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2023 Workshops

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March 6-March 11, 2023

Tip Toland

Facial Expression as a Mask

 In  beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, come and study facial expressions and take home three masks. Working on a life-size armature, Tip will guide you through creating a proportional head with a facial expression of your choice which we’ll cut off, fire and paint. Tip will demo her painting techniques.
While the first mask dries, we‘ll make two more life-size expressive masks. We’ll learn about what muscles are working for each facial expression you choose and go on a field trip to visit the fantastic mask museum there.

Workshop fee: $ 850 USD  (for details on what is included click here)

Deposit to register: $400

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Tip

March 27-April 1, 2023
Adrian Arleo
The Narrative Figure in Clay

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Workshop fee: $ 850 USD  (for details on what is included click here)

Deposit to register: $400

In this five-day workshop, participants will learn coil-building techniques to turn their creative visions into sculptural forms. Choose to work with human or animal figures, or a combination of the two. We’ll use the rich cultural and natural setting of San Miguel de Allende for inspiration, along with a day trip to a folk art museum. Throughout the workshop, Adrian will give demonstrations, video, and slide presentations on sculpting and coil-building to guide students in making medium-scale sculptures. Attention to the clay’s surface through carving, texture and the addition of sprig-molded forms will add another layer of dynamic information. The techniques covered will be applicable for making large-scale work. This will include internal supports and buttressing, sectioning and reattaching techniques, the use of a base and rod for tall narrow pieces, and two different methods for making sprig molds. Adrian will also discuss and show examples of low-fire glazes, terra sigilatta, and non-fired surface finishes such as wax encaustic, casein paint, and gold leaf.

Some clay experience is highly recommended.

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Note: As an added bonus this workshop precedes Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Easter.  It is worth staying to experience the celebration of Easter with Good Friday processions and the "Burning of the Judases" on Easter Sunday.

Adrian
Christina

August 25-30, 2023

Cristina Córdova

The Figure in Clay: Form and Surface

Come join us for this unique combination of figurative ceramic sculpture and surface development. You will both hone your sculpting abilities and learn to enliven your figurative works through the use of slips, underglaze transfers, and monotypes.
We will start by building a 20” figure from the pelvic area, using simple patterns and photographic references to anchor our sculptural process. Demos will cover slab construction and articulation of the hip area, upper torso, arms, hands, head, and neck. As all the components come together we will go over anatomical concepts and modeling strategies to facilitate accuracy and expression.
Transitioning into surface development, students will develop an assortment of test tiles to inform both their primary pieces and future work at home. With these as points of departure, we will use slips and underglazes combined with newsprint and tissue transfers to create rich, dynamic surfaces.  All levels are welcome.

Workshop fee: $ 1160 USD  (for details on what is included click here)  Deposit to register: $575

Esther

September 25-30, 2023

Esther Shimazu

Who's Not a Good Boy? Sculpting the Dog

We will use standard hand-building pottery techniques, mostly pinch, and coil, to make a hollow, more or less representational figure of a dog. Time permitting, we can make some smaller more abstracted figurines and toys. Dogs are an endless subject. Attention will be paid to adding distinctive detail and expression to your particular companion animals. Students need some understanding of the ceramic process and pottery construction and joinery.

Workshop fee: $ 985 USD  (for details on what is included click here)  Deposit to register: $450

October 16-20, 2023

Antoinette Badenhorst
Understanding Porcelain

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Understand the character of porcelain and push your own limits. Improve your clay skills as you throw or use hand-building techniques like pinching and press molding to obtain thin, well-crafted pots. Learn to alter porcelain into beautiful translucent sculptural or functional vessels.

Whether you continue working with porcelain or not, the principles and approaches you will learn during this workshop will refresh and energize your approach to clay. Intermediate-advanced potters welcome. No porcelain experience is needed.

Workshop fee: $ 780 USD  (for details on what is included click here)

Deposit to register: $350

(Click on the image to see full images)

Antoinette
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