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Workshop Instructors
2023-24

Deborah Schwartzkopf - Blended Bliss: Blending Wheel Throwing and Hand-building Techniques 

Deb Schwartzkopf (she/her) has worked in clay for over 20 years. After receiving an MFA from Penn State in 2005, Deb Schwartzkopf taught at Ohio University, Mass. College of Art & Design, University of Washington, as well as for the University of Georgia’s study abroad program in Cortona, Italy.  She participated in residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation (MT), Mudflat Studios (MA), the Clay Studio (PA), Watershed (ME), Red Lodge Clay Studio (MT), the Ceramics Workcenter in Berlin, Germany, and San Boa in Jingdezhen China! Deb teaches and exhibits nationally and internationally. Deb established Rat City Studios (2013) and Rain City Clay (2022) with a mission to engage and build community through clay. She maintains a lively career in the ceramic arts, loves to garden, tends honey bees, and also works with stained glass! Ceramics Monthly Magazine awarded Deborah Schwartzkopf Ceramic Artist of the Year for 2019. Deb wrote Creative Pottery in June of 2020 which features 192 pages of clay working techniques.

https://ratcitystudios.com/about-deborah-schwartzkopf

Michael Corney- Exploring Underglaze Techniques

Michael Corney is a studio potter with a deep-rooted connection to the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area. This environment greatly influenced his artistic sensibilities through the vibrant colors of nature and the diverse cultures surrounding him during his upbringing.


Education played a pivotal role in shaping his artistic journey. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Cal State University Fullerton and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at Cranbrook Academy of Art, further refining his skills and artistic vision.


In addition to his studio work, Michael Corney has been actively involved in teaching and sharing his knowledge with aspiring artists. He has conducted numerous workshops at Anderson Ranch, Penland School of Crafts, and Santa Fe Clay, contributing to the development of the next generation of ceramic artists.


Corney's art has been featured in various exhibitions at notable galleries and centers, including Santa Fe Clay in New Mexico, Northern Clay Center in Minnesota, The Schaller Gallery in Michigan, and Akar Design Gallery in Iowa. His artistic contributions have been recognized and celebrated through the inclusion of his work in the permanent collections of institutions including The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University Museum, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, the Racine Museum of Art, and the Boise Museum of Art.


Currently, Michael Corney resides and works as a studio artist in the picturesque city of San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, and continues to create and inspire through his pottery and ceramics.

https://www.michaelcorney.com/

Claudia Olds Goldie - The Human/Animal Narrative

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Claudia Olds Goldie is a 2017 Mass Cultural Council finalist. She has received a Kiln God Residency from Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, a residency fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center, and a nomination for a Boston Foundation Brother Thomas fellowship. She has shown nationally in shows such as the NCECA Biennial in Houston, SOFA Chicago, numerous State of Clay National Juried exhibitions, and “Contemporary Figurative Sculpture” at Santa Fe Clay Gallery.  She is represented by Boston Sculptors Gallery, the Wit Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Robert Collins Gallery in Rockport, Massachusetts.

 

Claudia received her BFA from Boston University College of Visual Arts.  She taught sculpture and ceramics for over 30 years at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts, and is presently an instructor at Harvard University’s Ceramic Program.  She has taught figurative ceramic workshops across the country and in Mexico.

 

Her work has been published in 500 Figures in Clay, 500 Figures in Clay Vol. 2 by Nan Smith, Sculpting Clay, and Low Fire: Other Ways to Work in Clay, both by Leon Nigrosh, and in Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, and American Craft magazines.

http://claudiaoldsgoldie.com

Bill Van Gilder - The Functional Pot; Tips, Tools & Techniques

A professional potter for more than 50 years, Bill van Gilder began his clay work at age 15 as a studio apprentice to the late Byron Temple, Lambertville, NJ. He then apprenticed in Ireland and England, and received a degree from Harrow School of Art, London, UK. Bill then established and managed two large training centers in Southern Africa under the auspices of the World Bank. van Gilder has served on the faculty of The Art League, Alexandria, VA and founded the Frederick Pottery School, Frederick, MD. He has hosted the DIY Network television series ‘Throwing Clay’ and has written a regular feature column in Clay Times magazine about making pottery. He currently leads workshops nationally and internationally on pottery forming, decorating, and firing techniques. van Gilder designed a line of professional pottery tools which are sold internationally. His clay work is exhibited and held in collections worldwide. In 1985, van Gilder established a studio, craft gallery, and home atop South Mountain in central Maryland, which he continues to operate today. https://www.vangilderpottery.com/

Antoinette Badenhorst - Understanding Porcelain
 

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Antoinette Badenhorst is a ceramic artist who specializes in fine translucent porcelain sculpted vessels. Over the past 18 years, she has obtained international recognition for her porcelain, as well as for her instruction and technical articles.

She was born in Johannesburg South Africa, was raised in a semi-desert area of Namibia on the Southwest coast of Africa, and is currently a citizen of the USA. Her work has been exhibited on four continents and is showcased in both private and museum collections around the world.

Antoinette has presented workshops in many countries across the world. The demand for her teaching skills led to online porcelain classes for students in 43 countries. Her work is widely featured in magazines and ceramic books. Her expertise with porcelain contributed to a book published by Ceramics Monthly, Working with Porcelain.

Antoinette’s work is inspired by the rhythm of nature.

More information about Antoinette and her work is available at http://porcelainbyantoinette.com

Cristina Córdova- The Figure in Clay: Form and Surface

Cristina Córdova is a contemporary artist and sculpting instructor whose work is collected worldwide. Native to Puerto Rico, Córdova completed her BA at the University of Puerto Rico and received her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Everson Museum, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design; the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico; and the Mobile Art Museum, among others. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including NC Arts Council Fellowship Grant, a Virginia Groot Foundation Recognition Grant, several International Association of Art Critics of Puerto Rico awards, and the prestigious United States Artist Fellowship award. Her work is widely published in all major ceramics and arts media, including the cover of Ceramics Monthly, and was featured by Craft in America, on PBS, in their episode on Identity. In 2022 she published Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay (Quarto Publishing).Cristina has taught and demonstrated around the world. Her residencies, workshops, and classes include Harvard University, the University of California, the University of Nebraska, the University of Georgia, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Ceramistas de Reñaca in Chile, the Australian National University in Canberra, Gaya Ceramics in Bali, Penland School of Crafts (NC), Haystack Mountain School (ME), Santa Fe Clay (NM), Odyssey Center for Ceramics (NC), and Anderson Ranch (CO), among others. Find her online at: https://www.cristinacordova.com/

Adrian Arleo -The Narrative Figure in Clay
 

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Adrian Arleo has spent the last 29 years living outside Missoula, Montana, with her family and a menagerie of animals. Adrian studied Art and Anthropology at Pitzer College (B.A. 1983) and received her M.F.A. in ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design in 1986. She works full-time as a ceramic sculptor, and says the following about her work:  

 

For 40 years, my sculpture has combined human, animal and natural imagery to create a kind of emotional and poetic power. Often there's a suggestion of a vital interconnection between the human and non-human realms; the imagery arises from associations, concerns and obsessions that are at once intimate and universal. The work frequently references mythology and archetypes in addressing our vulnerability amid changing personal, environmental and political realities. By focussing on older, more mysterious ways of seeing the world, edges of consciousness and deeper levels of awareness suggest themselves.

Adrian’s work is exhibited nationally and internationally, and is in numerous public and private collections.  Her work has been widely published in books, magazines, and on the internet. Adrian is a frequent workshop instructor across the US and abroad and enjoys teaching courses on figurative ceramic sculpture. More information about Adrian and her work is available at https://www.adrianarleo.com/

 

Tip Toland -Facial Expression as a Mask

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Tip Toland lives in Vaughn, Washington.  She received her MFA from Montna State University in 1981. Tip is a full-time studio artist and a part-time instructor in Seattle. She conducts workshops across the United States, Europe, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan, and the Middle East.  Traver Gallery in Seatle, WA represents her work.

Her work is in numerous public and private collections, including The Yellowstone Art Museum, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, Nelson Atkins Museum, The Crocker Museum, St. Petersburg Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Eleanor Wilson Museum at Hollins University, Kohler Arts Center, Portland Art Museum, Racine Art Museum, Yingee Ceramics Museum, Icheon Museum of Ceramics.

More information about Tip and her work is available at: http://www.tiptoland.com/

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