EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST AUTUMNSERVICES 2022
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
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SEPTEMBER 2 - 4 : 2022 24TH AMERIANNUALc AN P o TTERY FE s TI v AL
Main Gallery, Emily Galusha Gallery, and Online
Welcome to Northern Clay Center’s 24th 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 infinite ways to be and live and create in the U.S.
Sipper
September 2 – 4, 2022
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL 2022 INVITED ARTISTS
Members-only Early Online Access, 10 am CT Workshops, Artist Lectures, and Benefit Sale
Darcy Delgado, Maria Dondero, Christina Margarita Erives, Brett Freund, Delvin M. Goode, Nancy Green, Turiya Gross, Sarah Haven, Joshua Hebbert, Mike Jabbur, Maggie Jaszczak, Tom Jaszczak, Lee Love, Mary Martin, Lizbeth Navarro, Kip O'Krongly, Brent Pafford, Patti Paiz-Jones, Al Clemente Saks, Tricia Schmidt, Mike Stumbras, Minsoo Yuh, Sunkoo Yuh
American Pottery Festival
Please visit northernclaycenter.org/APF for more information about workshop registration, preview work for sale, tickets, and our sponsors.
t. 2 — Northern Clay Center
Opening Day: Friday, September 2, 10 am CT in person, 11 am CT online
Images, this page: Maggie Jaszczak, Plate, image Joe OLeary. Opposite page: Darcy Delgado, 1996/1984 Se
For conference details and pricing, please refer to pages 6 – 9.
APF artists will offer weekday workshops and a weekend filled with demonstrations, lectures, and conversation in the teaching studios with the invitation to pose questions, learn from a shared or new perspective, and enjoy being in the orbit of palpable creativity. APF artists will also visit several local/ regional schools for demonstrations and education enrichment.
Fundraiser: First and foremost, APF is Northern Clay Center’s annual fundraiser. All contributions, and NCC’s portion of the purchased work created by stellar 2022 APF artists, support NCC’s mission of advancement of the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and grant programs. NCC is a non-profit ceramic arts center with a regional, national, and international presence. Whether you are a beginning student in our education studios or a maker with years of experience, a new visitor and shopper in our galleries or a seasoned collector, we hope you join us for APF 2022. Come to learn, explore, splurge, and connect with our ever-expanding clay universe.
— 3Northern Clay Center
Exhibition and Sale: This year’s APF offers the work of 23 invited guest artists and launched with the APF Preview Show in May. Annually, NCC extends invitations to artists representing rich, lived experiences and varying perspectives whose pots display a vast array of techniques, aesthetics, and materials. They range from familiar forms intended for everyday utility, to boundary-challenging technical mastery and storytelling, to works centered in the communication of identity. This year, the sale is a three-day event offering over 1400 ceramic works and the space to support NCC and our out-of-this-world APF guest artists with every purchase made online or in the galleries in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The sale will open on Friday morning, September 2, at 10 am CT, in the galleries with timed and ticketed entry. We offer our free Personal Shopping Service for those not able to attend in person for any reason. We also offer VIP Weekend Packages, to launch your weekend into the stratosphere and provide us with additional support.
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
WHAT IS AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL?
Education Conference: 2022 APF workshops and demonstrations aim to take place in the in-person realm in our NCC studios. In addition, there will be virtual options available for each workshop. Daily social hours with artist talks will be available at no cost on a virtual platform, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
In-person workshops and demonstrations will have limited spots available, so early registration is highly encouraged. There is special pricing for NCC members as well as students and educators. In addition, we offer scholarships to BIPOC artists and those experiencing financial-need scholarships for the weekend’s workshops and. 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.
Images, clockwise from top left: Delvin M. Goode, Sipples Cup. Christina Margarita Erives, Rose Vase. Lee Love, Platter
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
American Pottery Festival is NCC’s most impactful annual fundraiser. There are many ways to contribute throughout our APF weekend:
• PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION. Support NCC with a monetary gift, and double it with your company’s matching contributions. Encourage a group of colleagues or friends to create a larger donation. $2000 can accomplish the fol lowing: support a studio fellowship for one emerging artist for an entire year, fund a ClayToGo residency for a local school, or create up to 10 lecture or workshop opportuni ties for artists visiting from around the world.
• BECOME A MEMBER. Purchase or renew your NCC mem bership before APF to take advantage of special workshop pricing and early access to the online gallery. Members are also invited to be the first to purchase tickets to see the American Pottery Festival exhibition in person.
• PURCHASE AN ALL-ACCESS VIP PACKAGE. Available in three levels of patronage: GALAXY at $500, STARDUST at $250, and NOVA at $125.
4 — Northern Clay Center
• ROUND UP IN THE GALLERY. During check out, let our staff know you’d like to round up to the nearest dollar or add a donation amount to your purchase.
• PURCHASE ARTWORK IN THE GALLERIES AND ONLINE. NCC’s portion of each sale supports our mission-critical work. In addition, APF artists have each graciously donated a piece to NCC, so 100% of the sale of these special works adds to the success of the event.
You may make a donation—or purchase a membership, tickets, and artwork—online, in the gallery, or by telephone.
FundraiserAPF:
Help us boldly go into this year’s fundraiser!
• SHOP WITH OUR PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICE. For those who cannot attend APF, and would still like access to all of the work in the galleries at NCC, we offer our Personal Shopping Service. Registration deadline for this service is Wednesday, August 24, but we highly encourage early registration. This service is free, but a $35 ticket fee will accompany work purchased on Friday. There is no ticket fee for artworks purchased on Saturday or Sunday should they still be available at that time.
• SHOP ONLINE. Hundreds of pieces by this year’s APF guest artists, as well as the artists represented full time in the sales gallery, will be available online starting on Friday at 11 am CT. (Members-only Early Online Access at 10 am CT).
• All-day Workshop Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
Ticketed shopping appointments are available every 1.5 hours, beginning at 10 am, with a maximum of 20 tickets per time frame. Masks and social distancing are required. Hand sanitizer and masks will be provided.
NCC provides the opportunity to enhance your support of our annual fundraiser and ensure you’ll enjoy all that our event has to offer at various levels of patronage.
GALAXY: $500
STARDUST: $250
ExhibitionAPF: & Sale* VIPAPF:Packages
• Registration for pre-festival workshops with Maggie Jaszczak & Tom Jaszczak on Thursday, and Nancy Green & Minsoo Yuh on Friday
GALLERY ADMISSION
Sunday, September 4, 10 am – 3 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: FREE
• SHOP IN PERSON. Visit the gallery and your favorite pottery stars by purchasing a ticket for your preferred day and time. Members will have access to the pre-sale in midAugust. A limited number of tickets are available.
• One-year Individual Membership
• All-day Workshop Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
• One-year Individual Membership
To APF, and beyond!
— 5Northern Clay Center
OPENING DAY: Friday, September 2, 10 am – 7 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $35
• Presale access for two 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Take one small step into our galleries…
• One-year Individual or Dual Membership
• Presale access for two 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments
NOVA: $125
• Presale access for two 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments
*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.
Saturday, September 3, 10 am – 5 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: FREE
Mary Martin, 6 pm
Friday, September 2
Saturday, September 3
Darcy Delgado, 6 pm Delvin Goode, 6:30 pm
ARTIST TALK SOCIAL HOURS: FREE
Thursday, September 1
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Joshua Hebbert, 11 am
Brett Freund, 6 pm Sunkoo Yuh, 6:30 pm
Each day, we’ll set aside time to listen to some of this year’s luminous APF guest artists. All talks will take place via Zoom and are listed in Central Time.
Patti Paiz-Jones, 6:30 pm
Maria Dondero, 11:30 am
Conference Scholarships and Discounts Available 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need NCC Members receive $10 discount Images, this page, top to bottom: Mary Martin, Hair Ties, I Teapot. Patti Paiz-Jones, Winged Candelabra Opposite page, top to bottom: Nancy Green, Jar Minsoo Yuh, Bowl 6Engage!ConferenceAPF:— Northern Clay Center
Maggie Jaszczak & Tom Jaszczak
During this demonstration and hands-on workshop, Maggie Jaszczak and Tom Jaszczak will use negative space to create dimensional forms with the use of a common tool—a plywood drape mold. Each will demonstrate the ways they use this type of mold to create their sweeping forms, then participants will spend time envisioning future forms and creating their own plywood drape mold.
Fees: $80 In-person workshop $40 In-person for students and educators $40 Virtual content only
Planet Earth is blue, and there’s pottery I can do Athens, Georgia potters, Nancy Green and Minsoo Yuh, create space for reflection and balance through the thoughtful function of their pots and distinct aesthetics that represent aspects of their relationship with the natural world. During this demonstration and hands-on workshop, Green will combine wheel and handbuilt elements, then design surfaces with earthy texture and tones. Meanwhile, Yuh will decorate wheel and slab-built forms with white slip and specialized incising, stamping, and inlay (Sanggam) techniques that lend to her relaxed, yet strong, designs. Take inspiration and borrow techniques from their demonstrations to create a thoughtfully composed piece infused with your own interpretation of the natural world through construction and decoration.
Negative Space Odyssey
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Friday, September 2, 12 – 4 pm CT
PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS: THE FESTIVAL AWAKENS
Thursday, September 1, 12 – 4 pm CT
Nancy Green & Minsoo Yuh
Fees: $80 In-person workshop $40 In-person for students and educators $40 Virtual content only
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2000 Light Years From Thrown 3 – 4 DarcypmDelgado and Tricia Schmidt have been traversing new realms of dimensional work through building up surfaces with color, 3D elements, and experimental additions—Delgado with her functional forms and Schmidt with her sculptural work. Watch as this dynamic pair demonstrates these building and layering processes and shares how they explore and arrive at these new ideas.
Fees: $60 In-person workshops $30 In-person for students and educators $30 Virtual content only
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Sarah Haven and Mike Jabbur join forces to juxtapose two differing ways of creating a vessel—Jabbur throws with porcelain, and Haven pinches with earthenware clay. Be inspired by the many effective and varied ways to create foundational forms as they demonstrate their two contrasting methods of making.
The Rapport of the Worlds 10 – 11 am
Christina Margarita Erives & Lizbeth Navarro
Close Encounters of the Illustrative Kind
Kip O’Krongly
Sarah Haven & Mike Jabbur
11:15 am – 12:30 pm
Christina Margarita Erives and Lizbeth Navarro both create work that draws inspiration from their multicultural heritages. Get up close and personal with Erives and Navarro as they demonstrate their respective techniques of illustration while discussing how their body of work and imagery make these important identity connections.
Saturday, September 3, 10 am – 4 pm CT
1:30 – 2:45 pm
Explore new dimensions of design with Kip O’Krongly as she demonstrates and shares her foundational handbuilding practice of creating plates. Then watch as she soars to new heights by building up surface design with latex resist techniques and debuting her new decal process.
Darcy Delgado & Tricia Schmidt
We’re back in person, fellow travelers!
Saturday All-day Workshops
Surface Tech: The Next Generation
WEEKEND WORKSHOPS: A NEW HOPE
E.T. the Extra-Technical Handles
Mike Stumbras takes inspiration from centuries-old European production ware creating ornate and extravagantlydetailed individual forms by hand. From planning to pulling to composing, focus in on Stumbras’s specialty—a multicomponent handle process—as he creates handles on a cup form while discussing the historical and geographical trends of handle types in the US.
Sunday All-day Workshops
Delvin M. Goode & Brent Pafford
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
The sky’s the limit when it comes to Delvin M. Goode and Brent Pafford’s post-kiln processes that challenge and expand the limits of a functional form. Be inspired by these unconventional processes as they demonstrate the final stages of their pots and how they imaginatively approach these additions while integrating color, form, and conceptual ideas.
$25 Virtual content only
10 – 11 am
Lee Love & Al Clemente Saks
Post-Production: The New Frontier
1 – 2 pm
Images, opposite page, top to bottom: Lizbeth Navarro, Milky Way Cup and Sunset Armadillo Cup Kip O'Krongly, Teapot
This page, top to bottom: Al Clemente Saks, Relic Jar Mike Stumbras, Lost Age Teapot
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Curiosity 11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Fees: $45 In-person workshops
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$25 In-person for students and educators
Learn about artistic practice from two esteemed Minnesota potters who each have a wide and deep history of creating with clay. Love and Clemente Saks will demonstrate forms they’ve evolved over many years while they discuss questions like—what keeps you curious about clay? How do you create the space to keep evolving in your work and practice?
Sunday, September 4, 10 am – 2 pm
Mike Stumbras
Chotsani Elaine Dean
The physical manifestation of the book as an exhibition provides the world a bonus opportunity to engage with and view the artists' work. This exhibition expands the book's impact by bringing words and images off the page into the gallery space for amplified visibility of the artists and their artworks.
Main VirtualGalleryTouravailable September 23
It is important to note that the making of this exhibition and the book that birthed it all occurred during the global Coronavirus pandemic and racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, witnessed by the world. Launching this book with the exhibition, A Gathering, in Minneapolis is an important piece of this story. With Chotsani’s established relationship with Northern Clay Center and living in Minneapolis, our goal all along was to get the work of a group of underserved makers before the eyes of as many people as possible.
AEXHIBITIONSGathering: Works from ‘Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists’
Artists featured in the exhibition, as of publication date, are: Larry Allen, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Kristina Batiste, Tricia Bishop, Paul S. Briggs, Wesley Brown, Aaron Caldwell, Kimmy Cantrell, Danielle Carelock, Jstn Clmn, Chotsani Elaine Dean, Morel Doucet, Michelle Ettrick, Rosa Eugene, Winton Eugene, Earline Green, Aisha Harrison, David MacDonald, Jim McDowell, Nathan Murray, Sharon Norwood, Kelly Phelps, Kyle Phelps, Stephen Phillips, Ashlyn Pope, Ashan Pridgon, Joann Quiñones, Ellamaria Ray, Prof. Bobby Scroggins, Janathel Shaw, Keith Smith, Malcolm Mobutu Smith, Lydia Thompson, Paul Wandless, James C. Watkins, and Adero Willard.
“This is our story of how the exhibition, A Gathering, came into existence…
We worked fully socially-distanced for the entirety of creating the book. For the two of us, there were numerous phone calls with artists in the book, scholars, and our editor. Hours of Zoom meetings, creating and clicking through Google drive folders, and edited Google documents to build the DNA of the book, eventually produced the exhibition titled, A Gathering
10 — Northern Clay Center
September 17 – October 30
Public Reception: Friday, October 7, 6 – 8 pm, Limited Audience
—donald a clark
On view this fall, in the main gallery at Northern Clay Center, is an exhibition of historical significance—A Gathering: Works from ‘Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists’. Curated by donald a clark and Chotsani Elaine Dean, it is an exhibition that brings to life the pages of their newly-published book, Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists
Curator Statement
wanted to turn in a strong and polished manuscript to our book publisher on time. The goal was merely to make a printed exhibition of the work of contemporary Black American ceramic artists. However, our story ends with us together and with a completed book that produced a beautiful exhibition.
While producing the manuscript, we found we couldn’t leave well enough alone. At the end of work sessions, we would find ourselves energized with a repeated tendency to dream and imagine what was possible reflecting on the exceptional quality of the artists’ work they provided us to write about in the book we were creating. Also, we felt their stories, and the time they shared with us, was so valuable we wanted to expand the way the world could engage and experience the artists.
Our journey did not begin at the same starting point for the book, Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists, and exhibition project. We didn’t set out to create an exhibition. We just
What does the exhibition, A Gathering, represent for us? Hope, in spite of the ambiguity of plans falling apart as well as being disrupted by the pandemic; an act of faith, that in times of turbulence, the pursuit of bringing artists and their work together can ignite change; a space and invitation for viewers to be in conversation with the artists; and an opportunity to see a diverse spectrum of work made by Black Americans who all came to clay in their own way.”
EXHIBITIONS
Images, left to right: David MacDonald, Figurative Vessel, 2016, stoneware. Aisha Harrison, Ancestor I, 2018, clay, graphite, embroidery thread, photo credit: Misael Martínez.
— 11Northern Clay Center
We extend our thanks to our partners at both locations—Scott Shields, Rachel Gotlieb, and Maggie North— for their incredible trust and support in this endeavor.
Cover, Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists. James C Watkins Double-Walled Basket, 2021, stoneware, gold luster fumes with stannous chloride. Rosa and Winton Eugene, Matriarch, 2008, stoneware, stain, glaze, photo credit: Zajwain C. Eugene.
by donald a clark, Chotsani Elaine Dean
—Schiffer Publishing
Images, this page, clockwise from top left:
From the Publisher of Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists
December 2022 – April 2023
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition Tour
Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Wesley T Brown, Teapot, 2020, cone 6 clay, black underglaze, lithium wash. Paul Andrew Wandless, Potters of Earth and Sea, 2021, clay monoprint: cast earthenware, underglaze, watercolor underglaze, wood frame. Earline Green, Henrietta Dwells, 2022, stoneware. JSTN CLMN, Precarity of Progress 2021, found ceramic sewer pipe, found brick sherds, porcelain (wheelthrown and handbuilt), screen-printed underglaze transfers, glaze.
12 — Northern Clay Center
“Sharing their insights in compelling interviews, 38 of today’s Black ceramists demonstrate a diversity of studio practices and ways of using clay, together with more than 250 stunning photos of their work. Especially crucial in light of the times, this book helps disperse the fog of non-inclusion. With the goal of giving the artists the recognition long overdue them, donald a clark and Chotsani Elaine Dean begin by grounding us in history and context. The authors take us through time, explaining recent important research from Drayton Hall in South Carolina, for example, and other work that has helped to honor the contributions, presence, and experiences of African Americans in ceramic history in America. Bringing us to today, clark and Dean present for each of 38 contemporary ceramic artists an introduction, an interview with the artist, and photos highlighting some of their work. This important and necessary information, with its impact on the medium as a whole, is beautifully and engagingly presented to makers and craft appreciators alike.“
When the Minneapolis run of this exhibition concludes, NCC will facilitate its continued impact by traveling the exhibition to partners on both US coasts at the following locations:
Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine SpringfieldArtsMuseums, Springfield, MA
The book will be available for purchase at Northern Clay Center once released and is available for preorder here.
May – August 2023
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
EXHIBITIONS—13Northern Clay Center
Related Events
A Gathering artists will come together to engage in meaningful discussion about their creative process in response to the collective trauma following the murder of George Floyd and a global pandemic. The deliberate presence of the exhibition in proximity to George Floyd Square has the intention of conversing with this trauma and negotiating the line of pain and hope, also serving as a place of healing and fellowship with the community. As contributors to this exhibition and conversation, these artists will share the ways in which they have persevered and reflected the pain and strength of Black artists and the Black community all amidst the realities of the pandemic. Listen and learn as they share how clay has carried them through and provided ways to speak to the history and realities of Black experiences in America, and how they envision their work and our collective future moving forward.
2301 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Masks and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination (two doses in a two-dose series or one dose in a one-dose series) is required for entrance into the event. X15 Thursday, October 6, 6 – 7:30 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
The Ever-present Strength, Power and Longevity of Black Creative Labor
Images, left to right: Adero Willard, Entangle #4, 2019, terracotta, slips, underglaze, glaze. Ellamaria Ray, Earth Seed Quilt, 2021, fired clay, Mason stain, underglaze, acrylic, rust, rusty and copper wire, photo credit: Joe Hancock.
At the Precipice of Healing: Power and Change from Their Hands
14 — Northern Clay Center
X16: Saturday, October 8, 1 – 3 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
EXHIBITIONS
Black Bodies and Metaphor in Clay
X14: Saturday, September 17, 5 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
educational systems, they will offer multidimensional and expanded worldly perspectives by centering Black, African American and African history, art, and experience in American culture, education, and contemporary ceramics. As you engage in their conversation, you are invited to integrate their stories and envision a more comprehensive and inclusive human story and culture together. End the event by reflecting on the experience through a handson making activity with clay that will be fired and available for pick up at Northern Clay Center the following week. This event is hosted in partnership with University of Minnesota’s Department of Art and Department of African American and African Studies.
This event will take place in the Waring Jones Theater at the Playwrights’ Center,
A Gathering artists, who all engage in clay and the educational system in different ways, will discuss creative Black labor and its inclusion and disintegration in history, culture and education. By discussing this history and sharing their own experiences in the field of ceramics and in various
Join A Gathering artists Ashlyn Pope and Shanon Norwood, as they share about the ways they use clay as a tool of expression and celebration of Blackness and Black Bodies and the role that clay plays in this connection.
Public Reception: Friday, October 7, 6 – 8 pm, Limited Audience
Lisa Marie Barber
September 17 – October 30
Images, left to right: Lisa Marie Barber, Viva Las Flowers, 2022, ceramic, photo credit: Alyssa Nepper. Lisa Marie Barber, Hands Make Flowers, 2020, ceramic, photo credit: Alyssa Nepper.
Lisa Marie Barber’s aesthetic sensibility is rooted in the Mexican folk art and Mexican Catholic shrines and churches of her heritage and upbringing in Tucson, Arizona—about 50 miles from the Mexico border. Its decorative and “excessive” qualities project a belief that ornamentation and abundance denote reverence and value. Barber’s shrine-like works are composed of multitudes of individual, hand-formed parts, showing joy in process and adornment.
Emily Galusha Gallery
Join Lisa Marie Barber for an artist talk about her work and process. End the evening with a special preview of her exhibition work.
EXHIBITIONS
Using recycled “slop” clay and minimal tools, Barber’s hand-built creations project her imagined conceptions of home, gardens, peacefulness, playfulness, and celebration. To her, they are personal meditations on the happiness and beauty that outlines every day. Deliberate with showcasing the “handmade” quality of her work, she uses low-tech methods to create large assemblage ceramic sculptures and installations and mixed-media quilts. Featured in this autumn’s exhibition is “Viva Las Flowers,” a largescale assemblage that brings together arrangements of color, flowers, figures, and play.
Related Event
Artist Talk: Lisa Marie Barber
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X13: Thursday, September 15, 6 pm CT
Barber earned her BS in sociology with an art minor at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff) and MFA from The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a full professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of WisconsinParkside (Kenosha) where she teaches ceramics and serves as the liberal studies program director. Prior to her professorship, she worked as a university and youth art instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has held numerous highly-regarded artist-in-residence positions and led workshops, across the US. She strives to have her work be accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Virtual Tour available September 23
FREE; register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
from atmospheric firings. This graduate exhibition showcases their distinct voices as they embark upon the next stage of their artistic journey.
extends beyond the physical classroom to take advantage of the rich ceramic resources throughout the Twin Cities, including: artist lectures, gallery tours, and virtual 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 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
The 2021-22 cohort had an inspiring energy and easy camaraderie. Participants came to MN NICE with a wealth of art experience. In addition to three art educators, most participants came from ceramicadjacent professions. This led to many thoughtful and spirited conversations. The group was particularly interested in exploring glaze and firing effects— from developing delicate micro-crystals in cone six glazes to subtle variation
November 13 – December 30
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 13, 12 – 4 pm
MNwork.NICE
MNEXHIBITIONSNICEGraduates
Images, left to right: Jo-Anne Reske Kirkman, Wolf Moon Mary Garvie, Jar
16 — Northern Clay Center
MN NICE Graduates features the work of eight emerging ceramic artists from the eighth graduating class of the Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education (MN NICE) program. Participating artists include: Mary Zeleny Arimond, Carla Arnevik, Lynda Buscis, Mary Garvie, Julian Gruber, Carol Patt, Martha Rehkamp, and Jo-Anne Reske Kirkman.
Emily Galusha Gallery
Limited Audience, Subject to Change
Virtual Tour available November 18
Our exhibiting MN NICE emerging artists joined this program because a horizon line was taking shape for them, and they felt compelled to pursue a sharpened focus. They made an intense commitment to bring their work under a collective critical eye in the hopes of stepping toward a new future on terms they have defined through this program, with a new professional peer network, and a deeper understanding of the potential held by a daily life engaged in contemporary ceramics.
the BIPOC Studio Fellowship provides additional support to build and attend networking opportunities in the field, to arrange mentorship and development opportunities, and to buttress the cost of living. This year, the panel of three jurors awarded the Anonymous Artist Studio Fellowships to both Johannah Cairns (Olathe, KS) and Sean Lofton (Jacksonville, FL), the BIPOC Studio Fellowship to Evelyn Rose Mtika (Philadelphia, PA), and the Fogelberg Studio Fellowship to Katie Reeves (Albertville, MN).
— 17Northern Clay Center
Emerging Artist Residency (EAR) Awards provide a furnished studio space for one year with 24/7 access, a materials and firing stipend, a group exhibition in January/February 2024, employment opportunities, features in our Sales Gallery, and other opportunities. Announced for its first grant season at NCC in 2022,
ARTIST SERVICES
Northern Clay Center remains proud to offer, and continue developing, these Emerging Artist Awards to continue the advancement of the field by providing opportunities for early-career makers. NCC’s programming is immeasurably enriched by the annual contributions of new and creative energy entering the community. The spring 2021 award recipients include artists from the full spectrum of contemporary ceramic arts. NCC is proud to support and highlight these six recipients as part of our drive to support artists at all stages of their careers.
EMERGING RESIDENCYARTISTAWARDS
2022 Emerging Artist Award Recipients
Johannah Cairns is a ceramic and textile figure sculptor whose work showcases soft-bodied dolls that represent the conflict between desire for the safety of home comforts and the innate need for meaningful interpersonal connection. Cairns received a BA in visual art from University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) in 2020 and a Post-Baccalaureate of Artisanry Ceramics Certificate from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2022. Also in 2022, she was nominated for the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture
Johannah Cairns, Alone Together, 2022, stoneware, found fiber, oil paint.
Each year, early-career ceramic artists apply for Emerging Artist Awards at Northern Clay Center with a drive to continue the momentum they have gained through formal and informal education and experiences. Each of them hopes to challenge themselves and their work and to forge their way in the world as an artist.
ARTIST SERVICES
Award at the International Sculpture Center (Hamilton Township, NJ) and in 2019, the Windgate University Fellows Scholarship Endowment through University of Kansas and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (Gatlinburg, TN). Cairns has participated in several group exhibitions including New Works in Ceramics at Gallery X (New Bedford, MA) in 2022 and the Graduate Exchange Exhibition at the Drewelowe Gallery at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA).
18 — Northern Clay Center
Sean Lofton is a ceramic artist and sculptor originally from Florida. Lofton received his BFA from University of North Florida (Jacksonville) in 2018 and his MFA from University of Missouri (Columbia) in 2022. His ceramic work has been exhibited nationally and he
Additional work by Evelyn Rose Mtika can be found on Instagram at @evelynmtika.art
Katie Reeves is a Queer ceramic artist originally from Minnesota. Having recently completed two undergraduate degrees in art education and fine arts with a concentration in ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI), their most recent exhibition was their senior show which took place in February. Reeves threw on the wheel for the first time in their early teenage years and immediately fell in love with the medium. Some ten years later, ceramics continues to be their passion. Over the course of the last three years, Reeves’ work has
Additionalreferenced.workby
Sean Lofton can be found on Instagram at @loftonceramics
Sean Lofton, Ennis Tile Block Tableau (24 Revolutions), 2021-22, slipcast brick clay.
Additional work by Johannah Cairns can be found on Instagram at @johannah_cairns
hopes to continue developing a strong studio practice during his time at Northern Clay Center. Lofton’s ceramic practice is driven by a strong interest in architecture and tile making. Most recently his work has focused on the re-articulation of extant architectural embellishments. Utilizing computeraided design (CAD) software and industrial mold-making techniques, he is able to reproduce ornaments of interest. From the created molds, Lofton is able to produce modular clay components that are reconfigured into new sculptural objects. His finished pieces often employ a variety of building materials used in the construction of the architecture being
Evelyn Rose Mtika is an emerging artist that received a BFA from University
of Hartford (West Hartford, CT) with a major in ceramics and a minor in painting. Her work includes portraiture, figure, text, and is focused on exploring intertwined cultural connection and differences. Her body of work is related to defining the experience of living within and between the Black and African diaspora. As a west Philadelphia resident, Mtika hopes to eventually make a difference working in the community she grew up in by helping to make art more accessible. She has had work shown at various galleries such as Clay Art Center (Port Chester, NY), Saratoga Clay Arts Center (Schuylerville, NY), Joseloff Gallery at University of Hartford, and Tyler School of Art Gallery at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA). In April 2022, she produced her capstone exhibition, Hands on, within Silpe Gallery at University of Hartford.
SERVICES
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 the appreciation of pottery, past and present, for the general public and maintains theEvelyn Rose Mtika, Homesickness; Mama, 2021, earthenware, majolica, glaze, underglaze.
— 19Northern Clay Center
We are grateful to a variety of institutional and individual donors, including the secondary market sales through NCC’s Sales Gallery, for their support of these particular grant programs. These residents will join us at NCC in the fall of 2022 to being their year-long program with us in Minneapolis, MN. We are excited to see the exchange of ideas in the studios with the residency program crossing boundaries of generation, material, technique, and approach.
POTTERY MUSEUM OF RED WING AWARD
ARTIST
been in over 25 exhibitions across the United States. They make functional ceramic wares focusing on the themes of sexuality, femininity, intimacy, and classicality. Reeves intends to attend graduate school in the future to become a college professor and maker, but their focus for the time being is to work on building their presence within the field of Additionalceramics.work
by Katie Reeves can be found on Instagram at @kreevesceramics
20 — Northern Clay Center
Opposite page: Eleanor Foy, History Lamp, 2020, midrange stoneware, electrical components.
ARTIST SERVICES
This page, top to bottom:
Katie Reeves, Bartholomew, 2022, cone 6 porcelain, glaze. Andrew Rivera, Cocktail Cup, 2020, red stoneware, glaze, underglaze.
Pottery Museum of Red Wing (@ potterymuseumrw) in Red Wing, Minnesota. Work samples by past award recipients can be found on display within the collection of the museum which has no admission fee.
Andrew Rivera (Hutchinson, MN) received his BFA in ceramics and sculpture from the University of Minnesota Duluth (Duluth, MN) and completed the Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education (MN NICE) program at Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN). Most recently, Rivera completed a long-term residency at the Clay Studio of Missoula (Missoula, MT). Currently, he is a studio potter at Clay Coyote Gallery & Pottery (Hutchinson, MN). Informed by his experience as a Mexican American, Rivera’s work is inspired by pre-Columbian forms, 19th century Mexican printmakers, and personal experiences and references both his heritage and love of food and drink. Bringing together themes spanning both historical and contemporary culture while connecting two distinct cultures of his heritage, Rivera’s functional ceramic works circumnavigate identity and invite the user to explore his inspirations.
Additional work by Andrew Rivera can be found on Instagram @andrewriveraceramicsat
Additional work by Eleanor Foy can be found on Instagram at @eleanor_foy
Launched in 2014, the Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award honors the educational legacy of Warren MacKenzie. Recipients of the award can research new techniques or processes, study with a mentor or in an apprentice setting, visit other ceramic art centers or institutions for classes and workshops, collaborate with artists or other media, or travel. The grant period is 12 consecutive months, from June 2022 to May 2023. Through this years’ selection process, one recipient was selected to have their proposal funded for the year ahead.
Read more about each of our jurors here.
— 21Northern Clay Center
And a special thank you to all of the 2022 applicants – your interest in the grant programs and your applications help to keep our arts economy strong by demonstrating the great talent, need, and diversity within the work that is present in the field of ceramics.
Eleanor Foy (Kansas City, MO) is a multi-disciplinary artist working primarily in ceramics. Raised in the south San Francisco Bay Area, the landscape and mythology of California and the
Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients! Please watch our website and our winter 2023 newsletter for these and other application deadlines. If you would like to host a presentation on our grant programs at your school or institution, of if you have individual question about the programs, please reach out to Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp at kylerudyk@northernclaycenter.org to schedule a conversation.
American West continue to inform her work. Following three years of studies in painting at Pratt Institute (New York, NY), Foy completed her BFA in ceramics at Kansas City Art Institute (Kansas City, MO). Foy has received the Ken Ferguson Scholarship, McKeown Special Project Award, and Mentorship Award from Kansas City Art Institute in addition to the Regina Brown Undergraduate Student Fellowship through the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. Works by Foy have been exhibited nationally and most recently in the 2022 NCECA Annual Exhibition, Belonging, at the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA). She is interested in how domestic objects express personal values, and seeks to unpack the complicated layers of meaning in seemingly mundane images of Americana. Foy is currently an MFA candidate at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA).
WARREN ADVANCEMENTMACKENZIEAWARD
This year’s selection panel was overwhelmed by the number and quality of applications which demonstrated a sense of imagination extending beyond the traditional paths of research. They were interested in supporting emerging voices that would amplify overlooked perspectives in the field and applications which demonstrated a thirst for growth and expansion within the community of makers at NCC. Even with these guideposts, they found their decision incredibly difficult to finalize with so many strongly qualified applicants in the pool.
The 2022 jurors for the Emerging Artist Residencies and the Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award were Eliza Au, Tom Hubbard, and Leandra Urrutia.
Katie Bosley Sabin Brookline, MA
Jil Franke was introduced to ceramics when teaching art in Sydney, Australia. She handbuilds each geometrically designed functional piece of work using a darting technique on slabs. Surface decoration is created using wax resist and slips and finally they are fired in a wood kiln with a light salting. Her work has been exhibited both internationally and nationally, including Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taipei) and Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Center(China). Private collections with her work include The American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA) and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Lisa Orr completed an MFA at The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1992. She has been awarded a Fulbright and National Endowment for the Arts fellowship through MidAmerica Arts Alliance. Orr taught high school ceramics in Austin, Texas, and travels extensively for lectures and workshops. She creates low-fire pottery intended for use in everyday life. Though rooted in the deep history of ceramics, her forms are fluid and often gently asymmetrical—a combination of the clay’s natural expression and her own inspiration in the moment. Her slip work and relief decorations along with her rich colors suggest images of sky, coral reef, or flowers in bloom. The work is a riot of color, energy, memories, and emotion, all of which come together to create finished work that is cohesive and confident.
Lisa Orr Northborough, MA
Katie Bosley Sabin is originally from Clearwater, Florida and is currently the Artist-in-Residence at Mudflat Studio in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned her MFA in ceramics from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and her BFA from the University of Florida (Gainesville). Bosley Sabin has been a summer resident at the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT) and a Fogelberg Studio Fellow at Northern Clay Center. She combines dynamic forms and dimensional surfaces to create porcelain vessels that are striking at first glance and reward further inspection. Constructed with an emphasis on symmetry and structure, the works challenge conventional interpretations of the vessel and promote a sense of awe.
Jil Franke, Lisa Orr, Katie Bosley Sabin, Beth Thompson September 13 – October 9 Sales Gallery & Online
Early Autumn Featured Artists
22 — Northern Clay Center
SALES GALLERY
Jil Franke St. Paul, MN
Save the Date!
Beth Thompson studied ceramic sculpture at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she began to sculpt realistic, life-sized dogs out of clay. Animals are her visual language, and through capturing them in moments of expression and connection she explores human emotions, intimacy and inner dialogues without the barriers of discourse surrounding human figurative work. Thompson emphasizes the power of tapping into vulnerability and quiet states of feeling through the interactions between figures in her work. Her sculpting process includes sketching from life, photo collection, and studying video to learn about the anatomy, musculature, kinesiology and gesture of her subjects. She then makes small scale models to find poses and
Beth Thompson Minneapolis, MN
Please join us for our annual Winter Open House. Help us launch the winter holiday season with sociallydistanced 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.
form before moving on to sculpting the final work from a solid piece of clay on armatures. After sculpting, Thompson lets the clay begin hardening before cutting it into sections, hollowing it out, and reassembling.
NCC Members are invited to attend a private viewing from 11 am – 12 pm.
Member Preview Hour, 11 am – 12 pm
— 23Northern Clay Center
Images, opposite page, left to right: Jil Franke, Ewer. Lisa Orr, Mug Katie Bosley Sabin, Plate
Sunday, November 13, 12 – 4 pm
This page: Beth Thompson, Joined at the Hip
Please visit our website for updates as the event draws nearer. We will continue to ensure we design our events with the health and safety of our community as a first priority.
FREE, Limited Audience
OpenWinterHouse
Holiday Exhibition 2021.
24 — Northern Clay Center
Linda Christianson received her BA from Hamline University (St. Paul, MN) and attended the two-year Ceramic Studio Workshop at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts (Alberta, Canada). She participates annually in the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour in Minnesota, where her studio is located. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Minnesota State Arts Board, as well as two McKnight Foundation fellowships from Northern Clay Center. Christianson’s subtle, spontaneous work is found in collections across North America and is exhibited widely. Her woodfired pieces are not sculpture, but engaging tools. Christianson is interested in a pot that does its duty well, yet can stand on its own as a visual object. She aims to make a better cup each day.
Jan McKeachie Johnston studied at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), and received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Since 1979 she has been very active in teaching workshops and demonstrations, working in her Wisconsin studio, and has recently served as an adjunct professor of ceramics at UWRF. For the past 25 years, she has participated in significant exhibitions throughout the United States. She is represented in many private and public collections, including the Chrysler Museum (Norfolk, VA), the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Additionally, her work has been featured in Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly
Late Autumn Featured Artists
Leila Denecke received her MFA degree from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) after four years of study in Japan at the Tekisui Museum of Art Ceramic Art Research Institute (Ashiya). She is a 2013 recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. In 2004, 2008, and 2020 she received the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists. Denecke’s work ranges from small informal tea bowls to large freestanding sculpture and installations. She works in stoneware and porcelain and uses various atmospheric kilns, such as wood and soda.
SALES GALLERY
Jan McKeachie Johnston River Falls, WI
Linda Christianson Lindstrom, MN
Linda Christianson, Leila Denecke, Jan McKeachie Johnston Jewelry Spotlight: Kristen Cliffel October 11 – November 6 Sales Gallery & Online
Leila Denecke Scandia, MN
— 25Northern Clay Center
Teaching artists Persis Wade, Elizabeth Coleman, and Jennica Kruse provided weekly classes for elementary schoolaged youth during an in-school and an after-school residency in collaboration with Cityview staff and volunteers. Each week, students got the opportunity to make a clay project. The teaching artists demonstrated handbuilding construction techniques and proper application of colorful engobes. At the end of the residency, each student completed two to three Accordingprojects.toRosalind
A new outreach partnership with Cityview Community School in Minneapolis began in early May 2022 and continued through early June 2022.
Through these positive experiences with a high-quality arts programming, students are offered a deeper understanding of materials and hand-made objects. NCC’s ClayToGo program brings a specialized, handson clay experience to every school and organization with which we partner.
ClayToGo Spotlight: Cityview Community School
Images, opposite page, left to right: Linda Christianson, Basket. Leila Denecke, Jar. Jan McKeachie Johnston, Platter
Kristen Cliffel Cleveland, OH
Kristen Cliffel received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art (OH). In 2015, she was awarded the Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. There was no shortage of artistic imprint during Cliffel’s childhood—art lined the walls of her family’s home and there was a castle in the basement where live mice ran around in tunnels. Now identifying as both a wife and a mother, Cliffel engages themes of domestic mythology through her ceramic practice. Central to her exploration is the unfolding of intimate relationships and the fear, hope, belonging, security, and connection associated with them. Cliffel uses visual metaphors and unexpected combinations of sculpted objects to dissect these domestic fairytales and expose their prescribed notions of happiness, fulfillment, and success. The bird is a form returned to throughout her body of work, both wearable and sculptural.
OUTREACH
If you have a school or organization that is interested in working with clay, touring NCC’s facilities, or seeing a clay demonstration, please contact Alison Beech, Education and Outreach Coordinator, at 612.339.8007 x309 alisonbeech@northernclaycenter.orgor
Bakion, full service community schools coordinator at Cityview, the 5th graders said that
NCC’s workshops “made their school year.” She also remarked that during the clay workshops staff didn’t experience the usual number of behavioral calls they normally do. “Youth got to use their hands and focus. NCC facilitators were calming, encouraging, and reassuring when interacting with the kids. They encouraged their creativity.”
This page, left to right: Kristen Cliffel, Necklace. Projects from Cityview Community School residency
McKnightSERVICESArtist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Janina Myronova
each composition shows a different personality and personal story to collectively reference a graphic novel and arcing story. Imparting her own emotion through linework, Myronova’s works are strategically charged with color to saturate and amplify their individual stories.
Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming our fall McKnight Artist Resident, Janina Myronova. As she joins us in the studios and embarks on a unique journey to spend focused time in the studio and community, we look forward to supporting her creative vision while establishing new connections within our community.
City, Taiwan), First Prize at the 7th Bienal Internacional de Cerámica de Marratxí (Spain), First Prize in the Those Who Come category of the 5th Ceramica Multiplex (Croatia), and was named one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists in 2019. During her career, Myronova has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions at locations including the Musée du Four des Casseaux (Limoges, France), Museu de Ceramica (Barcelona, Spain), Museum of Architecture (Wroclaw, Poland), Riga Art Space (Latvia), Gallery TDK (Tarnobrzeg, Poland), 6 exi Contemporary Ceramics (Thessaloniki, Greece), and Galleri Christoffer Egelund (Copenhagen, Denmark). Myronova also has work in numerous public collections including those at Riga Porcelain Museum (Latvia), the Mark Rothko Art Center (Daugavpils, Latvia), Museu Ceràmica (Alcora, Spain), and the National Museums in both Wroclaw and Krakow (Poland).
Janina Myronova (Wroclaw, Poland) is a designer, painter, and ceramic sculptor who creates narrative through figurative forms and composed backdrops. Utilizing a specific and distorted representation of the body,
About the Program
Myronova has received myriad awards and honors including the Silver Award at the first Lotus Mountain Prize (Changchun, China), the Franz Rising Star Project Scholarship (Taipei
26 — Northern Clay Center
Myronova received her MFA from the Department of Ceramic Art at Lviv National Academy of Fine Arts (Lviv, Ukraine) in 2012, an MFA in 2013 and PhD in 2019 from the Department of Ceramics and Glass at The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Wroclaw, Poland). Continually developing her work and practice, Myronova has attended numerous residencies including at the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), Clayarch Gimhae Museum (South Korea), Galerie Lefebvre et Fils (Paris, France), The Centre of Polish Sculpture (Orosko, Poland), and the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Denmark). During her time in academia, she held the titles of head of ceramics studio at Instytut Dizajnu w Kielcach (Kielce, Poland) and assistant professor at The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Wroclaw, Poland).
ARTIST
Since 1997, Northern Clay Center has been the steward of these awards that are made possible by the generous contributions of the and The McKnight Foundation. These programs directly support mid-career ceramic artists in Minnesota through the McKnight Artist Fellowship program, and artists from around the world through McKnight Artist Residencies. Providing a threemonth opportunity for focused time in the studios at the Center, this residency
in
The application portals for the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists will open in March 2023.
studio. This page: Janina
Best Friend , 2020, ceramic. — 27Northern Clay Center
ARTIST SERVICES
Images, opposite Myranova her Myronova,
Resident Lecture: Janina Myronova
X17: Tuesday, November 1, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login
Please join us in welcoming Myronova to the NCC community from the beginning of October through the end of December. During the first portion of her time with us in Minneapolis, she will present an artist talk with time afterward for questions.
Related McKnightEventsArtist
program offers the opportunity for symbiotic sharing of ideas, techniques, and materials science while facilitating opportunities for critique and in-depth conversation between the visiting artist and our local community.
page:
28 — Northern Clay Center
Paola Evangelista
Pronouns: She/Her Helen Otterson received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute (MO) and an MFA from the University of Miami. Exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, her work has been published in American Craft Magazine and Ceramics Monthly. Her work can also be found in books including Cast: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity’s Most Transformational Process, 500 Sculptures, and 500 Figures in Clay. Otterson’s ceramic and glass sculptures are part of the permanent collections at the Mulvane Art Museum (Topeka, KS), Nicolaysen Art Museum (Casper, WY), and the Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND). Otterson was a McKnight Artist Resident for Ceramic Artists at NCC in 2016. Currently, she teaches at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Get to know the teaching artists who have joined the roster this year. These skilled makers and instructors have broadened and diversified the scope of education programing at NCC with their unique perspectives, approaches to clay, and varied backgrounds.
Abigail Cooper is a multimedia artist based in the Twin Cities, and committed to learning for life. Cooper began their career in Michigan before finishing their degree at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Cooper recognizes teaching and creating a single act. He understands that teaching is collaboration regardless of age or experience. Cooper's varied past in gardening, painting and metalworking in conjunction with ceramics informs their practice gleaning experience from each part of life. As a teaching artist she is committed to celebrating each student, teacher, and staff member as an integral part of our vibrant Twin Cities community.
Abigail Cooper
Helen Otterson
Pronouns: She/Her Originally from Peru, Paola Evangelista comes from a family of thinkers, community-driven activists, and makers. Growing up in a household grounded in the tradition of craft-making, Evangelista was first drawn to and practiced garment design. Evangelista was first introduced to clay—which soon became her focus—at Central Connecticut State University (New Britain) where she earned her BA in art
EDUCATION
in 2012. Since then, she has continued to purse her never-ending curiosity of ceramic materials, and the expression of her worldview through clay. In 2020, Evangelista completed the MN NICE program at Northern Clay Center under the mentorship of Ursula Hargens.
Olivia Gallenberger
Pronouns: She/They Olivia Gallenberger is a multimedia artist who creates abstract works. She grew up living above her family’s bakery in Oostburg, Wisconsin and spent most of her childhood perched upon stacks of flour bags, playing with blobs of dough and watching her father and grandfather mixing and kneading dough. This taught her the importance of working with one’s hands and the rewards in doing so. Gallenberger graduated in 2018 with a BFA in ceramics and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They lived in Door County, Wisconsin for two years where they worked as an art instructor, studio assistant, and as the head baker at a local orchard farm market. Gallenberger currently lives in Minneapolis and is an MFA candidate within the sculpture and ceramics program at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Meet Our New Teaching Artists
Zoe Kaplan Pronouns: They/Them Zoe Kaplan is a queer, Jewish, genderliberated ceramic artist from Chicago. Working with clay began as a childhood pastime, taking neighborhood park-district classes, but has since transformed into a means of expression and community, a mode of accessibility,
Pronouns: They/He/She
and reparations. Since becoming Northern Clay Center’s BISQUE Resident, they have been using their resources to explore a new relationship with clay and the firing process to form creations that are kinetic and dynamic. Kaplan incorporates their values of doikayt—or "hereness"—to invoke pieces that connect to Kaplan’s roots, and others, in ways that explore desires for grounding in a reality that is deeply diasporic. They believe ceramics should serve as a spark of play in the mundane, allowing the piece to shine and mold to its surroundings.
EDUCATION
Images, clockwise from top left: Abigail Cooper. Olivia Gallenberger. Zoe Kaplan. Helen Otterson, Floral Burst. Olivia Gallenberger, The Two of Us . Paola Evangelista. Abigail Cooper, Dead Ringer
— 29Northern Clay Center
are limited and will be available on a first come first served basis. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter.org
Northern Clay Center
INTRODUCTORY
Want to learn the basics of creating with clay? Get hands-on during six weeks of instruction and practice in introductory classes that focus on the basics of building and glazing techniques. These
NCC mandates proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster dose for all students, studio artists, teaching artists, and staff entering our building.
We offer two scholarship options: • a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need
CLAY-ALONG VIRTUAL CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Clay-Along Self-Guided Kits balance the independence of self-guided clay exploration with the support of instructions that guide you step-by-step through a variety of projects at a range of levels; kid-friendly lessons included!
Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, July 26 NCC is committed to maintaining accountability and pursuing action to build meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity in the ceramic community. We recognize that there are significant systemic racial and economic impacts that impede participation in the arts, and resulting financial barriers contribute to further divide. To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC has implemented scholarship options for our education programming. Our goal is to open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
Check out page 38 for more information about our ART@HAND Programs. Classes marked in this section with are designed for and easily accessible to older adults.
Our offerings may continue to evolve as public health concerns continue. Class sizes may continue to be limited and appropriate safety initiatives will remain in place. We encourage you to register early as our in-person classes will fill up quickly. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.
• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of ScholarshipsColor
Self-Guided Kit
Cooler days and colorful foliage call us to fall back to familiar rhythms and embrace the warmth of routines. NCC is thrilled to welcome you back to your ceramic habits and to offer you the space and resources to begin or deepen your journey with clay. Whether you take the path of handbuilding, wheelthrowing, sculpting, or bridge between multiple avenues—our comprehensive class roster has something for you.
30EDUCATION—
These kits are sure to satisfy your clay cravings, keep you creative, and increase your knowledge of forms and techniques. It’s also a great opportunity to play and explore clay, whether you’re brand-new or very experienced.
Stay connected to your creativity from home and Clay-Along with NCC through virtual classes and materials kits designed to fulfill your clay longings at a social distance. We offer self-guided clay kits with lesson plans for an athome independent clay experience. Kits include low-fire clay (a choice of low-fire red: a smooth terracotta body; or Raku: a grittier, off-white body), a set of engobes (colored slips), bisque and clear glaze firings at NCC, and a guide to setting up a space for clay in your home. No clay-specific tools? No problem! All classes and lessons can be accomplished with everyday utensils and objects.
VKit: Fee: $45
Fall Classes & Workshops
We offer 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 will continue as an online sign up in order to regulate the number of people in our facilities at any given time. Browse our open studio schedule online to check the most up-to-date listing of available studios.
@
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
October 25 – November 29
September 12 – October 17
I10: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
I5: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30pm
Instructor: Ruby Sevilla October 28 – December 2
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Zoe Kaplan September 14 – October 19
Instructor: Zoe Kaplan October 26 – November 30
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Also check out our series of one-day project workshops beginning on page 36—ideal for makers with little or no previous experience
I8: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30pm
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).
Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel to build on your foundations and discover the secrets of making great pots during these 12-week classes. 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
Land of Round Pots—Wheel 101
Instructor: Ruby Sevilla September 16 – October 21
I9: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
I1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
September 13 – October 18
I4: Tuesdays, 1 – 4 pm
Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger October 24 – November 28
The Three Graces of Handbuilding
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
I2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
I6: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30pm
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Abigail Cooper
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Long-time student Darlene Fry, centering clay on the potter's wheel.
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
EDUCATION
WHEEL
I3: Tuesdays, 1 – 4 pm
October 24 – November 28
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Beginner Throwing—Wheel 201
Get your wheels turning as you learn the basics of throwing pots on the potter’s wheel. This class will get you familiar with the material of clay and introduce foundational wheel-thrown forms such as bowls and cylinders.
— 31Northern Clay Center
Beginner Throwing—Wheel 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 x309 or northernclaycenter.org.samanthalongley@
Instructor: Abigail Cooper
classes have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little or no experience with clay and want to test your interest and grow your skills. We recommend you take an introductory class two or more times (within one quarter, or over consecutive quarters) to build your skills and prepare for Wheel or Handbuilding 201 classes and beyond. Wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one bag of clay (25 pound) up to $15, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.
I7: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30pm
Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine.
Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger September 12 – October 17
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
Instructor: Clarice Allgood September 13 – November 29
Instructor: Lucy Yogerst September 15 – December 1
W3: Thursdays, 10 am – 1 pm
W4: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: David Swenson—Focus on Jars & Lids September 13 – November 29
W2: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Fee: $370 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
W7: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Take a break from the land of round pots and take a trip to Studio C to delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine working with clay. 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 clay vocabulary?
H1: Tuesdays, 1 – 4 pm
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 wheelthrowing experience, who have taken one or two Land of Round Pots sessions, or equivalent, and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.
32EDUCATION— Northern Clay Center
Want to improve your skills and further develop your signature style in handbuilding? This class will focus on refining skills in pinching, coiling, and slab building so that you can build the projects you imagine efficiently and durably. You are encouraged to come with project ideas for each method or you can follow prompts from the instructor that explore both functional and sculptural forms. Demonstrations will focus on construction techniques as well as follow students’ interests. There will be plenty of one-on-one time with the instructor for guidance on individual
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
HANDBUILDING
W1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Instructor: Leila Denecke—Focus on Form, Function, and SeptemberFundamentals15– December 1
Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi September 17 – December 3
Fee: $370 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Lisa Himmelstrup—Focus on Throwing with SeptemberPorcelain13– November 29
Instructor: Marion Angelica September 13 – November 29
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Take your skills to the next level as you learn additional techniques for throwing more complicated forms. Refine your skills and continue to define your voice in clay. 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,
Instructor: Jennica Kruse September 14 – November 30
W5: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Better Bowls and Basic Glaze Chemistry
Intermediate and Advanced Handbuilding
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Warm up your handbuilding skills and get ready for soup and stew season with bowls of all shapes and sizes! With the flexibility of handbuilding you can experiment with shape, size, and methods of building. This class will balance the study and practice of reinvigorating the bowl form with an introduction to the basics of glaze chemistry. Learn about glassmaking components, colorants, firing effects, glaze flaws, and more. You will have a chance to work in the materials room under guidance of the instructor to create new glaze colors using oxides. Through instruction and experimentation, you will gain a foundational understanding of how and why glazes do what they do! Designed for students with some previous handbuilding experience, but beginners will be nurtured.
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Intermediate Throwing—Wheel 301
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
W6: Tuesdays, 10 am – 1 pm
W8: Thursdays, 1– 4 pm
and the differences between low- and high-temperature clay bodies and glazes. Designed for those who have taken several Wheel 201 classes or equivalent who are looking to refine their techniques and further develop their voice in clay.
Instructor: Erin Holt—Focus on Finding a Voice September 12 – November 28
projects as well as time for reflection and critique. This class will also explore decorative treatments including stamps, slips, and other finishing treatments using high-fire glazing techniques. Challenge and stretch your skills, to adopt more advanced techniques into your vocabulary and further develop your individual language of touch. Students should be competent in basic handbuilding methods such as coiling, pinching, and building with soft slabs.
— 33Northern Clay Center
Instructor: Helen Otterson September 13 – November 29
EDUCATION
Create plates and platters worthy of gathering around for all those potlucks, dinners, and quaint nights in you’ll host this winter. In this six-week class, you’ll primarily use slab-building techniques to create sets or individual plates and platters and learn tips and tricks that help your forms defy warpage and cracking. We’ll practice using molds by designing and cutting basic foam slump molds, and experimenting with plaster, bisque, and found object molds. You’ll also explore a variety of texture tools and surface design techniques to elevate your plate’s design to suit your table and serve your family and friends. Open to all levels of clay experience and design skills.
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Plates & Platters
Guided Study in Handbuilding
H3: Wednesdays, 1 – 4 pm
Ready for a new angle on handbuilding?
Join Erin Paradis, 2019 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant recipient, for twelve weeks of dreaming—and building big—in clay. Create the larger works, functional or sculptural, that you’ve always imagined and bring them to life with integrity by learning from a modularbuilding artist and honing handbuilding techniques. Absorb and practice new techniques to push the dimensions of your work and practice building in smaller considered and sound sections to create larger, more substantial pieces. Expect class and individually-guided demonstrations, one-on-one discussions, and group critiques, as well as helpful resources and suggestions from the instructor to push your concepts and skills to a new level. Students are encouraged to come prepared with an idea so projects can begin quickly.
You’ll hone your skills in foundational handbuilding methods including building with hard and soft slabs and coils. Once you’ve created a few forms, turn your attention to creating surfaces that enhance your forms with color and decoration using slips, stains and more. This creative framework for handbuilding will offer a fresh take on forms and inspire continued exploration in handbuilding outside the round pot. Open to all skill and experience levels.
September 14 – October 19
Intermediate to advanced levels.
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Cassidy Sutton, applying underglaze to a project from the Livin' Large handbuilding class.
Fee: $200 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Priya Thoresen
H4: Wednesdays, 1 – 4 pm
September 16 – December 2
H6: Fridays, 10 am – 1 pm
Land of Square Pots
H5: Thursdays, 1 – 4 pm
Fee: $370 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
Instructor: Erin Paradis September 15 – December 1
H2: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Franny Hyde
During this six-week class you’ll design and handbuild boxes, baskets, and geometric vessels or sculptures.
Instructor: Priya Thoresen October 26 - November 30
Livin’ Large: Modular Handbuilding
Expand your handbuilding fundamentals by exploring figural, architectural, animal, decorative, and other non-functional applications of clay. Students are encouraged to bring projects and ideas to work on with low- or high-temperature clays, with guidance from the instructor. Learn to speak the language of 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.
Advanced Soda-Firing Methods
Fee: $400 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)
This eleven-week class will expand your creative process through exploration of plaster molds and repeated forms.
Fee: $370 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount) (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
Kiln loadings: October 13, November 10, & December 1
Instructor: Emily Murphy
You’ll learn about plaster’s properties and how to use it to make both onepart and multiple-part molds that can be used for slip casting. Learn how to mix and troubleshoot a cone 10 casting slip with your class, then use the slip to make multiples from your newly-formed molds. Once you’ve got a handle on the mold-making process challenge yourself with making molds of more complex forms, and practice refining resulting pieces through a variety of hand-building techniques. This class is well suited for those who want to make their own molds, use casting slip, or incorporate slip casting in their home studio. Twenty-five pounds of plaster, one bag of reclaim clay, and access to casting slip is included in the lab fee. No mold making or casting experience is required, but students should have an intermediate working knowledge of clay and ceramic techniques.
T2: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Registered students will be required to participate in all dates scheduled at Concordia University.
Students working independently in a wheel studio.
Instructor: Chris Singewald
SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman September 15 – December 1
Fee: $370 + $70 lab fee (5% member discount) (No class on Thanksgiving Day—no make-up session.)
Tentative firing schedule:
September 15 – December 1
34 — Northern Clay Center
T3: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
September 14 – November 30
Expand your vocabulary and your imagination around the idea of domestic utility—tackling 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, cream and 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 technical wheel skills in practical ways. Further develop your critical eye, refining forms and editing your production through group discussions.
Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class. Studio meetings all other weeks.
EDUCATION
Clay on Repeat: Multi-Part Mold Making and Slip Casting
and in at least one unloading. This class is designed to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students who are keen to develop their approach to atmospheric firing. Primarily intended for those who are at advanced levels of construction—throwers and handbuilders welcome.
Join teaching artist Emily Murphy in the studio and dive deeper into the techniques and materials to get the most from the soda kiln’s kiss of fire. Load and fire at least three kilns on three firing dates and critically examine the results of each firing. Successive firings ensure that you will have the opportunity to understand the nature of atmospheric firing and, in turn, capitalize on the process by the end of the quarter. Explore more advanced forming and decorating techniques to take full advantage of what the kiln has to offer. Plan to participate in all kiln loadings,
T1: Wednesdays, 1 - 4 pm
The Wood-Fire Experience
Kitchen Satellites of Love
Dive into ten weeks of an extensive, hands-on introduction to the art of firing a wood kiln—from glazing and loading, to the interactions between fire and form. Teaching artists Rob Lieder and Keith Williams will discuss different styles of wood kilns, wood fire philosophy and clay bodies and glazes appropriate for wood firing. Northern Clay Center is excited to announce its continued partnership with Concordia University, St. Paul, utilizing their bourry box-style train kiln for the firing process. Through this partnership, we are able to offer participants two firings in which students can expect to include 15 – 20 pieces per kiln. Primarily intended for those who are at intermediate and advanced levels of construction— throwers and handbuilders welcome.
Member Fee: $100 (5% member discount)
Fridays,MeetSchedule:atNCC:September 16 – October 14, 1 – 4 pm
large-scale figurative sculptures. Join him in the studio as he shares his wisdom and craft with the community of NCC and guides you through two days of hands-on figurative sculpting. Using a photograph of your subject, Tashima will guide you through conceptual strategies, design, and building techniques to help you realize your story in clay. Plan to create a mid-sized figurative sculpture (around 12”), and be equipped with tools to continue expressing and communicating ideas in your unique visual language. Previous experience in handbuilding is recommended. Glazing and glaze firing is not included in this workshop.
Fee: $50 (5% member discount)
Originally from Japan, Hirotsune “Hiro” Tashima, studied art in Japan and the United States. For the last 25 years, he has exhibited his figurative sculptural work and held workshops all over the world and has a lot of stories to tell! Tashima communicates everyday experiences and his take on cultural currents with detailed, stylized, and
Instructors: Rob Lieder & Keith Williams September 16 – November 25 $370 + $110 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Hirotsune Tashima
Kiln Unloading: November 4 & 25
Instructor: Mark Lusardi
EDUCATION
Gas and electric firings
Kiln Loading: October 28 & November 18
T4: Fridays, 1 – 4 pm
Kiln Firing: October 29 – 30 & November 19 – 20
The Hot Seat—Kiln Firing 101
Out of the Ashes: Raku 101
Students will have access to NCC open studios from September 16 – November 4.
Fee: $150 (5% member discount)
Tired of the same old dip and dunk? Learn to use glaze in advanced, novel, and ultimately successful ways. This workshop will demonstrate a variety of glaze application techniques to take advantage of the unique properties in our glaze palette at all temperatures. Integrate the tools you learn in the workshop into your practice to bring more interest and vitality to your surfaces. Current NCC students should bring 2 – 4 bisqued pots to be fired to cone 10. Bisqued tiles will be provided for those who are not currently in a class.
Glazing & Wadding: October 21 & November 11
— 35Northern Clay Center
October 7: Independent studio time at NCC (no instructor)
SPECIAL BeyondWORKSHOPSTOPICStheDip
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, 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 ability to be in control of your kiln. 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.
Member Fee: $50 (5% member discount)
X1: Saturday, October 22, 9 am – 6 pm
Head out to an innovative new space in New Richmond, Wisconsin—Potters Without Kilns—for a two-day, handson Raku firing with Mark Lusardi. 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 bisque-fired pieces— made of Raku clay 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 twelveweek fall class at NCC.)
X3: Saturday & Sunday, October 22 & 23, 10 am – 3 pm
Instructor: Audra Smith
Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
Electric firing only
X2: Saturday, October 22, 1 – 4 pm
X1: Saturday, November 5, 1 – 4 pm
Meet at Concordia University: Fridays, October 21 – November 25, 1 – 4 pm
Instructor: : NCC Teaching Artist
Sculptural Storytelling
X4: Saturday & Sunday, October 29 & 30, 10 am – 4 pm
9 am – 12 pm: Load and fire gas kiln 12 – 1 pm: Lunch on your own 1 – 4 pm: Load, program, and fire electric kiln; troubleshoot; continue firing gas kiln 4 pm – finish: Finish firing gas kiln
X11: Friday, November 4, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Crafternoon & Crafterdark Pottery Workshops
X8: Saturday, November 26, 1 – 4 pm
Fee: $45 per person, per session
X9: Friday, September 23, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
*Note: This fee is for two people, one adult and one child.
Fee: $60 (5% member discount)
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.
Member Fee: $295* ($315 non-members)
Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops
Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist
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.
Fee: $90 per couple, per session
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 wheelthrowing; there are no exceptions to stated age requirements.
36EDUCATION—
Throwing Together
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
The Potters Without Kilns facility in New Richmond, WI.
Odysseys on Pottery
No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.
Join Peter Jadoonath in the studios for a day of exploring narrative surfaces on pottery. Jadoonath will demonstrate his techniques of merging sculptural elements with painterly and illustrative decoration to create vessels that capture tall tales, or communicate relatable events of daily life. Practice illustrating on surfaces using slips and underglazes and learn to merge your ideas of illustration effectively with the forms you create. Bring a greenware piece made of low-fired clay to practice on, or use the tiles provided. Work created during this event will be bisqued with the option of clear glaze.
X12: Saturday, November 19, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Northern Clay Center
X7: Saturday, October 29, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
F1: Sundays, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
X10: Friday, October 14, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
X6: Saturday, October 1, 1 – 4 pm
Looking for a unique date night activity that is sure to impress your partner? Look no further than NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other, BFF, or family member and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment.
Parents and kids 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 onegallon bucket for each participant. Class sessions are designed to allow adults and children to work side-by-side in a collaborative environment. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.
September 18 – November 6
Instructor: Peter Jadoonath
PROJECT WORKSHOPS
Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist
X5: Sunday, November 20, 10 am – 2 pm
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS
F3: 2 – 5 pm
Saturday, October 29
Saturday, November 19
F7: 2 – 5 pm
Saturday, September 24
• Students may begin as soon as they register.
Fee: $60 for two people, $25 for each additional participant
Watching as the potter’s wheel turns is more mesmerizing than a soap opera. Learn how to use a potter’s wheel and practice centering, opening, pulling, and shaping the clay. Paint your projects with colored slips. Dress for mess. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.
Do you love autumn's radiant colors and cascading leaves? Capture the beauty of fall using foliage to create texture and shapes on your pots. Learn slab construction to make vessels, use leaves for decoration, and paint your projects with colored slips. You'll leaf class loving clay. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.
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. Ages 13 to 17; all skill levels welcome.
Y1: Saturdays, 10 am – 12 pm
Pottery Punch Card for Teens
Instructor: Erin Holt
Four additional sessions: $135 (5% member discount)
• Due to NCC's COVID-19 capacity protocols, students must sign up for sessions in advance online.
F4: 10 am – 1 pm
EDUCATION
As the Wheel Turns
X13: Thursday, September 15, 6 pm CT FREE; register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
X14: Saturday, September 17, 5 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
Gourds come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Use them as inspiration for serving trays and dishes. Decorate your gourdgeous projects with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.
FALLing for You
VISITING WORKSHOPSARTIST&LECTURES
Fee: $60 for two people, $25 each additional participant
CLAY FOR YOUTH
F2: 10 am – 1 pm
Student Fee: $265 (5% member discount)
PLEASE NOTE:
— 37Northern Clay Center
Join A Gathering artists Ashlyn Pope and Sharon Norwood as they share about the ways they use clay as a tool of expression and celebration of Blackness and Black Bodies and the role that clay plays in this connection.
These events are free and open to the public.
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
GOURDgeous Pots
F6: 10 am – 1 pm
Artist Talk: Lisa Marie Barber
Black Bodies and Metaphor in Clay
• Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted. Class may not take place due to holidays or NCC events.
F5: 2 – 5 pm
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
A Gathering artists will come together to engage in meaningful discussion about their creative process in response to the collective trauma following the murder of George Floyd and a global pandemic. The deliberate presence of the exhibition in proximity to George Floyd Square has the intention of conversing with this trauma and negotiating the line of pain and hope, also serving as a place of healing and fellowship with the community. As contributors to this exhibition and conversation, these artists will share the ways in which they have persevered and reflected the pain and strength of Black artists and the Black community all amidst the realities of the pandemic.
At the Precipice of Healing: Power and Change from Their Hands
Join Lisa Marie Barber for an artist talk about her work and process. End the evening with a special preview of her exhibition work.
Fee: $60 for two people, $25 for each additional participant
• Your eight class sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.
Find inspiration in the fall harvest!
A Gathering artists, who all engage in clay and the educational system in different ways, will discuss creative Black labor and its inclusion and disintegration in history, culture and education. By discussing this history and sharing their own experiences in the field of ceramics and in various educational systems, they will offer multidimensional and expanded worldly perspectives by centering Black, African American and African history, art, and experience in American culture, education, and contemporary ceramics. As you engage in their conversation, you are invited to integrate their stories and envision a more comprehensive and inclusive human story and culture together. End the event by reflecting on the experience through a hands-on making activity with clay that will be fired and available for pick up at Northern Clay Center the following week.
22AAH11: Wednesday, October 19, 6:30 - 8:30 pm FREE
22AAH9: Thursday, September 22, 6:30 pm FREE
EDUCATION
38 — Northern Clay Center
22AAH10: Saturday, October 15, 1 - 4 pm FREE
Drop-in PumpkinWorkshop:PinchPot Lanterns
X15: Thursday, October 6, 6 – 7:30 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
X16: Saturday, October 8, 1 – 3 pm CT, FREE Register in advance for in-person or remote attendance
Please join us in welcoming Myronova to the NCC community from the beginning of October through the end of December. During the first portion of her time with us in Minneapolis, she will present an artist talk with time afterward for questions.
Join us over Zoom for a virtual tour of NCC’s exhibitions A Gathering: Works from 'Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists' and Lisa Marie Barber
Read more about A Gathering on page 10, and about Lisa Marie Barber on page 15.
Looking & Learning with Janina Myronova & Hirotsune Tashima
@
This event is hosted in partnership with University of Minnesota’s Department of Art and Department of African American and African Studies and will take place in the In-Flux Room E110 on the University
ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS
ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years old or greater (and their families), ART@ HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and hands-on activities. ART@HAND specializes in meeting people where they are at, including through distance led workshops.
The Ever-present Strength, Power and Longevity of Black Creative Labor
X17: Tuesday, November 1, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login
This event will take place in the Waring Jones Theater at the Playwrights’ Center, 2301 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Masks and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination (two doses in a two-dose series or one dose in a one-dose series) is required for entrance into the event.
Virtual Tour of A Gathering: Works from ‘Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists’ and Lisa Marie Barber
Listen and learn as they share how clay has carried them through and provided ways to speak to the history and realities of Black experiences in America, and how they envision their work and our collective future moving forward.
Orange you glad it's pumpkin season?
Celebrate fall with an afternoon of creativity in clay by making a vessel for candles in the shape of your favorite gourd or other fall inspired object. Learn to construct a hollow form using pinch pots, then carve out shapes on your form to resemble a jack-o-lantern where light from a candle can shine through. This project will be conducted in person, so register in advance as space will be limited. Join us for this creative session that will add a little light to your autumn season. No prior experience necessary.
Join us via Zoom for the 19th installment of this show-and-tell series, featuring Janina Myronova. Myronova,visiting McKnight artist from Poland, and Hirotsune Tashima, visiting workshop artist from Arizona. 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. Join us via Zoom—you don’t want to miss it!
of Minnesota Campus, adjacent to the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, 405 21st Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Read more about Myronova and her work on page 26 and about Tashima's workshop on page 35.
McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Janina Myronova
Minimum Age Restrictions: Only students ages 18 and up are eligible to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops.
Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees. Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay (up to $15), basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be prorated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space.
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 (seven days) prior to the workshop. No refunds will be given with less than one week’s notice.
If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, email education@northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.
— 39Northern Clay Center
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
Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available in NCC’s Sales Gallery for $25 + tax. Other specialty tools are available as well.
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.
• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe!
• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners with financial need
Scholarships are limited and will be available on a first come first served basis to adult students only. Students are eligible to receive only one scholarship per session. We will do our best to offer students one of their top 3 choices of in-person or Clay-Along class or workshop. Once enrolled, all scholarships are non-refundable and non-transferable. Scholarship students are committed to their selected class, and the scholarship cannot be applied to a different class or term. Should a selected class cancel due to low enrollment, students will have the option to transfer classes. Previous recipients can apply multiple times per year, though priority will be given to new applicants.
Education Access Scholarships:
Tuition, Fees, & Refunds:
Policies: COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate: NCC students are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose or a signed exemption and negative COVID-19 test before the start of their activity with NCC. Proof of vaccination or exemption may be submitted online, and information regarding this submission will be sent to you upon registration. Students may also submit information in person at the start of activity at NCC. Youth 16 and under are not required to provide proof of vaccination, exemption, or a negative COVID-19 test result for one-day programming.
Register with cash, or any major credit card. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Member discounts are available online.
Please register early or you might find that your favorite class is full, or canceled due to low enrollment.
We offer two scholarship options:
Fall Class Registration Opens Tuesday, August 2, 10 am
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 NCC-initiated 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-19related symptoms, we ask that you contact us before coming to or entering NCC for any reason.
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.
Within a week of your application, you will be notified of the status of your application and will be aided in registration from there should you receive the scholarship.
Open Studio: The tuition for regular adult classes includes access to open studio time. On average, adult students enrolled in a qualifying class will have access to our studios between 9 am and 9 pm Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9 pm on Mondays, and 9 am to midnight on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (subject to other NCC events and programming). To regulate our studios as much as possible out of concerns for safety this term, students will sign up for open studio in advance via an online sign-up system. Browse our open studio schedule online to check the most up-to-date listing of available studios. NCC reserves the right to close studios for special classes or workshops.
To Register:
For any questions regarding NCC’s scholarship program, please contact Samantha Longley, Education Coordinator, at samanthalongley@northernclaycenter.org
EDUCATION
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.
Due to the high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class.
To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is implementing new scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
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.
Front cover: Sunkoo Yuh, Tiger Cup.
Galleries are open 10 am - 5 pm, 7 days a week. Masks are required and visitors to the galleries are limited to four at a time. We would like to respectfully acknowledge that NCC is located on Dakota land.
Special Needs
The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.
Mission: Northern Clay Center advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Ongoing programs include exhibitions by contemporary regional, national, and international ceramic artists, as well as historical and architectural ceramics; classes and workshops for children and adults at all skill levels; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere.
NCC Shop/Gallery Hours
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
www.northernclaycenter.orgnccinfo@northernclaycenter.org612.339.8007
2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406
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.