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! Read on to learn more about all of them!
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!
Last Call For Sign-ups for "Mugs & Sgraffito" Workshop, Plus, Opening Reception at the BSSS Gallery Tonight!
Last chance to sign up for Part 1 of our 3-part wheel-throwing and surface decoration workshop series, “Mugs & Sgraffito,” starting on Tues., June 11. Saturday is the last day to sign up, so don’t miss your chance! Also, don’t miss tonight’s Opening Reception at the BSSS Gallery for ceramic art exhibition “Volume and Solitude”. Meet the artists and learn about their craft! 5:30–7:30 pm at 22 W. Beverley Street.
We hope you’ve had a fabulous week. We started our first All-Level Beginners Wheel-Throwing Class on Monday and are very happy to be off and running (or spinning 😁). We’re also excited for the coming week, when we’re going to launch our first workshop of the three-part surface-decoration series being taught this summer by Nicole Eyerman Hill.
In sgraffito technique, a colored surface layer is carved or scraped away to reveal the clay beneath, thus creating the design
The first part, Mugs & Sgraffito, is set to begin on Tuesday, June 11. This workshop is designed for potters with some wheel experience, so if you think this could be the one for you, now is the time to grab a spot! Sign-ups close at the end of the day on Saturday, June 8, so don’t miss your chance!
Also, we wanted to remind you that this evening from 5:30–7:00 is the Opening Reception of Volume and Solitude, a really wonderful exhibition (and we can say that because we’ve been there!) at the Beverley Street Studio Gallery(located inside the Co-Art Gallery space at 22 West Beverley St. in downtown Staunton). Check out the Newsleader article about it that was published this week! The exhibition is curated by our very own Janly Jaggard. Don’t miss your chance to meet the artists tonight!
Wishing you all a lovely weekend!
Ceramic Art Exhibition Opening Downtown This Friday at the Beverley Street Studio School
This week we are very excited to announce the opening of a ceramics art exhibition, Volume and Solitude, of which we are a proud sponsor. The exhibition will open this coming Friday, May 31, at the Beverley Street Studio School Gallery at 22 West Beverley Street, and run for seven weeks, until July 27. It is curated by our very own Janly Jaggard. Don’t miss the Opening Reception on Friday, June 7, from 5:30–7:00 pm!
This week we are very excited to announce the opening of a ceramics art exhibition, Volume and Solitude, of which we are a proud sponsor.
The exhibition will open this coming Friday, May 31, at the Beverley Street Studio School Gallery at 22 West Beverley Street, and run for seven weeks, until July 27.
Curated by our very own Janly Jaggard (who will be teaching two workshops at the Staunton Clayground later this summer) it features the work of four different ceramic artists, Noah Hughey-Commers, Katherine Maloney, Tom Clarkson, and Kevin Crowe, and is well worth a visit!
The Opening Reception will be held on June 7, from 5:30–7:00. We plan to be there with bells on and we hope you can make it, too!
If you can’t make it to the opening or if you just want to visit the show, the Gallery is open Wed. & Sun. 1–5, Thurs. & Sat. 10–6, and Friday 10–8.
Stay tuned for more news about Janly Jaggard’s upcoming workshops and more, coming soon!