SUMMER EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST SERVICES
2020
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DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Northern Clay Center
outreach programs will be different now. Everything is different now. We know that it’s better for us to wait, observe closely, and respond with mindful creativity rather than to speculate about how they will continue to change. We know one thing for certain: this NCC community is solid and determined. Yes, this team is whole. Like a lot of you, we moved as much work as we could to our homes at a moment’s notice and the team continues to be nimble, positive, innovative, and relentless. We still have much to navigate, but looking back at the first part of the year, I’m proud of us. I’m proud of the studio artists, teaching artists, guest artists, gallery artists, students, collectors, the clay lovers, our peer organizations, and every one of our community partners. The ceramic world has a backbone like no other, and we are simply thankful for all of you. This is going to be short and light. We are all aware of what is happening around us, and this — a note from an arts organization serving some of the best (clay) people — should be your respite. Yes, we have a new leadership team at Northern Clay Center. Kyle RudyKohlhepp and myself are the Interim Co-Executive Directors. While it could be offered that this was quite a challenging season to transition into leadership, this experience quickly and beautifully illuminated our compatible values, areas for growth, and complementary skills. Our most pronounced undercurrent is one of gratitude for each other and the people we serve. We both highly value
trust and transparency, and we are dedicated to weaving those values into every decision and effort. Yes, we canceled, closed, and postponed a previously unthinkable amount of programming and services during one of the most challenging eras in our lifetimes. NCC is still here, and we are creating avenues to serve artists and communities in ways that didn’t exist when the new year began. The forced acceleration of the evolution of our ideas and their fruition brought with it a new awareness of our potential. We know that our studios will be different now, our American Pottery Festival weekend will be different now, and our
Tippy Maurant Interim Co-Executive Director
Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
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American Pottery Festival September 4 – 6, 2020 Sales Gallery, Main Gallery, & Emily Galusha Gallery Opening Night Party and Benefit Sale: Friday, September 4, 6 – 9 pm Members Only Cocktail Hour with the Artists, 5 – 6 pm
Northern Clay Center is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2020 American Pottery Festival, our annual fundraising benefit. Ceramic artists from across the country will illuminate and celebrate the honor in, and value of, the millions of ways to be and live and create in the U.S. They will generously offer glimpses of their studio practice, focusing on critical insight, technical information, and principles and elements of design. Perhaps most humanizing, they will share experiences as makers through panel discussions, artist talks, demonstrations, and an exploration of the core significance of the medium within the context of this year’s incredible challenges. NCC will once again deliver a combination of engaging, influential voices from across the spectrum of American Ceramics! AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL 2020 INVITED ARTISTS Osa Atoe, Ashley Bevington, Patty Bilbro, Andy Bissonnette, Doug Casebeer, Pattie Chalmers, Amanda Dobbratz, Justin Donofrio, Sanam Emami, Brett Freund, Stuart Gair, Guillermo Guardia, Mike Helke, Peter Jadoonath, Randy Johnston, Bill Jones, Kathy King, Forrest Lesch-Middelton with Arash Shirinbab, Jordan McDonald, Catie Miller, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Tricia Schmidt, Mike Tavares, Sandra Torres, Kurt Brian Webb Please visit northernclaycenter.org/APF for more information about workshop registration, tickets, and our sponsors. Justin Donofrio, Pitcher. Portrait by Joseph D.R. OLeary.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS INCLUDE: Doug Casebeer & Randy Johnston Between the Idea and the Making This workshop is a rare opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with internationally-recognized ceramic artists Randy Johnston and Doug Casebeer. In this workshop, Johnston and Casebeer will focus on the exchange of ideas involved in making pots related to form and function with sculptural intention. Demonstrations will cover the use of the wheel and handbuilding in the construction of forms by altering and combining pieces and using slabs and paper patterns. In addition, they will share their thought processes through conversation with each other and the participants about why they make the objects they choose to make and what experiences in their lives brought them to this place in their journey as artists. This engaging and memorable workshop, filled with personal discussions about traditional and new ways of making, surface decoration, wood firing, soda firing, gas firing and their relationship to contemporary ceramics, is not to be missed. Johnston and Casebeer will present images of historical and contemporary work in ceramics and offer personal slide lectures of work and influences. Thursday, September 3, 9 am – 5 pm Friday, September 4, 9 am – 4 pm Students, Educators, NCC Members: $200 (non-members $225) Kathy King Unearthing Story Kathy King, queen of the narrative vessel, invites you into her world full of texture, feminism, and critical perceptions. Her sensual carvings on
utilitarian vessels work as a conduit to provoke impressions of gender, sexuality, and the influence of popular culture on the stories we believe. Journey with King as she demonstrates her vessels from conception, to creation, to carving; she will demonstrate her sgraffito and carving techniques and share the influence and crossover of printmaking and mixed media in her work. As you absorb her process, lean in to unfolding the story you have to tell, whether it be personal narrative or thematic perspectives, and explore profound ways to share and embody them through the physicality of clay. Friday, September 4, 9 am – 5 pm Students, Educators, NCC Members: $115 (non-members $130) SATURDAY SESSION September 5, 9:30 am – 5 pm $5 tickets available at the door or online, includes all artist lectures in NCC’s library All-Day Saturday Workshop Pass: Students, Educators, NCC Members: $55 (non-members $65) SUNDAY SESSION September 6, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm $5 tickets available at the door or online, includes all artist lectures in NCC’s library All-Day Sunday Workshop Pass: Students, Educators, and NCC Members: $30 (non-members $40) Weekend workshops include: Ashley Bevington & Tricia Schmidt Allusive Zoomorphism From satirical poodles to introspective sloths, the work of Ashley Bevington and Tricia Schmidt never ceases to make us curious about what activity or
role their creatures will take on next. Whether these exaggerated animals exist to be purely comedic or allude to anthropomorphic depths, watch as the artists demonstrate their construction style and process, and bring their characters to life before you. Both will transform a wheel-thrown form, Bevington through adding adapted features and lavish texture, and Schmidt through building embellished creatures onto, and incising them into, the form. Discover the use of animals as symbols in their work that speak to their own personal experience and the human condition, and contemplate these connections in your own life. Justin Donofrio & Andy Bissonnette Ordering a Surface Justin Donofrio’s rhythmic objects ask us to reflect on our relationship with the earth and ways we attempt to control it. Andy Bissonnette’s mesmerizing complexity directs us to contemplate mysteries achieved by hand. Both artists deliberately order their pots, and also direct us to confront their work in a conscientious manner with deliberate deconstruction. Join Donofrio and Bissonnette as they demonstrate their different approaches to designing and executing an ordered surface and the layered assembly and carving processes that serve the entrancing rhythms of their work. Stay tuned to our website for up-to-date Saturday and Sunday workshop listings.
Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Don't Miss! May Featured Artists: American Pottery Festival Preview On view online: May 5 – 31 The American Pottery Festival Preview is your last chance to see and buy work by our visiting APF artists until APF weekend, September 4 - 6. Don't miss this special opportunity!
Work by artists presenting workshops during APF weekend in Minneapolis. Clockwise from top left: Kathy King, Ashley Bevington, Andy Bissonnette, Randy Johnston.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Six McKnight Artists July 3 – August 23* Main Gallery and Emily Galusha Gallery *Originally scheduled dates of this exhibition may change
The annual exhibition, Six McKnight Artists, features work by the 2019 recipients of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Kelly Connole (Northfield, Minnesota) and Guillermo Guardia (Saint Paul, Minnesota), as well as by the 2018 recipients of the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Ted Adler (Kansas), Alessandro Gallo (Montana), Hidemi Tokutake (Japan), and Leandra Urrutia (Tennessee). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship or residency. Kelly Connole received her BFA from the University of Montana in Missoula and her MFA from San Francisco State University. Combining the tactile nature of clay with memories and emotions, Connole addresses relationships within environments: natural and constructed, human and animal. In addition to her participation in solo and group exhibitions across the country, Connole has been named the recipient of numerous grants and awards by organizations including the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and previously by the McKnight Foundation as a Resident Artist. Additionally, she has authored numerous articles, essays, and reviews for publication, and has taught at an array of art centers and universities including
her current position as Professor of Art at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Guillermo Guardia draws inspiration from art history, his upbringing in Peru, Catholicism, his transition to living in the United States, and political events to create both figurative sculptures and functional pottery. He received his BFA in industrial design from Pontifical Catholic University in Lima, Peru and both his MFA and MS in industrial technology from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Guardia has exhibited nationally and was awarded a fellowship from North Dakota Council on the Arts and a residency at the North Dakota Museum of Art. His work is in the permanent collections of the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks, and Fundación Puntos de Ecuentro in Bogota, Columbia. In 2020, he was named the recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant by the Minnesota State Arts Board. Ted Adler has been teaching at Wichita State University since 2005, having taught previously at Northern Arizona University’s School of Art in Flagstaff, Arizona. Adler received his BA from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and his MFA from Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio. He has studied with internationally-respected artists and has served as a long-term resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena,
Montana. Adler connects strongly with his interest in exploring the materiality of clay and its relationship to metaphor. He has exhibited work, conducted workshops, and served as visiting artist at numerous ceramic centers and universities in the United States and around the world. Using the vessel as an analogy for selfhood, he elicits a sense that our relationships to ourselves and the world around us are more tenuous that we ordinarily prefer to admit. Alessandro Gallo has a diverse background that encompasses studies in law, painting, photography, and ceramics. Representing the silent life of his surroundings and the stories of the people inhabiting them by creating human/animal hybrids, Gallo employs animal heads as an expressive tool to exaggerate the interior lives of each subject. Having ventured into the exploration of clay in 2005, Gallo began to compose his anthropomorphic characters and received widespread recognition for his work. He was featured in the 237th Annual Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London as well as the 54th Venice Biennale of 2011. Gallo continued to receive acclaim when he was named recipient of a Virginia A. Groot Foundation award in 2012, and as the focus of solo shows in 2014 and 2016 at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Left: Kelly Connole, Murder No. 2, 2019, ceramic, yarn, wood. Above: Guillermo Guardia, Mazinger GGY, 2019, porcelain, underglaze.
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Northern Clay Center
EXHIBITIONS
Hidemi Tokutake began her ceramic studies at the Seto Ceramic School in Seto, Japan. From this rich and historical base, Tokutake moved to Australia in 2003 where she studied at the National Art School in Sydney to complete her masters degree in ceramics. She later become a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. While she currently works and resides in Sydney, Tokutake has completed residencies at various locations across the United States and in Denmark, and has exhibited at venues in Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, China, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States. Creating works that echo the patterns found in nature, Tokutake embraces the presence of touch by allowing her finger marks to remain on the finished works which appear as organic forms interpreted in an Abstract Expressionist style.
Leandra Urrutia earned her BFA in drawing and ceramics from Texas State University in San Marcos, and her MFA in ceramics from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. In 2007, she was honored as an Emerging Artist by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) in Louisville, Kentucky, and in 2014 she was the recipient of the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration in Memphis, Tennessee. Since 2002, Urrutia has served as Associate Professor of Studio Art at Memphis College of Art, leading beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses in clay sculpture and idea development. In addition to exhibiting her work at national and international venues, she is one of the co-founding members of the Studio Nong Collective, an ongoing international residency program comprising American and Chinese artisteducators invested in creative, cultural, and community exchange.
Clockwise from top left: Hidemi Tokutake, Buzz, 2019, clay, glaze. Leandra Urrutia, Sacred Heart, 2019, ceramic, wood, wire, urethane wheels. Ted Adler, Untitled Vessel, 2019, black stoneware, quartzite inclusions. Alessandro Gallo, Animal Kingdom (detail), 2019, ceramic, mixed media.
Northern Clay Center
ARTIST SERVICES
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McKnight Artist Resident: Marcelino Puig-Pastrana
Marcelino Puig-Pastrana, La memoria sedentaria (Sedentary Memory), 2016, stoneware with oxides and engobes, fired to cone 04.
Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming our 2020 Summer McKnight Artist Resident, Marcelino Puig-Pastrana. Coming to NCC from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico for a three-month residency term, Puig looks forward to the opportunity to devote additional resources and focus to his pursuit to resolve myriad questions and emotions that surged to the forefront of his work following Hurricane Maria’s impact on his community. Having prevailed through the storm, he began service as a Disaster Inspector Guide for FEMA, where the cyclical nature of growth, decay, and transformation became powerfully clear. Utilizing clay — a material formed through a transformative process of its own — to explore these cyclical themes and ideas of both regeneration and an object’s tactile memory, Puig seeks to make an unequivocal affirmation of life in its interconnectedness and its endless possibility for renewal. Continuing his work in the ceramic arts, Puig’s pieces are informed by his experiences and education in numerous performing and visual art disciplines. Having received his BFA and BA in art history in 2000 from Fordham University in New York, Puig’s studies have additionally encompassed dance, drawing, painting, and printmaking, as well as lighting and graphic design. In 1992, he was a recipient of a young artist grant in choreography from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2017 he was a finalist with honorary mention in the 39th International Competition of Ceramic Art, Gualdo Tadino, Italy. Currently, Puig is developing new
bodies of work in drawing, painting, printmaking, and ceramics at the Universidad de Puerto Rico and Casa Candina Ceramics Atelier, where he also serves as an Atelier Assistant and Drawing Instructor. Puig’s work is placed in permanent collections and exhibited both nationally and internationally. His work has been featured in various group exhibitions and received additional accolades with three solo exhibitions in the last two years. Featuring drawings and ceramic works, his solo exhibitions were hosted at Museo Casa Escuté and the Museo de las Américas in 2018, and at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in 2019. His work has also been added to the permanent collections of the Polo Museale Gualdo Tadino in Perugia, Italy and the Museo de Arte at Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez. Join us on Tuesday, July 21, at 6 pm, where Puig will present a free lecture on his work and life.
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ARTIST SERVICES
Northern Clay Center
Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant Recipients
Northern Clay Center is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grants. Three grants, in the amount of $6,000 each, have been awarded to Casey Beck, Ginny Sims-Burchard, and Rita Panton. The Foundation supports emerging artists in Minnesota and New York City who, among other qualifications: • take risks and embrace challenges • are developing a voice that reveals significant potential • are rigorous in their approach to creation and production Casey Beck plans to continue his exploration and development of materials science related to the soda-firing process. Expanding on research on both materials and downfiring that he conducted during the pursuit of his undergraduate degree, Beck hopes to develop new and richer surfaces for his pieces. Because this is such an under-documented topic, he will also be creating a digital platform and resource for those seeking more reference material. The jury found his work and proposal to be very cohesive and his aspirations to generate a firing-specific resource available to the public both refreshing and forward-thinking for the continued development and advancement of the soda-firing technique. Ginny Sims-Burchard intends to create a visual catalog that explores the “how” of what we take in through observation and interaction. From the most prosaic to the most profound, Sims-Burchard will make a body of work that represents
Casey Beck, Tea Mug, 2020, porcelaneous stoneware with refractory clay slip, soda-fired and down-fired with gas to 1700°F.
the complex questions and moments that we encounter on a daily basis. Reflective of many social and political questions of our time surrounding topical conversations of class, gender, race, domestic space, and displacement, Sims-Burchard aims to create a piece a day over the project’s duration to serve as a sort of diary of her navigation through these increasingly important conversations and discussions. Collectively, the panelists felt that her work was pushing boundaries within the ceramic vocabulary and that the proposed risk of this project was both bold and future-looking.
Rita Panton was one of many applicants looking to utilize funds from the Jerome Foundation to afford them the space and capacity to revitalize their studio practice through the investment of time and a committed space for the development of their work. Having spent the last several years focusing her time and efforts as a parent, Panton intends to revisit her practice of exploring drawings in her works. She will investigate a new format of sculptural wall pieces with more developed surfaces and a fresh color palette. The panelists of the selection committee were invigorated
Northern Clay Center
ARTIST SERVICES
by Panton’s bold and courageous embrace of unique forms and new methods of working. This year's selection panel consisted of our recent visiting artists Kristen Cliffel and Angelica Pozo, in association with the exhibition Triaxial Blends, and NCC’s 2020 Winter McKnight Artist Resident, Rebecca Chappell. Pozo received her BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and her MFA in ceramics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In addition to teaching in Cleveland, Ohio, she is a public and community artist, studio artist, and author. Cliffel received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1990. In addition to teaching workshops at colleges and universities across the country, teaching sculpture and ceramics to school-aged children,
and participating in residencies and exhibitions, she is currently a full-time studio artist in Cleveland, Ohio. Chappell earned her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Chappell currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she an instructor at the Maryland Institute College of Art and long-term resident artist and instructor at The Clay Studio, Philadelphia. We thank each of them for being articulate and forward-thinking. We strongly encourage all grant applicants to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn from their conversation, as their valuable feedback is available to the grant recipients and applicants.
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Left: Ginny Sims-Burchard, A Room from Six Towns (north view), 2017, installation of earthenware, majolica glaze, porcelain, cone 6 stoneware, oxides, luster, underglaze, glaze, wood, hardware, latex paint, spray paint. Above: Rita Panton, Unicyclist, 2008, earthenware, underglaze, slip.
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Northern Clay Center
OUTREACH
Book a Clay Party!
Scheduling a clay event We require advance notice of two weeks and a $50 deposit to schedule clay events or birthdays. Many daytime and evening hours are available on both weekdays and weekends, depending on other classes and events. Email alisonbeech@northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x313 to schedule an event. Two-hour handbuilding events Learn the basics of handbuilding and create a unique clay item with your group. Ages 6+. Up to 10 participants $200*
A troop of Girl Scouts working on their pottery badge with teaching artist Zach in an NCC private event.
Did you know Northern Clay Center has private clay events? Celebrate your next big event at Northern Clay Center with a personalized clay party. Create clay art with your friends, family, or colleagues during a two-hour handbuilding or three-hour pottery wheel workshop. We love to host birthdays, scout troops, corporate groups, family gatherings, bachelor/bachelorette parties, book clubs, homeschool classes, and more. During a clay event, participants learn basic handbuilding or wheel-throwing and decorating techniques from a professional artist.
Each participant will create their own unique piece of ceramic art — from fantastical creatures to fabulous functional forms, there’s a theme for everyone. All ceramic work made during a clay event is clear-glazed and fired by NCC’s staff, and is food safe. Work will be ready to pick up two to three weeks after the event date. NCC also has an event space, to share cake or snacks in, that can be reserved for no additional fee after the clay portion of your event.
Three-hour wheel events Learn to use the potter’s wheel and create functional objects that are uniquely you. Ages 9+. Up to 10 participants $275* *Additional participants are $15 each, up to a maximum of 15. Please call for rates for groups larger than 15 participants. We are also able to provide tours of NCC’s facility and demonstrations by our teaching artists. Visit our website or call 612.339.8007 x313 to find out more. *Something New: Handbuilding clay events can also be streamed to your home and to the homes of your party guests. If you are interested in a distance clay handbuilding event to celebrate your special day, please check out the events page on our website for more information.
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Northern Clay Center
SPECIAL EVENTS
NCC’s Virtual NCECA 2020
We offer our collective thanks to all of you who purchased work through our pop-up website during the week we typically travel to NCECA’s annual conference. Your purchases of almost 200 pots during that last week of March allowed us to realize our hopes of sending checks to artists during a month when our gallery was closed and the NCECA conference was cancelled. Thank you also to the artists who sent work and offered support and to our staff and interns who are wholly responsible for creating a new website in one of the biggest and quickest redirects in NCC’s history.
ClayToGo at Uptown Art Fair
Family Imagination Station participants decorating their creations!
From August 7 - 9, Northern Clay Center hopes to be at the Uptown Art Fair, leading clay activities in the Family Imagination Station. Take a moment to stop by NCC’s booth, watch artists demonstrate on the potter’s wheel throughout the day, and get your hands in some clay. Creatives of all ages are invited to make and decorate one project with the guidance of a teaching artist, while being inspired by the energy, atmosphere, and art featured at the Uptown Art Fair. Bring your imaginative spirit and create something one-of-a-kind in clay! After the weekend, projects will be fired and clear-glazed so they are food safe. Projects will be ready for pick-up at NCC at the end of August.
This free activity is open to the public and is for all ages and abilities. Northern Clay Center is excited to continue its long-standing partnership and appreciates the Uptown Association’s commitment to free, family-centric, and accessible arts programming at the Fair. NCC’s ClayToGo program brings specialized, hands-on clay experiences to schools, assisted living facilities, and myriad other organizations. If you work with a group that is interested in a clay workshop, residency, tour of NCC’s facilities, or a clay demonstration, please contact Alison Beech, Community Engagement Manager, at 612.339.8007 x 313 or alisonbeech@ northernclaycenter.org.
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SALES GALLERY
Northern Clay Center
Featured Sales Gallery Artists
June Featured Artists: Kevin Caufield, Jil Franke, Eric Jensen, Candice Methe, S.C. Rolf On view: June 2 – July 5 It’s finally summer and time to choose your own al fresco pottery adventure. Please welcome this month’s featured artists by bringing their artwork to your table. Perhaps it’s a complete new set of contemporary ceramic dinnerware you crave after being indoors for weeks, or perhaps you learned you prefer a table full of wares by several different artists. The beauty and satisfaction of food and flowers are elevated when offered in ceramic pieces. This never changes.
Top row from left: Kevin Caufield, Jil Franke, Eric Jensen. Bottom from left: Candice Methe, S.C. Rolf.
Northern Clay Center
SALES GALLERY
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July Featured Artists: Willem Gebben, Ruth Martin, Joe Singewald, Ceramic Jewelry @ NCC On view: July 7 – August 2 The height of warm weather is the perfect time to celebrate by starting, or adding to, your ceramic collection. Gebben’s sure sense of form and expert handling of surface, texture, and detailing make each piece a true work of art. Martin offers her contemporary folk art figures as a means to comment on everyday life. Cedric, Jackie, Hugo, Stevie, and others have something to share with you, so look carefully. Singewald is proof you don’t have to be old to be a legend. His utilitarian vessels are a testament to unyielding dedication, talent, and the generous teachings of those before him. Ceramic Jewelry @ NCC shines the spotlight, every summer, on works of ceramic adornment and their exceptional makers. This summer’s jewelry artists include: Heather Bren, Amanda Dobbratz, April D. Felipe, Melissa Mencini, Bernadette Torres, Tricia Schmidt, and Judith Yourman.
Willem Gebben, Ruth Martin, Joe Singewald, Amanda Dobbratz.
August Featured Artists: Paul Eshelman, Suze Lindsay, Kent McLaughlin, Andy Shaw On view: August 4 – 30 Take a deep breath. Look around. There is always a place in your life for one more perfect pot. It might be a new Eshelman espresso demitasse in hot yellow, based on European design and American Shaker utilitarianism. Or is it one of Lindsay’s large salt-fired vases, influenced by a lifetime of travel and study, for the tallest of your summer blooms? McLaughlin has a tall, dark, and elegant pitcher for ice cold tea to welcome guests, and Shaw provides bold and simple trays and serving wares for that empty space on your wall or the treats you just bought from the farmers market.
Paul Eshelman, Suze Lindsay, Kent McLaughlin, Andy Shaw.
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Northern Clay Center
EDUCATION
Summer Classes
Amidst myriad uncertainties, Northern Clay Center has remained proactive in our response and continually monitors the most up-to-date recommendations from both the Minnesota Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In light of the most current information available, and to prioritize the health and safety of our community, we have developed a new series of online classes called Clay-Along beginning May 18 and are planning for an in-person 5-week summer session slated to begin the week of July 27. While we remain hopeful that we will be able to open our doors for the remainder of summer programming, we will only do so in a safe, and appropriately distanced manner. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information. As we return to something we know and love, we find a renewed gratitude for clay: the community it generates and the grounding nature of the process. During daytime hours, many of NCC’s studios will be used by Clay Campers as they make their own discoveries in clay, but the evenings, weekends, and open studio hours are dedicated to you. With a wide range of classes offered for every experience level, we are sure to have something to revitalize your creative energy. Our diverse cast of expert makers and teachers are ready to welcome you back into our doors and guide you through a meaningful clay experience.
Take advantage of the open studio time offered to NCC students as you practice skills and incorporate classroom demonstrations into your own work. Adult students generally have access to our studios from 9 am to 9 pm four days a week, from 4:30 to 9 pm on Mondays, and from 9 am until midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays (subject to other NCC events and programming). Browse our online calendar to check studio availability. Our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class via phone or e-mail: 612.339.8007 x309 or samanthalongley@northernclaycenter.org. Check out our events calendar for more information about our ART@ HAND Programs. Classes marked in this @ section with are designed for and easily accessible to older adults.
CLAY-ALONG ONLINE Feeling isolation frustration? Stir up your creativity and Clay-Along with NCC through classes and kits designed to fulfill your clay longings at a social distance. Virtual classes will meet online once a week for five weeks, for an hour and a half each week with an NCC Teaching Artist who will guide you through quality at-home digital learning. We are also pleased to offer self-guided clay kits with lesson plans for home for an independent clay experience. Both offerings have the option to include low-
A student trimming their pot on the wheel.
fire clay and a set of engobes (colored slips), firings at NCC, and a guide to setting up a space for clay in your home. No clay-specific tools? No problem! All classes and lessons can be accomplished with everyday utensils and objects. You can also select an optional materials kit that includes a guide to setting up an at-home clay space, 25 lbs of low-fire clay (choice of Low-fire Red: a smooth terracotta body; or Raku: a grittier, offwhite body), a set of engobes (colored slips) and firings at NCC. If you have everything you need already, just select the content-only version. We can’t wait for you to Clay-Along with us!
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Northern Clay Center
EDUCATION
Grace Your Space From the comfort of your home, make objects that refresh and warm your space. This class will utilize the three basic methods of handbuilding: coiling, pinching, and slab-building. Methods and tools have been adapted to be accomplished at home. Demonstrations will include practical household pots and decor, such as bud vases and tabletop sculptures. Get creative as you discover how everyday household objects and materials from your own backyard can enhance your clay process. Use kitchen utensils as tools, miscellaneous objects as molds and texture, and natural materials for inspiration and impressions. This class is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond; beginners will be nurtured. V1: Mondays, 6 - 7:30 pm Instructor: Brett Freund May 18 - June 15 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55 Slab-Centric Ceramics Are you a pie maker? Even if you're not, making ceramic vessels out of soft slabs is even easier than pie! Create mugs, quilted bowls, bud vases, and more out of soft slabs using a rolling pin, paper templates, and simple tools found around your kitchen or in your junk drawer. Each week Marion will introduce and guide you through building a new vessel. It will be easy as pie! This class
is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond; beginners will be nurtured. V2: Tuesdays, 1 - 2:30 pm Instructor: Marion Angelica May 19 - June 16, Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55 Surface Sequential The empty surface of a pot invites limitless exploration and variations. In this five-week class, explore embellishment strategies including use of texture, making and using sprig molds, plentiful techniques for applying engobes, varieties of sgraffito, and underglaze or stain application. Drawing on over 20 years of teaching ceramics, Elizabeth will demonstrate all techniques and guide you as you practice and utilize these approaches to surface design. Learn from other students as you collectively share successes and challenges while adding new skills to your ceramic toolbox. This class is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond. V3: Tuesdays, 6 - 7:30 pm Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman May 19 - June 16 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55
Figurative Sculpture and Beyond Explore the use of sculptural handbuilding techniques, figurative imagery, and the language of pattern to further develop a personal artistic voice in clay. Students will investigate the fundamentals of form, proportion, and expressive composition, while applying foundational sculpting methods. Each week, Chloe will demonstrate hand-building processes that compliment the creative goals of the class. Students can expect to use simple household materials to explore the use of engobes and basic transfer techniques while experimenting with patterning, texture, and layering. This class is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond beginning. V4: Wednesdays, 10 - 11:30 am Instructor: Chloe Rizzo May 20 - June 17 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55 Handbuilding Complex Forms This course is designed for students that have prior handbuilding experience using the foundational techniques of pinching, coiling, and slab building. There will be an emphasis on building with coils and pinching along with new, specialized techniques including lids and galleries, carving and cutting, attaching parts, and working with slump molds. Students will be guided and supported into making technically and visually complex forms —
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Northern Clay Center
EDUCATION
such as candelabras and lidded boxes — that challenge skill, develop construction control, and evolve a sense of form. This class is suited best to those who have had a fair amount of handbuilding experience or an intermediate knowledge of building methods.
Self-Guided Kit Clay-Along Self-Guided Kits balance the independence of self-guided clay exploration with the support of instructions that guide you step-by-step through a variety of projects at a range of levels; kid-friendly lessons included!
V6: Thursdays, 6 - 7:30 pm Instructor: Chris Salas May 21 - June 18 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55
These kits are sure to satisfy your clay cravings, keep you creative, and increase your knowledge of forms and techniques. It’s also a great opportunity to play and explore clay, whether you’re brand-new or very experienced.
Utilitarian Handbuilding This beginning handbuilding course will introduce students to a variety of handbuilding methods such as pinching, coil building, slab building, and reductive/ additive building (kurinuki). Students will gain confidence in creating utilitarian pots such as bowls, cups, mugs, and plates using basic handbuilding techniques. Each class will focus on a different building technique with the final class focusing on combining techniques. During each class, a cup and a bowl will be demonstrated. This class is suited to introductory levels and beyond; no previous experience necessary. V7: Fridays, 6 - 7:30 pm Instructor: Chris Salas May 22 - June 19 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55
A handbuilding student and their large-scale animal sculpture.
A Framework of Flat Play in the space between 2D and 3D by flattening form and focusing on shape and surface. Risa will meet you at the intersection of physicality and flatness to explore the versatility of clay using planes. Use slabs, molds, and the creativity at your fingertips to make projects like tiles, wall hangings, jewelry, and bookends.Then, refresh and embolden your decorating methods. Improve your technical skills, enlighten your concepts, and get lost in a new dimension of making. This class is suited best to those who have a basic understanding of the stages of clay and building methods, and for levels beyond; beginners will be nurtured. V8: Saturdays, 10 - 11:30 am Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi May 23 - June 20 Fee with Materials Kit: $95 Course Content Only: $55
VKit: Fee: $45
INTRODUCTORY Want to learn the basics of making clay art? Get hands-on during five weeks of instruction and practice in these introductory classes that focus on the basics of building and glazing techniques. These classes will have fewer students, ensuring plenty of student-to-teacher contact time, and they are shorter, making them ideal if you have little or no experience with clay and want to test your interest. We recommend that you take this class two or more times (within one quarter, or over consecutive quarters) to build your skills and prepare for Wheel 201 classes. Wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first
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class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one bag of clay (25 pounds), all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access. Land of Round Pots — Wheel 101
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I1: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Brady McLearen July 29 – August 26 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee I2: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Zach Van Dorn July 31 – August 28 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee I3: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Risa Nishiguchi August 1 – August 29 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee @
Three Graces — Handbuilding 101 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. I4: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Brett Freund July 27 – August 24 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
WHEEL We recommend that students begin their study at NCC with an introductory experience in clay, such as our Project Workshops or 5-week classes (above). Beginner Wheel 201 will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay to prepare you for Intermediate Wheel 301 and advanced special topics Beginning Throwing — Wheel 201 Discover the secrets of making great pots on the potter’s wheel and build on your foundations. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing such forms as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments such as glazing, staining, and slipping and be introduced to firing procedures. Dress for mess, bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of pottery tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. These classes are designed for those with some previous clay experience. W1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Erin Holt July 27 – August 24 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee W2: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Claire O’Connor July 31- August 28 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
A parent and child working together on the wheel in a family class.
Intermediate Throwing — Wheel 301 Take your skills to the next level as you learn additional techniques for throwing more complicated forms. Each section has a specific focus, but leaves room for personal interests and development. Each course will also include more information about surface decoration, firing procedures, and the differences between low- and high-temperature clay bodies and glazes. Designed for those who have taken several Wheel 201 classes or equivalent. W3: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: David Swenson, Focus on Utility July 28 – August 25 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee W4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jennica Kruse, Focus on Alteration July 29 – August 26 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
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W5: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Leila Denecke, Focus on Skills and Techniques July 30 – August 27 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
HANDBUILDING Summer is a time for a more relaxed pace of life. Match that stride in the studio and embrace the s-l-o-w philosophy of handbuilding. This rhythm of working with clay might draw your attention in new ways and broaden your breadth of understanding of the clay process. Challenge your knowledge of making this summer and explore new color palettes, processes, and new approaches to a familiar material. Beyond Grace — Handbuilding 201+ So, you’ve taken Three Graces — Handbuilding 101 a few times and you want to increase your skills? Beyond Grace is the class for you. Topics covered include: leatherhard slabbuilding; making and using sprig, drape, and press molds; scaling up your vessels or sculptures; extruder applications; internal and external armatures; slip and glaze application techniques; alternative firing methods; and personal assessment of objects. Students may bring their own project ideas and receive guidance, or may choose from a variety of intermediate project-prompts, provided by the instructor. Recommended for intermediate to advanced levels.
H1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman July 28 – August 25 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee Sculptural Abstraction Take a step away from the obvious by exploring abstraction in sculptural forms. Students will be encouraged to start with an image from nature or architecture and transform it into something new by simplifying and exaggerating various elements. Individual guidance and demonstrations will be given on techniques such as ideation, construction, the use of multiples, and hollowing solid forms. Students should expect to make projects larger than those typical of most functional pottery. Recommended for intermediate or advanced levels. H2: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Priya Thoresen July 29 – August 26 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
SPECIAL TOPICS Cooking Up Function Expand your vocabulary and your imagination around the idea of domestic utility, tackling some new forms you can use in your kitchen or gift to another foodie. We will explore mixing and batter bowls, garlic boxes, salt cellars, utensil organizers, creamer/ sugar sets, condiment dishes, ramekins, ewers, casseroles, and ladles. What
else can you think of? Let’s make it! Build on the basics and stretch your wheel skills in practical ways. Further develop your critical eye, refining forms and editing your production through group discussions. T1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Lucy Yogerst July 28 – August 25 Member Fee: $160 ($170 non-members) + $20 lab fee
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS & LECTURES McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Marcelino Puig-Pastrana Join us on Tuesday, July 21, at 6 pm, where Puig will present a free lecture on his work and life. X1R: Tuesday, July 21, 6 pm Remote Login
SPECIAL TOPIC WORKSHOPS The Illustrated Vessel Tell a visual story with your vessels as you get creative with tips and techniques for drawing, incising and adding a storied surface to your pots. On Saturday, focus on creating a few forms on the wheel to alter for illustrating on Sunday. From representational drawing to intricate lines and playful patterns, meet Autumn Higgins at the intersection
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of 2-D and 3-D work, and follow her through the process of creating a purposeful pot that is fit to display your designs and decorations. X2: Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16 1 – 4 pm each day Instructor: Autumn Higgins Member Fee: $90 ($95 non-member) + $10 lab fee
PROJECT WORKSHOPS
secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $40 fee includes instruction and materials for one adult. Students can expect to make three-to-five pots and decorate them using colorful slips and textures. Your pots will be ready to pick up after approximately two weeks. X4: Friday, August 14, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $40 per person, per session
No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops. Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops Looking for a unique date-night activity that is sure to impress your mate? Look no further than NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment. Already attended a session? Sign up again and take your skills to the next level. The $80 fee includes instruction, materials, and firings for two adults. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks later.
CLAY FOR YOUTH Pottery Punch Card for Teens NCC currently hopes to resume Pottery Punch Card for Teens on Saturday, August 1. Final confirmation of this date will remain dependent on guidance and recommendations from both the state and local/national health authorities.
X3: Saturday, August 8, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $80 per couple, per session
Purchase a punch card for eight, two-hour classes, to be used on any Saturday, 10 am – 12 pm.* Classes will cover the fundamental techniques of throwing forms on the potter’s wheel and creating surface decoration, with varied demonstrations and projects for advanced students. Previous experience is not required.
Crafternoon and Crafterdark Pottery Workshops Bring your friends and make a few new ones and get creative as you learn the
Students may attend on a drop-in basis, and there’s no need to let us know you’re coming. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty; NCC will
provide tools and clay. Students do not have access to open studio time. For ages 13 to 17. Y1: Saturdays, 10 am – 12 pm Instructor: Erin Holt Students may begin as soon as they register. Student Member Fee: $240 ($260 non-members) Add multiples of four additional sessions at a time ($120 for student members; $130 for non-members) *Some Saturdays are not available due to holidays or NCC events. Your eight class sessions expire six months after date of purchase.
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. Whirlin’ Weekend Curious about how to throw pots on the potter’s wheel? Give it a whirl and learn the basics — like how to center, open, and shape a cylinder or bowl. Decorate your creations with colorful slips. All skill levels welcome. Ages 9+ Saturday, August 22 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F1: 10 am – 1 pm F2: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $55 for two people, $20 for each additional participant
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SUMMER CLASS REGISTRATION BEGINS TUESDAY, MAY 19, AT 10 AM. To Register: Register with cash, check, Visa, MasterCard or Discover Card. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Download a paper registration form online, or call the gallery for more information. Member discounts are available online. Due to high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class. NCC will send confirmation of registration. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel class, notify registered students, and refund all payments without penalty. Decisions are made approximately one week before classes begin. Please register early or you might find that your favorite class is full, or canceled because of low enrollment. Policies: Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available in NCC’s sales gallery for $20 + tax. Other specialty tools are available as well. Open Studio: The tuition for regular adult classes includes access to open studio time. On average, at least one classroom with potter’s wheels and a handbuilding table is available between 9 am and 9 pm Wednesday through Sunday, from 4:30 pm to 9 pm on Monday and from 9 am to midnight on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (outside doors lock at 9 pm). NCC reserves the right to close studios for special classes or workshops
Minimum Age Restrictions: Only students ages 18 and up are eligible to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops. Continuing Education Credits: If you are a teacher in need of CEUs, contact the education department to learn how NCC’s classes and workshops can be taken for continuing education credit. Weather: As a general rule, NCC will remain open during inclement weather. We take our cues from local colleges and universities for canceling or rescheduling classes during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe! Tuition, Fees, & Refunds: Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees. Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay, basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be pro-rated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space. COVID-19 Cancellations: Given the uncertain nature of what lies ahead of us, NCC will remain flexible when it comes to cancellations as they relate to the current environment and recommendations by both local and national health authorities. In the event of an NCCinitiated cancellation, students will be issued a full refund without penalty. Cancellations initiated by the student will be handled on a case-by-case basis with individual and community well-being maintained as a top priority. If you do not feel well, we ask that you contact us before coming to or entering NCC for any reason.
Classes: 100% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a class no later than one week (7 days) before the day of the first class meeting. 50% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class within the seven days prior to the first class meeting or within the first two business days after the first meeting. After this period, if a student elects to drop a class, tuition and fees will NOT be refunded for any reason except documented medical emergencies. There are no other exceptions to this policy. Workshops: 100% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least one week (7 days) prior to the workshop. No refunds will be given with less than one week’s notice. If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, please contact Samantha Longley at samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.
2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406
Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 28375
612.339.8007 www.northernclaycenter.org
This activity was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from Wells Fargo.
NCC Gallery Hours TWFS: 10 am – 6 pm Thursday: 10 am – 7 pm Sunday: Noon – 4 pm Monday: Closed
NCC Seeks Interns and Assistants Join NCC for a fabulous and fun summertime clay adventure!
Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with mental or physical disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event. Signed Interpretation: Available for any NCC public event. Please call the Center to request an interpreter at least three weeks in advance. Wheelchair Seating for classes or other accommodations: Please call the Center at least two weeks in advance of the event. NCC’s building is wheelchair accessible and includes a wheelchair accessible potter’s wheel. The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request. Mission: Northern Clay Center 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: Tricia Schmidt, Teapot.
With camps shceduled to begin on June 8, we are seeking assistants that will be flexible to accommodate changing demands as our ability to facilitate programming becomes more clear. Last year, approximately 400 children participated in our weeklong camps, designed for all ability levels, for ages 6 and up. 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 position for 15 – 20 hours per week, with commitments from one to ten weeks. Experience working with clay, and interest and experience in working with young people is essential. See our website for full details on camps and volunteer applications! www.northernclaycenter.org