Last Class
Last PCC Class
Tag: stoneware
Private Workshop
Fern Platter
Zentangle Platter
What could be more fun and more relaxing than combining clay with Zentangle! Join certified Zentangle instructor Donna Spencer, and potter Virginia Wood, to make a stoneware platter on which you will incorporate the mindful art of Zentangle and the rewards of working with clay. You will take a lump of clay, turn it into a beautiful platter, and then glaze it like a skilled artist – all with no experience necessary!
This class is going to be so much fun! I met Donna when I ran Gallery 529 in Littleton. She sold her Zentangle artwork at the gallery, which was very well received by all! I have been teaching pottery for decades to folks of all ages. It wasn’t until the other day I was doodling on one of my pots, in an attempt to glaze it in a different manner than I ever had. It occurred to me, there was a much better strategy out there and called Donna.
The class will start out with you making the platter. Then you will join Donna to learn 5 Zentangle designs which you will practice, and a 6th you can choose from a selection she will have. After you have mastered your designs, you will return to glaze your platter, using those designs!
The class will take the full 3 hours, so being on time is important.
The design pictured is just one of the many pictures Donna sold at the gallery. The platter is similar in size and shape to the one you will be glazing. We hope to have examples of what the two will look like together, in the coming weeks, though, there is so much room for individuality in this project that whatever you make will be a reflection of you.
I am so excited by this class because even the most reticent or reluctant artist to be will find success with this project!
The final platter will be about 10 inches by 6 inches, microwavable, oven proof, and dishwasher safe! It will be available for pick up within 2 weeks after the class. In addition to the platter, Donna will also leave you with a packet of supplies so that you can continue to learn and practice the thousands of Zentangle designs that are out there.
If you have a group of people who would like to do this, but the date is not good for you, Donna and I are happy to work with your schedule. Just use the contact form on the menu to let us know.
Build A Stoneware Toad House!
What?! You say your toads are homeless? Now, you can build your toads their very own safe and secure home, out from under foot, perfect for your garden. This particular house is ten inches tall and 7 inches wide.
You will make a ceramic home using slabs of clay and different textures to create that one of a kind home. You will be led through basic construction, and helped to design any embellishments you want to add. After you make and glaze your house, using underglazes, your project will be bisque fired, then glazed with a clear satin glaze, and refired to nearly 2200 degrees fahrenheit. Your finished toad house will be available for pick up within a week.
It will take the full two hours to construct this house, so it is necessary that you arrive on time. This workshop is limited to 4 people. If you would like to schedule a private workshop for just you and your friends and family, that is easily accomplished. Just use the “Contact” tab on the main menu.
Theoretically, these houses can be left out all winter, but it is not advisable.
Also suitable for faeries. 
Working with Clay is the Best!
I started working with clay in 5th grade. The summer camp I attended had the best studio space, where I spent most of my time. The ability to take a lump of nothing, and transform it into some thing functional and beautiful is without equal. Maybe you remember the fun of working with clay from your youth?
Because of my love of working with clay, I want to share what I know and experience on a regular basis with others so that they may also reap the benefits of playing with clay. Whether you have played with clay before or not, it is an opportunity not to be missed. It is an amazingly easy way to relax and have a huge sense of accomplishment – in a very little time!
For a detailed listing of what we will be making, click here. Chose an item and contact me to schedule a time. I am retired, so my schedule is wide open.
Here are some pictures of one class that I held recently. Their casseroles have not gone into the kiln, yet, they should be done by the weekend, and I will add those pictures. As novices, each and every one looks beautiful, and has the added benefit of being functional, too…dishwasher, oven, and food safe, as well as microwavable.
Do you have some friends who want to play in the clay, or would you like to stop by? Check out the schedule, or if that is not convenient, contact me directly. I am happy to schedule a time that works for both of us. Also, working with clay makes for a great parent/child activity or even date night!
.
Muddy Mondays to start May 14th
Working with clay is one of the most satisfying forms of art that is out there. To take a lump of clay, without form , and turn it into a beautiful piece of art, that is also functional, is incredibly satisfying.
Now you can participate in that activity! Every Monday evening, I will lead a group of 4 people, max, in different hand building projects. The projects will last about 2 hours each, and require absolutely no prior clay experience.
(If you can’t make Monday, I am happy to schedule a day/time that works for you)
The cost of the workshop ranges from $30 to $50 depending on the size and complexity of the project, and includes all materials.
The following are tentative projects (Links will be added as I complete examples)
July 9 – Square 8 inch plate with stencil design
July 16 – Oval Serving tray with hibiscus flower design
July 23 – Cylinder or Mug – You Decide!
July 30 – Fern Imprint Serving Platter –
August 6 – Row House Serving Tray
August 13 – Covered Butter Dish – texture and under glaze
August 20 – Catalpa Leaf Bowl
August 28 – Tree Baking Dish
Projects will basically be finished in one night, and I will complete with final clear over glaze. Should you have time and desire, you are more than welcome to come back and do the final glazing of your piece when time permits, at no extra charge. It will generally take two weeks for a bisque fire, and then another week for a glaze fire. Firings in the kiln are dependent on having enough pieces for a full load. If any of these ideas are something you would like to do, but can not make Monday nights, please contact me to schedule another time that is more convenient.
As I complete an example of the projects noted, I will post the class on my website, so please stay in touch!
My studio has A/C or heat, or an open door to the woods beyond.
July 30 – 6:30 – 8:30
The Learning Process
Part of being an artist is learning through experience. Not everything works as it should. These two pieces took hours to make, but in the end, had too many defects to ever sell, so they go into my increasing inventory of rejects.
The oak leaf chip and dip had numerous stress fractures from drying too quickly. I have made a few more, and am changing the way I made them. This time, I have made the leaves and chip and dip, and allowed them to dry together in a plastic bag so they reach the same moisture content. Hoping that when I attach the leaves, they will have a better chance of surviving.
The bird feeder failed because I managed to knock some of the petals off when I was loading it into the kiln. They are fixed now with glaze, but if you look closely you can see the cracks. I like the idea of this bird feeder. It holds a surprising amount of thistle seed, and I can’t wait to see the bright yellow goldfinches sitting among the bright yellow flowers, so I will give it another shot. 
If you ever wonder why handmade items cost so much, it is because lots of failures go into the final piece.
Pottery lessons
Looking for one of the best ways to relax? Learn to throw on a potter’s wheel! Let me show you how!
I have been throwing for more years than I care to admit. I have gone back and forth between eathenware and stoneware, and am currently working with stoneware clay. As a clay, it is extraordinarily forgiving, and I have found, pretty easy for even beginners to make something nice.
The attached video shows me throwing an oil lamp. I first started making these in college. The inside piece you can fill with lamp oil, and around the outside, you can make a ring of oasis and add flowers and a glass chimney. It makes a stunning table centerpiece. Because I have been working with earthenware, pretty much exclusively for the last decade, I have not been able to make one of these. The oil slowly leaks from the porous earthenware clay. In college, graduation weekend, I realized I needed cash for gas to drive home. Most likely I had drunk most of my budget with days still to go. Being ever resourceful, I took my oil lamps decorated with locally picked flowers, to a local restaurant and sold them, providing enough cash to get home. What I didn’t realize, until years later, was I had filled the rings with apple blossoms, which, when I dropped them off were gorgeous…but, apple blossoms don’t last as a picked flower. I always figured that was one of those karma things that would come back to get me.
I would love to teach you how to throw. It really is a wonderful hobby, art form…Let me work with you! https://worksfromthewoods.store/product-category/classes/
