◊ News, Events, Inspiration ◊
February 2025
| |
Inside this issue: New gallery exhibition scheduled. 2nd-term classes open for enrollment. Two classes devoted to glaze formulation offered this spring. Studio member receives art award. New opening for studio instructor. Plus exhibitions, events, and informative videos. | |
Ease on into spring...
...in our 2nd-term classes, now open for enrollment. Our lineup includes our regular complement of hand building classes and introductory through intermediate wheel throwing classes. The Early Bird Discount for these classes is good through February 2, so claim your place in class now to receive it.
Also available for sign-up are our Atmospheric Soda Firing class, starting February 25, and two glaze formulation classes—introductory and special effects—beginning later this spring. Learn more about the glaze classes below.
Register today.
Here's the full class schedule:
| |
Introductory and Continuing Wheel
-
Mon, Feb 24-Mar 31, 3:30-5:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
-
Mon, Feb 24-Mar 31, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
-
Thu, Feb 27-Apr 3, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
-
Thu, Feb 27-Apr 3, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Nick Glynos
-
Sat, Mar 1-Apr 5, 9:45-11:45 am, with Laila Chalati
-
Sun, Mar 2-Apr 6, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, with Savanah Conrad
Early Bird discount effective through February 2.
Intermediate Wheel Throwing
-
Thu, Feb 27-Apr 3, 12:30-2:30 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
-
Sun, Mar 2-Apr 6, 1:30-3:30 pm, with Savanah Conrad
Early Bird discount effective through February 2.
Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)
-
Wed, Feb 26-Apr 2, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
-
Sat, Mar 1-Apr 5, 9:30-11:30 am, with Nancy Bulkley
Early Bird discount effective through February 2.
Hand Building
-
Thu, Feb 27-Apr 3, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Elliott Kayser
Early Bird discount effective through February 2.
Atmospheric Soda Firing
-
Tue, Feb 25-Apr 29, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Kay Yourist
Reserve your seat now.
|
Also open for registration:
Glaze Formulation Understood
-
Fri, Apr 4-May 9, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Elliott Kaiser
Early Bird discount effective through March 4.
Glaze Formulation Section 2
-
Fri, May 23-Jun 27, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Elliott Kaiser
Early Bird discount effective through April 23.
Sign up here.
| |
March Try It
Ever wondered what it's like to sit at the potter's wheel and make a cup or bowl of clay? This class is your opportunity to find out.
Try It Once on the Wheel
-
Sat, Mar 22, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Laila Chalati
Register now.
| |
This spring we are offering our introductory class, Glaze Formulation Understood, and we have expanded our glaze-making curriculum to include a follow-up class on special glaze effects. Anyone who has taken the introductory glaze class is eligible to take the new class. | |
Glaze Formulation Understood
April brings the return of six-week class Glaze Formulation Understood. Instructor Elliott Kayser will take students on a deep dive into understanding glaze recipe formulation and the ingredients used in glazes. This class is technical but has been designed to help artists and visual learners gain confidence in solving glaze issues, and to build the foundation for altering glaze recipes. The prerequisite for taking this class is a minimum of one full class semester in clay.
| |
|
Glaze Formulation Section 2
In this six-week course with instructor Elliott Kaiser, set to start in May, students will build on their foundational understanding of glaze recipe formulation by exploring "special effects." This technical class will help students understand the materials that give glazes color, crystal growth, opacity, and sparkle. Students will also learn how to blend colorants, learn about Mason stains, and develop their own special glaze formulas. The prerequisite for taking this class is Glaze Formulation Understood.
| |
Shake them off at our upcoming gallery exhibition, "Light Play," on display from February 21 through April 5. Our exhibition will chase those dreary winter blues away with delightful lamps by notable local ceramic artists, Elliott Kayser and Kate Tremel. Here's a glimpse of what you will see. | |
Light up your life and your home with Elliott Kayser's whimsical animal lamps, which include a whole host of dinosaurs (yes, even T. Rex), plus elephants and other animals you might see on safari in Africa. | |
Enjoy the contemplative play of light and shadow cast by Kate Tremel's elegant pierced lamps, formed with a wooden paddle and stone anvil and hand carved when the clay is bone dry. | |
Mark your calendars now. We'll have more show details for you soon. | |
Deb Wood with exhibition award
and admiring fan
| |
Congratulations to studio member Deb Wood on receiving an honorable mention award for her breathtaking soda-fired totem at the Gutman Gallery exhibition "Anything Goes." This is the second year in a row that a member of our studio has won an award in a Gutman Gallery exhibition. In 2024 Savannah Conrad made the news with her second place award from the gallery.
Gutman Gallery is a fine arts and community creative space located in downtown Ann Arbor. Pay a visit to Gutman Gallery here.
| |
Thank you to author Janine Vangool for allowing us to reprint her words of encouragement. Vangool is the publisher, editor, and designer of the exceptional UPPERCASE magazine, for the creative and curious. You may be familiar with Volume C, Ceramics, in her Encyclopedia of Inspiration. If UPPERCASE is new to you, you owe it to yourself to take a look. | |
Job opportunities
Hand building instructor
We're seeking an experienced hand building instructor to add to our existing faculty. To apply, please send your resume, images of your work, and your artist statement to Kay Yourist.
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. An internship is a great experience and resume building opportunity. Please send a letter of interest, including your previous pottery studio experience, to Kay Yourist.
| |
Check our shelves...
...to make sure you haven't overlooked any of your bisque or glaze ware pieces. Our students and studio members are so delightfully productive that we must clear our shelves regularly to accommodate new work. On February 28, we will remove all bisque and glaze ware that has accumulated on the shelves in December and January.
- 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 February 28 must be discarded to make room for new work.
| |
Q. I'm looking for an easy way to make two bowls that echo each other in appearance. Got any ideas for me?
A. How about throwing (or hand building) a closed form, then wiring it in half to create twin bowls that have an attractive organic look? The Alchemy Ceramic artist shows you how it's done.
These videos are part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.
| |
Katrin Moye:
The "cheekiest potter in England"
| |
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 any current health precautions.
Pewabic: Detroit's Pottery: documents the pottery's past while celebrating the present. Pewabic Pottery. Ongoing. More . . .
Playful Dining: a virtual exhibition that is mostly about toy dish sets belonging to children of the past. International Museum of Dinnerware Design. Ongoing. More . . .
Sculptural Paintings: Ceramics by Susanne Stephenson: Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art Gallery. Taubman Health Center. Now through February 28, 2025. More . . .
| |
From Asia to the World: Ancient to Contemporary Art. Display includes blue-and-white porcelain, celadon, and enamel ceramics from China, Korea, and Japan. Toledo Museum of Art. Now–June 29, 2025. More . . .
Spotlight—Making Her Mark. "...highlights the achievements of women ceramicists since the early 20th century." Flint Institute of Arts, December 21, 2024–September 28, 2025. More . . .
Umbrian Ceramics: From Etruria Through Novecento and Today. A deep dive into the history and craft of Umbrian ceramics with Rob Raphael, 2018 NEA Ceramics Fellow (and pal of Nancy Bulkley). Umbertide, Italy, March 30–April 6, 2025. More . . .
| |
Pottery perspectives
Opportunities to expand your knowledge of ceramics past and present.
Meet English ceramic artist Katrin Moye. She doesn't "beat around the bush or shy away from things considered 'taboo'." More . . .
Ceramic Brussels. Visit Colossal to see a selection of eclectic pieces on display at this recent exhibition. More . . .
Anomalies and Curiosities of Dinnerware. International Museum of Dinnerware Design. The video of IMODD's December online lecture is now available. More . . .
Vadna of California: Duality in Dinnerware! International Museum of Dinnerware Design. The video of IMODD's January online lecture is also available. More . . .
And three from Colossal:
Extraordinary clay totems by Yu Maeda. More . . .
Ceramic sculptures with jolly faces by Abi Castillo. More . . .
Spirited porcelain figures by Vipoo Srivilasa. More . . .
| |
Kurt Weiser teapot, ca. 2022
Bailey Pottery Collection
| |
From the White House to Our House: Why Functional Pots Reflect Culture and Time
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design's February on-line lecture will feature Anne Bailey, who will "reflect on her journey in the clay world starting with her education with some of the top functional potters in Britain, showing her porcelain dinnerware as a young potter in the White House during the Carter Administration, starting the Ceramic Supply Division at Bailey Pottery, and building the Bailey Pottery Collection in Kingston, New York."
Wednesday, February 12, 6:30 pm
Register here.
| |
"Formation, the theme of the 59th annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), invites us to dig deep into the historical and cultural significance of ceramics worldwide." See full details at the NCECA website.
NCECA Formation
March 26-29, 2025
Salt Lake City, Utah
| |
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design (IMoDD) has issued a call for entries for Picnic, its Sixth Biennial National Juried Exhibition.
This exhibition is an opportunity for artists and designers in all media to explore the theme Picnic through the creation of specialized dinnerware or 2D and 3D work related to the topic.
Exhibition dates: September 6, 2025—January17, 2026
Exhibition location: Kingston, New York
Application deadline: May 31, 2025
Get details here.
| |
Coiling an exquisite vase | |
Join potter Shirin Shabdar of ceramic creation on an artistic journey as she makes a beautiful textured vase from coils of clay.
You can see more of Shabdar's intricate pieces on Instagram.
| |
Throwing a sectional vessel | |
Potter Sarah Wells Rolland demonstrates how to build a sectional vessel by throwing two pieces, assembling them, then melding them into a single vessel. | |
Studio, Gallery, and Shop hours | |
Here are our open studio, gallery, and shop hours for 2025:
- Tuesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
- Wednesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
- Friday, 12:00-6:00 pm
- Saturday, 12:00-6:00 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 for open studio and sign out when you leave. And make sure to clean your work area thoroughly before leaving.
| |
We welcome all ceramics lovers and all area potters to shop with us for their pottery needs during our open studio hours. Students may purchase tools as needed during their classes as well. | |
To help us keep our studio safe and healthy for all students and members, please keep track of current advisories on the transmission risk and hospitalization numbers for COVID and other communicable respiratory diseases in Washtenaw county at this link:
Washtenaw County Health Department page
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.
| |
Yourist Studio Gallery
6087 Jackson Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-662-4914
www.youristpottery.com | Instagram
•Classes and workshops
•Community studio workspace
•Pottery tools for sale
•Exhibit gallery
| | | | |