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Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
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Thursday, October 22
3:00–6:00 PM
In this workshop, we’ll make a pair of ceramic bookends from clay dug directly from the ground here on site.
We’ll begin by walking down to the creek and visiting a beautiful gray-blue vein of clay on the property. Rather than processing this material into a standardized clay body, we’ll work with it straight from the ground, embracing its rocks, grit, cracks, and weight.
Back in the studio, we’ll use hand-building techniques such as pinching, coiling, and carving to transform the clay into a pair of sculptural bookends. As we work, we’ll consider the unusual role of a bookend: part object, part architecture, part guardian. What kind of presence should an object have as it holds and frames the books on our shelves? Could a bookend respond to a particular book, collection, animal, landscape, or idea?
During the class, we’ll talk about the ethics and philosophies of working with materials from the earth and address common questions about using wild clay. This workshop will focus on making rather than clay processing- while we’ll cover the basics of using clay from the ground, we won’t go into great depth on how to test, process, or adjust a wild clay body for ceramic use at a production scale.
Participants will leave with one pair of handmade bookends, which will be fired after the workshop and returned to them afterward.
150$ includes materials and firing.
Please note: This is a workshop that takes place outdoors. We will walk to and collect clay from a creek bed on the property, so please come prepared for uneven, potentially muddy or wet terrain and wear appropriate shoes and clothing.
Thursday, October 22
3:00–6:00 PM
In this workshop, we’ll make a pair of ceramic bookends from clay dug directly from the ground here on site.
We’ll begin by walking down to the creek and visiting a beautiful gray-blue vein of clay on the property. Rather than processing this material into a standardized clay body, we’ll work with it straight from the ground, embracing its rocks, grit, cracks, and weight.
Back in the studio, we’ll use hand-building techniques such as pinching, coiling, and carving to transform the clay into a pair of sculptural bookends. As we work, we’ll consider the unusual role of a bookend: part object, part architecture, part guardian. What kind of presence should an object have as it holds and frames the books on our shelves? Could a bookend respond to a particular book, collection, animal, landscape, or idea?
During the class, we’ll talk about the ethics and philosophies of working with materials from the earth and address common questions about using wild clay. This workshop will focus on making rather than clay processing- while we’ll cover the basics of using clay from the ground, we won’t go into great depth on how to test, process, or adjust a wild clay body for ceramic use at a production scale.
Participants will leave with one pair of handmade bookends, which will be fired after the workshop and returned to them afterward.
150$ includes materials and firing.
Please note: This is a workshop that takes place outdoors. We will walk to and collect clay from a creek bed on the property, so please come prepared for uneven, potentially muddy or wet terrain and wear appropriate shoes and clothing.