Summer Clay Camps 2024 by Northern Clay Center

2024

Clay Camps

June 17 – August 23, 2024 Ages 6+

Come to Northern Clay Center this summer for our fun & fabulous clay camps!

Campers will have the opportunity to create cups, figures, plates, and anything else they can imagine during our 2024 camp offerings. We offer a wide variety of themes—such as potions, woodland creatures, gifts, and more—in small, individualized class settings. Our NCC instructors and teaching assistants provide plenty of guidance and ideas while letting personal flair shine! Our half-day camps meet for 3 hours, from 9 am - 12 pm and 1 - 4 pm, and include a short break for snacks provided by parents and caregivers. Note: half-day camps do not include lunch; NCC offers lunch supervision from 12 - 1 pm for $25 per week for students enrolled in both a morning and afternoon class. Full-day camps meet for 7 hours each day, from 9 am - 4 pm, and include an hour-long supervised break for lunch and non-clay activities. Parents and caregivers should provide snacks and lunches for full-day campers. Please call to find the appropriate age and skill level for your child. We cannot make any exceptions to the published age restrictions, and they will be strictly enforced.

Registration begins online or by phone at 10 am CT on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.

We’ve got the perfect camp for you, with 44 weeklong camps designed for safety, fun, and all ability levels for kids ages 6 and up.

Guide to class symbols H

Handbuilding or sculpture camp: students will make sculptures, figurines, or vessels using a variety of handbuilding techniques. Students will not use the potter’s wheel. Great for children aged 6 - 8.

Wheel camp: students will work primarily on the potter’s wheel learning the basic techniques for creating handmade pottery. All skill levels are welcome. Some camps are marked for students with previous experience. Ages 9+ only.

Fees fo r

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1 – 4 pm Earth Benders Dollhouse Dreams

NCC & Articulture: Can You Dig It? Time Traveling Teacups Slip & Scratch Up North Pretend Playgrounds

If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel the camp, notify registered students, and refund all payments. This cancellation may happen at the very last minute.

• We cannot make exceptions to the published age restrictions. • NCC will send confirmation of registration two weeks prior to the start of camp.

older students. Please check the camp description to verify the age group.

• Camps are generally for students ages 9 + or ages 6+. Some camps are for

Week 5 July 15 - 19

Handbuilding for Teens Creative Cuisine Meditative Mud Ready, Set, Clay! Double, Double, Toil & Trouble

Week 4 July 8 - 12

Cosmic Cups Monster Mash

Faceted Fun Under the Sea

5 Centers: Artful Adornments (Ages 9 - 12) Throw Me How Much You Care Clay Queerdos Clay Critters Luminous Lanterns

9 am – 12 pm Super Snacks First Year Potions

Week 3** July 1 - 5

Week 2 June 24 - 28

Week 1* June 17 - 21

1 – 4 pm Wacky Textures Tiny Treasures

State Fair Staples Zootopia

Center of Attention Minecrafternoon

Camps shaded grey are for ages 6+. Camps marked with an asterisk* are for students w/prior experience.

Pokémug Around the World

Futuristic Foodies MN State Fair

Teen Boot Camp* Jurassic Pottery

5 Centers: Artful Adornments (Ages 13+) Pop Art Pots Ceramic Delights of the ... Table Barnyard Bonanza Plants & Pottery

9 am – 12 pm Superhero Spin Into the Woods

Marvelous Miniatures Alien Invasion

* no camp June 19 **no camp July 4

Week 10 Aug 19 - 23

Week 9 Aug 12 - 16

Week 8 Aug 5 - 9

Week 7 July 29 - Aug 2

Week 6 July 22 - 26

2024 Clay Camp Summary

Week June 17 - 21 (no camp on Juneteenth)

W 24CC01 Super Snacks

Pick your favorite snack and make a vessel to elevate your food experience. Maybe your “ants” need a place to rest other than a celery log? Make bowls for your chips and dip, a cup and plate for your milk and cookies, or whatever ceramic creation that will make your favorite food even more special! Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ Fee: $160 24CC02 First Year Potions W Take a spin on the potter’s wheel before starting your first year in potions!

Jumpstart your studies by making potion bottles and ingredient jars to store your best creations. Mark them well with notes and images using colored slips to detail what they will hold for you. Time: 9 am –12 pm Ages: 9+ Fee: $160 24CC03 Earth Benders W Are you a fan of Avatar the Last Airbender™, anime, or do you just want to

get your hands dirty? Then this class is for you! Earth, fire, air, and water are all vital elements in pottery. Join this camp to master all four elements by learning basic wheel-throwing skills. Then show off your favorite anime through surface decoration on your pots. Begin your avatar training here and fulfill your destiny! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ Fee: $160 24CC04 Dollhouse Dreams H In this camp, you will learn how to slab-build beautiful one and two-story

dollhouses! Do your dolls desire a lovely dinner table, or perhaps a claw foot tub? Using pinching techniques, campers will also be making a variety of furniture fit for even the pickiest of dolls. Together, we will stretch our imagination to create the dollhouses of our dreams! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+ Fee: $160

*Camps marked with an asterisk are for students with previous experience.

Week June 24 - 28

H 24CC05 5 Centers: Artful Adornments W Express yourself through art! Create your own useable and wearable pieces

of art in this special collaboration between NCC and four nearby art centers. Campers will spend one day at each of the centers using a variety of creative mediums to explore personal style and expression, in this order: Northern Clay Center, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, Textile Center, and Articulture. This week’s session is for younger audiences only; the same camp will be offered for ages 13+ during Week 7. All registration will be coordinated through NCC. Time: 9 am - 4 pm Ages: 9 - 12

W 24CC06 Throw Me How Much You Care

Create beautiful gifts for the special individuals in your life, for parents, friends, siblings, or even pets! This camp will introduce basic throwing and decorating techniques to create heartfelt memories. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC07 Clay Critters

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Campers will spend the week learning handbuilding techniques to build a variety of animals through pinching, coiling, and slab building. With an open approach to how to make clay animals, students will build success in handbuilding techniques. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+

W 24CC08 Clay Queerdos

Join us in our Queer Clay Camp for kids. This camp is for beginner and intermediate wheel throwers who want to build community around the ceramic arts and learn more about LGBTQ+ clay history. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC09 Luminous Lanterns

Create dazzling lanterns to glow in your garden or light up your bedside table in this illuminating handbuilding class! Campers will learn slab-building and punching techniques to create a variety of hollow structures that can house electric tea lights. Bring your imagination and come create light-up fairy houses, spaceships, animals, and more. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Week July 1 - 5 (no camp on July 4)

W 24CC10 Faceted Fun

Tired of the same old circles? Learn all about fettling knives and wire tools to transform your simple cylinders with the magic of faceting! Pottery projects will be inspired by sparkling jewels, geological wonders, and geometric symmetry. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ Fee: $160 H 24CC11 Under the Sea

Dive into the ocean and create an underwater ecosystem! Campers will learn how to form pinch pots, coils, and cut slabs to create a submerged scene filled with ocean creatures, such as dolphins, turtles, sharks, fish, and seashells to fill their seascapes. Once fired, the seascapes can be filled with sand, water, or both for decoration or play. The world is your oyster! Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ Fee: $160 W 24CC12 Cosmic Cups

Three, two, one, blast off … into this celestial ceramic journey! Campers will learn how to throw, sculpt, and glaze their very own out-of-this-world cosmic cups. Explore decorative techniques to create unique cosmic designs, swirling nebulas, and shining stars. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ Fee: $160 H 24CC13 Monster Mash

Channel your inner Doctor Frankenstein to create the silliest, scariest, or sweetest monsters you can dream up! Use your imagination to sketch, design, and create a backstory for fun monsters brought to life through clay. Later on in the week, campers will create clay landscapes (or perhaps a secret laboratory?) on which their monster friends can live and play. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+ Fee: $160

Week July 8 - 12

H 24CC14 Handbuilding for Teens

Explore the foundational techniques of handbuilding through pinching, coiling, slab building, and lots of practice! Each day will focus on a technique and theme. Campers will plan, build, and workshop their own projects for the last two days of camp. Previous clay experience is helpful, but not required. Time: 9 am - 4 pm Ages: 13+ W 24CC15 Creative Cuisine

Join us for this flavorful week inspired by all things culinary! Campers will cook up some pottery inspired by delicious snacks and tasty treats—think plates, bowls, and cups that look like food or that you might want to use for serving. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC16 Ready, Set, Clay!

Clay and play! Get ready to make your own games out of clay by inventing new ones or recreating your favorites. Learn different handbuilding techniques, like making slabs and pinch pots, to create your game boards and pieces. You’ll also play a variety of exciting clay games throughout the week that will challenge and inspire you. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC17 Meditative Mud

Keep things simple during this camp session and enjoy the meditative qualities of clay and throwing. Let’s play in some mud and learn the basics of wheel throwing to create an array of ceramic vessels in this challenging, yet relaxing, week. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ W 24CC18 Double, Double, Toil, & Trouble

Create, decorate, and glaze ceramic potion bottles and vessels for all of your mystical concoctions! Learn how to throw basic cylinders and bewitching lidded jars, potion holders, and more. Add some spellbinding finishing touches with clay adornments and NCC’s underglaze elixirs. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+

Week July 15 - 19

H 24CC19 Articulture & NCC: Can You Dig It? W What do anthropology, archeology, and art have in common? Come find out

in this fun camp! Spend mornings digging around NCC transforming clay inspired by anthropological relics and ancient artifacts. We’ll then walk to nearby Articulture in the afternoons to discover some archeological finds by sifting through a variety of art materials to make some amazing objects of antiquity. Note: registration is through NCC. Time: 9 am - 4pm Ages: 9 - 12

W 24CC20 Time Traveling Teacups & Tumblers

From medieval chalices to futuristic mugs, campers will have the chance to transport themselves to different eras through a magical device called … the potter’s wheel! Cover the basics of wheel throwing and handbuilding attachments, while learning more about vessels throughout history and in fiction, to spark ideas while exploring the realms of our own imagined times. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC21 Up North

Create all your favorite things you’d find in Minnesota’s Northwoods; canoes, tents, bears, cabins, moose, loons, and more! Students will have the opportunity to forge their favorite animals and memories from their time up north (real or imagined) using their new handbuilding skills. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC22 Slip & Scratch

Got an itch for new decorating techniques? In this camp, make a variety of pots on the wheel, then practice the art of sgraffito (pronounced scruhfee-toe, which means “scratched” in Italian!) by scratching designs through colored slips. Expand your wheel throwing and decorating skills! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC23 Pretend Playgrounds

Create fantastical playgrounds for people, pets, and imaginary friends! Using pinching, coiling, and slab-building techniques, campers will build creatures to play on monkey bars, slides, merry-go-rounds, and whichever cool features you can dream up. Using inspiration from your favorite parks or from Merwyn Triangle Park next to NCC, we will look at all of the fun shapes and forms that playgrounds have to offer to create one of your dreams! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Week July 22 - 26 H

W 24CC24 Superhero Spin

Unleash your pottery powers! Campers will create superhero-themed pieces using their favorite hero’s signature colors and symbols with colorful slips on our marvelous pottery wheels. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC25 Into the Woods

Over the river and through the woods, to clay camp we go! Adventurous campers will learn the basic skills of handbuilding to create a world full of things we might find in an enchanted forest, such as gnomes, magical animals, mushroom houses, and more. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC26 Wacky Textures

Bark, leaves, lace, string, you name it—let’s use unexpected materials to make textures on our pots. Campers will learn to throw simple forms like bowls, cups, and planters, and then experiment with a variety of textured materials. What happens if you use multiple materials at once? What happens if you paint over our textures, or textures over paints?! The opportunities are endless, so let’s get wacky! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC27 Tiny Treasures

Learn how to build miniature versions of everyday furniture, perfect for fairies, action figures, or small insects to occupy. Campers will construct items such as tiny chairs, beds, and tables using pinch and slab-building techniques to create the perfect hangout for the tiniest of inhabitants! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Week July 29 - August 2

W 24CC28 5 Centers: Artful Adornments Teen Edition H Express yourself through art! Create your own usable and wearable pieces

of art in this special collaboration between NCC and four nearby art centers. Campers will spend one day at each of the centers using a variety of creative mediums to explore personal style and expression, in this order: Northern Clay Center, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, Textile Center, and Articulture. This week’s session is for teens only; the same camp will be offered for ages 9 through 12 during Week 2. All registration will be coordinated through NCC. Time: 9 am - 4 pm Ages: 13+

W 24CC29 Pop Art Pots

Use bold designs and vibrant colors inspired by art history to create some pop art pots! Love Andy Warhol’s bright colors? Or Roy Lichtenstein’s comic book dots? Use modern artists’ vibrant works and pop culture references as a jumping-off point for your own museum-worthy pottery. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC30 Barnyard Bonanza

Cockadoodledoo! Rise and shine for this fun camp inspired by animals found in the barnyard, including cows, pigs, chickens, and horses to name a few. Campers will learn basic handbuilding techniques including pinching, coil building, slab work, and surface decoration to create their own miniature farms. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC31 Ceramic Delights of the Round Table

Learn basic wheel techniques to make goblets and other feast dishes fit for King Arthur’s court. Get creative with handbuilt additions and colorful slip decorations—it will be a royally good time! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC32 Plants & Pottery

Calling all greenery lovers: this camp is all about plants! Campers will create decorative tiles with flowers, plants, and natural patterns, as well as pinch pot planters to use for succulents or small flowers. Throughout the week, we’ll look at examples of other ceramic works incorporating plants and flowers for inspiration, plus any flora we bring in or find outside! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+ 13

Week August 5 - 9

W 24CC33 Marvelous Miniatures

So you’ve mastered the art of full-sized bowls, cups, and plates? Try a new challenge and throw some miniature pottery fit for a dollhouse, diorama, or tea party! Learn how to create small-scale masterpieces using your steadiest hand to add those teeny-tiny details. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC34 Alien Invasion

Embark on a journey of creativity and clay! In this otherworldly adventure, campers will build their own extraterrestrial-inspired pottery, such as Martian mugs, whimsical spaceship jars, and cosmic landscapes. “Come in peace,” and learn a variety of handbuilding techniques to create unique and functional ceramics. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC35 Teen Boot Camp

Our best class for teens with intermediate wheel skills. Refine your throwing skills; learn new forms and techniques; and participate in constructive, collaborative evaluation of your work as a group. Practice what you already know, and learn something new while you’re at it! Previous experience required (minimum of two previous wheel camps or participation in our Pottery Punch Card for Teens program). Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 13+ H 24CC36 Jurassic Pottery

Embark on a prehistoric journey to create your favorite dinosaurs, clay fossils, and Jurassic-era habitats in this fun and adventurous camp. Use a variety of handbuilding techniques and decorative colorful slips to build miniatures, dinosaur-shaped pots, and even planters. This class would be great for any dino-lover, no matter how experienced! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Week August 12 - 16

W 24CC37 Futuristic Foodies

Pottery has been used by humans for thousands of years, but what do you think the pottery of the future will look like? Will we continue to use basic rimmed plates and mugs with handles? Or maybe we will invent new ways to drink and serve our food in this creative camp for foodies! Learn the basics of wheel throwing while channeling your inner inventor and designer. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC38 The Great Minnesota Get-Together

Just in time for the great big get-together, campers will learn basic handbuilding skills to create all of their favorite things from the Minnesota State Fair—Pronto Pups, hot dogs, ferris wheels, a mug for lemonade, animals in the barns, and more. So many choices to create fun projects inspired by everyone’s favorite end-of-summer event! Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC39 Center of Attention

Use the wheel to throw and assemble clay parts to make eye-catching centerpieces, candleholders, bowls, and vases fit for display. Give pieces their final touches with colorful slips to fit perfectly into any room’s decor! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC40 Minecrafternoon

Jump into a world of endless creativity as we combine the pixelated fun of Minecraft™ with ceramic arts! Build your own blocky masterpieces and unleash your imagination in this hands-on experience where virtual and material worlds collide. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Week August 19 - 23

W 24CC41 Pokémug

Create your own Pokémon™-inspired mugs! This beginner wheel class will focus on the basics of throwing and using colorful slips to bring your mugs to life. Bring your favorite book and cards for inspiration. Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC42 Around the World

Travel around the world without leaving the comfort of NCC’s studios! Learn basic handbuilding skills and create projects inspired by world travel, such as islands, boats, exotic creatures, or stunning vistas. Go as far as your imagination will take you! Time: 9 am - 12 pm Ages: 6+ W 24CC43 State Fair Staples

Celebrate the start of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair season with this fun camp honoring all that the great get-together has to offer. Need a small dish for your butter sculptures? A cup for all-you-can-drink milk or the new lemonade flavors? A bowl for hot chocolate chip cookies? We’ve got you covered! Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 9+ H 24CC44 Zootopia

Calling all animal lovers and zoo enthusiasts! Learn how to create a variety of creatures you might see at the zoo through simple slab and pinching techniques. You’ll feel like an expert zoologist in no time. Time: 1 - 4 pm Ages: 6+

Camps

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Registration Information Please Read Carefully Fee for half-day camps: $200 Fee for full-day camps: $375 NCC members receive a 5% discount on all camps* *Unless otherwise noted, member rate applies only to children who are part of a family membership or individual NCC members themselves.

Registration begins 10 am CT, Tuesday, February 6, at www.northernclaycenter.org, or 612.339.8007. Age and Ability Restrictions We work closely with instructors to develop optimal age ranges and ability levels for each class. At the time their camp begins, children must have reached the minimum age and ability level indicated. In order to ensure the success of our classes, we ask that you observe these restrictions when registering your children for camps. Northern Clay Center makes NO exceptions to the ages or ability levels indicated in the descriptions. If you register your child for an age group they have not met, the registration will be canceled, and we will contact you via email or phone to find an appropriate option. If you have questions regarding the age ranges for a camp, please call NCC at 612.339.8007. Logistical Information Drop-off / Pick-up: Check-in will take place in the Teaching Studios on the first day of camp. Please enter through the Teaching Studios door located on the west side of the building. Drop-offs and pick-ups will also take place through this entrance each day. Please be punctual with all drop-offs and pick-ups; do not drop off campers more than 5 minutes before the start of their camp. NCC does not provide daycare or supervision before or after camps. There is free parking on the west side of our building. A parent, guardian, or pre-approved adult must be present to pick up a camper at the end of each day. At no time will any camper be permitted to leave NCC without supervision. Lunch: Caregivers must provide supervision from noon to 1 pm for children registered in separate morning and afternoon camps or pay a $25.00 fee for NCC to provide supervision during the lunch hour. This option is available only to children registered for both morning and afternoon camps during the same week. Caregivers must provide campers with their lunch. NCC will provide supervision during lunch for full-day classes at no additional cost. Snack Break: Campers take a short break every day, so please pack a snack for your child and label the bag with their name. Caregivers need to supply lunches and snacks for children in full-day classes. Please note: NCC’s facility is NOT peanut-free. Please notify us three weeks in advance if your child has special dietary issues that would affect the other campers, and we will do our best to notify other parents of the issue. Campers may visit Merwyn Triangle Park on their snack breaks as a class with adult supervision. What to Wear and Bring: Kids may get messy, so make sure your child wears appropriate clothing and footwear (sneakers are best; no open-toed shoes.) For all camps, kids must bring a reusable bag to hold finished projects. We recommend canvas or nylon, roughly the size of a grocery bag. For wheel classes, we suggest (but do not require) a one-quart bucket and an old towel.

Camper Projects Students can expect to make new work Monday through Thursday, and spend Friday glazing. By the very nature of the material, and the short duration of these camps, some projects will not be glaze-fired but “once-fired” instead, rendering them decorative in nature and not for use to consume food or beverages. Class periods will include time for cleanup, an integral part of the process. Class descriptions are subject to change depending on the ability levels of participating students. Please note: due to the nature of clay and the firing process, NCC cannot be responsible for any damage to work caused by construction technique or the firing or glazing processes. Product Output Expectations: Your children will be encouraged to create several pieces of clay art during class. You can anticipate your child having at least four completed works. Please make note: not all camps result in the same number of objects for campers to take home. Several camps are focused on ideas of production, while others are more experiential in nature, or require a longer investment of time and energy into more complicated wares and objects. Regardless of output, ALL of our camps aim to create a positive and memorable experience for your camper. Completed Projects: Completed projects may be picked up one week after your camp ends; we will NOT call you when they are ready. We strongly recommend that you bring your child with you to help identify what they made. Projects left more than four weeks after the camp ends will be discarded. If you cannot pick up your child’s projects by this date, please make arrangements for someone else to pick them up. Registration Information Tuition must be paid in full to hold your reservation. NCC will make absolutely no exceptions to age ranges indicated in camp descriptions. To Register: Register for your child’s class online; or call or visit NCC during business hours, Monday through Friday, 10 am - 5 pm, at 612.339.8007. Payment may be made by cash, check, or any major credit card. NCC will send confirmation of registration two weeks prior to the start of camp. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel the camp, notify registered students, and refund all payments. This cancellation may occur at the last minute. Refunds: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a camp for any reason no later than one week (7 days) prior to the first camp meeting. A $25 processing fee will be charged if a student transfers from one camp to another. No refunds or transfers will be given with less than one week’s (7 days) notice. Tuition is not prorated. There are no make-up sessions. At the purchaser’s request, tuition may be converted into a tax-deductible donation to NCC. Other Information Scholarships: NCC has a small number of partial scholarships for children, awarded on a need basis. For more information, and to submit and application, please visit the QR code to the right or https://northernclaycenter.org/education/clay-for-youth-families/#scholarships. Special Needs: Signed interpretation is available for any camp. Please call NCC to request an interpreter at least three weeks in advance. Our building is wheelchair accessible and is equipped with a wheelchair accessible potter’s wheel. The information in this brochure is available in large-print format upon request. To contact us via the Minnesota Relay Service, please call 1.800.627.3529. Camps usually fill quickly, so please register early!

612.339.8007 www.northernclaycenter.org

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 28375