Our First Fall Classes Are Live!! Wheel, Handbuilding, Creative Collaborations, and More To Come!

Hello, dear Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

It has been about a month since our last blog post, and there is a reason for that––it has also been just a little over a month since the launch of our Studio Membership program, which, while keeping us very busy, has been wonderful! What a difference it is to have all of our spaces buzzing with activity all the time. What was a place of possibilities and dreams has now also become a place full of creativity and joy, and we’ve been loving every moment of it!

In addition to all of that good fun, we have been working hard to line up some great classes and workshops for you for the fall. We’ve got a whole raft of handbuilding and wheel throwing classes and workshops, running from September through December! There is so much to tell you about… so let’s start at the beginning!

Can you feel the autumn on its way? We sure can, and we can’t wait to get started!

Our fall roster of workshops will be kicking off with something we are very excited about! We will be running a collaborative workshop with downtown Staunton’s very own Burrow & Vine, starting on Saturday, September 7!

In Plant Pots and Macramé, over the course of four 2-hour sessions (Sat., Sept 7, and Sundays Sept. 8, 15 and 22 from 1:00–3:00 pm), you will first learn how to make your own handbuilt plant pot and then how to make a gorgeous macramé holder in which to display it.

In Plant Pots and Macramé, over the course of four 2-hour sessions (Sat., Sept 7, and Sundays Sept. 8, 15 and 22 from 1:00–3:00 pm), you will first learn how to make your own handbuilt plant pot and then how to make a gorgeous macramé holder in which to display it. The first three sessions, hosted at Staunton Clayground, will cover every step of the process, from rolling out slabs of clay and adding texture to them to assembling and, finally, glazing. During the final session, hosted in Burrow & Vine’s beautiful second-floor classroom at 10 E. Beverley St., you will make the macramé hanger. Spots are limited, so claim yours now! No clay experience necessary.

If you are looking to dive deeper into handbuilding than just one workshop, then you’re in luck, because we have two handbuilding classes starting in September, one on Tuesday evenings and one on Wednesday mornings, to suit different schedules.

In these two Introduction to Handbuilding classes, both first-time potters and those with some prior clay experience will explore some of the essential techniques of handbuilding, making several unique functional pieces to take home over the course of five 2.5-hours sessions.

Participants will build confidence working with both soft and leather-hard clay, and explore a variety of surface texturing techniques. Projects will include a platter, a birdbath with bird sculpture, an angular vase, and a mug! We only have room for six students in each of these, so don’t wait too long to grab your spot! No prior experience with clay required.

Have you been waiting for a chance to try your hand at wheel throwing? Well, you’re in luck, because we have a full roster of wheel classes running all the way through the holidays, five in all!

Beginning on September 18, you can join our newest wheel teacher, Mary Tuttle (Welcome, Mary!), on Wednesday evenings, from 6–8 pm, for the first 12-hour (6-week) Pottery Wheel For All-Level Beginners class of the season.

Have you always wanted to try your hand at throwing pottery on the wheel and never had a chance? Have you spent some time on the wheel but want an opportunity to gain confidence and hone your skills? Over the course of six 2-hour sessions, this class will focus on helping you to set achievable goals and make them into a reality! If you’re a little too busy to start in mid-September, this same Wednesday-evening 12-hour class will run for second time, so check out Pottery Wheel for All-Level Beginners starting on October 30! Absolute beginners welcome!

(Yes, these photos are all actual pieces made by actual Staunton Clayground students in prior wheel classes! How cool is that?)

Are Wednesday evenings not good for you? Not to worry! We have more options. You can join one of two more Pottery Wheel for All-Level Beginners classes on either Thursday evenings or Sunday afternoons (a time we’ve had multiple requests for).

Come and join instructor Valya Boutenko and learn to throw functional pottery on the wheel. Students will try their hand at centering clay and throwing basic forms such as cylinders and bowls. The class will focus on mastering simple throwing and trimming techniques and will cover pulling handles for mugs as well as glazing techniques. First-time beginners are welcome here, as well!

(Yup! These are all our students’ creations, too! Isn’t that awesome?)

Are you ready to level up your wheel skills? Valya’s popular Beyond Basics On The Pottery Wheel class will be running on Tuesday evenings again this fall, starting on October 29.

Beyond Basics is an intermediate class for students who are somewhat familiar with working on the wheel. The class is a good fit for students who can throw a basic cylinder and a simple bowl form. In this class, students will practice throwing plates as well as elegant, rounded vases. Together with Valya, they will be tackling the more challenging forms and incorporating design elements that add interest and make the work shine.

The good news? If you attend any of our classes starting this fall, everything you make in them will be ready for pick-upbefore the holidays!

The better news? We have even more workshops in the works! We are working on two polymer clay workshopsbefore the end of the year, one for adults in October and one for kid-and-adult pairs in December. Look out for more about the first one in coming days! We are also working on a second collaboration with Burrow & Vine, and another co-workshop, this time with the Art Hive, Staunton’s “creative reuse and art center!” These will both be happening in the fall, and even more creative partnerships will be launching in 2025!

The best news? KIDS WORKSHOPS’ ARE FINALLY COMING! Yes, we are finally going to be rolling out our first workshops especially and exclusively for kids! We have partnered with some truly amazing local children’s art teachers to develop a series of fall and winter workshops, one in late September, two in October and one in November.

Keep watching this space, because news about all of those upcoming adults’ and kids’ workshops will be getting posted in coming days!

We are so excited for this marvelous fall and our very first holiday season!

See you soon at the Staunton Clayground. Let’s clay!

Handbuilding Workshop For Ages 10-18 and Wheel-Throwing Workshop for Experienced Potters, Both Starting Wednesday, July 10!

Hello, Friends of the Staunton Clayground!

We hope that you all had a fantastic July 4!

Here at the Staunton Clayground we have been super busy getting everything ready for our Studio Membership Program launch, which is happening this week! We’ve been gearing up for this since the day we opened, and it’s hard to believe it’s finally here. We’ve had a great response and are very excited to welcome our first official members into the studio tomorrow morning!

Amidst all of that excitement, we’ve also been hard at work trying to make sure there is a great selection of classes and workshops for you all to enjoy throughout this long hot summer. After all, on these hot, hot days, where better to be than in a cool pottery studio with your hands in wet clay?

If you or a young person you know is looking to beat the heat next week, then we have two workshops starting on Wednesday, July 10, that might just be for you!

Come clay! Cut off for sign-ups is Monday, July 8 at 5 p.m., so claim your spot!

The first is a coil plant pot workshop for young people age 10–18! It is co-taught and co-hosted by Staunton Clayground and Art Hive, with the collaboration of artist and master gardener Jacques of Mottainai and is our first (we hope of many) such collaboration within our area’s great arts and creative community. Attendees will make and decorate clay coil pots inspired by indigenous artists, and then learn how to use them to plant and care for a plant of their own. Read more details and get your tickets through Art Hive at this link and don’t miss out on this hands-on experience where art meets nature!

The second, Vases & Carving, is a workshop for slightly more experienced wheel throwers. If you can throw a simple 4-inch cylinder on your own, then this workshop is for you! Nicole Eyerman Hill will walk you through the process of crafting wheel-thrown vases meant to be carved and faceted to create unique surface decoration.

Sign-ups for both of these will be closing on Monday, July 8, at 5:00 p.m., so don’t miss your chance to come and join in the fun!

Looking for a different sort of handbuilding experience? Then look no farther than two more workshops, both for ages 14 and up, starting on July 16 and August 9, both are taught by a special guest instructor, local artist Janly Jaggard.

Special handbuilding workshops by local artist Janly Jaggard, right here at Staunton Clayground, this summer!

Still not quite what you’re looking for? Well, stay tuned, because we are getting ready to post 😃 three new pottery-wheel classes with two new teachers 😃, all starting over the next few weeks, two for all-level beginners and one for intermediate wheel throwers. Stay tuned, because we’ll be getting you all of the details, right here, over the next few days!

Stay cool, stay safe, and keep watching this space!

Three New Handbuilding Workshops in July and August! Two With Local Artist Janly Jaggard and One In Partnership With The Art Hive!

We have had quite a few queries about whether we were going to have new handbuilding workshops this summer, and we are very excited to officially announce three! Two, a Sculptural Coiled Forms workshop starting July 16 and an intensive Clay Slabbing and Hollow Forms workshop beginning August 9 (both geared towards adults age 14+), are taught by special guest artist and instructor Janly Jaggard. The third, for young people ages 10–18, entitled coil pot planters | 3 day clay workshop, is a “co-production” by Staunton Clayground, the Art Hive and Mottainai! Click the links or read on to learn more about all of them!

Let’s start with that last one, “coil pot planters | 3 day clay workshop,” because it is starting first (Wednesdays, July 10, 17, 24, from 1:00–4:00 pm)! Designed for young people ages 10–18, it is set to take place at Staunton Claygroundand the Art Hive.

During the first day, taking place in our clay studio, “Get inspired by indigenous potters Maria Martinez & Louise Goodman as you dive into the art of coil pot construction. We'll share stories and techniques while you build your very own coil pot, ready to house your favorite plant.” The last two sessions will be hosted at the Art Hive. During these two, students will first decorate their pots using underglaze painting then, to wrap up the workshop, “Join Jacque from Mottainai for a fun session on planting and caring for your new green buds in your beautiful vessel!

Don't miss out on this hands-on experience where art meets nature!” Tickets available here!

Our next two new handbuilding workshops, both for adults, are taught entirely at the Staunton Clayground by a special guest instructor, local artist Janly Jaggard. Here’s a link to her bio on our website, and you can check out her art on her own website here!

The first will be a Sculptural Coiled Forms workshop, taking place over five 3-hour sessions, 1:00–4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, July 16, 19, 23, 26 and August 6, 2024.

“It will deal with several aspects of working with earthenware clay and has both the beginner and the experienced clay worker in mind. The focus will be on material and on the design skills that will build aesthetic discernment about handbuilding skills as well as shape, form, surface and texture. Students will begin with drawings or other found references, like images that are of plant and other natural forms such as seaweed, trees, sand dunes, clouds, leaves, legs, etc., which will be the starting point for shape and form and then detail of texture and color.”

The second is an intensive workshop, Clay Slabbing and Hollow Forms, consisting of two 6-hour sessions + glazing day: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. on Sat. and Sun., August 9 and 10, and glazing Fri., Aug. 30, 10:00 a.m. until finished (may take less time than the previous two sessions).

As Janly Jaggard writes, “Slabbing is a technique that uses leather-hard clay construction and recalls real-world angular shapes. These shapes are the inspiration for the project students will create in this workshop. Ideas will come from references to buildings, man-made forms such as machines, and manufactured forms. We will make plans and drawings on paper then work on rolling out clay. Exploration of methods of joining slabs and developing surface decoration will be next, as the clay gets to leather hard and ready for building. Decoration and embellishment includes adding clay, piercing, carving, and using color.”

If, on the other hand, it is wheel classes you’re looking for, more experienced wheel throwers ages 14+ can join Nicole Eyerman Hill for her 3-day Wheel Throwing & Surface Decoration workshop, Vases & Carving, in which students will focus on throwing small vases with slightly thicker than usual walls, making it possible to carve out faceting or other designs once the vessels are leather-hard.

This is an interesting way to add interest to the surface of any piece, and can be done either on plain clay as a way to show off the effects of particular glazes or in combination with colored slip or underglaze decoration applied before clear-glazing.

We hope to add at least one more beginner wheel class over the summer, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, thank you to everyone who has applied for our Studio Membership program! You can expect to hear from us very soon 😃 We’re working through those applications right now!

See you soon at the Staunton Clayground!