Description
Designed for beginning and continuing students.
This class will cover the bedrock of hand-building clay techniques through the making of a variety of functional wares such as vases, covered jars, mugs, pitchers, boxes, and bakers. We’ll be using the four main techniques of pinch, soft slab, hard slab, and coil. Some embellishment methods will be covered and the glazing processes of our finished works.
Note: If you have had wheel throwing classes, you still need to take this class as a beginner.
Tools: Instructor will start the class providing tools as necessary. I will hand out a tool sheet and urge students to get their own. Clay is bought through TAC. We will be using Kentucky Mudworks Speckled Turtle.
Ann Gleason had been a professional potter and part time teacher of clay for over 30 years in the upstate Carolina area. Working in many varieties and techniques of clay from earthen-wares to porcelains, low fire to high, raku, primitive firings, gas firings, and electric, her explorations in the medium have evolved in many ways over the decades. “Clay is an immensely diverse material that can be made to do almost anything when in skilled and creative hands.” says Gleason “The fascination is that this very tactile and physical medium offers infinite directions a person can go with it. The other side of this is that you have to restrain yourself from scattering in too many directions at once but learn to focus and develop select techniques and ideas first. When I teach clay classes, the projects are designed to encourage the student to build on the techniques and ideas needed to learn and grow.
