Paloma Clay Studio, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico
October 10-15, 2027
Bede Clarke
The Painted Pot: Line, Color, Imagery
This hands-on workshop will explore wheel-thrown forms and drawing/painting on clay with a focus on building a personal approach to form and imagery/design (abstract and representational). Students are encouraged to bring sketches, visual resources and ideas for imagery they would like to explore.
Demonstrations, PowerPoint lectures and group discussion in this workshop will focus on basic forming and painting skills, but more, we will look to discover the potential of a curious and sensitive dialogue between the artist, the pot/sculpture, line, color and imagery. We will decorate the forms with a direct, simple approach using an earthenware underglaze. The technique is suitable for single firing, and we will seek to glaze-fire some workshop work. Other work may be bisque-fired, and we can arrange shipping.
Technically, we will cover clays, slips and glazes, the use of colored slips/engobes for painting on pots and sculptural form, and approaches to imagery. Suitable for beginning – advanced levels, or for drawing/painting students wishing to cross over into clay work.
October 26-31, 2027
Doug Casebeer
Making Pottery for the Home
In this workshop, you will make pottery for the table and kitchen. You will make cups, bowls, plates, vases, and pouring vessels. The focus will be on improving techniques and skills while expanding your creative knowledge of pottery making. You will use the potter’s wheel and hand-building techniques. You will use bisque molds for making slab bowls and cups.
All skill levels are welcome. However, some wheel experience would be helpful but not necessary. This workshop is for all potters and artists who either hand-build or throw. I will work with you at your skill level to build your confidence in working with clay. You will take away strategies for problem-solving and creating better pots.
This workshop will run alongside Giselle Hicks’ workshop. We will share demonstrations, slide shows, and faculty discussions.
Open to all skill levels.
October 26-31, 2027
Giselle Hicks
Finding Form: The Vessel as Sculpture
Join ceramic artist Giselle Hicks for an immersive workshop exploring the vessel as a sculptural form, a metaphor, and a starting point for creative investigation. Designed for intermediate to advanced makers, this workshop invites participants to look beyond the vessel’s traditional functions and conventions, asking how we might challenge, expand, and reimagine what a vessel can be—and how it can be made.
In the studio, Giselle will guide participants in exploring form, volume, proportion, balance, gesture, and the expressive possibilities of clay. Coil building and pinching will serve as points of departure for experimentation, allowing us to investigate unexpected silhouettes, dramatic transitions, cantilevered planes, and the relationship between a vessel’s interior and exterior. We will consider the vessel not only as a container, but also as a metaphor for the body, architecture, memory, and the spaces we inhabit.
With time devoted to making, looking, discussing, and exploring San Miguel together, this workshop offers an opportunity to step outside familiar routines, take creative risks, and deepen your relationship with clay. Our days will bring together focused studio practice, shared meals, and inspiration drawn from the art, architecture, and culture of this remarkable place, just before the celebrations of Día de Muertos
