Woodfire: Ancient Methods & Contemporary Applications

with Henry Crissman & Virginia Rose Torrence
CERAMICS 660 001 | 3 credits | $300 Lab Fee
May 26 - June 8, 2024

This course will explore the many histories, methods, and potentials of using wood as fuel to heat and transform clay into ceramic. Presentations will survey ceramic science, the history and logic of kiln design, and the range of objects made with wood fired kilns. Demonstrations will include handbuilding and wheel throwing techniques as well as experimental methods with found ceramic materials and objects. Films and readings including Maria Martinez: Indian Pottery of San Ildefonso and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass will offer insights as we engage and form the material of the Earth. Conversations throughout will aim to assist students in finding creative agency with ceramics. Students will work on independent projects and the class will culminate in a nearly two day long firing of Ox-Bow’s 50 cubic foot catenary-arch wood-kiln; a massive group effort that will involve loading the kiln, and methodically stoking it with wood for the duration of the firing until our desired temperature is reached throughout. While the kiln cools we’ll explore ways in which the techniques covered might be applied outside of the workshop, and build and fire a small and temporary kiln which students could easily recreate independently. Once cool, the big kiln will be unloaded and cleaned, results will be finished and analyzed, and we'll hold an exhibit of the works created.

Henry James Haver Crissman is an artist and educator who thinks of his art as a means, not an end. The projects, objects, installations, happenings, etc. that one might call his ‘art’ precipitates from the swirling confluence of ceramic making, place making, critical engagement, and community facilitation and participation that wholly encompasses his life. Henry James Haver Crissman earned a BFA in Craft from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI in 2012, and a MFA in Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY in 2015. He now lives and works in Hamtramck, MI where he and his wife and fellow artist, Virginia Rose Torrence, founded and co-direct Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and artist residency. He regards teaching as an integral aspect of his creative practice, and in addition to teaching at Ceramics School, he is currently an adjunct professor in the Studio Art and Craft Department at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.

Virginia Rose Torrence (she/her) Co-owns, operates and teaches at Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and Artist Residency in Hamtramck MI. Virginia’s art practice is sometimes making pottery, and sometimes making sculptures. She received her BFA in Craft/Ceramics from the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, MI) in 2013 and her MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University (Alfred, NY) in 2016. Virginia lives and makes art in Hamtramck, MI with her partner and co-teacher Henry Crissman, two dogs, two cats and a parakeet.

Musical Mud

with Liz McCarthy
CERAMICS 665 001 | 3 credits | $225 Lab Fee
June 9 – 22, 2024

This course explores designing, firing, and activating clay instruments, while considering the medium’s unique relationship with sound. We will review the four main types of ceramics instruments; aerophones, chordophones, idiophones, and membranophones (think whistles, harps, shakers, and drums) and explore building strategies for peak resonance. Hand-building and wheel throwing techniques will be demonstrated and students are free to explore these possibilities in service of designing their instruments. We will elevate the tasks of sourcing clay, designing a soundscape, preparing our bodies for performance, and accessorizing our happenings, taking inspiration from artists who did the same including ancient Mexican and Peruvian makers, Julia Elsas, Joey Watson and reviewing Barry Hall’s From Mud to Music. Assignments will invite students to participate in fluxus exercises, encouraging play in performance with objects. The course will culminate in a musical performance for the Ox-Bow community, utilizing our studio-made wares.

Liz McCarthy (she/they) is a Chicago-based artist that combines ceramics with other objects and performances. Often her sculptures take the form of whistles that have the potential for instrumental performances. These objects harken potential modes for human collectivity, ecology, vulnerability, and play. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Studio Art and her BFA from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in Photography. Her mix of performance, sculpture, and installation have been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, and Goldfinch in Chicago; Ghebaly Gallery in Los Angeles; ExGirlfriend in Berlin, and numerous other galleries and institutions. She has participated in residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, ACRE, High Concept Laboratories, Banff Centre, Ox-Bow, and Lighthouse Works. Her projects have been supported by Joan Mitchell Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, and Chicago’s Department of Tourism and Chicago Artist Run Spaces Award. Currently she acts as Founding Director of the GnarWare Workshop ceramics school and community studio. She was previously a founding Co-Director of the artist collective and exhibition space Roxaboxen Exhibitions. She also lectures at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Portrait and the Figure in Ceramics

with Rodrigo Lara Zendejas
CERAMICS 668 001 | 3 credits | $225 Lab Fee
June 23 - July 6, 2024

This studio class for beginning and experienced students addresses the evolution of the figurative object as a consistently potent vehicle in the art continuum. Emphasis is placed on students’ personal investigations of the human form as a subject in contemporary ceramics, beyond the study of anatomy. An examination of a variety of ceramic construction strategies and techniques are explored through demonstrations and class projects concentrating on hand building without an armature. Firing and post-firing processes, surface treatments, and the incorporation of other media with clay will be covered. The figure in architecture, its relationship to vessels, and three-dimensional figure will be examined.Historical and contemporary concepts and artists related to ceramics and the figurative object in general will be included. Readings will include Mark Manders’ “My Work is Always Totally Silent” and we will screen “Stories” by Kiki Smith. Students will analyze and learn mass, form, and proportion in 3-5 projects focusing on portraits and figures. The work developed during class time could be approached as either proportionate and detailed; or whimsical, stylized, and hilarious.

Born 1981, Mexico. Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, Assistant Professor/Area Head of the Ceramics Department; University of Notre Dame. He received an MFA from SAIC in 2013 and his BFA, from the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico in 2003. Lara has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Museo de Arte Moderno in the state of Mexico; Museo de la Ciudad in Querétaro, Mexico; Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago; C.G. Boerner in New York City; Kruger Gallery in Marfa, Texas; among others. Lara has two monographs of his work, Máscaras y Artefactos and Memorials. He won the first price in sculpture at the Premio Nacional de las Artes Visuales in Mexico in 2010. He has received several awards including: IAPG, DCASE, Chicago; Proyectos Especiales and Jóvenes Creadores, FONCA, Mexico City; Emerging Artist Grant, Joan Mitchell Foundation, NYC; James Nelson Raymond Fellowship, 2013 SAIC; PECDA Estudios en el extranjero, IQCA; International Graduate Scholarship, SAIC; and the John W. Kurtich Travel Scholarship, SAIC, Berlin/Kassel, Germany, among others. He currently lives and works in Chicago.

Cuteness Overload

with Chase Barney & Emily Yong Beck
CERAMICS 663 001 | 3 credits | $225 Lab Fee
July 15 - 27, 2024

Cuteness and humor can be used to convey serious topics in a palatable way. Artists such as Robert Arneson, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Ruby Neri, and Beth Lo utilize these tactics in their clay practice to tell us stories from unique points of view. Students will learn hand-building techniques such as coil building, slab construction, pinch pots, and various surface design techniques, combining these skills with their interpretation of “cute” to achieve their desired result. This course allows students of all levels to work on projects, improve their ceramics skills and develop their visual vocabulary. Participants will have access to all materials in the ceramic studio and demonstrations will include hand-building, vessel creation, construction methods, proper firing methods, and encourage an intermediate understanding of drying times, methods for building sound pieces, techniques for minimizing loss, and studio safety. Taking inspiration from the California Funk movement and ideas about the aesthetics of optimism, as coined by curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, students will be encouraged to listen to episodes of Vizcarrondo-Laboy’s podcast “Clay in Color”. Group readings and discussion will focus on Sontag’s “Notes on Camp”, we will screen episodes of Art 21 and Craft in America, as well as classic cartoons such as Looney Tunes and Hello Kitty. Assignments are designed to build an understanding of hand-building techniques, ceramic tradition, cuteness's place in the present art canon, and how to introduce humor and play into your practice. Assignments and exercises may include clay-exquisite-corpse, pinch pot coffee cups, and a narrative vessel. Instructors will be available to help facilitate individual projects and class critiques.

Chase Barney is an artist working with clay to create vases adorned with flowers, animals, and bright colors. The narrative in his work is loose, a mish-mash of Mormon dogma, fairy tale, and fable, as well as a deep love for cliché, pop culture, and family lore. Barney graduated with a BFA from the University of Minnesota and his MFA at The School of the Art Institute Chicago in 2022. Barney has exhibited across the United States and received numerous grants and scholarships supporting his work, including a 2020 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and the New Artist Full Merit Scholarship from SAIC. Barney is originally from Utah. He lives and works in Chicago.

Emily Yong Beck is an interdisciplinary ceramic artist who received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2021. Currently based in Chicago, Illinois, her works are largely inspired by significant cultural pieces of craft, cartoon and kawaii culture. The appropriation of certain motifs are an attempt to create a dialogue about forgotten histories and propaganda. Beck’s work has been featured in the solo exhibitions Lions & Lambs, Gaa Gallery Provincetown, Massachuesetts, Spoonful of Sugar at New Image Art, Los Angeles, and a two-person presentation with Gaa Gallery and a solo exhibition at Gaa Projects, Cologne, Germany. Beck has been awarded residences such as The Residency Program in Versailles, France where the work made was featured at Lefebvre et Fils in Paris, France in a solo exhibition, Gimbap Paradise.

Clay at the Table

with S. Lantz & Amanda Salov
CERAMICS 667 001 | 3 credits | $225 Lab Fee
July 28 - August 10, 2024

In this class, artists will engage with techniques in the ceramics studio to adorn a celebratory dinner event on the final day of class. Students will utilize handbuilding, throwing, and other formation techniques to make plates, bowls, cups, candle holders, and wearables, as envisioned by the group for the party. Participants will also learn how to add pigment to glaze to create ombre (color to color blend) and gradients (color tinted gradually). The class will culminate in an delightfully colorful meal and celebratory installation. We will review the work of artists who have successfully merged social practice with exceptional ceramic wares including Judy Chicago, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and Jennifer Ling Datchuk. Readings will include Ashley Anastasia Howell’s research on utilizing color in dining spaces and we will screen Pete Pinnell’s Thoughts on Cups. Assignments will invite students to design a ceramic jewelry piece for the event and consider vessel specificity by designing a platter for a specific dish or item of food.

S. Lantz is an artist working primarily in ceramics. Drawing upon histories of adornment and communications of individual and collective identities, their work explores explicit or encoded identities, context, care, and the ownership and telling of stories and histories. They are fascinated by in-between points in the continuums of fitting and not fitting, clarity and obscurity, and the complexities inherent in visual languages of communication and documentation. S. Lantz has exhibited ceramic work nationally and abroad, and have most recently participated in residencies at the Penland School of Craft and the International Artists Residency Exchange. They received a Bachelor of Arts in 3D4M (ceramics+glass+sculpture) at the University of Washington, Seattle. Born in Seattle, Washington, Lantz has spent the past few years in Maine, where they held the positions of Studio Coordinator at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and Administrator of The Color Network. They are currently based in Northwest Arkansas.

Amanda Salov’s work examines the qualities of a moment, or the idea of a moment in physical form: temporal, fragile and fleeting. With her porcelain sculptures, installations, and paintings, she uses natural phenomena as metaphors and anchors for the transitions we all face. Raised in rural Wisconsin, she received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater and her MFA from the University of Missouri - Columbia. She has shown work throughout the United States and has earned a number of awards, including the Oregon Art Commission Grant (2013, 2016, 2017), Ford Family Foundation Grant (2016, 2017), a Washington State Artist Trust Grant (2018), and an Allied Arts Grant (2022). Salov has received residencies and teaching opportunities around the globe including at the Reykjavik School of Visual Arts in Iceland, Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan, the Archie Bray Foundation, the University of Washington, and the University of Arkansas. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington with her semi-feral cattle dog and partner.

Moon Jars: Throwing Large Vessels

with Dave Kim
CERAMICS 664 001 | 3 credits | $225 Lab Fee
August 11 - 24, 2024

The moon jar, a notable piece of traditional Korean white porcelain created during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), is the inspiration of this class. Originating in the fifteenth century, it earned its name due to its resemblance to the moon and the creamy hue of its glaze. Comprising two hemispherical halves seamlessly connected at the center, the moon jar exhibits a subtly irregular shape, which was intentionally incorporated to heighten its organic charm. During this class, we will explore several techniques employed in crafting this distinctive pottery form including shaping and throwing large vessels, unique and historic glazing techniques, trimming and edge refinery, and systems for successful firing. Students will be encouraged to incorporate these techniques into their own practices and ceramic goals and the class will culminate in a group reflection on the wares made.

Dave Kim the Potter’s ceramic practice explores precolonial Korean pottery traditions. Currently based in New York, Dave is devoted to carrying on an ancient tradition that has been passed down generationally, working to preserve a craft and culture that is slowly dissipating in the contemporary conversations. Kim’s practice is research-based. Through extensive study and labor intensive apprenticeships under master potters, Kim has mastered the key visual elements—form, surface, color, and material— that define traditional Korean ceramics. He has a specialized focus on the techniques of Sang-gam (inlay), Baek-ja (porcelain-ware), and Bun-cheong (stamps). These techniques were originally developed during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) and were used to create functional ware for a variety of contexts that ranged from mundane household affairs to ancestral ritual practices to royal ceremonies. Prioritizing refined subtly over ornate embellishments, they signify the distinctive aesthetic philosophy of that time– simplicity as an embodiment of natural and unpretentious beauty.