News, Events, Inspiration ◊ December, 2022 & January, 2023

Pottery created by Sue Woestehoff in our

Design Your Surface class led by Darcy Bowden

Stretch your creative muscles in 2023. Start or continue wheel throwing or hand building in our introductory and continuing classes, expand your skills with clay and take on new challenges in our intermediate and advanced classes, and concentrate on surface design techniques in our ceramic surface design class. Register for our first-term 2023 classes through December 11 to receive our Early Bird tuition discount. The discount is available through January 15 for the clay surface design class.

Holiday hint: bring some art into the life of a loved one by treating them to a gift certificate for one of our classes.

Here's our lineup of first-term classes for 2023:

Introductory and Continuing Wheel

• Mon, Jan 9-Feb13, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
• Wed, Jan 11-Feb 15, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Kay Yourist
• Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16, 12:30-2:30 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16, 4:30-6:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
• Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
• Sat, Jan 14-Feb 18, 9:30-11:30 am, with Laila Chalati
• Sun, Jan 15-Feb 19, 1:30 pm-3:30 pm, with David Timm

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Introductory Wheel Sundays

• Sun, Jan 15-Feb 19, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, with David Timm

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)

• Wed, Jan 11-Feb 15, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Sat, Jan 14-Feb 18, 9:30 am-11:30 am, with Nancy Bulkley

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Hand Building

• Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Meg Gizzi

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Design your clay surface 

• Mon, Feb 20-Apr 24, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Darcy Bowden

Early Bird Discount valid through January 15.

Advanced and Intermediate Clay

• Tues, Jan 10-Apr 11, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Kay Yourist

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Advanced / Intermediate Independent Study

• Wed, Jan 11-Apr 12, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Rose Gomez

Early Bird Discount valid through December 11.

Enroll here.

Pamper yourself

Give yourself (and maybe a family member or good friend) a special preholiday treat in our Try It Once on the Wheel class:

Try It Once on the Wheel

• Sat, Dec 17, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Kay Yourist

Sign up now.

Take another look...

...at some of the tempting ceramic art that will be available at our 2022 Holiday Show and Sale. To see full selection, be sure to mark your calendar for this special yearly event.

 Opening reception

Friday, December 9, 4:00-8:00 pm

The Holiday Show and Sale continues on

Saturday, December 10, 10:00 am-5:00 pm

Sunday, December 11, 12:00-5:00 pm

Our 29 talented Yourist Studio Gallery artists featured in the show have lovingly handcrafted a wide array of functional and decorative ceramic works, from bowls to vases and everything between, for you to browse and enjoy.

Participants include

Kathy Anastasia | John Blades | Darcy Bowden | Nancy Bulkley |

Laila Chalati | Patty Clark | Savanah Conrad | Nick Glynos |

Rose E Gomez | Linda Heckenkamp | Judith Hogue | Elan Lange | Jennifer MacLeod | Robin Mendenhall | Tempest NeuCollins |

Beth Peterson | Averi Phan | Steve Rodriguez | Keith Shoultz |

Eileen Somers | Josette Steele | Elisha Talley | Dave Timm |

Caron Valentine-Marsh | Ali Walsh | Jeff Warrow | Kevan Wilson |

Deb Wood | and Kay Yourist.

You can expect a warm holiday welcome and lots of seasonal cheer when your arrive. There is plenty of free parking on site. You'll find a map to our location on our web site.

After the Holiday Show and Sale, you can continue to shop at our gallery during our regular hours Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 pm, with special hours on Saturday, December 24 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Gift tip

Our Pick Your Own Price gift certificates are your way of giving a family member or friend the gift of choice. You buy a gift certificate in the amount you choose, and the recipient can apply it toward a purchase of any pottery in our gallery or an experience with art in one of our classes. Our gift certificates never expire, and you can easily buy them any time on our web site.

Big Brooklyn and Little Brooklyn

at home

"Hey, you look just like me, right down that that tiny white mustache under my nose!" Do you suppose that is what Big Brooklyn is thinking about the Little Brooklyn clay avatar made by Elaine Yeglic, Yourist student and Big Brooklyn's devoted 24/7 staff person?

Here's a reminder of the daily schedule for Yourist Studio Gallery during the holidays:

• December 1-8: Regular studio and gallery hours are in effect.
• December 9-11: 2022 Holiday Show and Sale.*
• December 12-23: Regular studio and gallery hours are in effect.**
• December 24: Open from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
• December 25-January 4: Closed for the holidays.
• January 5: Reopening at noon with regular studio and gallery hours
• January 9: Classes begin.

*The studio will be unavailable for any clay work during the Yourist Studio 2022 Holiday Show and Sale from December 9-11. Please put down your pottery tools and come join us at the show.

**Because there are no classes on Thursday, December 15 and 22, the studio and gallery will be open during regular hours.

Studio intern

We're interviewing potential studio interns for winter and spring to help with studio maintenance in exchange for studio use. The successful applicant should know how to mix glaze, load kilns, mop floors, and perform other typical studio duties. Please send a letter of interest, including your pottery studio experience, to Kay Yourist.

With the new year...

...comes the time to make a fresh start in the studio. On December 23, we will clear the decks for 2023 by removing all bisque ware and glaze ware that has accumulated on the shelves in November.

• Please pick up your glazed pieces and take them home to enjoy.
• Please glaze your bisque ware now or take it home for glazing in the future.

Regrettably, any unclaimed bisque ware and glazed pieces remaining after December 23 must be discarded to make room for new work. (Please don't make us do that!)

Masking update

Before coming to the studio, please check the following links for current advisories on COVID transmission risk and case numbers in Washtenaw county:

CDC COVID Community Levels page.

Washtenaw County Health Department page

CDC currently updates its advisory every Thursday at 8 pm ET.

The studio will operate in accordance with the latest CDC advisories. Thank you for helping us keep our studio safe and healthy for all students and members.

Q. Can I make my own plate and tile display stands from clay instead of buying plastic or metal ones?

A. Now here's a classic "Why didn't I think of that?" moment for you. Yes, you can ditch those store-bought display stands and make your own attractive (and oh-so-appropriate) ceramic ones. Hobby Potter Tammy Jo Shoppet demonstrates two ways to make ceramic display stands and provides a free, downloadable template for what she calls her "cookie cutter" display stand.

This video is part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.

Conversing in Clay with Courtney Leonard,

ceramic artist of the Shinnecock Nation

On-site exhibitions

We'll let you know when new ceramics exhibitions are on display and open to the public. Before you go to an on-site exhibition, be sure to check the art museum's web site for temporary closures due to COVID-19 and for masking and other requirements.

Around the World in Blue and White. Selections from the William C. Weese Collection of Chinese Ceramics. University of Michigan Museum of Art. Ongoing. More . . .

Pewabic: Detroit's Pottery: documents the pottery's past while celebrating the present. Pewabic Pottery. Ongoing. More . . .

Travel Dining. Collection of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. Now-December 2. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Walk on the Wild Side: Animals in three-dimensional works of various time periods in stone, ceramic, and glass. Flint Institute of Art. Now-February 5, 2023. More . . .

Matt Wedel: Phenomenal Debris. Wedel's work represents "the phenomenal debris that is shed from being human." Toledo Museum of Art. November 5, 2022-April 2, 2023. More . . .

Clay as Soft Power: Shigaraki Ware in Postwar America and Japan. How pottery transformed global relations. University of Michigan Museum of Art. November 12, 2022-May 7, 2023. More . . .

Dopamine Dressing. Colorful, textured clay and metal sculptures by YehRim Lee. University of Michigan Museum of Art. December 3, 2022-June 4, 2023. More . . .

Explorations in Brown Clay. Julie Schnell Madden. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. December 12, 2022-March 3, 2023. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Everlasting Exhuberence. Alexander M. Clinthorne. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. December 12, 2022-March 3, 2023. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Broken Pieces Made Whole: Mosaics. Sue Majewski. Gifts of Art Gallery, Rogel Cancer Center. December 12, 2022-March 3, 2023. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Motawi Tileworks: A Celebration of 30 Years. Gifts of Art Gallery, Rogel Cancer Center. December 12, 2022-December, 2023. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Expressions in Paper and Clay. Juxtaposes contemporary Japanese prints with contemporary Japanese ceramics. Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. January 28-May 14, 2023. More . . .

Virtual tours and videos

Here's a selection of pottery events, exhibitions, and museum tours that you can visit and enjoy online. Lots of tasty ceramic eye candy!

Artist Portrait: Courtney M. Leonard // Conversing in Clay: Ceramics from the LACMA Collection. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The work of Shinnecock Nation artist Leonard explores her community's issues as coastal people. More . . .

The Arresting 'Exploded' Ceramics of Artist Bouke de Vries. Lightner Museum. How de Vries gives broken antique ceramics a second life. More . . .

"Human and Animal." Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Five noted ceramic artists explore the relationship between humans and non-human species in this special exhibition. More . . .

Two Unforgettable Dinnerware online lectures from The International Museum of Dinnerware Design are now available as videos: Plastic Dishes on the Table: America's love affair with melamine in the mid-20th century and A Place at the Table: Heath Ceramics and the Legacy of Edith Heath.

And three from Colossal:

Sculptures embellished with natural features and textures by Carol Long. More . . .

Disquieting sculptures of everyday objects by Genesis Belanger. More . . .

Playfully drippy ceramic vessels by Philip Kupferschmidt. More . . .

Will this work...

...on clay? Leave it to potter Ann Ruel to come up with yet another creative surface decorating idea! This time she uses hair dye and food dispensers with more than one nozzle to slip trail multiple lines. Does it work? You be the judge.

C'mon potters...

...let's do the twist. Potter Michael Kline demonstrates two methods for throwing swirlware cups on the wheel in this video from Ceramic Arts Network. He also explains how throwing swirlware shows what happens to clay as it's raised off the wheel head.

You can see Kline's 2022 Clay To Table exhibition here.

Holiday stocking stuffer

"Shaped sponges are widely available from craft outlets or discount stores (in children's toy departments) for very little cost. They are a little difficult to cut to shape yourself, but you can overcome the problem if you dampen it first and then freeze it—a sharp craft knife should then easily slice through the foam to create your chosen shape."

You can see a sample issue of ClayCraft here and learn more about it here.

Here are our open studio hours for the rest of 2022 and for 2023:

• Tuesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
• Wednesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
• Friday, 12:00-6:00 pm
• Saturday, 12:00-6:00 pm
• Sunday, 4:00-8:00 pm

There are no open studio hours on Thursday. Saturday open studio hours begin at noon with the exception of one Saturday a month, when the Try It Once on the Wheel class meets from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. Check our class schedule for the date for this class.

Please remember to sign in when you arrive and sign out when you leave. And make sure to clean your work area thoroughly before leaving.

We have curbside delivery of clay, tools, and pottery during our regular hours. If you have a specific need, please call us at the studio, during regular hours, at 734-662-4914.