AUTUMN 2024
EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST SERVICES
American Pottery Festival
September 6 - 8, 2024
Main Gallery, Emily Galusha Gallery, and Online
Opening Night: Friday, September 6, 6 - 9 pm
Members Hour: 5 - 6 pm
Workshops, Demonstrations, Artist Talks, and Benefit Sale
It was a dark and stormy night at the clay center. The studio tech reached slowly to lift the kiln lid, and upon gazing at the brittle bisqueware face staring back at her from within, she lurched and reflexively drew in a sharp breath. As shadows flickered on walls around her, she heard its whispered, excitable thoughts claw into her mind… “American Pottery Festival is coming.”
Welcome to Northern Clay Center’s 26th 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.
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL 2024 INVITED ARTISTS
Patty Bilbro, Andy Bissonnette, Bekah Bliss, Yael Braha, Sam Briegel, Sarah Chenoweth Davis, John Cohorst, Will Dickert, Jennifer Fujimoto, Stuart Gair, Mary Gattorna of Weather Report Ceramics, Kenyon Hansen, Alisa (AL) Holen, Meredith Host, Peter Jadoonath, Nicole McLaughlin, Didem Mert, Kim Murton, Matt Repsher, Andrew Rivera, Masa Sasaki, Sam Taylor, Jerilyn Virden, and Dallas Wooten.
Images, this page: Masa Sasaki, Teapot, image composite: Joe OLeary. Opposite page: Kenyon Hansen, Teapot
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
WHAT IS AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL?
The power of clay compels you!
Fundraiser: APF is Northern Clay Center’s annual fundraiser. All contributions, and NCC’s portion of the purchased work (created by the spine-tingling 2024 APF artists), support NCC’s mission of advancing the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and grant programs. NCC is a non-profit ceramic art center with a regional, national, and international presence. Whether you are a beginning student in our education studios, 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 2024! Come to learn, explore, splurge, and connect with the beguiling side of clay.
Exhibition and Sale: This year’s APF offers the work of 24 invited guest artists, crossing the threshold into the unknown with the APF Preview Show in May. Annually, NCC extends invitations to artists representing rich lived experiences and varying artistic 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 to works about the communication of identity. The sale is a three-day event offering over 1,400 ceramic works, where every purchase made online or in the galleries supports NCC and our swarm of APF guest artists. The sale will commence with our opening night “Party of the Year” on Friday, September 6, from 6 - 9 pm CT (5 pm for members). We offer our free personal shopping service for those not able to attend in person for any reason. We also offer VIP weekend packages that include entrance to all of the weekend’s festival celebrations and workshops, providing us with additional support.
Education Conference: 2024 APF workshops and artist demonstrations are offered in person in our NCC studios. In addition, there will be virtual options available for each
pre-festival workshop held on Thursday and Friday. Daily artist talks will be available at no cost in the galleries over the weekend, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
APF artists will offer Thursday and Friday hands-on workshops and a weekend filled with demonstrations, presentations, and conversation in the teaching studios with the invitation to pose questions, learn from a shared or new perspective, and enjoy being in the enchanting realm of palpable creativity. Select APF artists will also visit several local schools for demonstrations and educational enrichment.
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 for BIPOC individuals and those in financial need.
For details and pricing, please refer to pages 4 - 9.
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
APF: Fundraiser
Summon your spirit of giving!
American Pottery Festival is NCC’s annual fundraiser. There are many ways to contribute throughout our APF weekend:
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION Support NCC with any size monetary gift, double it with your company’s matching contributions, or encourage a group of colleagues or friends to create a larger donation. Here are a few examples of what your donation can help us achieve:
• $50 Tuition for a parent and child to attend a hands-on workshop
• $100 Kiln costs to fire projects from a multi-week outreach workshop with youth or aging populations in the community
• $250 Tuition for a youth participant in a multi-week workshop or summer clay camp
• $500 Firing NCC’s large gas kiln of work produced in the Adult Education Program
• $2,000 Costs to bring an artist to Minneapolis for a week of workshops or residency in conjunction with an exhibition
• $10,000 A year-long early career artist residency at NCC
BECOME A MEMBER Purchase or renew your NCC membership before APF to take advantage of special workshop pricing and early access to Opening Night tickets.
PURCHASE AN ALL-ACCESS VIP PACKAGE Available in three levels of patronage: GOOSEBUMPS at $125, YOU’LL FLOAT TOO at $250, and FRIENDS TO THE END at $500
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- and valuesdriven work. In addition, APF artists have each graciously donated a piece to NCC—100% of the sale of these special works adds to the success of the event. 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.
You may make a donation—or purchase a membership, tickets, and artwork—online, in the gallery, or by telephone.
SPONSORSHIP We have many sponsorship opportunities available for individuals and businesses. Please consider a donation or underwriting the cost of:
• Airline tickets or miles to support artist transportation to the festival
• Education honorariums for artists offering demonstrations and workshops
• Food and beverage donations for the weekend
• Printing costs
Images, this page: Yael Braha, Vase. Opposite page: Dallas Wooten, Small Jar
APF: Exhibition & Sale APF: VIP Packages
Submitted for your approval…
SHOP IN PERSON Visit the cavernous galleries and your favorite pottery conjurers starting on Opening Night!
SHOP ONLINE Even more transfixing than a campfire tale, hundreds of pots 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 Saturday, September 7 at 10 am CT.
SHOP WITH OUR PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICE For those who cannot attend APF in person, and would like access to all of the work in the galleries at NCC (not just those offered online), we offer our Personal Shopping Service. Registration deadline for this service is Wednesday, August 28, but we highly encourage early registration. This service is free, but a $25 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.
OPENING NIGHT: Eat, drink, and be scary! Friday, September 6, 6 - 9 pm
Members Only Hour: 5 - 6 pm $25
Saturday, September 7, 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday, September 8, 10 am - 3 pm
NCC provides the opportunity to enhance your support of our annual fundraiser and ensure you enjoy shudder-worthy special events and perks at various levels of patronage.
GOOSEBUMPS $125
• One-year Individual Membership
• One invitation to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 5, 6- 8 pm CT
• One Opening Night ticket for early entry on Friday, September 6, 5 - 9 pm CT
• One invitation to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 7, 5 - 7 pm CT
YOU’LL FLOAT TOO $250
• One-year Individual Membership
• One invitation to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 5, 6 - 8 pm CT
• One Opening Night ticket for early entry on Friday, September 6, 5 - 9 pm CT
• One invitation to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 7, 5 - 7 pm CT
• All-day Demonstration Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
FRIENDS TO THE END $500
• One-year Individual or Dual Membership
• Two invitations to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 5, 6 - 8 pm CT
• Two Opening Night tickets for early entry on Friday, September 6, 5 - 9 pm CT
• One registration for each Pre-festival Workshop with Sam Briegel & Didem Mert on Thursday, and Andy Bissonnette & Will Dickert on Friday
• Two invitations to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 7, 5 - 7 pm CT
• All-day Demonstration Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
The Wicked Wares of the Best
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
APF: Conference
I see clay people.
ARTIST GALLERY TALKS
Come into my parlour.
On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll set aside time to listen to some of this year’s beguiling APF guest artists. All talks will take place in NCC’s galleries.
PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS
“Maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into it.”
-Dean Winchester - Supernatural
The tradition of offering dynamic, pre-festival educational opportunities with a spellbinding cast of artists continues in 2024. We offer both of our pre-festival workshops with either in-person or virtual options.
Sam Briegel & Didem Mert
Groovy
Gather ‘round as Sam Briegel and Didem Mert come back to the studios to reanimate pottery making for a ravenous hoard of learners! Briegel will distract with powerful secrets of crafting slab-built pots, guided by strategic use of templates and molds. Meanwhile, Mert will unearth an army of ideas for adorning bisque-fired pottery with delightfully apocalyptic vinyl stencils, glaze trails, and texture. Participants will create their own slab-built cups and vases and fashion small coiled vessels in this secure location. Like the others before you, one by one, they will teach you.
Conference Scholarships and Discounts Available
• 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees
• 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need
• $10 discount for NCC Members
• 50% discount for K-12 through post-secondary students and educators (reflected in the pricing noted).
Thursday, September 5, 12 – 4 pm CT
Fees: $80 In-person workshop
$40 In-person for students and educators
$40 Virtual content only
Images, this page, left to right: Didem Mert, Mug. Jerilyn Virden, Serving Dish Opposite page: Peter Jadoonath, Butter Keeper
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Andy Bissonnette & Will Dickert
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Grab your proton packs and join ceramic artists Andy Bissonnette and Will Dickert for an enterprising workshop focused on the potter's wheel! Suit up alongside Bissonnette as he demonstrates the near-scientific processes behind his coffee containment unit. You will feel like the streams have crossed as he reveals the secrets of crafting each component and (key)mastering the art of the pouring vessel. Jump aboard the Ectomobile with Dickert as he shares his heroic tools and techniques, including clay particle throwing, slab contruction, and coil building. Whether you're a rookie or a Dr. Egon Spangler, this workshop will ignite your spectral creative spark and leave you possessed with new skills (and possibly even Zuul)!
Friday, September 6, 12 – 4 pm CT
Fees: $80 In-person workshop
$40 In-person for students and educators
$40 Virtual content only
WEEKEND DEMONSTRATIONS
They’re here!
Saturday All-day Demonstrations
Saturday, September 7, 10 am – 4 pm CT
Fees: $60 In-person workshops
$30 In-person for students and educators
John Cohorst & Masa Sasaki
Take Me to Your Leaders
10 – 11 am
Embark on a chilling cosmic journey with artists John Cohorst and Masa Sasaki as they unveil their otherwordly techniques for crafting creatures and characters that haunt the depths of space on their pottery. Watch as Cohorst reveals the lost astronauts wandering across porcelain planets, while Sasaki conjures galactic apparitions that lurk within the darkness of his earthenware cosmos. From spectral cosmonauts to unearthly phantoms, this spine-tingling demonstration promises to transport you to the furthest reaches of the unknown, where every vessel tells a tale of close encounters.
Bekah Bliss & Nicole McLaughlin
The Mid-Fire Zone
11:15 am – 12:30 pm
Are you prepared to move into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas? Cross over into the twilight zone of ceramic decoration as artists Bekah Bliss and Nicole McLaughlin guide you through a fifth dimension of uncanny techniques for mid-range surface decoration, where reality and imagination blur into one. Bliss will reveal the mysterious secrets of terra sigillata, imbuing the clay with an otherworldly aura that defies explanation. Meanwhile, McLaughlin will transport you to a middle ground between light and shadow with her eerie mastery of glazes. In this surreal showcase focused on mugs and cups, witness how each artist manipulates shapes and patterns to craft vessels of intrigue, wonder, and unexpected endings.
Sam Taylor & Jerilyn Virden
Conjuring Sculptural Entities
1:30 – 2:45 pm
Sit down to pierce the veil with artists Sam Taylor and Jerilyn Virden in a haunting showcase of their sculptural vessel creations. Observe Taylor’s hauntingly methodical approach of carving away at the surface as though something was trying to burst free. Witness as Virden combines molds, slabs, and coils, to summon forth vessels that seem to pulsate with a life of their own. Dare to convene with the unknown as these artists demonstrate their hair-raising tools and techniques, revealing another realm where pots and sculpture collide.
AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Sarah Chenoweth Davis & Meredith Host
Tissue transfers, sgraffito, and a nice Chianti
3 – 4 pm
Step into this Hannibal Lecture on pottery decoration as Sarah Chenoweth Davis and Meredith Host unveil their FBI (Form, Balance, Imagery) techniques in design. Chenoweth Davis explores greenware and bisque profiles and creates serial patterns with sgraffito, stickers, tape, and wax resist. Meanwhile, Host will exact captivating and layered surfaces using underglaze to apply harrowing hues, weaving sinister tales with tissue transfers and paper stencils. You’ll be held hostage by this spine-tingling masterclass in the macabre art of pattern and color.
Sunday All-day Demonstrations
Sunday, September 8, 10 am – 2 pm
Fees: $45 In-person workshops
$25 In-person for students and educators
Matt Repsher
Sharpest Ghoul in the Shed 10 – 11 am
He’s back! He’s got a knife. He’s got a pot. Join Matt Repsher as he demonstrates the exacting precision necessary to carve and add surface cuts to create intricate patterns on his pots. You’re doomed as you watch him (goalie mask-free) utilize simple repetition to achieve elaborate designs you can’t escape. You’ll be clamoring for a sequel after seeing his unrelenting creative process. This demonstration offers a clear and detailed exploration of Repsher’s backstory, artistic mind, and blade skills.
Jennifer Fujimoto & Peter Jadoonath Meddling Kids
11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Zoinks! Jennifer Fujimoto and Peter Jadoonath reveal clues for creating illustrated vessels. In this episode, both artists share insights into personal storytelling, imagination, and identity. Jadoonath will manifest three-dimensional alterations to his pots in order to embellish their surface illustrations while Fujimoto unmasks a sense of play in her functional vessels and utilizes Japanese and European motifs reflective of her mixed-race heritage. Investigate as they use tools and techniques to develop characters and scenes on the surface of, and within, their vessels. Like, wow! This demonstration solves the mystery for anyone interested in the exploration of illustrated pots.
Patty Bilbro, Alisa (AL) Holen, & Andrew Rivera
It’s Alive! It’s Alive!
1 – 2 pm
Get ready, “for what we are about to see next, we must enter quietly into the realm of genius.” Join ceramic artists Patty Bilbro, Alisa (AL) Holen, and Andrew Rivera as they each embark on the creation of different parts for vessels of their choice. Then, witness the transformation as they trade, manipulate, and join these isolated components to awaken truly thrilling pots. This demonstration, a highlight of the 2024 American Pottery Festival, promises to entice, entertain, and result in monstrous additions to the bisque boneyard.
Images, this page: Al Holen, P.O.V. Seasoning Set
Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Meredith Host, Bowl. Sam Taylor, Square Vase
Sarah Chenoweth Davis, Vase
Pathways: Collaboration, Community, Clay
September 21 - November 3
Main Gallery
Virtual Tour available September 26
Public Reception: Friday, October 4, 6 - 8 pm
On view this fall, in the main gallery at Northern Clay Center, is an internallycurated exhibition in partnership with community organizations, NCC’s Artist Advisory Committee—Pathways: Collaboration, Community, Clay
Pathways: Collaboration, Community, Clay will bring together artists, community programs, and outreach organizations that have embarked on and demonstrated alternative pathways to establishing, pursuing, and supporting sustainable creative experiences and careers in the ceramic field; pathways that dispel the notion that the most valid path is to solely engage and operate within the academy, revealing opportunities beyond the accepted value of academic degrees with accessible and meaningful creative experiences with clay. Participants in this exhibition have activated and continue to create viable pathways parallel to the traditional and, more often than not, expensive and increasingly inaccessible route of academia. This invitational exhibition aims to provide a platform for artists, community programs, and outreach organizations who, with intent, walk and contribute to establishing and validating pathways and inroads to clay outside the support system of academia.
Pathways includes artists who have created sustainable and life-long careers in clay from beginnings in community education programs and makers who have chosen residencies to develop further their studio practice, career, and community; makers who embrace the entrepreneurial realm of production,
commissions, and retail partnerships; the presence of smaller communityfocused studios that serve the needs and interests in the clay of their local communities, with founders sharing and providing creative spaces for local community members; and essential outreach programs that connect diverse communities to ceramic education, activities, and innovating learning experiences with clay.
The exhibition catalog and essay will offer an introduction including short interviews with each artist, program, founders, and members of the local studio organizations in the exhibition. The exhibition will also serve as a starting point for discussions centering the experiences, challenges, and future planning in a symposium-style collaboration of ideas and knowledge with public programming.
Pathways will also serve as a platform to accommodate tours for local schools to explore a gallery installation offering the equivalent of “career day” for clay. To activate community importance and involvement, NCC will serve as a site for voter registration on dates throughout the exhibition run.
Participating artists as of press time: Molly Anne Bishop
Linda Christianson
Sayge Carroll, Mudluk Pottery
Mike Norman
Fiorenza Pancino, Esperienza Italia
resident artist
Tyler Quintin
NCC Outreach ClayToGo partner, WISE (Women's Initiative of Self Empowerment)
WISE’s mission is to empower immigrant and refugee women and girls in the journey of self-actualization. They provide culturally responsive education and advocacy to immigrant and refugee women, girls, and those on the feminine gender spectrum through partnerships. NCC began its partnership with WISE in the fall of 2023 and have numerous programs running through fall of 2024. Work to be exhibited: Self Portrait, Identity Teaching artist: Heather Schroeder
NCC Outreach ART@HAND partners, Ebenezer Park Apartments and Wilder Square Apartments, CommonBond Communities
Both are long-time NCC partners, serving community residents age 55+.Ebenezer is one of NCC’s first ART@HAND partners since 2009 and in the last 15 years, our programming with them has taken numerous formats. NCC has been partnering with CommonBond at multiple sites since 2018 for both ART@HAND and ClayToGo programs.
Work to be exhibited: Self Portrait, Memory Teaching artist: Elizabeth Coleman
Related Events
In partnership with Minneapolis League of Women Voters, NCC is hosting voter registration days in service to our wider community.
Saturday, September 21, 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, September 28, 2 - 5 pm Saturday, October 12, 10 am - 2 pm
Images, opposite page, top to bottom: Fiorenza Pancino, Moana’s Dream. Mike Norman, Horse
This page: Linda Christianson, Basket.
Queer Alchemy: Works by Sarah Knight
September 21 - November 3
Emily Galusha Gallery
Virtual Tour available September 26
Public Reception: Friday, October 4, 6 - 8 pm
Queer Alchemy explores the pull between what is perceived as natural versus artifice and how each is given a value in art, object, and the queer/ transgender experience. Sarah Knight is a transgender ceramic artist who uses experimental materials to create works that embody a “queer alchemy” and question if all matter is queer in a state of transformation. Knight’s current work is meant to foster dialogue about the hyper-categorization and politicization of gender identity, using ceramics as the medium that embodies both found and made, and honors the joy and process of becoming. These works also hold space for the grief that national antitransgender legislation creates.
Visitors will be welcome to interact with handheld fake “rocks” made of reclaimed clay from Knight’s friends and community. These “fake rocks” are formed entirely out of discarded scrap clay that they carve to reveal the strata and geology of Knight’s community. The goal of the show is to immerse visitors in a space of queer becoming, filled with material fascination and fragmentation that gives purpose to both natural and made sculptural elements.
Sarah Knight (they/them) is an artist and arts educator living and working in Saint Louis, Missouri. They grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where they received their BFA from Mills College at Northeastern University (Oakland) in 2013. They graduated with an MFA from Washington University (Saint Louis, MO) in 2020. They have been awarded several additional residencies, including
Images, this page: Sarah Knight, Tremor.
Opposite page: Sarah Knight, Path 2.
at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts (Newcastle, ME), Jentel Artist Residency Program (Banner, WY), and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. In 2021, Knight was one of two Whitaker Foundation Artists-in-Residence at Craft Alliance (St. Louis, MO). Their work has been shown in galleries regionally and nationally. Knight’s first solo exhibition opened at Foundry Art Centre (St. Charles, MO) in April of 2022. They recently received an Artist
Support Grant from the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis to support the development of new work.
Related Event
Artist Talk: Sarah Knight
Join Sarah Knight for an artist talk about their work and process. End the evening with a special preview of their exhibition.
X13: Thursday, September 19, 6 pm CT FREE, NCC Library and virtual
Teaching Artists of NCC
November 17 - December 31
Emily Galusha Gallery
Virtual Tour available November 21
Opening Reception:
Sunday, November 17, 12 - 4 pm
Member Preview Hour, 11 am - 12 pm
Call for Artists!
Calling all teaching artists at Northern Clay Center! If you’ve taught a class, outreach event, or workshop in the last five years for NCC, the moment for your exhibition has arrived.
This winter, in tandem with our Winter Exhibition in the main galleries, NCC will feature the works of all of the teachers who dedicate their talent and generously share their knowledge with our community.
All submissions will be included in the exhibition and should include an artist bio, images of the one work to be displayed, and image details including title, year made, materials, dimensions, and value.
Submissions are due by September 13, 2024, 11:59 pm, CT.
Please contact Tippy Maurant at tippymaurant@northernclaycenter.org with questions about your submission.
McKnight Resident: Karima Duchamp
Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming our fall McKnight Resident, Karima Duchamp. 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.
Karima Duchamp (Mulhouse, France) is a ceramic artist and a painter. Her practice incorporates ceramics, paintings, drawings that she likes to combine. Her highly refined, yet particular sense of materiality, combined with an elegant sense of atmosphere, contribute to her enveloping and resonant artwork.
Duchamp builds up thin slabs of clay in geometric shapes and often paints alluring silhouettes and landscapes that evoke emotion. Her practice is an investigation of pictorial expressive gestures that explores the irregularities and imperfections of the process. Her forms trace the tensions that reveal inconsistencies in the spaces. Clay allows Duchamp to tell the passage of time, a meditative and poetic space where the story of her memories is expressed using precarious and fragile forms.
Her universe is a fascinating dialogue and a reflection on the human and the emotional potential of vulnerability, fragmentation, and intimacy through the exploration of the duality between weakness and strength. The ideas of this seemingly oppositional dialectic running through her works, as other notions like abstract and figurative, mechanical
and organic, traditional and forwardlooking, constantly mirror each other. They find expression in vibrantly colored sculptures and large-scale paintings that often develop from the essential aspects of clay and paint such as material composition, a process that strives to give meaning to time sedimented in a reduction of means.
Duchamp received her MFA with Honors from Institut Supérieur Des Beaux Arts (Besançon, France). Her work has won multiple awards including 1st Prize at the 30th Concorso di Ceramica Contemporanea "Mediterraneo" at Museo della Ceramica di Grottaglie (Italy) in 2023, the Siegburger Keramikpreis (Germany) in 2022, and 1st Prize at Internationale Keramiktage Oldenburg (Germany) in 2014, allowing her to be invited as a guest artist at The Clay Studio (Philadelphia).
Duchamp’s work has also been included in numerous solo and group shows across the world including at Paris Design Week, Collectible (Brussels), Salon Art + Design (New York), Art Basel (Switzerland), Design Miami, and Moderne Gallery (Philadelphia).
Her work is featured in public collections including Musée Ariana (Geneva), Stadtmuseum Siegburg (Germany), New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), The Clay Studio (Philadelphia), and Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (Japan). As a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, she continues her ceramic explorations through artistic residencies worldwide.
ARTIST SERVICES
About the Program
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. This residency program provides recipients with three-months of focused studio time at NCC and 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.
The application portals for the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists will open in March 2025.
Related Events
McKnight Resident Artist Talk: Karima Duchamp
Please join us in welcoming Duchamp 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.
Tuesday, October 22, 6 pm CT Free,
X15:
In-person and virtual
Images, left to right: Lily Fein, Flower Pot, 2023, porcelain, glaze. Lily Fein, Blue Checkered Vase, 2023, porcelain, glaze.
2024 Early Career Artist Award Recipients
Each year, artists from around the country apply for the Early Career Artist Awards at Northern Clay Center. These awards allow a group of emerging professionals to maintain the momentum they have developed through their formal and informal education and artistic experiences, while challenging themselves to continue developing their work so they are able to forge their way in the world as artists.
Northern Clay Center is proud to offer, and continue developing, the Early Career Artist Awards to contribute to the advancement of the field of ceramic art by providing formative opportunities for makers who are early in their careers. NCC’s programming is immeasurably enriched by the annual contributions of new and creative energy brought to our studio community by these early career artists. The 2024 award recipients include artists from the full spectrum of contemporary ceramic arts.
NCC is proud to support and highlight these five recipients as part of our mission to support artists at all stages of their careers.
EARLY CAREER ARTIST RESIDENCY AWARDS
ECAR Awards provide recipients with a furnished studio with 24/7-hour access for one year, a material and firing stipend, a group exhibition in January of 2026, employment and professional development opportunities, and features in NCC’s Sales Gallery. The BIPOC Studio Fellowship provides the awardee with additional including networking opportunities in the field, help arranging mentorships, and financial support to help offset the cost of living. This year, the panel awarded the Anonymous Artist Studio Fellowships to both Jessica Hernandez (Buffalo, NY) and Hannah Kautto (Missoula, MT) and the BIPOC Studio Fellowship to Khalil Jannah (Detroit, MI)
Jessica Hernandez
Jessica Hernandez is a ceramic artist working in Buffalo, NY. Born in California, Hernandez uses her passion for aquatic life to give a voice to the plight of these animals in the ever-changing political and environmental landscape. Her biomorphic sculptures are inspired by recurring dreams, literature, and the vast beauty of the ocean. Using the visual language of coral, crustaceans, mollusks, and other sea life, Hernandez conceives forms of life that may exist only within a human-constructed record. She uses
Images, this page: Jessica Hernandez, Cnidaria Tubastraea Coccinea, Anthozoa Series
Opposite page: Hannah Kautto, Primary
ARTIST SERVICES
wheel throwing, handbuilding, and press mold techniques to form representations of complex organisms. She graduated from Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction) in 2021 with a BFA in studio art and a focus on ceramics.
Additional work by Hernandez can be found on Instagram at @hey_there_Jesss
Hannah Kautto
Hannah Kautto was born and raised in Rochester, MN. Kautto’s work navigates the dialogue between objects and the power they have for interpretation through exploration of the utility of objects and questioning their purpose. She received an Associate of Fine Arts degree from Rochester Community and Technical College (MN) in 2015. After graduation, she moved to Minneapolis, where she spent two years working in a
ceramic production studio and in 2018, moved to Missoula, MT. Kautto was a summer resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula in 2023 and in 2024, was awarded a BFA in ceramics from the University of Montana (Missoula).
Additional work by Kautto can be found on Instagram at @hannah_kautto_
Khalil Jannah
Khalil Jannah is a multidisciplinary visual artist who finds solace in observation. He's a studio potter, line cook, and published writer. Born in Milwaukee, WI, Jannah moved to Atlanta, GA at the age of nine. He attended George School, (Newtown PA) a Quaker boarding school, and received his bachelor's degree in sociology at Bates College (Lewiston, ME). He regularly has a surplus of ideas and not enough hours in the day. However, his work currently aims at highlighting humanity’s agency
About his work, Jannah says, “Each vessel references a chess piece while drawing inspiration from the human body. Narrow necks and endings are meant to symbolize our tendency to limit the dissonant information we consume. I've observed we live in a world where individuality is subjugated to mental conditioning. Subsequently, degradation of the self ensues a perceived loss of agency. I hope that my work percolates curiosities of the conditioning you were subject to without your consent.”
Additional work by Jannah can be found on Instagram at @khaliljannahart
POTTERY MUSEUM OF RED WING AWARD
This award is made possible by the Pottery Museum of Red Wing, and is presented by Northern Clay Center to a deserving individual pursuing a career in pottery, or studying the historical aspects of the pottery industry. The Museum endeavors to broaden the appreciation of pottery, past and present, for the general public and maintains the Pottery Museum of Red Wing (@potterymuseumrw) in Red Wing, Minnesota. Work samples by past recipients can be found on display within the collection of the museum which has no admission fee.
Ivy Mattson
Ivy Mattson is a functional ceramicist based in Minneapolis, MN. Her wheel thrown and altered work is highly decorated—projecting joy, wonder, and curiosity—values that are echoed in her teaching practice. Mattson first began working with clay while earning her BA in art education at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN). She was then a ceramic studio artist at the Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND), while teaching art in Moorhead. Mattson then moved Minneapolis where she completed the Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education Program at Northern Clay Center in 2023, while continuing to teach and make. Through reflections of nostalgic memory, Mattson experiences a cathartic process in making and hopes to help those who experience her work recapture and revitalize their present moment in light of their past.
ARTIST SERVICES
Additional work by Mattson can be found on Instagram at @mudandivy
WARREN MACKENZIE ADVANCEMENT AWARD
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 program, 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 2024 to May 2025. Through this year’s selection process, one recipient was selected to have their proposal funded.
Carly “Car” Riegger
Carly “Car” Riegger (they/them) is a chronically ill and disabled artist from Ann Arbor, MI. Since finding clay, they have been able to express their illness in ways that words could not. Their artwork naturally merged with their experiences with disability. Riegger received a BFA in ceramics from Bowling Green State University (OH) in 2020. In 2023, they completed a post-baccalaureate program in ceramics at Indiana University Southeast (New Albany). Their biggest project to date included a panel and exhibition called #CripClay at Current, the 57th annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference in 2023. This exhibition included exclusively artists with disabilities—one of the first of its kind at the conference. Currently,
Images, this page: Khalil Jannah, Space Bishop to E5. Opposite page, top to bottom: Ivy Mattson, Blooming Flower Basket
Car Riegger, Stretch and Divide
ARTIST SERVICES
Riegger is pursuing an MFA in studio art from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Both their artwork and career goals involve disability inclusion and rights. They are working to expand how the ceramics and arts communities work with artists with disabilities.
Additional work by Riegger can be found on Instagram at @carlyriegger
Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients!
The 2024 selection for the Early Career Artist Residencies and the Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award were Joon Hee Kim, Ellen Kleckner, and Peter Jadoonath.
The panel was overwhelmed by the number and quality of the applications that were received. All of these portfolios demonstrated a sense of creativity that extends beyond the traditional paths of research. The panel was interested in supporting emerging voices that would amplify overlooked perspectives in the field and applications which demonstrated a thirst for growth in the community of artists at NCC. Even with these guideposts, they found their decisions incredibly difficult to make with so many strongly-qualified applicants.
Please watch our website and our winter newsletter for future application deadlines. If you would like to host a presentation on our grant programs at your school or institution, or if you have individual questions about the programs, please contact Sean Lofton at seanlofton@northernclaycenter.org.
Early Autumn Featured Artists
Kevin Caufield, Linda Christianson, Willem Gebben, Kurt Brian Webb
Jewelry Spotlight: Statement Necklaces
September 11 - October 13
Sales Gallery & Online
Kevin Caufield
St. Paul, MN
Kevin Caufield has been a full-time artist and teacher for over 41 years. Caufield is known for functional porcelain and stoneware pottery, custom dinnerware, and his custom designed restaurant tableware and his work is collected nationally and internationally. He is a popular ceramic instructor for all levels of students, and teaches classes and gives workshops worldwide. Caufield apprenticed with the late Robert Eckels in the 1970s. Since then, he has been living and working in the Twin Cities. He opened his studio and gallery in St. Paul In 2013.
Linda Christianson Lindstrom, MN
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.
Willem Gebben Colfax, WI
Willem Gebben was born in Delft, Netherlands. He received his BA from Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI), and in 1976 apprenticed with master potter David Eeles at Shepherds Well Pottery in Mosterton, Dorset, England. Currently, Gebben is a full-time studio potter in Colfax, Wisconsin. He creates a wide variety of wood-fired functional pottery out of both stoneware and porcelain clays and glazes, all of which he mixes and processes himself. His sure sense of form and expert handling of surface, texture and detailing make each piece a true work of art. Gebben’s work is included in collections throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Australia.
Winter Open House
Save the Date!
Sunday, November 17, 12 - 4 pm Member Preview Hour, 11 am - 12 pm FREE
Kurt Brian Webb’s formative education spans not only professional degrees (BFA, BS, MFA, and ME) in education, ceramics and printmaking, but also includes attending Illinois public schools during the ‘60s and ‘70s, building houses with his father in the ‘80s, and traveling alone across the United States and abroad throughout much of his adult life. Still based in Illinois, Webb has now taught (and learned) in public schools for over 30 years while maintaining a studio practice. His current ceramic work aesthetically and functionally references decorative tea ware while visually celebrating an eclectic cast of characters and strange tales from what he calls “…the grittier side of life.”
This month we focus on statement necklaces. Discover unique pieces that showcase the beauty, creativity, and talent of our full-time sales gallery artists.
Please join us for our annual Winter Open House. Share the joy and creativity of the season in a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Shop a wide range of beautiful ceramic artworks, enjoy an immersive experience with hands-on clay activities, and watch captivating artist demonstrations that will leave you inspired. We invite all members to the Preview Hour from 11 am - 12 pm and bring along a friend with whom they can share their member discount in the galleries. Free gift wrapping will be available for all purchases!
Please visit our website for updates as the event draws nearer.
Images, opposite page, left to right: Kevin Caufield, Bowl
Linda Christianson, Basket. Willem Gebben, Dish
This page, left to right: Kurt Brian Webb, Teapot. Maia Leppo, Necklace
Kurt Brian Webb Palatine, IL
Jewelry Spotlight: Statement Necklaces
A customer shops the Winter Exhibition during the Winter Open House.
Late Autumn Featured Artists
Selina Chen, Leila Denecke, Daniel Velasquez, Judith Yourman
Jewelry Spotlight: Earrings
October 15 - November 10
Sales Gallery & Online
Selina Chen Jingdezhen, China
Selina Chen graduated from Central Saint Martins (London) with a degree in jewelry design. Chen studied ceramics and glass making at Sheridan College (Toronto) She has worked as a furniture designer in Guangzhou, China and also has product design experience. Chen is currently based in Jingdezhen, China where she has her own ceramic and art shop. She is the co-founder and codirector of The Kiln Room Studio and Residency program (Jingdezhen, China).
Leila Denecke Scandia, MN
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 and the ceramic Art Research Institute. She is a 2013 recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. In 2004, and again in 2008, 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.
Daniel Velasquez Aptos, CA
Before graduating with a degree in ceramic sculpture from San Francisco State University (CA), Daniel Velasquez was welding and concrete-casting at the artist studio 5 Feet from the Moon since age 16. After graduating, Velasquez worked with large-scale ceramic artist Mattie Leads, whose practice inspired him to consider the scale, scope, and environmental implementation of his own art. Velasquez now incorporates new technologies, like CNC-operated machines and 3D modeling programs, into his studio process. Through combining them with more physical and ancient materials like clay, Velasquez aims to accentuate the mediums and their humanity. Community, wonder, and public art are important to Velasquez, who has been working as an international muralist the past few years, and these values find their way into his ceramic practice as well.
Plymouth, MN
Judith Yourman’s artwork crosses media, from ceramic sculpture to multimedia installation, prints, and animation. Her “ceramic wall drawings,” figurative shaped clay wall forms, explore the boundaries between ceramics and drawing, paper and clay. Yourman is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight and Jerome Foundations. Her work appears in permanent and private collections, including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art. She has taught in the art departments of the University of Wisconsin (Madison), Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges (Northfield, MN), and has created arts programming for public schools around the Twin Cities. Yourman received her BFA from Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY) and an MFA from the University of Minnesota.
Jewelry Spotlight: Earrings
Don't miss our spotlight on our favorite jewelry piece; earrings! We're highlighting a vibrant range of colorful earrings that'll add a personality to every outfit. From everyday wear to bold options for special occasions, you'll find the perfect pair for any style.
Images, opposite page, left to right: Selina Chen, Bee Bee Boo Boo
Cups. Leila Denecke, Crib Box. Daniel Velasquez, Urn
page, left to right: Judith Yourman, Wall Sculpture
Heather Nameth Bren, Earrings
OUTREACH
ClayToGo Spotlight: Groveland Park Elementary
During the spring of 2024, Northern Clay Center’s ClayToGo outreach program partnered with Groveland Park Elementary (St. Paul) for a school-wide artist residency. In just three weeks, our program worked with each grade—from pre K to fifth grade—reaching almost 450 students in total. Each class had four, 50-minute sessions with NCC’s talented outreach teaching artist and Anonymous Artist Fellow, E.C. Comstock.
Meaghan Shomion, art teacher at Groveland Park Elementary, worked with NCC from start to finish, helping map out the program’s structure and assisting Comstock in each class throughout the entirety of the program. She was a great factor ensuring things ran smoothly and tending to classroom needs, allowing Comstock to focus on providing highquality ceramic education.
Shomion wrote, “I loved how there were components of the project Comstock expected students to do, but then they could be creative and more open after that.” A highlight she mentioned was that “students were discussing how they were going to use their vessels or who they were going to gift them to.”
Taking on a school-wide residency entails a large amount of preparation from teaching artists, including making sure they have exciting projects that are suitable for each grade and many skill sets.
Comstock planned unique projects from bird finger puppets and rainbow-shaped trays for pre-K and kindergarteners, yawning monsters and animal shakers for first and second graders, and gnome homes and island landscape worlds with third to fifth graders.
Taking into account individual students’ learning styles and adjusting teaching methods accordingly was just as important as creating fun projects. Comstock shared their teaching strategies and explained, “working with the second to fifth graders, I demonstrated once at the start of each day and they had the rest of the time to work. With pre-K to first graders, it was much more effective to demo the first few steps, let them work, and then gather the class again to show them the rest of the steps. This allowed us to utilize the time much more effectively. Making bird finger puppets with
pre-K and kindergarteners was really successful. I also tried a project cutting out a cloud and attaching a segment of a rainbow with the kindergarten that was the perfect balance of prescribed steps and opportunities for individualization that I'll definitely be using again. With groups that tended to finish faster, it was effective to have the next project coming up in mind so that they could be directed to start sketching ideas with their remaining time.”
Shomion expressed “I loved how in the last days [of the residency] students were asking for Comstock's help rather than mine” and that many students expressed excitement and anticipation about when they would be able to bring their projects home.
Comstock relayed that several students said "I wish we could do clay everyday!" or "I want to stay here and work on my project all day long." It is truly special to be able to offer an entire school of children this opportunity. All of us at Northern Clay Center are proud to be part of helping students make clay into a forever memory!
If you have a school or organization that is interested in working with clay for a residency or after-school program, please contact Community Engagement Manager, Alysha Hill at 612.339.8007 x313 or alyshahill@ northernclaycenter.org.
Animal rattles made by students at Groveland Park Elementary.
Fall Classes & Workshops
As the days start to get longer, so do the classes at NCC! Enjoy all the coziness that autumn has to offer with one of our 6- to 12-week classes or a project workshop. Whether you’re interested in handbuilding, wheel throwing, specialty topics, or family activities, our roster of talented teaching artists will be sure to inspire some cheery creations.
We continue to offer open studio benefits to all enrolled adults for the duration of their class. Students may use this time to practice techniques learned during class hours, experiment, or practice their craft independently. Adult students generally have access to our studios Mondays, 4:30 - 9 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 am - midnight; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 9 am - 9 pm (subject to other NCC events, programming, and studio schedules).
Students no longer need to sign up for access to open studio, and space is available on a first come, first served basis. We ask that in utilizing these studio hours, please be mindful of other students and make sure others feel welcome in this shared space. Weekly open studio schedules will be posted on the bulletin boards in each studio, as well as on our website; select the Education tab from the top menu on our homepage and click “Student Info” (northernclaycenter.org/ education/student-info).
We encourage you to register early as our in-person classes fill up quickly. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and ask to be
added to the waitlist of your preferred class. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.
BEGINNER CLASSES
Interested in clay but unsure where to start? Sign up for our beginner classes and get hands-on experience and guided instruction during our 5- and 6-week introductory classes. Learn all of the basics such as building, throwing, slab rolling, and/or glazing techniques. These classes have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little to no experience with clay and want to test your interest and grow your skills. We recommend you take a beginner class two or more times (within one term, or over consecutive terms) to build your skills and prepare for Intermediate-to-Advanced classes and beyond. Wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for $27 at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25-pound bag of clay up to a cost of $25, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.
Be sure to check out our series of oneday project workshops beginning on page 30—ideal for makers with little or no previous experience.
Beginner Wheel Throwing
Get your wheels turning as you learn the basics of throwing pots on the potter’s wheel. This class will get you familiar with the material of clay and introduce
Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, July 23
NCC is committed to maintaining accountability and pursuing action to build meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity in the ceramic community. We recognize that there are significant systemic racial and economic impacts that impede participation in the arts, and resulting financial barriers contribute to further divide. To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC has implemented scholarship options for our education programming. Our goal is to open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
We offer two scholarship options:
• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need
• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
Scholarships are limited, so please apply quickly. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter. org under the Education tab.
EDUCATION
foundational wheel-thrown forms such as bowls and cylinders. Formerly known as “Land of Round Pots.”
BW1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
September 16 - October 21
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW2: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Paola Evangelista
October 28 - December 2
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW3: Tuesdays, 2 - 5 pm
Instructor: Ivy Mattson
September 17 - October 22
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW4: Tuesdays, 2 -5 pm
Instructor: Lucy Yogerst
October 29 - December 3
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW5: Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Jennica Kruse
September 20 - October 25
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW6: Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Jennica Kruse
November 1 - December 6
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
Beginner Handbuilding
Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine. Formerly known as the “Three Graces of Handbuilding.”
BH1: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
September 17 - October 22
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BH2: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
October 29 - December 3
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BH3: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
September 19 - October 24
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
BH4: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman
October 31 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving)
Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
Beginnermediate Wheel Throwing
So, you’ve taken a few beginner classes, but don’t feel ready for an Intermediate-to-Advanced class just yet? Try a “beginnermediate” level class for students who fall somewhere in between! Expand on the basics of wheel throwing, perfect your bowls and cylinders, and spend more time getting your hands dirty with an NCC instructor for a full term.
BW7: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Ruby Sevilla
September 17 - December 3
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
BW8: Thursdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Lisa Himmelstrup
September 19 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving)
Fee: $415 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
INTERMEDIATE-TOADVANCED CLASSES
Looking to refine your techniques and further develop your voice in clay? Intermediate-to-Advanced classes will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay! Many of these classes have a specific focus but leave room for personal interests and growth. If you’re unsure which level to register for, our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class, via phone or email: 612.339.8007 x309 or education@ northernclaycenter.org.
As with all NCC classes, please wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for $27 at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25-pound bag of clay up to a cost of $25, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.
INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED WHEEL THROWING
Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel, build on your foundations, and discover the secrets of making great pots. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing forms such as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments like glazing, staining, and slipping, and be introduced to firing procedures. These classes are designed for those with previous wheel-throwing experience, who have taken some beginner classes (or equivalent), and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.
Center of Attention
Show off your skills by making impressive centerpieces, conversation starters, and other novel creations. Class demos and projects will focus on pieces that have some oomph to them—large platters, towering vases, clever jars, and more. Emphasis will be made on creating captivating finishes and surface detailing that give your work a signature finish unique to you.
AW1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Erin Holt
September 16 - December 2
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Throwing Boot Camp
Elevate your throwing skills! Whether you're still mastering basics or an advanced potter aiming to refine your technique, this class offers personalized instruction and hands-on practice to help you achieve your ceramic goals.
AW2: Tuesdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Kevin Caufield
September 17 - December 3
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Pottery Advancement
Refine and advance your wheel throwing and handbuilding skills and techniques. Some demonstrations will combine throwing and handbuilding and some will be exclusive to each process. Be sure to bring your calipers.
AW3: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: David Swenson
September 17 - December 3
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Edge-wise: Thoughtful Rims & Feet
Explore a wide variety of techniques for the beginnings and ends of a pot. These expressive, essential elements can unify a pot’s beauty and function… or not. Students will take a good, long walk around this focus, from soft or leatherhard alterations, to additions and subtractions. Make and investigate what it means to bring it all together—the foot, the body, and the rim—so that your pots may more generously carry your voice.
AW4: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Clarice Allgood
September 18 - December 4
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Guided Study in Wheel Throwing
Are you looking for a more individualized approach to your ceramic instruction? Established artists and makers are invited to join this guided study to sharpen their throwing skills and techniques, expand their repertoire of forms, and advance their craft.
AW5: Thursdays, 2 - 5 pm
Instructor: Leila Denecke
September 19 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving) Fee: $415 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Pulverizing with Pottery
This class is a helpful way to brush up on throwing skills while learning to throw and alter specialized forms that all enable the pulverization of food. Demonstrations will cover mortars and pestles, garlic grinders, spice strippers, juicers/reamers, spoon rests, and meat tenderizer mallets. Students will leave class confident in a range of techniques to square off round pots, alter and combine multiple thrown forms, and
harmonize throwing and handbuilding vocabulary to create highly functional and aesthetic pieces.
AW6: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: E.C. Comstock
September 19 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving) Fee: $415 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Dinner Sets
Explore all that dinner sets have to offer with teaching artist Risa Nishiguchi! Learn more about creating your own unique tableware, such as plates, lidded containers, serving bowls, platters, drinkware, and more.
AW7: Saturdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi
September 21 - December 7
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
A student putting finishing touches on their pot on the wheel.
EDUCATION
INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED HANDBUILDING
Take a break from crouching over the potter’s wheel and come over to Studio C for some handbuilding! Learn new techniques in coiling, pinching, and slab-building during these full and halfterm classes. Delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine working with clay. Bring your favorite tools and challenging ideas to the first class.
Coil Concentration
Devote your attention to your artistic and technical development through coil building—a versatile and dynamic way to handbuild allowing for unique and endless possibilities of form. Learn and practice multiple coil construction techniques as you work through a variety of project prompts. Students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of surface decoration techniques with engobes, stains, and glazes.
AH1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger
September 16 - December 2
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Pour It On
You can’t clap with one hand, just like you can’t pour something out without having something to pour into! Students will explore a wide range of pouring vessels, including teapots, creamers, pitchers, and an assortment of cups, mugs, and drinking bowls designed to complement these vessels. Make unique gifts for others for the coming holidays or just have fun pouring out your creativity.
AH2: Tuesdays, 2 - 5 pm
Instructor: Marion Angelica
September 17 - December 3
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Handbuilt Pots for the Kitchen
This 6-week class is designed for those who want to use or learn handbuilding skills for building vessels with utility in mind. Forms including mugs, plates, platters, and jars will be demonstrated.
AH3: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Moz Rude
September 18 - October 23
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
Modern Artifacts
This class will look at prehistoric ceramic forms made from the oldest techniques in ceramics: handbuilding methods. What kind of forms were made and for what uses prior to the pottery wheel? Students will learn about functional and small-scale sculptural forms from ancient history and apply them to their creative processes and modern uses. This class is for those who want to dive deeper into the history of handbuilding and explore themes of prehistoric uses for clay.
AH4: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Moz Rude
October 30 - December 4
Fee: $225 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)
Guided Study in Handbuilding
Expand your handbuilding fundamentals to explore figural, architectural, animal, decorative, and functional applications of clay. Work with low- or high-temperature clays as you accept technical challenges and achieve your sculptural vision with guidance from the instructor. Investigate
critical thinking as it pertains to the evolution of your work. Bring your favorite tools and have some challenging ideas ready for the first class.
AH5: Fridays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Franny Hyde
September 20 - December 6
Fee: $445 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES
Intro to Soda-Fire: Making, Loading, Firing
Want to try soda firing, but the full-term class keeps selling out or seems too daunting? This class will be an in-depth introduction to the soda firing process— making pots, loading and firing the kiln, and unloading! One soda kiln will be fired during the shortened session. The first few classes will be a balance of in-class explanations of the soda firing process, and demonstrations showing how to craft pottery that will thrive in the soda firing process. The final class(es) will cover glazing and preparing pieces for firing and loading the soda kiln. After the firing process is complete, participants will be expected to attend an unloading/cleanup session to receive their finished pieces.
T1: Thursdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Chris Singewald
September 19 - October 24
Fee: $225 + $75 lab fee (5% member discount)
Kiln loading on October 24; unloading on October 27
T2: Thursdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Chris Singewald
October 31 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving)
Fee: $185 + $75 lab fee (5% member discount)
Kiln loading on December 9; unloading on December 12
Some Assembly Required
Cups, bowls, and plates are great forms on their own, but can you imagine the possibilities if you pieced them together? Learn how to make simple forms into more complex compositions, by altering both thrown and handbuilt pieces into lidded containers, ladles, juicers, scoops, coffee pour-overs, and more! This class is recommended for those who have previous experience on the wheel and are working at an intermediate to advanced level.
T3: Thursdays, 2 - 5 pm
Instructor: Lucy Yogerst
September 19 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving) Fee: $415 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
Advanced Soda Firing Methods
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 most of the kiln loadings and unloadings with opportunities to introduce the soda into the kiln. This class is designed to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students who are interested in exploring different surfaces with their pieces. Primarily intended for those who are at advanced levels of construction— throwers and hand-builders welcome.
T4: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Instructor: Emily Murphy
September 19 - December 5 (no class on Thanksgiving)
Fee: $415 + $150 lab fee (5% member discount)
Kiln loadings: October 17, November 7, & December 5
Firing and unloading schedule will be worked out during class. Class will meet all other non-firing weeks.
SPECIAL TOPICS WORKSHOPS
NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops unless otherwise noted.
Out of the Ashes: Raku 101
Head out to an innovative new space in New Richmond, Wisconsin— Potters Without Kilns—for a two-day, hands-on 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 pieces—made of Raku clay, bisque fired, and no larger than a cantaloupe—to glaze before heading to the kiln. Pieces made with even thickness and strong attachments will handle the shocking transformation best. (Note: Students will not have access to NCC’s open studio time unless they are already enrolled in a ten-week spring class at NCC.)
T5: Saturday, October 5, 10 am - 5 pm & Sunday, October 6, 10 am - 4 pm
Instructor: Mark Lusardi
Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)
The Hot Seat: Electric Kiln Firing 101
So, you’ve read your kiln manual but still have questions about firing? We’ve got answers! In this one-day workshop, you will learn the basics of firing and maintaining your own electric kiln. Covering basic information about 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 our studio manager who fire multiple kilns each week. This workshop does not authorize NCC students to fire our kilns independently, but is helpful for art educators and anyone aspiring to become an NCC studio artist. Basic clay knowledge is preferred.
T6: Saturday, October 12, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Audra Smith
Fee: $50 (5% member discount)
Coil. Pinch. Sig.
Join Kate Marotz for a two-day workshop exploring her unique handbuilding techniques. Learn how she creates her sculptural yet functional ceramics through coil building, pinching, terra sigillata (often shortened to “terra sig”), and surface design. Marotz will also speak on the development of her work over the years and her progression from wheel throwing to handbuilding. All skill levels welcome.
T7: Saturday & Sunday, October 26 - 27, 11 am - 2 pm
Instructor: Kate Marotz
Fee: $150 (5% member discount)
EDUCATION
PROJECT WORKSHOPS
No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops unless otherwise noted.
Crafternoon & Crafterdark Pottery Workshops
Bring your friends and make a few new ones and get creative as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $45 fee includes instruction and materials for one adult. Students can expect to make three to five pots and decorate them using colorful slips and textures. Your pots will be ready to pick up in about two weeks.
X1: Saturday, September 28, 12 - 3 pm
X2: Saturday, September 28, 5 - 8 pm
X3: Saturday, October 26, 12 - 3 pm
X4: Saturday, October 26, 5 - 8 pm
X5: Saturday, November 23, 12 - 3 pm
X6: Saturday, November 23, 5 - 8 pm
Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $45 per person, per session
Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops
Looking for a unique date activity that is sure to impress your partner? Try NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other, BFF, or family member and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment. Already attended a session? Sign up again and take your skills to the next level. The $90 fee includes instruction, materials, and firings for two adults. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks later.
X7: Friday, September 27, 6 - 9 pm
X8: Friday, October 25, 6 - 9 pm
X9: Friday, November 22, 6 - 9 pm
Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $90 per couple, per session
Cooking in Clay: Pipkins
Join guest instructor, Doug Van Beek, for a day celebrating clay cookware! Students will learn about the history of ceramic pots and food vessels, as well as how to construct a medieval pipkin—a round bowl with a hollow handle coming off of one side and angled slightly upwards. Pipkins were traditionally used for cooking on top of hot coals and for storing food.
X10: Sunday, September 29, 10 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Doug Van Beek Fee: $60
Cocoa for Couples
First date, or been together for 20 years? Come to NCC for a creative date night! You’ll learn to handbuild a hot cocoa mug and then the challenge begins: will you make matching mugs? Characters from the same story? Will you express your individual styles? You willl decorate your creations with colorful clay slips. Pieces will be fired and ready for pick-up approximately two weeks following the workshop.
X11: Friday, November 1, 6 - 9 pm
Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman Fee: $90 per couple
Handles Make the Pot
In this workshop, learn to create ten different types of handles with our expert handle-maker, Marion Angelica,
to make your pottery truly unique. Students will need to bring their own greenware for adorning. Previous experience is preferred.
X12: Saturday, November 2, 10 am - 2 pm
Instructor: Marion Angelica Fee: $75
Slab Plates & Trays
Enjoy making handmade plates and trays using molds and slabs of clay. Explore textures and the therapeutic process of working with clay. Great for first timers and families with children ages 6+.
X13: Sunday, November 10, 12 - 3 pm
Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi Fee: $60
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS
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.
Throwing Together
Parents and kids spend a little quality time together learning a new skill! Learn to make basic cylinders, bowls, plates, and more as you grow your skills using the potter’s wheel over the course of this 8-week class. 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.
F1: Sundays, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Instructor: Keather Lindman
September 22 - November 10
Fee: $330 for two people, one adult and one child
Canopy of Clay
Be inspired by fall foliage as you explore surface design. Use leaves to impress texture and pattern in clay. Then learn basic handbuilding skills to make a variety of forms reflecting the beauty of the season. Paint your projects with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.
Saturday, September 21
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
F2: 10 am - 1 pm
F3: 2 - 5 pm
Fee: $60 for two people, one adult and one child. $25 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
Family Wheel Throwing Workshop
Learn how to use the 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.
Saturday, October 19
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
F4: 10 am - 1 pm
F5: 2 - 5 pm
Fee: $60 for two people, one adult and one child. $25 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
Covered in Coils
Explore rolled, extruded, and slab coils and the different results they produce. Then make a cup, pot, or vase using your favorite technique. You learn to move the clay inward and outward as you join one coil at a time. Paint your projects with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.
Saturday, November 16
Instructor: Eileen Cohen
F6: 10 am - 1 pm
F7: 2 - 5 pm
Fee: $60 for two people, one adult and one child. $25 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.
CLAY FOR YOUTH
Pottery Punch Card for Teens
Pottery Punch Card for Teens is currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please reach out to education@northernclaycenter.org and request to be added to the waitlist. When a spot opens, we will reach out and extend the opportunity to register.
Teens may purchase eight, 2-hour classes, to be used on any Saturday, 10 am - 12 pm. Classes will cover the fundamental techniques of throwing basic forms on the potter's wheel and creating surface decoration using glazes, slips, and applied elements, with varied demonstrations and projects for advanced students. Create a series of functional pots with high-temperature clay bodies. Previous experience is not required. Students may attend on a drop-in basis and the complexity of projects will depend on multiple consecutive classes. Great for students and families with busy schedules. Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty; NCC will provide the tools and the clay. Students do not have access to open studio time. For ages 13 to 17 only.
Y1: Saturdays, 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Erin Holt
Ongoing
Fee: $275 (5% member discount)
Four additional sessions: $140 (5% member discount)
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted (some Saturdays are not available due to holidays or NCC events). Students must sign up for sessions in advance for sessions on our online sign-up form. Sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.
A parent and child working together on the potter's wheel.
EDUCATION
ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS
ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years and older (and their families!), ART@HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and hands-on activities.
Sweater Weather
Make small plates inspired by your favorite cardigan, v-neck, cable knit, or argyle sweater. Using slabs and paper templates, participants will cut out sweater patterns, personalize them with details and adornment, and paint projects with colored slips. All skill levels are welcome.
AAH10: Sunday, October 20, 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Eileen Cohen Free
Looking and Learning:
Amanda Dobbratz and Liz Pechacek
Join us on Instagram Live @northernclaycenter for a unique twist on another installment of this show-and-tell series, featuring ceramic artists Amanda Dobbratz and Liz Pechacek. This iteration of Looking and Learning will be held at Dobbratz’s home. The presenters will each share objects from their personal collections that have inspired and influenced their making or brought joy and new ways of seeing the world to their lives. This event will also provide an opportunity for these artists to share where they are at in their making journeys. This Looking and Learning session will be recorded and shared on our YouTube channel for those unable to join.
AAH11: Tuesday, November 12, 6 - 7 pm FREE, Instagram Live @northernclaycenter
Winter Open House Drop-in Workshop
Join us during NCC Winter Open House for a FREE hands-on handbuilding workshop to create a ceramic winter gear decoration, such as a hat, mitten, skis, etc. All projects will be fired and ready to give as gifts by December 11.
AAH12: Sunday, November 17, 12 - 4 pm FREE, Studio C
Holiday Bazaar
With the holidays ahead, consider making a gift that inspires the warmth of the season! Design and build a candle holder using basic handbuilding techniques that will shine all winter long. All skill levels are welcome.
AAH13: Sunday, December 1, 10 am - 12 pm Instructor: Eileen Cohen Free
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS & LECTURES
These events are free and open to the public.
Artist Talk: Sarah Knight
Join Sarah Knight for an artist talk about their work and process. End the evening with a special preview of their exhibition.
X14: Thursday, September 19, 6 pm CT FREE, NCC Library and virtual
McKnight Resident Artist Talk: Karima Duchamp
Please join us in welcoming Duchamp 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.
X15: Tuesday, October 22, 6 pm CT Free, In-person and virtual
Participants creating winter animals at the 2023 Winter Open House. @
Fall Class Registration Opens
Tuesday, August 6, 10 am
To Register:
Register with cash or any major credit card. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Member discounts are available online.
Due to the high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class.
NCC will send confirmation of registration. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel class, notify registered students, and refund all payments without penalty. Decisions are made approximately one week before classes begin.
Please register early, or you might find that your favorite class is either full or canceled due to low enrollment.
Education Access Scholarships:
To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is offering scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.
We offer two scholarship options:
• Full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
• Half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need
Scholarships are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis to adult students only. Students are eligible to receive only one scholarship per session. We will do our best to offer students one of their top three choices of class or workshop. Once enrolled, all scholarships are non-refundable and non-transferable. Scholarship students are committed to their selected class, and the scholarship cannot be applied to a different class or term. Should a selected class cancel due to low enrollment, students will have the option to transfer classes. Previous recipients can apply multiple times per year, though priority will be given to new applicants.
Within a week of your application, you will be notified of the status of your application and will be aided in registration from there should you receive the scholarship.
For any questions regarding NCC’s scholarship program, please contact Education Manager, Morgan Lee at morganlee@northernclaycenter.org
Policies:
Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available for purchase during the first class check-in, and in NCC’s Sales Gallery for $27 + tax. Other specialty tools are available in the Sales Gallery as well.
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). 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.
Minimum Age Restrictions: Only students ages 18 and up are eligible to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops.
Continuing Education Credits: If you are a teacher in need of CEUs, contact the education department to learn how NCC’s classes and workshops can be taken for continuing education credit.
Weather: As a general rule, NCC will remain open during inclement weather. We take our cues from local colleges and universities for canceling or rescheduling classes during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe!
Tuition, Fees, & Refunds:
Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees. Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay (up to $25), 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.
Classes: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a class no later than one week (7 days) before the day of the first class meeting. 50% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class within the seven days prior to the first class meeting or within the first two business days after the first meeting. After this period, if a student elects to drop a class, tuition and fees will NOT be refunded for any reason except documented medical emergencies. There are no other exceptions to this policy.
Workshops: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least one week (seven days) prior to the workshop. No refunds will be given with less than one week’s notice.
If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, email education@northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.
Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, July 23 at 10 am
2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.339.8007
nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org www.northernclaycenter.org
Visit Us
2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.339.8007
nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org
Gallery hours: 10 am - 5 pm, 7 days a week Office hours: 9 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday
Information for Visitors with Disabilities
Please contact us at 612.339.8007 or nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org with any questions about our facility or with requests for accommodations.
Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with physical or cognitive disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event to make a booking.
Signed Interpretation: Signed interpretation is available for any public NCC event. Please call us at least three weeks in advance to request an interpreter.
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.
Wheelchair seating for classes or other accommodations: We offer a rehabilitationstyle potter’s wheel for those individuals who use wheelchairs. NCC is ADA compliant and is entirely wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance of attendance if there are other accommodations we can provide.
The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Front cover: Andrew Rivera, Taco Tray