallery@northernclaycenter.org. • Shop in person in the gallery by purchasing a ticket for your preferred appointment time. A limited number of tickets will be available for each appointment time frame, and members will have access to the ticket presale in mid-August. There is no limit on purchases, and, as in years past, we will assist you by storing pieces near the register. The gallery will be designed to ensure social distancing, and masks and gloves are required while inside NCC. This in-person opportunity is subject to change to protect everyone’s safety and NCC’s compliance with all government requirements and sciencebased protocols. • Shipping to the US and Canada is available for all purchases. Arrange for US shipping online during checkout, or simply let us offer personal service by contacting us via phone at 612.339.8007, email, or during your shopping appointment in the gallery.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
VOTE! September 19 – November 3 Main Gallery Curator: David East
As we approach the national election of 2020, there is no more pressing work than the work of civic engagement. VOTE!, a word that is a directive, an action, and an object, seeks to throw open the doors of Northern Clay Center and to rethink the role that a gallery traditionally serves. This exhibition will showcase artists who engage with questions of politics, citizenry, and activism through multiple lenses. We will also serve as a real and physical site for local organizations to host voter registration drives, voter information meetings, and (now virtual) town halls. This exhibition will unite the engaged act of looking with that of our public life, and will stretch the boundaries of the gallery with posters, buttons, and voters in motion. Part gallery, part voter registration and information center, this exhibition will not just explore but will also actualize the role of art and crafts in empowering participants in democracy. Guest artists include Ann Agee, Amber Ginsburg, Kris Grey, and Ryan W. Kelly. Ann Agee In Art and America, Lilly Wei frames Agee’s work by saying, “Toying with once-ingrained notions of ceramics as a minor art, Agee’s porcelain creations are mischievous, wonderfully misbegotten offspring of sculpture, painting, objets d’art and kitschy souvenirs, throwing in some economic, sociopolitical and gender commentary for good measure.” Agee’s work addresses and inhabits multiple media, riffs on Delftware, domestic interiors, and feminism with elegance, style, and humor. Agee’s work is widely exhibited, with recent exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum of Art; Locks Gallery, Philadelphia; Lux Art,
California; and PPOW, New York. She has won numerous awards for her works including a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Her work is featured in prestigious museum collections nationally. Amber Ginsburg Amber Ginsburg creates site-generated projects that insert historical scenarios into present-day situations and engages present-day histories to imagine alternative futures. Her background in craft orients her projects towards the continuities and ruptures in material, social, and utopic histories. While always interested in history, more recently Ginsburg is drawn to imagined futures. Looking to feminist strategies, including collective action and equity politics, she works with long-term and ongoing collaborators to engage multiple communities, creating large-scale sculptural forms that allow audiences a role in thinking through the work. Following specific material lineages—be it a tree species, porcelain, or wool—she maps our varied and porous relationships. Working in concert with objects, she is interested in how materials can extend and reframe our thinking to include the politics of complexity. Ginsburg teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago and shows extensively locally, nationally, and internationally. Kris Grey Kris Grey is a New York City-based gender-queer artist whose cultural work includes curatorial projects, performance, writing, and studio
Ann Agee.
production. Grey earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and an MFA from Ohio University, Athens. They perform, teach, and exhibit work internationally. Grey was a Fire Island Artist Residency recipient; a resident artist for the ANTI Festival for Contemporary Art in Kupoio, Finland; and a teaching artist at The International Centre for Training in the Performing Arts in Brussels, Belgium. In addition to their individual practice, Grey collaborates with Maya Ciarrocchi under the moniker Gender/Power. Gender/ Power has been awarded a Baryshnikov Art Center residency, a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council residency, a Franklin Furnace grant, and a MAP Fund Grant. Recent curatorial projects include Queer Objectivity at the University of Maryland, MIX NYC Experimental Film and Performance Festival, and the Queer Culture Performance and Lecture Series at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Amber Ginsburg.
Kris Grey.
Grey's writing has been published in print and on the web for Huffington Post and Original Plumbing. Their latest writing, “Trans*feminism: fragmenting and re-reading the history of art through a trans* perspective,” written in collaboration with Jennie Klein, was published in Otherwise: Imagining Queer Feminist Art Histories. Ryan W. Kelly Ryan W. Kelly holds a BFA in Ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from The Ohio State University. His work ranges from performance and video, to object-based installations. He draws inspiration from American mythology, historical inaccuracies, and the curious storytelling that finds its way into our material culture and decorative arts. He celebrates the myopic strangeness often preserved in our souvenirs, monuments and commemorations. Kelly was hired in fall 2016 by Western Washington University,
Bellingham to head their ceramics program. Previously he was a visiting professor at The Ohio State University in Ceramics and Foundations. Prior to that he lived and worked in Philadelphia, where he was a resident artist at The Clay Studio, a recipient of an Independence Foundation Fellowship, and a co-curator at Practice Gallery. His collaborations in dance and theater include credits in the Green Porno series by Isabella Rossellini.
surrounding art in our changing environment and the role of civic engagement. The aim of the panel is to further explore the context in which these works operate, within the artist’s life, within the exhibition, and how they work together. Participating in this discussion will be exhibition artists Amber Ginsburg, Kris Grey, Ann Agee, and Ryan W. Kelly. The panel will take your questions to create the opportunity for dialogue and exchange. X12: Thursday, October 8, 6 pm CT
Related Activities: These events are free and open to the public.
Gender/Power Workshop with Maya Ciarrocchi & Kris Grey Spots are limited, and participants will be chosen on a first come, first served basis.
Amber Ginsburg — In Favor of a Future: a workshop on the Declaration of Sentiments 1848 - 2020 Hosting this presentation remotely, artist and educator Amber Ginsburg will lead a workshop surrounding themes of sentiment and voting politics from the successes and failures of Seneca Falls to our current Zoom rooms. X11: Thursday, September 24, 6 pm CT Citizenry & Art in Today’s Society Panel Discussion Join us remotely to observe a panel discussion moderated by VOTE! curator David East as he raises questions
Exploring the myriad ways that authority reinforces gender injustice, this twoday interactive and conversation-based workshop will meet remotely with artists Maya Ciarrocchi and Kris Grey. Drawing from shared stories centered around experiences of privilege or discrimination based on people’s perceptions of our bodies, the experiential workshop will map recurring themes to translate into gestures and a composition of movement. X15: Thursday and Friday, October 29 & 30, 5:30 – 8:30 pm CT
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Scale September 19 – November 3 Emily Galusha Gallery
Ryan W. Kelly..
Voter Registration NCC partners with the Minneapolis League of Women Voters to host several voter registration events throughout the fall, both at NCC and throughout the community. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in all levels of government. LWV has a 100-year history of striving to make democracy work for all citizens. Its roots are in the suffragist movement, but it quickly moved toward taking on the issues of the day—always in a non-partisan framework supported by volunteers. Located outside of NCC, stop by to speak with the Minneapolis League of Women Voters on: • Saturday, September 19, 10 am – 6pm • Sunday, September 20, 12 – 4 pm • Friday, October 9, 4 – 8 pm • Saturday, October 10, 12 – 4 pm • Tuesday, October 13, 10 am – 6 pm
Nuokan Huang.
As if to embody the year 2020 as we now understand it, Scale is an evolving theme in evolving times. Prior to the murder of George Floyd in May, and the related civil unrest and protests, the exhibition, Scale, was pursued as an exploration of literal, relative, and metaphorical concepts. Because our home, Minneapolis, is at the epicenter of what is now a global mobilization, Scale also now necessarily relates to identity politics. To quote Nuokan Huang, one of the artists featured in the exhibition, "We decide all objects to be big or small when compared to the amount of space we take up as humans. We've adopted ourselves as the standard for measurements.” A subtler (or maybe not so subtle) aspect of “scale" for this exhibition explores its connection with prevailing conversations as well as with VOTE!, the concurrent exhibition. There we will showcase artists who engage with questions of politics, citizenry, and activism through multiple
lenses and will also serve as a physical and virtual site for local organizations to host voter registration drives, voter information meetings, and town halls. Scale will underscore the nature of equality and justice for artists and the work they create. The exhibition will engage the viewer with questions about the inequality of engaging with work. Did the viewer make assumptions about the work based on the gender identity of the artist? The culture? The name recognition? Mere placement in the space? Is it “just” to offer accolades to a known artist who might possibly be highly reputable due to benefits reaped from a history of institutionalized prejudices? Are the scales balanced for all who create? Like VOTE!, Scale will be a positive exploration that puts ceramic art at the forefront in an environment of genuine proactive and educational conversation. Guest artists include Arthur Gonzales, Nuokan Huang, Victoria Jang, and Daniel Velasquez. Related Activity: Daniel Velasquez Virtual Workshop Daniel Velasquez is a muralist, designer, environmentalist, humanitarian, and potter who uses art as a dialogue with inhabitants in an environment to foster a sense of community within a public space. Velasquez will discuss how he developed a style and voice to express himself in a unique way on pottery and will demonstrate his methods for storytelling on a surface. X13: Thursday, October 15, 6 – 8pm CT
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
MN NICE Graduates November 15 – December 27 Emily Galusha Gallery Opening Reception: Sunday, November 15, 12 – 4 pm In conjunction with the Holiday Open House
Paola Evangelista.
MN NICE Graduates features the work of seven emerging ceramic artists from the sixth graduating class of the Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education (MN NICE) program. Participating artists include: Liane Bromer, Paola Evangelista, Billy Hicks, Rylie Lawrence, Joy Newmann, Chris Salas, and Brenton Titcomb. Over the 2019 - 2020 cohort year, these individuals have taken a focused journey to define and refine their voice in clay. Through persistent making, critical analysis, investigations into ceramic history and chemistry, and the guidance of mentors and support of peers, their evolved work has taken shape and stands with presence. Collectively, the work exemplifies their determination and risk-taking as well as their passion for materials and processes. This graduate exhibition celebrates their accomplishments as they step into the next stage of their artistic journey, ready to strengthen and shape the future of contemporary ceramics.
Billy Hicks.
Brenton Titcomb.
MN NICE is an advanced certificate program that provides rigorous, personalized instruction for artists who are serious about taking the next step in their ceramic education. The program is designed to respond to the changing needs of emerging makers and to give non-traditional students high-level training in ceramic materials, history and theory, and professional practice. Through instruction and individual mentorship, artists build the skills, knowledge, and insight necessary to create a personal and cohesive body of work.
and studio visits with established ceramic artists. Under the leadership, guidance, and keen instruction of program head Ursula Hargens, MN NICE strives to prepare artists both artistically and professionally, whether they are seeking gallery representation, applying for graduate school, or selling work to the public.
MN NICE extends beyond the classroom to take advantage of the rich ceramic resources throughout the Twin Cities: including artist lectures, gallery tours,
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Northern Clay Center
EVENTS
Art Educators Weekend October 15 – 17
Holiday Open House Save the Date! Sunday, November 15, 12 – 4 pm Member Preview Hour, 11 am – 12 pm FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Guillermo Guardia demonstrates his building methods for art educators, October 2019.
Teaching artist Liz Pechacek works with art educators on layered surface design, October 2019.
Shoppers enjoying Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy's work at the 2019 Holiday Open House.
Mark your calendars for October 15 – 17, as Northern Clay Center presents another exciting round of workshops for art educators! Designed to provide you with additional ceramic-centric classroom resources to jump-start and inspire your own studio practice, NCC’s workshop topics will include exploring surface design, leading critical discussions, teaching from a distance, and more.
As usual, we’ll build in plenty of time for hands-on activities and sharing ideas with your peers. You won’t want to miss this chance to learn from notable artists and experts in the field of ceramics. Social distancing may necessitate us to learn at a distance and through digital platforms for these workshops.
Please join us for our annual Holiday Open House. Help us launch the winter holiday season with socially-distanced shopping in our galleries. Hands-on clay activities and artist demonstrations will both inspire you and capture your attention. We invite you to sign up for a visit online to ensure we maintain attendance throughout the event at a level that facilitates proper social distancing. NCC Members are invited to attend a private viewing from 11 am – 12 pm. Please visit our website for updates.
Northern Clay Center
SALES GALLERY
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Featured Sales Gallery Artists
September/October Featured Artists: Cuellar, Denecke, Norman, Williams On view: September 15 – October 11* What will this fall bring to us? This month’s featured artists guarantee it will bring the tradition in Guillermo Cuellar’s pots; Leila Denecke’s discipline in graceful, strong lines; Mike Norman’s ceramic poetry in form and prose; and the direct and quiet thoughtfulness of Betsy Williams’s Santa Fe-borne work.
Left to right: Guillermo Cuellar, Leila Denecke, Mike Norman, Betsy Williams.
October/November Featured Artists: Pafford, Repsher, Schmidt, Webb On view: October 13 – November 8* Material, voice, color, activism, texture, and mastery of all of the above are on offer this month. Brent Pafford’s delight in the exploration of material captivates and happily forces conversation about object. The rhythmic surfaces, patterns, and colors of Matt Repsher’s work is hypnotic and satisfying in a more hushed fashion. Tricia Schmidt submits charming characters with covert messages of revolt, and Kurt Brian Webb conveys modern unrest and contemporary story, and both of them work fluidly between 3D modeling and 2D illustration to do so.
Left to right: Brent Pafford, Matt Repsher, Tricia Schmidt, Kurt Brian Webb. *This year, the online Featured Artist exhibitions are more robust to represent the artists as comprehensively as possible in light of brick-and-mortar gallery closures. We will update our website if the gallery at NCC is not open to the public due to mandated health protocols in the interest of everyone’s safety.
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Announcing the 2020 Emerging Artist Fellowship Awardees
Jacob Meer.
Gabrielle Gawreluk.
Northern Clay Center is proud to announce the 2020 recipients of its Emerging Artist Residencies, Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award, and the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award. Each year, numerous courageous souls step up and apply for NCC’s Emerging Artist Awards, in hopes of capitalizing on the momentum they have gained in school, apprenticeships, or in community classes. Every one of them is hoping to level up, challenge themselves, forge their way in this world as an artist. Northern Clay Center remains proud to offer these Emerging Artist Awards. The life of NCC’s programming is always enriched, in return, by the annual contributions of new, creative energy entering our community. The 2020 spring award recipients from three of our grant programs include artists from the full
spectrum of contemporary ceramic arts. NCC continues to support artists at all stages of their careers. Northern Clay Center’s Emerging Artist Residency programs, the Fogelberg Studio Fellowship, and the Anonymous Artist Studio Fellowship are designed to provide emerging ceramic artists an opportunity to be in residence for one year at NCC. Between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021 the residents will have the opportunity to develop their work while exchanging ideas and knowledge with a dynamic network of ceramic artists. Among national clay art centers, NCC offers an urban experience within a diverse and supportive community. Emerging Artist Residencies Anonymous Artist Studio Fellowships Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Gawreluk creates
functional and sculptural ceramics aiming to invoke sense memories of favorite foods and meals shared. Earning her BFA in 2017 at the University of WisconsinStout, Gawreluk has been developing her practice steadily with Post-Baccalaureates at Montana State University (2019) and Colorado State University (2020); and as a short-term summer resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT. She plans to use her time at NCC to create a new body of work based on underappreciated kitchen tools and to instigate collaborations with a local chefs and food stylists. Jacob Meer will use his residency to transition his work to low-fire soda firing and develop a new body of work. Meer has just finished a residency at the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg, FL. He has also been an apprentice to Simon Levin at Mill Creek Pottery in Gresham, WI, and holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Meer’s work is inspired by objects found in his grandparents’ home and the stories held
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Clarice Allgood.
within them. He works to create utilitarian work that showcases a story and the history of its making. Fogelberg Studio Fellowship Clarice Allgood is a 2019 graduate of NCC’s Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education (MN NICE) program and has been a resident at Mark Shapiro’s Stonepool Pottery in Westhampton, MA. Her practice is informed by many disciplines. A pragmatic childhood and a formal education in philosophy underwrite her focus on the practical and ethical tools of everyday life. Allgood intends to use her residency to improve forms in her current repertoire including yarn bowls, watering pots, and bookends, while researching new forms for the current COVID-19 era. Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award The Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award (WMAA) provides an opportunity
Ashton Keen.
for students and emerging artists to continue their ceramic research and education for a period of up to a year to further expand their professional development. During the grant year, recipients are provided with fiscal support to 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 other media, and travel. The 2020 recipient of the WMAA is Ashton Keen. Ashton Keen will use her WMAA to support her residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Koka, Japan where she will study traditional tea ceremony vessels and wood-firing techniques. Keen is a 2020 BFA graduate of the University of Mississippi, 2019 work study student at Arrowmont, and was
awarded the 2nd Place Undergraduate Award for Excellence at NCECA 2019. Red Wing Award This award is made possible by the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation, and is presented by Northern Clay Center to a deserving individual pursuing a career in pottery, or studying or researching the historical aspects of the pottery industry. The Foundation endeavors to broaden appreciation of pottery, past and present, for the general public and maintains the Red Wing Pottery Museum in Red Wing, Minnesota. This is the twelfth year in which the Clay Center has awarded the grant. Emily Price creates highly-decorated porcelain pieces, often with intricately detailed illustrations of fish, memento mori, and flowers. Her work has been exhibited around the country including in the 2019 Plate & Platter National at
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Emily Price.
Carbondale Community Arts, Carbondale, IL. Price has also published an article on her decorating in Pottery Making Illustrated. The 2020 emerging artist grant panel reflected a growing imperative to encompass divergent voice, experience, and approach to the material, as well as concepts relating to contemporary ceramic arts. Jurors thoughtfully weighed the goals and objectives of the respective programs and kept an eye toward supporting growth for the field at large. The 2020 emerging artist panel was composed of: • Hyang Jin Cho, NCC’s Spring 2020 McKnight Resident Artist, is a ceramic sculptor, researcher, and author. Having developed her work and artistic voice at various academic and residency venues, Cho has exhibited work, completed residencies and projects, and
CALENDAR
published in Korea, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. • Michael Hunt built his studio and practice as a functional potter after immersing himself in residency, travel research, and an apprenticeship program with Onggi potter Oh Huang Jong. Hunt has taught numerous workshops at institutions like Penland School of Craft and exhibited his work in a multitude of exhibitions across the United States. • Ron Philbeck, is a functional potter who has served as both instructor and demonstrating artist at numerous colleges, universities, and institutions. Drawing influence from the Leach/Hamada lineage of potters, he has been an active maker for over twenty years. Congratulations to all of our award recipients! Please watch our website and our Winter 2021 newsletter for future deadlines for these grant programs and others. If you would like to have a presentation on our grant programs at your school or institution, please reach out to Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp at kylerudyk@ northernclaycenter.org And a special thank you to all of the 2020 applicants—your interest in the grant programs and your applications help keep our arts economy strong by demonstrating the great talent, need, and diverse work that is present—from Minnesota and beyond. Additional information, including application instructions for the 2021 awards, is available on our website.
AUGUST 4 August Featured Artists opens 18 Fall class registration opens, 10 am 30 August Featured Artists closes SEPTEMBER 7 NCC Closed for Labor Day 2 – 6 American Pottery Festival (APF) 15 September/October Featured Artists opens 19 VOTE! & Scale on view 24 Amber Ginsburg workshop, 6 pm OCTOBER 8 VOTE! Panel Discussion, 6 pm 11 September/October Featured Artists closes 13 October/November Featured Artists opens 15 Daniel Velasquez Virtual Workshop, 6 - 8 pm 15 – 17 Art Educators Weekend 20 McKnight Artist Resident talk: Pattie Chalmers, 6 pm 29 - 30 Gender/Power Workshop, 5:30 - 8:30 pm NOVEMBER 3 VOTE! & Scale close 8 October/November Featured Artists closes 15 Holiday Open House, 12 – 4 pm Member Preview Hour, 11 am – 12 pm MN NICE Graduates opens, 12 – 4 pm 26 NCC closed for Thanksgiving holiday
VOTER REGISTRATION EVENTS: See page 10 for details. Saturday, September 19, 10 am – 6 pm Sunday, September 20, 12 – 4 pm Friday, October 9, 4 – 8 pm Saturday, October 10, 12 – 4 pm Tuesday, October 13, 10 am – 6 pm
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McKnight Artist Resident: Pattie Chalmers
fabrications depicting a shrinking of the distance between fact and fiction, her works visualize accounts from varying experiences that are amalgamated to reflect the flux of how things are remembered. She notes, “I am inherently an explainer and a storyteller and through my work attempt to map my experiences—a collage of influences combined with historical and fanciful elements revealing my observations about identity, ideologies, and what I learn about others and myself.”
Pattie Chalmers.
Pattie Chalmers will be joining us in the studios at Northern Clay Center from Carbondale, IL where she currently lives and works. Well known for creating narrative-based functional pottery, figurative sculpture, and installations, Chalmers looks forward to using her time in residence to further explore the nature of objectness and the aura of association by redeveloping themes and explorations to create an altogether new project. Chalmers received her BFA in printmaking from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, CA in 1993 and her MFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in 2001. Transitioning from the role of
student to teacher, she began work as an instructor shortly after completing her MFA. Having taught at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Ohio University in Athens, she has been an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL since 2006. In addition to these sustained posts, Chalmers has led myriad lectures and workshops at art centers, universities, and institutions spanning the United States and in both Canada and Hungary. Utilizing a variety of approaches during the making process, Chalmers works to create tableaux as an expression of a two-dimensional narrative space made three-dimensional. With
Over the past ten years, Chalmers has shown work in group exhibitions on five continents, in six countries, and in thirty-two states—totaling over ninety exhibitions. Since 2004, her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at venues including the Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO, Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, MT, Hunter Project Room at Hunter College in New York, NY, and Trisolini Gallery in Athens, GA. Chalmers has work in the collections of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo, TX, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA, and Kamm Teapot Foundation in Statesville, NC. Join us remotely on Tuesday, October 20, at 6 pm CT, for a presentation focusing on Chalmers’ history as an artist and goals as a maker.
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Amidst a time of sustained uncertainties, we remain hopeful that we will be able to open our doors for the full extent of our fall programming, but understand that our plans may continue to evolve as updates and recommendations are made available. Our class sizes may continue to be limited and appropriate safety initiatives will remain in place. We will continue to offer Clay-Along online classes if you are unable to join us in person. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.
Check out page 24 for more information about our ART@HAND programs. @ Classes marked in this section with a are designed for and easily accessible to older adults.
As we approach shorter days and cooling nights, we embrace the desire to fall back into a routine. NCC is thrilled to welcome you back to your clay habits and to offer you the space and resources to deepen or begin your journey with clay. Whether you take the path of handbuilding, wheel-throwing, sculpting, or bridge between multiple avenues, our comprehensive class roster has something for you.
Virtual classes will meet online once a week for five or ten weeks, for an hour and a half each week with an NCC Teaching Artist who will guide you through quality at-home digital learning. We are also pleased to offer self-guided clay kits with lesson plans for home for an independent clay experience. Both offerings have the option to include lowfire clay and a set of engobes (colored slips), firings at NCC, and a guide to setting up a space for clay in your home.
NCC offers open studio time allowing you the space to digest demonstrations and practice your craft independently. Adult students generally have access to our studios from 9 am to 9 pm four days a week, from 4:30 to 9:30 on Mondays when space is available, and from 9 am until midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays (subject to other NCC events and programming). Our open studio schedule may be adjusted due to public health concerns and NCC may choose to limit the number of people allowed in the studios through a sign-up process to allow plenty of distanced work space for all. Browse our open studio schedule online to check the most up-to-date listing of available studios. Our six-week introductory classes are perfect for first-time students. We’re proud to present a diverse cast of expert teaching artists to help guide your experience.
CLAY-ALONG ONLINE Feeling isolation frustration? Stir up your creativity and Clay-Along with NCC through classes and kits designed to fulfill your clay longings at a social distance.
No clay-specific tools? No problem! All classes and lessons can be accomplished with everyday utensils and objects. You can also select an optional materials kit that includes a guide to setting up an at-home clay space, 25 lbs of low-fire clay (choice of low-fire red: a smooth terracotta body; or Raku: a grittier, offwhite body), a set of engobes (colored slips) and firings at NCC. If you have everything you need already, just select the content-only version. We can’t wait for you to Clay-Along with us! Statement Stacks Pinch, paddle, and carve your way to new heights in this specialty tenweek online course. Design purposeful pieces to be stacked together to create sculptural ceramic towers for outdoor decoration. Use balloons, paddles, and pinch pots to create enclosed forms;
cut and carve solid forms; and take a designer’s approach as you consider detail, form, and color to create life-size ceramic compositions. Fifty pounds of clay are included when you select the materials kit option. Recommended for advanced-beginner levels and beyond. V1: Tuesdays, 10 – 11:30 am Instructor: Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy September 15 - November 17 Member Fee: $180* ($190 non-members) *This course recommends the purchase of additional materials for totem assembly. A supply list will be provided, with the extra hardware pieces to build one tower costing around $15. Ceramic Art History Increase your love and understanding of ceramics in this comprehensive online discussion course. Following the class schedule, students will independently watch/listen to weekly Ceramic Art History lectures on NCC's YouTube channel, as well as complete suggested readings. Class will then meet online to discuss that week's videos and reading materials. With experience teaching literature and art history classes, in addition to studio arts, instructor Elizabeth Coleman will guide each week's exploration of a different era of historical ceramics. This intriguing class format will serve ceramic artists and enthusiasts who want to infuse their artwork and/or collections with a new appreciation of world ceramic history. Students should obtain these four books before the start of class: Ceramics by Philip Rawson, Ten Thousand Years of Pottery by Emmanuel Cooper, Clay by Suzanne Staubach; and The Arcanum by Janet Gleeson. There is no materials component for this course. V2: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman September 15 - November 17 Member Fee: $100 ($110 non-members)
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will be guided and supported to make technically and visually complex forms— such as candelabras and lidded boxes— that challenge skill, develop construction control, and evolve a sense of form. Twenty-five pounds of clay are included when you select the materials kit option. This class is suited best to those who have had a fair amount of handbuilding experience or an intermediate knowledge of building methods. V5: Thursdays, 6 – 7:30 pm Instructor: Chris Salas September 17 - October 15 Member Fee: $90 ($95 non-members)
Students showing off their work in Chris Salas's Clay-Along class.
Printmaking for Clay Are you intrigued by rich layers of texture and design, and craving more depth on your own clay surfaces? Ignite a surface revolution for your work as you explore multiple methods of transferring engobe imagery to soft and leatherhard artworks. For four weeks, Chloe Rizzo will guide you through the basics of screenprinting via easily accessible/pre-made/commercially available silkscreens, monoprinting techniques, and transfer processes. Prior screen printing or drawing experience is not required, but an introductory understanding of ceramics will be beneficial to participants. Students are encouraged to create several pieces of utilitarian or sculptural artwork outside of class time to experiment with the processes, but there will be time to create several tiles or simple pieces within the meeting time. Students should be prepared to additionally purchase at least one designer ceramic silkscreen, or a custom silk screen.
but willing to see what the handbuilding world can offer you? You can have it both ways! This class will offer intriguing options for both those who want to explore handbuilding, and those who want ideas and skills for altering and augmenting wheel-thrown work. This class will cover the three basic handbuilding techniques—pinching, coiling, and slab-building. Then, take it a step further by stretching and reshaping, adding and subtracting clay, trimming, and maybe breaking a few rules. Dabble with new decorating techniques to make the most of your set of engobes. Twenty-five pounds of clay are included when you select the materials kit option. This class is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond.
V3: Wednesdays 6 - 7:30 pm Instructor: Chloe Rizzo September 23 - October 14 Member Fee: $80 ($85 non-members)
Handbuilding Complex Forms Ready to take your handbuilding to the next level? This course will have an emphasis on building with coils and pinching, along with new, specialized techniques including lids and galleries, carving and cutting, attaching parts, and working with slump molds. Students
You Can Have it Both Ways Are you a committed wheel-thrower just waiting to whirl some more pots
V4: Thursdays, 1 – 2:30 pm Instructor: Claire O’Connor September 17 - October 15 Member Fee: $90 ($95 non-members)
Gettin’ Loose Loosen up your approach to handbuilding with our champion of casual pots, Amanda Dobbratz, as you create specialized drinking vessels for your favorite cocktails and beverages. Amanda will share her handbuilding and decorating techniques while crafting cups for martinis, margs, old fashioneds, and more. Fine tune your understanding of form serving function as you create vessels to fit your favorite drinks. Bring your most delicious drink recipes to share with the class. Cheers! This class is designed for those with some previous handbuilding experience. V6: Fridays, 1 – 4 pm Instructor: Amanda Dobbratz September 18 – October 23 Member Fee: $90 ($95 non-members) Utilitarian Handbuilding This beginning handbuilding course will introduce students to a variety of handbuilding methods such as pinching, coil building, slab building, and reductive/additive building (kurinuki). Students will gain confidence in creating utilitarian pots such as bowls, cups, mugs, and plates using basic handbuilding techniques. Each class will focus on a different building technique with the final class focusing
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on combining techniques. During each class, a cup and a bowl will be demonstrated. This class is suited to introductory levels and beyond; no previous experience necessary. V7: Fridays, 6 – 7:30 pm Instructor: Chris Salas September 18 - October 16 Member Fee: $90 ($95 non-members) Clay-Along Workshops Feeling isolation frustration? Grab a house-mate or neighbor and enjoy a creative clay-filled evening from the convenience of home. Pick up a materials kit from NCC including a couple pounds of low-fire clay and slips for decorating, then tune in for live virtual instruction to Clay-Along with an NCC Instructor as they guide you through a handbuilt clay project. This workshop is a great place to start if you're interested in or just getting started with clay, or gives you a chance to test your skills and get creative in a new setting. Once you've completed making, drop off your work at NCC for firings and a coat of clear glaze. Instructions for pick up and joining the live workshop will be sent to you upon registration. V8: Friday, September 18, 6:30 – 8:30 pm V9: Friday, October 9, 6:30 – 8:30 pm V10: Saturday, November 7, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $30 per person, per session
INTRODUCTORY Want to learn the basics of making clay art? Get hands-on during six weeks of instruction and practice in these introductory classes that focus on the basics of building and glazing techniques. These classes will have fewer students, ensuring plenty of student-to-teacher contact time, and they are shorter, making them ideal if
you have little or no experience with clay and want to test your interest. We recommend that you take this class two or more times (within one quarter, or over consecutive quarters) to build your skills and prepare for Wheel 201 classes. 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 bag of clay (25 pounds), all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access. @
Land of Round Pots — Wheel 101 I1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jacob Meer September 14 – October 19 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jacob Meer October 26 – November 30 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I3: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Priya Thoresen September 15 – October 20 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I4: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Priya Thoresen October 27 – December 1 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I5: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30pm Instructor: Zach Van Dorn September 18 – October 23 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I6: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Zach Van Dorn October 30 – December 4 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee @
The Three Graces of Handbuilding Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce
Some nicely textured pots dry on a potter's wheel.
the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine. I9: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Brett Freund September 14 – October 19 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee I10: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Brett Freund October 26 – November 30 Member Fee: $185 ($195 non-members) + $20 lab fee Also check out our series of one-day project workshops listed on pages 23 - 24—ideal for makers with little or no previous experience
WHEEL We recommend that students begin their study at NCC with an introductory experience in clay, such as our Project Workshops or six-week classes (above). Beginner Throwing 201 will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay to prepare you for Wheel 301 and advanced special topics classes. Our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class, via phone or email: 612.339.8007 x314 or samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org.
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Beginner Throwing—Wheel 201 Discover the secrets of making great pots on the potter’s wheel and build on your foundations. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing such forms as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments such as glazing, staining, and slipping and be introduced to firing procedures. Dress for mess, bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of pottery tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. These classes are designed for those with some previous clay experience. W1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Erin Holt September 14 – November 30 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee W2: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jennica Kruse September 16 – December 2 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee W3: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi September 19 – December 5 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee Intermediate Throwing—Wheel 301 Take your skills to the next level as you learn additional techniques for throwing more complicated forms. Each section has a specific focus, but leaves room for personal interests and development. Each course will also include more information about surface decoration, firing procedures, and the differences between low- and high-temperature clay bodies and glazes. Designed for those who have taken several Wheel 201 classes or equivalent. W4: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: David Swenson—Focus on Consistency September 15 – December 1 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee
W5: Wednesdays, 1 – 4 pm Instructor: Leila Denecke—Focus on Developing Form & Surface Treatment September 16 – December 2 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee
H1: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman September 17 – December 3 Member Fee: $340 ($360 non-members) + $40 lab fee (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
W6: Thursdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Lisa Himmelstrup—Focus on Surface Texture September 17 – December 3 Member Fee: $340 ($360 non-members) + $40 lab fee (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
Guided Study in Handbuilding Expand your handbuilding fundamentals by exploring figural, architectural, animal, decorative, and other nonfunctional applications of clay. Students are encouraged to bring projects and ideas to work on with low- or hightemperature clays, with guidance from the instructor. Learn to think like clay as you anticipate technical challenges and plan to achieve your sculptural vision; investigate critical thinking as it pertains to the evolution of your work. Intermediate to advanced level.
HANDBUILDING Switch up your rhythm this fall and take a break from the land of round pots to see how a trip to Studio C to delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine an already familiar material. Embrace the philosophy of s-l-o-w and develop a new physical memory with an alternative language of touch. What might an expansion of technique and deliberate process offer your work as you return to the wheel? Beyond Grace If you’ve taken The Three Graces of Handbuilding a few times and are ready to move on, Beyond Grace is the class for you. Demonstrations will focus on tile-making, working with leatherhard slabs, and using and creating sprig, drape, and press molds out of clay or plaster. Other topics covered at student request include: scaling up your vessels or sculptures; using the extruder; internal and external armatures; slip and glaze application techniques; and alternative firing methods such as sawdust and barrel firing. Students should be competent in basic handbuilding methods such as coiling, pinching, and building with soft slabs. Students may bring their own project ideas and receive guidance, or may choose from a variety of intermediate project-prompts, provided by the instructor. Intermediate to advanced level.
H2: Fridays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Franny Hyde September 18 – December 4 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee Refined Handbuilding with a Touch of Glaze Chemistry New seasons call for new lessons and discoveries. Embark on a unique journey of exploring new forms and refining techniques in the graceful art of handbuilding as well as trying a taste of something you’ve always been curious about—glaze chemistry! This class will balance the study and practice of new forms with independent project time and offer a short introduction to the science behind glazes. Students will have a chance to work in the materials room, under guidance of the instructor, to create some new glaze colors using oxides. Designed for students with some previous handbuilding experience, but beginners will be nurtured. H3: Tuesdays, 1 – 4 pm Instructor: Marion Angelica September 15 – December 1 Member Fee: $370 ($390 non-members) + $40 lab fee
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SPECIAL TOPICS Atmospheric Explorations Delve into eight weeks of making with an emphasis on form, design, and materials suited best for an atmospheric kiln. Participants will explore form and surface treatments to further develop their work and take better advantage of varied surfaces that the kiln provides. Through explorations applicable to both soda- and reduction-firings, students will take part in the loading and firing of two soda kilns and group critiques to better understand the fired results. This class is designed for makers of intermediate to advanced levels of construction with interest in exploring and learning about alternative atmospheric firing techniques. Tentative firing schedule: Kiln loadings: November 3 & December 1 Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class. Studio meetings all other weeks. T1: Tuesdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Joel Edinger-Willson October 13 – December 1 Member Fee: $275 ($290 non-members) + $60 lab fee Cooking Up Function Expand your vocabulary and your imagination around the idea of domestic utility, tackling some new forms you can use in your kitchen or gift to another foodie. We will explore mixing and batter bowls, garlic boxes, salt cellars, utensil organizers, creamer/sugar sets, condiment dishes, ramekins, ewers, casseroles, and ladles. What else can you think of? Let’s make it! Build on the basics and stretch your wheel skills in practical ways. Further develop your critical eye, refining forms and editing your production through group discussions.
T3: Thursdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Lucy Yogerst September 17 – December 3 Member Fee: $340 ($360 non-members) + $40 lab fee (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.) Soda-Firing Methods Meet in the studio with Jenny Weber to discuss soda techniques and requisite materials during seven class sessions, with three private open studio times for your class to implement and develop these ideas. Load and fire FOUR KILNS on three firing dates and critically examine the results of each firing. Successive firings ensure that each student has the opportunity to understand the nature of atmospheric firing and, in turn, capitalize on the process by the end of the quarter. Explore apt forming and decorating techniques to take advantage of the soda kiln’s distinct “kiss of fire.” Students will each participate in all kiln loadings, and in at least one unloading and one firing. Throwers and handbuilders are welcome in this class; designed to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students who have yet to witness the wonder of atmospheric firing. Primarily intended for those who are at advanced levels of construction. Tentative Firing Schedule: Kiln loadings: October 15, November 5 & November 19 Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class. Studio meetings all other weeks. T4: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jenny Weber September 17 – November 19 Member Fee: $360 ($380 non-members) + $70 lab fee
SPECIAL TOPICS WORKSHOPS The Hot Seat—Kiln Firing 101 Great for art educators! So, you’ve read your kiln manual but still have questions about firing? Worry no more! In this one-day workshop,
Long-time student Janet Johnson with her rabbit sculpture in the handbuilding studio.
you will learn the basics of firing and maintaining your own kiln. Covering basic information about kiln styles, firing speeds, kiln requirements, and firing temperatures, this class will have you walking away more confident in your abilities to become the next kiln master. The workshop is led by teaching artists who fire multiple kilns each month. This workshop does not authorize NCC students to fire our kilns independently, but is helpful for educators and anyone aspiring to become an NCC studio artist. Basic clay knowledge is preferred. 9 am – 12 pm: Gas-kiln loading and firing 12 – 1 pm: Lunch on your own 1 – 4 pm: Electric-kiln loading, programming, firing, troubleshooting, continuation of reduction firing 4 pm – finish: Finishing cone 10 firing All day gas- and electric-firing with special information about temperature and kiln atmosphere for firing with gas. X1: Saturday, October 17, 9 am – 6 pm Instructor: Audra Smith Member Fee: $90 (non-members $100) Electric-kiln only X2: Saturday, October 17, 1 – 4 pm Instructor: Audra Smith Member Fee: $45 (non-members $50)
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Out of the Ashes: Raku 101 Head outside this fall with instructors Franny Hyde and Mark Lusardi for a twoday, hands-on Raku firing in the back lot of NCC. Bring decorative pieces to life with flashy colors and lively crackles when you move them from the red-hot kiln to the combustion chamber where the Raku magic begins. Students should bring six to eight pieces—made of Raku clay, bisque fired, and no larger than a cantaloupe—to glaze before heading to the kiln. Pieces made with even thickness and strong attachments will handle the shocking transformation best. (Note: Students will not have access to NCC’s open studio time unless they are already enrolled in a twelve-week fall class at NCC.)
PROJECT WORKSHOPS
X3: Saturday & Sunday, October 24 & 25, 10 am – 4 pm Instructors: Mark Lusardi & Franny Hyde Fee: $190 (non-members $200) + $60 lab fee
X5: Friday, September 25, 6:30 – 9:30 pm X6: Saturday, October 10, 1 – 4 pm X7: Saturday, November 21, 1 – 4 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $40 per person, per session
Clay on Repeat: Moldmaking & Slipcasting 101 This two-part workshop will expand your creative process through exploration of the repeated form or vessel and will give you the opportunity to practice using molds, and to create your own. On Saturday, slip-cast multiples utilizing existing molds and learn how to refine the resulting pieces through a variety of hand-building techniques. Gain a better understanding of mold mechanics and learn how to examine or make objects intended for repetition; this is a great opportunity for those adept at the wheel to experiment with a favorite form. The second session will be dedicated to the plaster mold making process. Molds made during the second session may be taken home at the conclusion of the workshop to dry and cure for later use. No mold making or casting experience is required, but students should have a general working knowledge of clay and ceramic techniques. X4: Saturday & Sunday, November 7 & 8, 10 am – 2 pm Instructor: Chloe Rizzo Member Fee: $130 (non-members $140) + $20 lab fee
No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops. Crafternoon & Crafterdark Pottery Workshops Bring your friends and make a few new ones and get creative as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $40 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 after approximately two weeks.
Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops Looking for a unique date night activity that is sure to impress your mate? Look no further than NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other 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 $80 fee includes instruction, materials, and firings for two adults. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks later. X8: Saturday, September 26, 6:30 – 9:30 pm X9: Saturday, October 17, 6:30 – 9:30 pm X10: Friday, November 6, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $80 per couple, per session
Parent and child working on the wheel in NCC's Throwing Together class.
@ CrafterBrewery: Cider Stein Making Workshop with Minneapolis Cider Company Build your own stein with a Northern Clay Center teaching artist at Minneapolis Cider Company and enjoy a complimentary cider. Two weeks later, visit NCC for a tour, a pottery wheel demonstration, and to pick up your finished stein.
We will use handbuilding techniques to create a customized stein for the heftiest of draughts. Must be 21+ to register. IDs will be checked at Minneapolis Cider Co. 20AAH06: Thursday, September 17, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Build your stein at Minneapolis Cider Co. while enjoying a glass of cider. Thursday, October 1, 6:30 – 8 pm Tour Northern Clay Center, see a pottery demonstration, and pick up your finished stein. Fee: $35 per person
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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. Throwing Together Parents and kids (ages 9 and up) spend a little Q.T. together learning a new skill. Learn to make basic cylinders, bowls, plates, and more as you grow your skills using the potter’s wheel. High-temperature clay and glazes will be used. Wear old clothes, bring an old towel and a one-gallon bucket for each participant. Class sessions are designed to allow adults and children to work side-by-side in a collaborative environment. F1: Sundays, 1:30 – 3:30 pm Instructor: Zach Van Dorn September 20 – November 8 Member Fee: $295* ($315 non-members) *Note: This fee is for two people, one adult and one child. I Mug You Invite your favorite friends or family and make mugs filled with love (and hopefully coffee or soup). Learn basic slab building techniques and then decorate with colored slip to create your ideal mug. Ages 6+. All skills welcome. Saturday, September 19 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F2: 10 am – 1 pm F3: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $55 for two people, $20 for each additional participant
`Round & `Round Kick off the start of fall learning a new skill, like how to throw on the potter’s wheel. You’ll practice centering, opening, pulling, and shaping the clay as the wheel goes `round and `round. Paint your projects with colored slips and pick up your fired projects approximately two weeks later. All skill levels welcomed. Ages 9 and up. Saturday, October 17 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F4: 10 am – 1 pm F5: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $55 for two people, $20 for each additional participant We’re Butter Together You make it and we bake it! Create a personalized butter dish sure to melt everyone’s heart. Learn basic slab building techniques as you construct your new favorite butter dish, then decorate your projects with colored slip. Ages 6+ and all skill levels welcome. Saturday, November 14 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F6: 10 am – 1 pm F7: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $55 for two people, $20 for each additional participant
Looking & Learning Join us for the 15th installment of this "show-and-tell” series, featuring Pattie Chalmers, visiting McKnight Artist Resident and professor and head of ceramics at University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale; Rhonda Willers, a maker, author, and educator; and Heather Nameth Bren, a maker and professor at Bethel University. The presenters will each share and discuss objects from their personal collections that have inspired and influenced their making. This event will provide a glimpse into the lives and stories of each artist. You don’t want to miss it! 20AAH07: Wednesday, October 28, 6:30 – 8:30 pm ART@HAND Holiday Open House Join us for some good, old-fashioned holiday fun! Our 30th Annual Holiday Open House features artist demonstrations, a free hands-on workshops and fabulous holiday shopping opportunities. This year’s Holiday Open House projects will be decorative clay creatures, perfect for your favorite holiday diorama. Open to all ages. Mark your calendars. 20AAH08: Sunday, November 15, 12 – 4 pm
ART@HAND— CLAY FOR 55+
ART
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ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years old or greater (and their families), ART@HAND is in its 12th year of offering lectures and tours, drop-in workshops, and hands-on activities. Register ahead of time for these events as space is limited! Additional general admission seats may be available at the door. These events are FREE and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
Clay Candy Container Come to NCC to create your own candy jar out of clay. Among other wintery treats to be enjoyed, many families have that special sugary little something that lives on coffee tables or counters. That sneaky bit of sweet between meals will be even more enjoyable coming from a handmade vessel. Bring your favorite someone for this intergenerational event and create some forever memories. 20AAH09: Thursday, November 12, 6 – 9 pm
FIRING INFORMATION: Any projects made during these workshops will be fired and ready for pick up approximately two weeks after the event. Pots with clear glaze are food safe and can be used in a microwave and dishwasher.
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CLAY FOR YOUTH Pottery Punch Card for Teens Teens may purchase eight, two-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. Y1: Saturdays, 10 am – 12 pm Instructor: Erin Holt Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted*. Students may begin as soon as they register. Student Member Fee: $240 ($260 non-members) for eight sessions. Add multiples of four additional sessions at any time ($115 for Student Members, $125 for non-members). *Some Saturdays are not available due to holidays or NCC events. Unused sessions expire at the end of six months from the date of purchase.
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS & LECTURES These events are free and open to the public. Amber Ginsburg — In Favor of a Future: a workshop on the Declaration of Sentiments 1848 - 2020 Hosting this presentation remotely, artist and educator Amber Ginsburg will lead a workshop surrounding themes of sentiment and voting politics from the successes and failures of Seneca Falls to our current Zoom rooms. X11: Thursday, September 24, 6 pm CT Citizenry & Art in Today’s Society Panel Discussion Join us remotely to observe a panel discussion moderated by VOTE! curator David East as he raises questions surrounding art in our changing environment and the role of civic engagement. The aim of the panel is to further explore the context in which these works operate, within the artist’s life, within the exhibition, and how they work together. Participating in this discussion will be exhibition artists Amber Ginsburg, Kris Grey, Ann Agee, and Ryan W. Kelly. The panel will take your questions to create the opportunity for dialogue and exchange. X12: Thursday, October 8, 6 pm CT Daniel Velasquez Virtual Workshop Daniel Velasquez is a muralist, designer, environmentalist, humanitarian, and potter who uses art as a dialogue with inhabitants in an environment to foster a sense of community within a public space. Velasquez will discuss how he developed a style and voice to express himself in a unique way on pottery and will demonstrate his methods for storytelling on a surface. X13: Thursday, October 15, 6 – 8pm CT
McKnight Resident Artist Lecture: Pattie Chalmers X14: Tuesday, October 20, 6 pm NCC Library Gender/Power Workshop with Maya Ciarrocchi & Kris Grey Spots are limited, and participants will be chosen on a first come, first served basis. Exploring the myriad ways that authority reinforces gender injustice, this twoday interactive and conversation-based workshop will meet remotely with artists Maya Ciarrocchi and Kris Grey. Drawing from shared stories centered around experiences of privilege or discrimination based on people’s perceptions of our bodies, the experiential workshop will map recurring themes to translate into gestures and a composition of movement. X15: Thursday and Friday, October 29 & 30, 5:30 – 8:30 pm CT
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FALL CLASS REGISTRATION BEGINS TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 AT 10 AM To Register: Register with cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card, or American Express. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Download a paper registration form online, or call the gallery for more information. Member discounts are available online. Due to 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 because of low enrollment. Policies: Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available in NCC’s sales gallery for $20 + tax. Other specialty tools are available as well. Open Studio: The tuition for regular adult classes includes access to open studio time. On average, at least one classroom with potter’s wheels and a handbuilding table is available between 9 am and 9 pm Wednesday through Sunday, from 4:30 pm to 9 pm on Monday and from 9 am to midnight on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (outside doors lock at 9 pm). NCC reserves the right to close studios for special classes or workshops
Minimum Age Restrictions: Only students ages 18 and up are eligible to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops. 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, basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be pro-rated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space. COVID-19 Cancellations: Given the uncertain nature of what lies ahead of us, NCC will remain flexible when it comes to cancellations as they relate to the current environment and recommendations by both local and national health authorities. In the event of an NCCinitiated cancellation, students will be issued a full refund without penalty. Cancellations initiated by the student will be handled on a case-by-case basis with individual and community well-being maintained as a top priority. If you are sick or have COVID-19-related symptoms, we ask that you contact us before coming to or entering NCC for any reason.
Classes: 100% of tuition (less a $15 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 $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class within the seven days prior to the first class meeting or within the first two business days after the first 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. Workshops: 100% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least one week (7 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, please contact Samantha Longley at samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.
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ART@HAND: Pause and Reflection
small shelves. They are having to stay in place in their apartments and look forward to the day that we can all be together creating once again!” Jennifer Rutschke, Executive Director, Park Apartments
CLUES participants enjoy creating with clay under the guidance of Lucy V. Yogerst and with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter, 2019
Northern Clay Center had to pause our ART@HAND programs during the spring and summer in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on entry into senior living facilities, hospitals, and day centers to preserve the health and wellbeing of residents and program participants. We know that higher-risk individuals have experienced extreme isolation in 2020, with the goal of preserving their health, but that does not make the emotional toll any easier. NCC teaching artists miss their students, and the students miss the social interaction and opportunity to learn and engage with each other. We asked some of our life-long learning coordinator partners to reflect on NCC classes at their locations and what these classes have provided for their arts learners. “The Northern Clay program is greatly missed by our residents who get so much out of creating with clay. This program has been very popular in our building and many of the residents display their creations outside their unit doors on
“The people living at The Heritage have greatly benefited from working with clay for creative projects, but more importantly the NCC ART@HAND instructors! The instructors have added immensely to the experience with great preparation and encouragement for people to make a project they value!” Caryn Erickson, Service and Activity Coordinator, The Heritage at Lyngblomsten “I can honestly say that our participants have definitely missed the clay classes during this pandemic! It was something they all looked so forward to—not only for socialization but also hand strengthening and using creativity. I had one participant say it was the one thing that made her feel ‘normal’ again." Jill Riley, Recreation Therapist, Bethesda Hospital “Open Circle Adult Day Services has had the absolute privilege of partnering with NCC for several years. Outside of our day center, the older adults we serve often have little to no access to creative pursuits which offer valuable and unique opportunities for self-expression and reflection. Thus, we strive to provide our membership with quality experiences which provide for creative expression. Our partnership with Northern Clay Center has enhanced and broadened this objective immensely. They provide access to professional artists/teachers
and materials that Open Circle would otherwise lack. In fact, we have members who regularly reject art programming opportunities—save for when Northern Clay is on site. There is a real draw to working with the clay medium and the unique experience opens minds to trying something new. Northern Clay Center has consistently offered Open Circle’s adult day centers an engaging, accessible, and creative experience of the highest quality that transcends more traditional art/craft activities.” Mark Rosen, Program Director, Open Circle Adult Day Services These heartwarming statements remind us of the important work NCC does to make clay accessible; they remind us to keep planning for the day when we can come together again as a community to engage with each other and learn together. Though we have led some programs at a distance through virtual platforms, those opportunities cannot be provided as accessibly as we would like. The technology gap has left behind learners of all ages during this time of social distancing. We are looking forward to the not so distant future when it is safe to work together again, in the same community space, with our hands in clay. If you want to learn more about NCC’s ART@HAND programming, how a clay residency works, or set up a class or demonstration for your group, please visit our website or contact Alison Beech, Community Engagement Manager, at 612.339.8007 x 313 or alisonbeech@ northernclaycenter.org.
2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 612.339.8007 www.northernclaycenter.org
This activity was 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, and a grant from Wells Fargo.
NCC Shop/Gallery Hours Please check our website for most up-to-date hours and shopping facilities. Special Needs Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with mental or physical disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event. Signed Interpretation: Available for any NCC public event. Please call the Center to request an interpreter at least three weeks in advance. Wheelchair Seating for Classes or Other Accommodations: Please call the center at least two weeks in advance of the event. NCC’s building is wheelchair accessible and includes a wheelchair accessible potter’s wheel. The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request. Mission: Northern Clay Center’s mission is the advancement of the ceramic arts. 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. Image on front cover: Mike Tavares
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