Summer Newsletter 2024

EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST SERVICES SUMMER 2024

American Pottery Festival

September 6 - 8, 2024

Sales Gallery, Main Gallery, & Galusha Gallery

Opening Night! Friday, September 6; Members Hour 5 - 6 pm; General Public 6 - 9 pm $25

Online and In-Person Benefit Sale: Saturday, September 7, 10 am CT* FREE

Daily workshops, demonstrations, & free artist gallery talks

*To purchase work from afar on Friday, please read about our free Personal Shopper service

Join us for the 26th Annual American Pottery Festival, September 6 - 8, 2024!

Our annual fundraiser will once again gather ceramic artists from all over the US who represent the best in the field and offer a wide array of ideations, processes, forms, and surfaces. The event kicks off with our horror-themed Opening Night Party on Friday night, September 6, 2024!

All contributions support NCC’s mission of advancement of the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community through education, exhibitions, scholarships, and grant programs. APF serves as an accessible platform to bring together makers, clay lovers, learners, collectors, and simply the curious, to play and be inspired.

Annually, NCC extends invitations to artists with diverse representation as a priority. These artists represent rich, lived experiences and varying perspectives whose pots display a vast array of techniques, aesthetics, and materials as well as pathways to a career in clay. The perspectives, knowledge, and generosity represented by 2024’s artists will provide learning opportunities for everyone, from student to collector to fellow maker. The weekend is filled with opportunities to engage directly with artists during image presentations, workshops, gallery talks, panel discussions, and demonstrations. Scholarships are available for all workshops and demonstrations.

Teapot, Masa Sasaki.

APF Schedule & Fees

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.

GALLERY HOURS & FEES

OPENING NIGHT: Friday, September 6

Members Preview Hour: 5 - 6 pm

General Public: 6 - 9 pm

$25 Saturday, September 7, 10 am - 5 pm

EXHIBITIONS

PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS

100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees. 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

NCC Members receive $10 discount.

Thursday, September 5, 12 - 4 pm

Sam Briegel & Didem Mert

Fees: $80 In-person workshop

$40 In-person for students and educators

$40 Virtual content only

Friday, September 6, 12 – 4 pm

Andy Bissonnette & Will Dickert

Fees: $80 In-person workshop

$40 In-person for students and educators

$40 Virtual content only

WEEKEND DEMONSTRATIONS

100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees. 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

Saturday All-day Demonstrations

Saturday, September 7, 10 am – 4 pm

Fee: $60 In-person workshops

$30 In-person for students and educators

$30 Virtual content only

Sunday All-day Demonstrations

Sunday, September 8, 10 am – 2 pm

Fee: $45 In-person workshops

$25 In-person for students and educators

$25 Virtual content only

Stay tuned to our website for up-to-date Saturday and Sunday workshop listings.

DON'T MISS!

May Featured Artists: American Pottery Festival Preview April 30 - June 2

Sales Gallery and Online

The American Pottery Festival Preview is your ONLY chance to see and buy work by our visiting APF artists in the gallery until APF Opening Night on Friday, September 6. Please join us for this special opportunity. May is your month to visit the gallery and enjoy a sneak peek!

Online work will go live at precisely 10 am CT on April 30, so set your alarms!

For updates on APF events, volunteer needs, workshop and demonstration details, and to purchase tickets or artworks online, please visit www.northernclaycenter.org/APF.

This page, from top: Flower Girl Bud Vase, Jennifer Fujimoto. Blue Car Sculpture, Kim Murton.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Teapot, Andy Bissonnette. Cup, Sam Briegel. Bowl, Nicole McLaughlin. Mug, Bekah Bliss. Vase, Patty Bilbro. Mug, Matt Repsher.

Chris Burch; Speak With Plants, Avé Rivera.

EXHIBITIONS

Members Exhibition

On view May 4 - June 16

Main Gallery

Virtual 3D Tour on view May 10, 2024

Free public opening reception Friday, May 3, 6 - 8 pm

In the summer of 2024, NCC will once again turn its exhibition spotlight on our incredibly talented members (comprising students, educators, professional artists, and novices) with a panel-curated exhibition. Membership is the only requirement for application.

This year, NCC will have a panel-curated in-person exhibition in each gallery featuring work by selected memberartists. All submitted work will be included in an online exhibition featured on NCC’s website regardless of whether it is chosen for display in the galleries.

2024 Members Exhibition and

Members Exhibition: K-12 Educators and Students Panelists

Chotsani Elaine Dean is an artist and assistant professor of ceramics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She received her BFA in ceramics from Hartford Art School (CT) and her MFA from Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis (MO). She has been in residence at the John Michael Kohler Artist Residency (Sheboygan, WI) and is the recipient of a Teaching/Research Fulbright Scholar grant. Dean was the inaugural MJ - DO GOOD resident at the Red Lodge Clay Center (MT), held the position of studio manager at

Wesleyan Potters (Middletown, CT), and is the recipient of a Connecticut Arts Grant. She has lectured and exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has taught at institutions including Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi, India), University of Connecticut (Mansfield), Connecticut College (New London), and Hartford Art School (CT). Most recently, Dean is the recipient of the 2023 McKnight Artist Fellowship for ceramic Artists Award.

Peter Jadoonath is a teaching artist at Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis) and maintains a studio practice and St. Croix Pottery Tour site in Shafer, Minnesota. Jadoonath received a BFA from Bemidji State University (MN) and has been the recipient of several honors, including a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant, the Red Wing Collectors’ Society Foundation Award, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Jadoonath’s work is centered around functional, narrativedriven pottery with a sculptural presence. He describes it best in his own words: “My intent is to create pots that are drawings, and drawings that are pots.”

This page, left to right: Chotsani Elaine Dean. Peter Jadoonath.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Memory Spoon: ‘minding my garden, as they did with their gardens’, Chotsani Elaine Dean. Lidded Jar, Kate Fisher. Teapot, Stephen Fisher. If only, then maybe Liza Ferrari. Through, Alex Chinn. Up and Down Explorers (White Breasted Nuthatches), Susan Feigenbaum. Teapot, Peter Jadoonath.

EXHIBITIONS

Members Exhibition: K-12 Educators and Students

On view May 4 - June 16

Galusha Gallery

Virtual 3D Tour on view May 10, 2024

Free public opening reception Friday, May 3, 6 - 8 pm

In addition to Members Exhibition in the main gallery, 2024 brings the return of the special opportunity to amplify the critical and highly-impactful work by the K-12 educators and students in our community. Much like the show in the main gallery, Members Exhibition: K-12 Educators and Students will be curated by panelists. There will be an in-person exhibition, featuring work by selected applicants, as well as an online exhibition including the work of all applicants.

Northern Clay Center will award twoyear Education Memberships to all K-12 students and educators who apply for the exhibition. Education Membership entitles the holder to the following benefits:

Student Education Membership

• A 5% discount on one student or family workshop, summer clay camp, or Teen Wheel Pottery Punch Card

• A 50% discount on American Pottery Festival Saturday and Sunday demonstrations

• Invitations to special events, free lectures, and pre-sales

• Subscription to our digital newsletter to learn about opportunities, classes, and exhibitions

Educator Membership

• A 5% discount on education opportunities at NCC

• A 50% discount on American Pottery Festival Saturday and Sunday demonstrations

• Access to lesson plans and virtual lectures for the classroom

• Invitations to special events, free lectures, and pre-sales

• Subscription to our digital newsletter to learn about opportunities, classes, and exhibitions

This

Opposite

page: A Homeless Flower, Sierra Johnson.

page, clockwise from top left: A Slice of Fear, Elizabeth Khludenev. I Lay Myself Bare Before You, Hazel Meerson-Hendrie. Wake-up Call, Adam Miller. Stone Gray Teapot, Kate Marotz. Untitled Timothy Bergelin.

EXHIBITIONS

McKnight Artists

June 29 - August 18

Main Gallery

Summer Open House: July 13, 1 – 4 pm

In 2024, NCC’s annual exhibition, McKnight Artists will provide the unique opportunity to view works by the 2023 recipients of the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Chotsani Elaine Dean (Minneapolis, MN) and Anna Metcalfe (Minneapolis, MN). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship.

The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience, and global food systems.

Chotsani Elaine Dean, Tuktuki and Matu, Assam, remembering Jorhat, 2023, slipcast porcelain, mirrored acrylic, cone 10 oxidation.

Chotsani Elaine Dean is an artist and assistant professor of ceramics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She received her BFA in ceramics from Hartford Art School (CT) and her MFA from Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis (MO). The many, complex, layered realities of her communal ancestry's history and visual archives set forth the foundations of creative purpose in her studio practice and research. She strives to sustain and honor the many gifts of her personal and collective history embedded in her communal ancestry's chronicles. She has been in residence at the John Michael Kohler Artist Residency (Sheboygan, WI) and is the recipient of a Teaching/Research Fulbright Scholar grant. Dean was the inaugural MJ - DO GOOD resident at the Red Lodge Clay Center (MT), held the position of studio manager at Wesleyan Potters (Middletown, CT), and is the recipient of a Connecticut Arts Grant. She has lectured and exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has taught at institutions including Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi, India), University of Connecticut (Mansfield), Connecticut College (New London), and Hartford Art School (CT).

Chotsani Elaine Dean, Detail of ‘for Frances Ellen Watkins, circa. 1857, precise exhibition of rhetoric, divine gifts of inquisition, mockery of law in a Calloway County Courthouse, 1855, poetry birthed by cruelty in and upon oceans, The Guinea Voyage, 2023, earthenware, porcelain, stoneware, cones 04, 6, and 10 in both oxidation and reduction.

EXHIBITIONS

Anna Metcalfe lives, maintains a studio practice, and currently teaches at Minneapolis College (MN), in addition to parenting a toddler. She earned her BA in english at College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA) and her MFA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her work exists at the junction of community activism and craft, and she’s inspired by water, agriculture, food, and community. As a teaching artist, Metcalfe loves to promote collaboration and interdisciplinary learning environments between the sciences and art-making. She is a recipient of a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist’s Project Grant for Public Art in 2009, a MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, a Jerome Foundation Study and Travel Grant in 2013, 2015, and 2017 and, in 2018, was an Open-Studio Fellow at Franconia Sculpture Park (Chisago County, MN). She served as a guest lecturer throughout her career at schools including St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), The Holualoa Foundation for Arts (HI), Macalester College (St. Paul, MN), University of Wausau (WI), and College of Saint Benedict & St. John’s University (Collegeville, MN).

Related Events

McKnight Summer Open House

Drop-in Workshop

Visit NCC for an afternoon of claycentric fun—featuring a handbuilding activity/making station during our McKnight Summer Open House. Drop in for this free hands-on activity any time between 1 and 4 pm! There will be 30-minute sign-up sessions on the day of the event.

24AAH9: Saturday, July 13, 1 - 4 pm FREE

McKnight Summer Open House

Reception for McKnight Artists

Saturday, July 13, 1 – 4 pm, FREE

We invite everyone to launch Northern Clay Center’s annual exhibition McKnight Artists with a free summer event. View the works of two talented and established artists from Minnesota. Artists in the exhibition are Chotsani Elaine Dean (Minneapolis, MN) and Anna Metcalfe (Minneapolis, MN). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship.

Join our community of clay lovers for an open house and pottery sale. Partake in food, free hands-on clay activities, a Studio Artist Sale, and our third annual Collectors’ Sale. Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate the exhibition artists, the NCC community, NCC Studio Artists, and the amazing urban Seward Neighborhood that is our home!

Collectors and Pottery Owners!

Are you interested in downsizing your ceramic collection to make room for more artwork? Would rather sell the work than donate it to our ReCollect program? The Collectors’ Sale is for you! NCC will set up your space outdoors and manage all sales. The commission rate is 70% to each collector, and 30% to NCC. The collector is responsible for setting the sale price of each work. We can accept up to five collectors at this year’s open house, and the first names are already coming in. Past years have seen works by Sylvie Granatelli, Bill Gossman, Shirley Johnson, Maren Kloppmann, Eva Kwong, Warren MacKenzie, Kirk Mangus, Ron Meyers, Mike Norman, Taiko Tanaka, and scores of others. It promises to be a compelling sale again this year!

Please contact rachelnusbaum@northernclaycenter.org if you would like to commit to the event or have questions.

Clockwise from top left: Community mural project using clay materials. Executive Director Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp (left) and Sales Gallery Manager Rachel Nusbaum (right) at the 2023 McKnight Summer Open House. Marketing and Technology Manager Amanda Dobbratz (left) and Sales Gallery artist Relations Wendy Eggerman (right) welcome guests to the Sales Gallery at the Open House.

About the McKnight Artist Residency Program

Applications due Friday, May 17, 2024

Since 1997, Northern Clay Center has been the steward of the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists, made possible by the generous contributions of the McKnight Foundation. These programs directly support mid-career ceramic artists from around the world through McKnight Artist Residencies. This residency program provides three months of focused time in the studios at NCC, a stipend of $6,000, and the opportunity to share ideas, techniques, and materials science with our community of studio artists. Past residents have also enjoyed thoughtful conversations and critique between themselves and our local community.

Applications for the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists are due Friday, May 17, 2024 at 5 pm CT. More information on the programs and how to apply is available at: https:// northernclaycenter.org/artist-services/ grants-for-artists/

2024 McKnight Artist Resident, Larry Buller, working in his studio at NCC.

CALENDAR

Assist with NCC’s Summer Clay Camp Program

Northern Clay Center seeks individuals, ages 18 and up, for our 2024 summer camp positions.

Each summer, NCC offers paid Clay Camp Instructor positions, volunteer Clay Camp Assistant positions, and one paid internship. Our 40+ weeklong camps explore either handbuilding or wheel-throwing topics and are designed for students aged 6 and up, at all ability levels.

Clay Camp Instructors create and lead programs through themed camps for up to 12 students in each camp. Instructors work with a Clay Camp Assistant to provide guidance to students and to maintain studio cleanliness.

Clay Camp Assistants work closely with NCC's Education Manager and

Clay Camp Instructors to provide classroom support for weekly summer clay camps. Assistants are valued volunteers who can earn credit toward NCC's adult education classes based on hours worked.

See a world-class ceramics education program from the inside out. Assistants and interns gain experience in preparing materials, assisting with class demonstrations, and, most importantly, working directly with students ages 6 – 16. These are volunteer positions for 15 – 20 hours per week, with commitments from one to ten weeks. Often, these positions lead to paid teaching positions! Experience working with clay, and interest and experience in working with young people is essential.

See our website for full details about all of these positions and how to apply!

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

SEPTEMBER

A clay camp instructor (center) and two happy campers in the handbuilding studio.

June Featured Artists

Paul Eshelman, Bianka Groves, Tom Jaszczak, Betsy Williams

June 4 - June 30

Sales Gallery & Online

Paul Eshelman

Paul Eshelman received a BA in art from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Eshelman’s functional pottery is his cultural attempt, through the material of clay, to bring order and human dignity to the merely physical act of consuming food and drink. “As my pots are used daily, I hope that they carry measures of quiet and nourishment for body and spirit. I imagine people at a dinner table, workspace, or office cubicle where food and drink are served and humanized by hospitable, well-ordered pots.” Since 1988 Eshelman and his wife, Laurel, have been living and making pottery in Elizabeth, Illinois, a small farming community in northwestern Illinois.

Bianka Groves

Bianka Groves received her BFA from Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, DC. Her work is simple and calm; it is intended to add balance to a fast-paced world. There is a bold contrast between the white of the porcelain and the incised black lines but her sense of touch is very delicate. Groves uses an inlay process, which entails covering the piece in wax and drawing through it with razors or acupuncture needles to achieve a thin, constant line, painting the carved areas in black glaze, and wiping away anything that is not in the lines. This creates a tattoo-like effect on the clay. Her highfire porcelain wares are polished after firing to create a satiny, soft touch, each piece revealing her hand at play.

Tom Jaszczak

Originally from Minnesota, Tom Jaszczak received a BA in visual art and a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry from Bemidji State University (Minnesota). Jaszczak was an assistant to both Simon Levin and Tara Wilson. He was a summer resident and a long-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation. In the fall of 2015, Jaszczak began a threeyear residency with his wife Maggie Jaszczak at the Penland School of Craft. In 2018, the Jaszczaks put down permanent roots in Shafer, Minnesota, where they live in a farmhouse and work in a barn-style studio. Jaszczak has received several awards and honors including, a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant, ECRAC Essential Artist Award, NCECA Emerging Artist Award, as well as Ceramics Monthly, Lincoln, and Lillstreet Fellowships through the Archie Bray Foundation. In the summer of 2014, Jaszczak was an Honored Maker at the Maker’s Faire at the White House in Washington, D.C. His current body of work comprises a range of pots made of red earthenware that explore minimalism and are finished with a cone 2 soda-fired surface.

Betsy Williams

Betsy Williams and her husband, stone sculptor Mark Saxe, own Rift Gallery in Rinconada, New Mexico. Williams earned a liberal arts degree at St. John’s College—the "Great Books" school in Santa Fe, New Mexico—then went on to become a money market trader at a Japanese bank in Manhattan. She ultimately left that job for a pottery apprenticeship in Karatsu, Japan, under

Yutaka Ohashi (1994 -1999), and has been a potter since. In spring of 2020, she began prospecting for wild clays in New Mexico. Her research continues to take her all over the state, and to date includes about 150 samples. Several examples of wild clay bodies and wild glazes are included here.

Opposite page, from top: Bowl, Paul Eshelman. Mug, Bianka Groves.

This page, from top: Plate, Betsy Williams. Vase, Tom Jaszczak.

SALES GALLERY

July Featured Artists

Mike Helke, Amy Joy Hosterman, Jan McKeachie Johnston, Mike Norman

July 7 - 28

Sales Gallery & Online

Mike Helke

Mike Helke received his MFA in ceramic art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and his BFA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. A former NCC studio artist, he currently maintains a studio in Stillwater, Minnesota. Helke received a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant in 2008 and the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award in 2006. He’s an assistant professor of art/ceramics at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, and has been a visiting artist, lecturer, juror, and workshop leader at clay centers and universities across the United States. In 2017, he received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, and in January 2020, Helke was featured in Ceramics Monthly with a “Spotlight Interview.” About his work, Helke says, “Each piece physically and conceptually records an animate sensibility derived from my experiences. This record is the catalyst for a calland-response relationship that exists between maker, object, and user.”

Amy Joy Hosterman

Fascinated by rocks, dirt, history, and process, Amy Joy Hosterman has been researching and collecting wild clays and minerals across the country since earning her BFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2010. Her work focuses on the continual study of clay and its role in the natural cycles of our terrestrial world, and comments on our absurd relationships with our environment. Hosterman covers her slabbuilt pottery in repetitive illustrations, using stamps to narrate complex stories with simplified images, and contrasts the bare clay surface with brightly

colored commercial glazes. Hosterman co-founded the Visitor Center Artist Camp (Ewen, MI), a near-wilderness artist residency and environmental arts workshop site in Upper Michigan, where she has developed and directed

the Wild Clay Workshop each summer since 2014. She creates under the name Stinky Cheese Ceramics at her studio in Loveland, CO, and teaches workshops while traveling and hunting for wild clays across the country.

Jan McKeachie Johnston

Jan McKeachie Johnston studied at the University of Minnesota, Southern Illinois University, and received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Since 1979 she has been very active in teaching workshops and demonstrations, working in her Wisconsin studio, and has recently served as an adjunct professor of ceramics at UWRF. For the past 25 years, she has participated in significant exhibitions throughout the United States. She is represented in many private and public collections, including the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia; the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota; and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Additionally, her work has been featured in Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly.

Mike Norman

Perhaps one might learn about me— and consequently my work—by reading this poem by Bill Holm:

Advice

Someone dancing inside us / has learned only a few steps: the “Do-Your-Work” in 4/4 time, the “What-Do-You-Expect” Waltz. He hasn't noticed yet the woman / standing away from the lamp. the one with the black eyes / who knows the rumba.

and strange steps in jumpy rhythms, from the mountains of Bulgaria. If they dance together / something unexpected will happen; if they don't, the next world / will be a lot like this one.

Opposite page, from top: Tray, Mike Helke. Play, Amy Joy Hosterman.. This page, from top: Plate, Jan McKeachie Johnston. Horse Vase, Mike Norman.

August Featured Artists

Jil Franke, Mike Jabbur, Brent Pafford, Olivia Tani

July 30 - September 1

Sales Gallery & Online

Jil Franke

Jil Franke was introduced to ceramics when teaching art in Sydney, Australia. She handbuilds each geometrically designed functional piece of work using a darting technique on slabs. Surface decoration is created using wax resist and slips and finally they are fired in a wood kiln with a light salting. Her work has been exhibited both internationally and nationally, including Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei and Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Center, China. Private collections with her work include The American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Mike Jabbur

Mike Jabbur has a BA in graphic design from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, and an MFA in ceramics from Ohio University, Athens. He is currently an associate professor of art and ceramics as well as a department chair in Art & Art History at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Jabbur is inspired by historical ceramic objects for serving food and drink, contemporary industrial design, the dignity of craft, the act of teaching, the human experience of shared meals, and the concept of morning coffee. His ceramic work is crafted with use in mind and the home as setting. Dodging direct historical and contemporary references, Jabbur creates pots to reflect a timelessness and balance between tension and resolve. His pots are meant to enhance mundane rituals and breathe life affirming meaning into routine activities.

Brent Pafford

Brent Pafford received his BFA in sculpture and ceramics in 2011 from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina and his MFA in ceramics from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina in 2014. Pafford explores the values of daily objects created, manufactured, or brought throughout generations. His most recent study of these objects, GlamCraft, “explores contemporary culture through assemblage of process and materials.” This experimentation with materials creates a meaningful conversation about the traditions of the craft movement.

Olivia Tani

Olivia Tani earned her BFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work is driven by formal exploration and interest in the process of slab-building. During this process, Tani translates between threedimensional form and a two-dimensional “blueprint.” She blends precise building techniques with experimentation to derive her forms. Though she is a functional potter, Tani “indulge[s] in moments of excess that guide [her] formal stylization,” creating forms that serve both as functional utilitarian objects and sculptural forms. She is interested in the way that the viewer interacts with the piece and the “haptic quality of masses and volumes.” Tani is a recipient of a 2017 Fogelberg Studio Fellowship at Northern Clay Center.

Opposite page, from top: Plate, Jil Franke. Teapot, Mike Jabbur.

This page, from top: POPJCT, Brent Pafford. Vase, Olivia Tani.

ClayToGo Partner Spotlight: Valley View Elementary

From monster mouths to bobble heads, private islands to rattles, students at Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights crafted nearly 500 pieces over the course of the 2023 - 2024 school year! This year NCC ran two 10-week programs for students in 3rd - 5th grades through Valley View’s afterschool program, ENCORE, and has been partnering with them for nearly 20 years. ENCORE is an after-school academic and enrichment program designed to provide students with the skills they need to be successful in the future.

Jennica Kruse, who’s been teaching with NCC for over a decade, led this programming in the 2023 – 2024 school year. From assisting in summer camps, to teaching handbuilding and wheel throwing, onsite and offsite, specializing

in both ClayToGo and ART@HAND, Kruse can do it all, to say the least! She is currently balancing teaching with studying in a master’s program for art therapy at Adler College.

Kruse says of the program, “I don't always manage to facilitate the process of drawing ideas before the clay work, but the kids get way into it and drawing their ideas and then creating them in clay seems to be a really good way to explore. Kids showed great growth in understanding about the technical challenges and skills of working with clay (not too thin, scratch and attach, compress/smooth the clay before the cracks get larger!). I also observed some really good growth in the areas of social and cognitive flexibility as they had an extra class experience in their art room but with a different instructor and different expectations. Great place, great kids. I had fun and they had fun! Some brilliant projects!”

Valley View teacher, Peg Nelson said, “The artist built a great rapport with our students, and helped students feel more comfortable with using clay. Students were delighted to have Northern Clay Center back at our school. They love to make art using clay. They don’t get the opportunity to work with clay so this was a great experience for all of the students involved.”

Jodi Gadient, Columbia Heights School District’s community education coordinator, had wonderful feedback, “Northern Clay Center has been amazing to work with. They are organized on all levels, and prepare programming that our students love! Students built their confidence and you could see their excitement grow as they worked on their pieces. We've partnered with Northern Clay Center for many years at several of our schools during out of school time programs and embrace our community. When we lost funding for these programs, NCC was so gracious to stay on at one of our schools and continue out of school time programs for our students. It is wonderful they were able to keep our partnership when we didn't have the means to do so. Their whole organization is wonderful!”

Many schools encounter obstacles when it comes to offering high-quality ceramic arts educational experiences, primarily due to financial constraints and the inherent challenges of accessing the materials and equipment that is required. NCC’s ClayToGo Outreach program is a great way for schools to provide ceramic experiences to their students. NCC is often able to offer grant funds to help with costs and schools do not need to have their own equipment—we bring materials needed and fire projects at NCC.

If you are interested in learning more about NCC’s after-school clay programs, email outreach@northernclaycenter.org.

A selection of "bookshelf buddies" made in our outreach program.

Summer Classes & Workshops

Bask in the warmth of summer and expand your ceramic skills by joining our talented teaching artists for 5- to 10-week classes or a project workshop! Whether you’re interested in handbuilding, wheel throwing, specialty topics, or family activities, our roster of classes and workshops will be sure to inspire some brilliant creations.

Open Studio Note: on weekdays during the summer term, the NCC studios will be buzzing with campers ages 6+ from 9 am - 4 pm. We will continue to offer open studio benefits to all enrolled adults for the duration of their class once Clay Camps have finished for the day/week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 4:30 - 9 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 pm - 12 am; Saturdays and Sundays, 9 am - 9 pm (subject to other NCC events and programming).

Students may use open studio time to practice techniques learned during class hours, experiment, or practice their craft independently. We ask that in utilizing these studio hours, please be mindful of other students and make sure others feel welcome in this shared space.

Weekly open studio schedules will be posted on the bulletin boards in each studio, as well as on our website; select the Education tab from the top menu on our homepage and click “Student Info” (northernclaycenter.org/education/ student-info).

We encourage you to register early as our in-person classes fill up quickly. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and ask to be added to the waitlist of your preferred class. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.

Education Access Scholarships

Applications open Tuesday, April 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 full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need

Scholarships are limited, so please apply early. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter.org under the Education tab.

Students working on the wheel.

EDUCATION

BEGINNER CLASSES

Interested in clay but unsure where to start? Sign up for our beginner classes and get hands-on experience and guided instruction during our 4- and 5-week beginner classes. Learn all of the basics such as building, throwing, slab rolling, and/or glazing techniques. These classes have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little to no experience with clay and want to test your interest and grow your skills. We recommend you take a beginner class two or 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 27—ideal for makers with little or no previous experience.

Beginner Wheel Throwing

Get your wheels turning as you learn the basics of throwing pots on the potter’s wheel. This class will get you familiar with the material of clay and introduce foundational wheel-thrown forms such as bowls and cylinders. Formerly known as “Land of Round Pots.”

BW1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

June 17 - July 15

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW2: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

July 22 - August 19

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW3: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Hannah Prichard

June 18 - July 16

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW4: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Moz Rude

June 20 - July 18

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW5: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Moz Rude

July 25 - August 22

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW6: Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Lucy Yogerst

June 21 - July 19

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW7: Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Lucy Yogerst

July 26 - August 23

Fee: $185 + $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: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman

June 17 - July 15

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH2: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman

July 22 - August 19

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH3: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger

June 26 - July 17 (no class on Juneteenth)

Fee: $145 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH4: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Moz Rude

July 24 - August 21

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

A student refining the lip of their vase on the potter's wheel.

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 during these 9- and 10-week classes. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing forms such as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments like glazing, staining, and slipping, and be introduced to firing procedures. These classes are designed for those with previous wheel-throwing experience, who have taken some

beginner classes (or equivalent), and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.

Let’s Talk About Pots

Explore projects that have us knuckle down on the question why: why do we make pots; why do we use particular clay bodies; why do we always glaze things blue?? This class is focused on communication, experimentation, and celebration of individual artistic voices. Instructor Erin Holt will lead class discussions on your work and the work of other great ceramicists, and will also lead demonstrations that will focus on intermediate/advanced techniques such as handles, lidded objects, matching sets, and more. Demos will encourage students to add signature flair and style to their projects, all in service of defining who we are as potters, crafters, and artists.

AW1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Erin Holt

June 17 - August 19

Fee: $370 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

Lidded Jars

Master the art of throwing jars, including how to use measuring devices to create a “gallery” that allows lids to sit inside a jar’s lip, how to create multiple lids off of a hump, nobs, and more!

AW2: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Carley Holzem

June 26 - August 21 (no class on Juneteenth)

Fee: $330 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

In the Garden

Throw large, throw small, or throw for the birds! Learn how to create watering pots and pitchers, luminaries, bird baths, and berry bowls. Though this class is centered on summer garden celebrations and picnics, the skills covered are relevant year-round.

AW3: Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Clarice Allgood

June 26 - August 21 (no class on Juneteenth)

Fee: $330 + $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.

AW4: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Leila Denecke

June 20 - August 22 (no class on July 4)

Fee: $330 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

Narrative Pots

How can a piece of pottery tell a story? In this class, learn how to carve, paint, and sculpt a narrative onto the surface of your thrown pottery. Students should already be comfortable with throwing bowls and cylinders for their base.

AW5: Saturdays, 2 - 5 pm

Instructor: Jennica Kruse

June 22 - August 24

Fee: $370 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

EDUCATION

Altered Forms

Learn more about thrown and altered techniques to make pots that break out of the traditional mold. Instructor demonstrations will teach you how to cut, add, and alter your pottery to create new shapes, forms, and textures.

AW6: Sundays, 10 am - 1 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

June 23 - August 25

Fee: $370 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED HANDBUILDING

Take a break from crouching over the potter’s wheel and come over to Studio C for some handbuilding! Learn new techniques in coiling, pinching, and slab-building, and delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine working with clay. Bring your favorite tools and challenging ideas to the first class.

Guided Study in Handbuilding

Join Erin Paradis for ten weeks of guided study through handbuilding projects you've been wanting to realize. Erin will demonstrate how to build modularly, use slab strips, use soft and hard slabs, and show various ways to support your larger structures. You will also discuss glaze and surface treatments and create test tiles to experiment with these possibilities. Expect class and individuallyguided demonstrations, one-on-one discussions, and group critiques, as well as helpful resources and suggestions from the instructor to push your concepts and skills to a new level.

AH1: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Erin Paradis

June 20 - August 22 (no class on July 4)

Fee: $330 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES

Atmospheric Firing:

A Summer Solstice Social NCC’s summer soda-firing session will cover a wide range of techniques and surface treatments of slips and stains. Participation in the loading, unloading, and clean up is a great opportunity to explore and immerse oneself in the full process of pot making. Inherently social, firing a kiln together pools the collective enthusiasm, experience, and discovery with each unloading. Post-unload and cleanup potluck (and pot-looking!) outdoors will be heavily encouraged.

T1: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Clarice Allgood

June 18 - August 20

Fee: $370 + $150 lab fee (5% member discount)

Kiln loadings: July 9, July 30, and August 20

Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class. Studio meetings all other weeks.

Ceramic Tiles 101

Have a project in mind or want to learn the secret behind creating flat, visually engaging decorative or functional tiles? This is the course for you! Spend ten weeks exploring the possibilities of creating dimensional tile-work with methods like sgraffito, resists, decorating with slips and glazes, relief, and tricks for creating multiples. Instructor Elizabeth Coleman

will offer demonstrations to equip you to start your project, whether that be creating accent tiles for a backsplash, decorative wall pieces, or to simply inspire and give you a jumping-off point. Learn to integrate planning, design, and skill to build a composition or colony of ceramic tiles tailored to your imagination. All skill levels and experiences with clay are welcome.

T2: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman

June 18 - August 20

Fee: $370 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

Self-Shaping in Clay

This five week class is geared toward anyone with an interest in handbuilding, who is ready to deepen their relationship with clay, and think critically about creative acts. Students will engage in writing, drawing, and discussion exercises that open up connections between the material and personal histories, while generating handbuilt objects that integrate these experiences in both form and surface. Students will be invited to use their writings and sketches as guides to paint with slip onto newsprint, creating transfers that will surface class projects, and allowing the personal nature of candid mark-making to draw parallels between clay vessels and selfhood as a vessel.

T3: Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: E.C. Comstock

June 21 - July 19

Fee: $185 + $30 lab fee (5% member discount)

SPECIAL TOPICS WORKSHOPS

NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.

Mad for Marbling

During this three-hour workshop, learn how to marble two types of clay together—low fire red and raku—to make hand-built plates, bowls, and cups using slabs, pinching, and coils. Explore the contrast, surprise, and fun that marbling has to offer, and put your discoveries to use in future classes and with all the different types of clay that you use! Previous clay experience preferred.

T4: Saturday, June 22, 1 - 4 pm

Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger

Fee: $60 (5% member discount)

Out of the Ashes: Raku 101

Head out to an innovative new space in New Richmond, Wisconsin—Potter’s Without Kilns—for a two-day, handson Raku firing with Mark Lusardi. Bring decorative pieces to life with flashy colors and lively crackles when you move them from the red-hot kiln to the combustion chamber where the Raku magic begins. Students should bring six to eight 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.)

T9: Saturday, June 22, 10 am - 5 pm & Sunday, June 23, 10 am - 4 pm

Instructor: Mark Lusardi

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

Form & Fire: Foci MCGA and NCC

Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts (Foci MCGA) and Northern Clay Center are teaming up to bring you a hot take on craft crossover! Whether you’re new to glass—or ceramics—this class will offer an introduction to the foundations of working with these sister mediums, whose processes both culminate in a final shaping by fire. Discover the ways ceramics and glass can collaborate and inform one another as you form handbuilt molds with clay, then we’ll bring your bisque-fired ceramic forms to Foci for an introduction to fusing and slumping glass.

Meet at NCC for the first day of the workshop, July 20; meet at Foci on July 27. All registration coordinated through NCC.

T5: Saturdays, July 20 & 27, 2 - 6 pm

Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger

Fee: $200 (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 teaching artists who fire multiple kilns each month. 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, July 27, 10 am - 1 pm

Instructor: Hannah Prichard

Fee: $50 (5% member discount)

Kiln Repair 101

Do you have an old kiln sitting in your garage that doesn’t reach temperature and you just don’t know what to do with it? This is the workshop for you!

Head out to Mark Lusardi's Potter's Without Kilns in New Richmond, Wisconsin, for this two-day electric kiln repair workshop. On day one you will be guided through the process

A student concentrates on adding a handle to their mug.

EDUCATION

of diagnosing a kiln, and on day two you will gain technical skills as you learn how to replace elements, relays, and more! By the end of this twoday workshop you will have helped transform a kiln back into a tool that is ready to fire work.

T10: Saturday & Sunday, July 27 - 28, 10 am - 5 pm

Instructor: Mark Lusardi

Fee: $170 (5% member discount)

Get Wild: Harvesting and Processing Local Clay

Join Amy Joy Hosterman for a weekend adventure in wild clay hunting, harvesting, and science. Hosterman directs the wild clay programming at the Visitor Center Artist Camp in Ewen, MI, creates wild clay pottery under the name Stinky Cheese Ceramics at her studio in Loveland, CO, and teaches workshops while traveling and hunting for wild clays across the country.

In this two-day workshop, you’ll learn how to locate, identify, harvest, and process your own wild clays and natural additives. You’ll also learn how to conduct basic tests, both in the field and back at the studio, to determine their suitability for use in your practice. Discuss soil science and sedimentary geology as they relate to finding and identifying clay deposits in your area, and compare the properties of a variety of wild clay samples that Hosterman has collected from across the country.

On Saturday, students will meet at NCC and then spend time off-site hunting for local wild clay and natural

additives, interpreting local soil profiles, and getting hands-on experience in assessing clay for usability. Perform field tests and collect samples to bring back to the studio the next day. On Sunday, we meet in the studio again at NCC, to process our collected materials for use. Test batches of simple clay bodies with a variety of clays and additives found locally and brought in by Amy. Students can also bring in samples of (dry) clay from their own sources if they desire, to process and test. Students will leave equipped with basic knowledge of how to locate, process, and utilize wild clay, and will leave with their own small batches of one or more wild clay bodies to experiment with after the workshop.

This workshop is best suited for those who have an understanding of the stages of clay, building methods, material components, and are physically able to traverse hilly terrain. If you need any ADA accommodations, please reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org at least three weeks before the workshop.

Students will need to provide their own transportation to the off-site location on the first day; the location will be within 30 minutes of NCC and will be sent to participants closer to the workshop.

T7: Saturday, August 10, 10 am - 3 pm & Sunday, August 11, 10 am - 2 pm

Instructor: Amy Joy Hosterman

Fee: $200 (5% member discount)

Ceramics of the Woodlands Period:

1000 BCE - 1650 CE

Before European colonization of the Midwest, there was a robust ceramic tradition that spanned the length of the Mississippi River-including all the way up here in Minnesota. Euro-American archaeologists have dubbed this era ‘The Woodlands Era,’ but limited scholarly work has been done on the ceramics of the upper Midwest's Indigenous peoples. In this workshop, you will get a chance to learn about the early use of clay by Indigenous peoples of this region, explore how ceramic technology changed as time went on, and touch on why so little research has been done on the subject. Lastly, the class will work together to attempt to replicate a coil-built vessel

A student pierces their sculpture in the handbuilding studio.

following the technical style of Late Woodlands ceramicists. Students will explore impressed, punctuated, and corded design work in the style of these early ceramic artists. Finished work will remain unglazed (as per historical tradition) but information will be provided for participants on how to finish their work at home.

T8: Saturday, August 17, 1 - 4 pm

Instructor: Erin Holt

Fee: $50 (5% member discount)

PROJECT WORKSHOPS

No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.

Crafternoon & Crafterdark Pottery Workshops

Bring your friends and make a few new ones and get creative as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $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, June 22, 12 - 3 pm

X2: Saturday, June 22, 5 - 8 pm

X3: Saturday, August 3, 12 - 3 pm

X4: Saturday, August 3, 5 - 8 pm

Instructor: Carley Holzem

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.

X5: Friday, June 28, 6 - 9 pm

X6: Friday, July 19, 6 - 9 pm

X7: Friday, August 16, 6 - 9 pm

Instructor: Carley Holzem

Fee: $90 per couple, per session

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILIES

For all family classes, children must be accompanied by an adult. Neither children nor adults will have access to open studio time during the quarter. Weekend workshops are open to all skill levels, ages 6 and up for handbuilding workshops and 9 and up for wheel-throwing; there are no exceptions to stated age requirements.

Kitchen Cabinet of Curiosity

Find inspiration in the curious world around us. Consider the form of animals, plants, insects, shells, or artifacts as you design and embellish a platter to serve the most inquisitive of guests. Decorate your projects with colored slip. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, June 29

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

F1: 10 am - 1 pm

F2: 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

Sit behind a potter’s wheel and sink your hands into clay. Learn basic skills like centering, opening, and pulling the clay to make bowls and cylinders. Decorate your projects with colored slip. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, July 27

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

F3: 10 am - 1 pm

F4: 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.

Sweetness Contained

Serve sweetness in every spoonful from a jar in the shape of a beehive or stack of pancakes. Make a honey pot or maple syrup jar with a lid using handrolled or extruded coils. Decorate your projects with butter, bees, and colored slip. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, August 24

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

F5: 10 am - 1 pm

F6: 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.

EDUCATION

CLAY FOR YOUTH

Pottery Punch Card for Teens

Our Pottery Punch Card for Teens program is currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and request to 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: $265 (5% member discount)

Four additional sessions: $135 (5% member discount)

PLEASE NOTE: Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted (some Saturdays are not available

due to holidays or NCC events). Students must sign up for sessions in advance for sessions on our online sign up form. Sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.

ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS

ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years and older (and their families!), ART@HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and hands-on activities.

Looking and Learning

Join us via Zoom and/or on Instagram

Live for a unique twist on another installment of this show-and-tell series, featuring ceramic artists Jeff Oestreich and Peter Jadoonath. This iteration of Looking and Learning will be held at Oestreich’s home. The presenters will each share and discuss objects from their personal collections that have inspired and influenced their making or brought joy and new ways of seeing the world through their presence in the artists’ lives.

24AAH6: Thursday, June 13, 5 pm FREE

The Milky Way

Look to the galaxy for inspiration as you learn basic handbuilding skills to create the perfect cereal bowl for your mornings on Earth. Decorate your projects with colored slip. All skill levels are welcome.

24AAH7: Sunday, June 30, 10 am - 12 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen Free

McKnight Summer Open House Drop-in Workshop

Visit NCC for an afternoon of claycentric fun—featuring a handbuilding activity/making station during our McKnight Summer Open House. Drop in for this free hands-on activity any time between 1 and 4 pm! There will be 30-minute sign-up sessions on the day of the event.

24AAH8: Saturday, July 13, 1 - 4 pm FREE

Shake It Up

Learn how to make a pinch pot and turn it into a clay rattle. Shape your rattle into a bird, fruit, animal, or form of your choice! All skill levels are welcome.

24AAH9: Sunday, July 21, 10 am - 12 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen Free

Summer Class Registration Opens

Tuesday, May 7, at 10 am

Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, April 23 at 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 full, or canceled due to low enrollment.

Education Access Scholarships:

To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is implementing new scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community

We offer two scholarship options:

• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need

Scholarships are limited 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 Morgan Lee, education manager, at morganlee@northernclaycenter.org

Policies:

Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available in NCC’s Sales Gallery for $27 + tax. Other specialty tools are available 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

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406

612.339.8007

nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org

www.northernclaycenter.org

Visit Us

2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406

612.339.8007

nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org

Gallery hours: 10 am - 5 pm, 7 days a week

Office hours: 9 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Information for Visitors with Disabilities

Please contact us at 612.339.8007 or nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org with any questions about our facility or with requests for accommodations.

Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with physical or cognitive disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event to make a booking

Signed Interpretation: Signed interpretation is available for any public NCC event. Please call us at least three weeks in advance to request an interpreter.

Wheelchair seating for classes or other accommodations: We offer a rehabilitationstyle potter’s wheel for those individuals that use wheelchairs. NCC is ADA compliant and is entirely wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance of attendance if there are other accommodations we can provide.

The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.

Mission: Northern Clay Center advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Ongoing programs include exhibitions by contemporary regional, national, and international ceramic artists, as well as historical and architectural ceramics; classes and workshops for children and adults at all skill levels; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere.

Front cover: Plate, Yael Braha

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.