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◊ News, Events, Inspiration ◊
July-August 2025
| | Inside this issue: Fall classes open for enrollment. Two new classes in the lineup. Clay sale. Summer break schedule. Plus more exhibition news, events, and informative videos. | | |
Student Walt Richardson's
raku-fired horsehair jar
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...with clay in our busy schedule of fall classes, ranging from beginning wheel throwing and hand building to advanced glazing and firing techniques.
Our fall lineup also includes two brand new classes, one for decorating with crystalline glazes and the other for advanced hand building with slabs. And we've added an evening soda firing independent study for those who cannot attend the daytime class.
Be sure to check class listings for Early Bird Discount availability.
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New classes:
New! Crystalline Glaze Exploration
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Thu, Sep 11-Oct 16, 3:30-5:30 pm, with Savanah Conrad
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 10.
New! Handbuilding With Slabs
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Sun, Sep 14-Oct 19, 1:00-3:00 pm, with Richard Boehnke
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 10.
Introductory and continuing wheel:
Introductory and Continuing Wheel
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Mon, Sep 8-Oct 13, 3:30-5:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
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Mon, Sep 8-Oct 13, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
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Thu, Sep 4-Oct 9, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
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Thu, Sep 4-Oct 9, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Nick Glynos
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Sat, Sep 6-Oct 11, 9:45-11:45 am, with Kristina Greenstone
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Sun, Sep 7-Oct 12, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, with David Timm
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Intermediate wheel:
Intermediate Wheel Throwing
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Thu, Sep 4-Oct 9, 12:30-2:30 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
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Sun, Sep 7-Oct 12, 1:30-3:30 pm, with David Timm
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Hand building:
Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)
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Wed, Sep 3-Oct 8, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
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Sat, Sep 6-Oct 11, 9:30-11:30 am, with Nancy Bulkley
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Hand Building
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Thu, Sep 4-Oct 9, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Elliott Kayser
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Glazing:
Glaze Formulation Understood
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Fri, Sep 12-Oct 17, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Elliott Kayser
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 10.
Raku firing:
Let's Do Raku
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Wed, Sep 3-Sep 24, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
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Wed, Oct 8-Oct 29, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
Soda firing:
Atmospheric Soda Firing
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Tue, Sep 2-Nov 4, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Kay Yourist
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Atmospheric Soda Firing Independent Study
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Wed, Sep 3-Nov 5, 6:30 am-8:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Advanced classes:
Advanced and Intermediate Clay
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Tue, Sep 2-Dec 2, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Elliott Kayser
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Advanced / Intermediate Independent Study
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Wed, Sep 3-Dec 3, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Rose Gomez
Early Bird discount effective through Aug 2.
Save my seat!
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Crystalline Glaze Exploration
This 6-week class with Savanah Conrad will explore crystalline glazes from formulation and mixing to application and firing. You will have at least two opportunities in class to fire hand-built or wheel-thrown pieces with crystalline glazes.
Thu, Sep 11-Oct 16, 3:30-5:30 pm
Sign up here.
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Hand Building With Slabs
What if...? Why not...? What can you imagine when stretching, tearing, folding, and bending clay?
In this 6-week course with potter Richard Boehnke, you will learn to create dynamic forms from slabs using a variety of joining and darting techniques.
Sun, Sep 14-Oct 19, 1:00-3:00 pm
Register here.
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Rx for relaxation and serenity: take a pottery class. Our Try It class is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the soothing nature of clay.
Try It Once on the Wheel
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Sat, Sep 20, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Laila Chalati
Register now.
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Now is the time to sign up for our 7-week Summer Studio Practice, which allows you to work in the studio 24/7 over our summer break. Required studio orientation will take place on Friday, July 11, at 5:00 pm, Saturday, July 12, at 12:00 pm, or Sunday, July 13 at 12:00 pm.
During Summer Studio Practice, you can spend as much time as you like honing the skills you've been learning in classes. There will be no instructor, but there will be a prerequisite: students must previously have taken a minimum of two full class semesters.
A studio key will be issued to you, along with a copy of studio guidelines, at studio orientation. Call the studio at 734-662-4914 to make a reservation for the orientation.
Summer Studio Practice
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Jul 13-Aug 31, with YSG Team
Count me in!
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On view through July 12
Lie Ladendorf's sculptural exhibition, "Short Stories," will be on display in the gallery through Saturday, July 12.
If you haven't seen this exhibition yet, you owe it to yourself to pay a visit. And if you have already seen it, why not pay another visit to admire it all over again?
| | | What's happening in the studio? Check this section for news about the studio's community of talented students and resident potters, along with announcements about day-to day studio operations. | | |
Student Josie Berkley contemplates
glazing her magnificent menagerie
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That was student Josie Berkley's reaction when she learned she had been accepted to exhibit her ceramic art in 2025 Youth Art Fair, sponsored by the Annual Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, The Original. Look for Josie here:
Ingalls Mall
Thursday, July 17
3:00-8:00 pm.
Youth Art Fair aims to inspire young artists, provide them with mentorship and learning, and guide them towards professional growth.
Congratulations on your achievement, Josie!
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Sale! Clay of the month
Our clay of the month is Aardvark Cafe Cinco, a cone 6 clay body on sale at 20% off throughout July.
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Aardvark describes Cafe Cinco as "A medium coarse clay body. Fires a warm buff in oxidation and a beautiful medium brown when reduced." Cafe Cinco is great for hand building and throwing
To see Cafe Cinco in use, watch this Instagram video of potter Amy Grant's match strikers.
Keep in mind that we also have a great selection of pottery tools for purchase in our tool shop. Check them out.
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Our annual summer break includes removing all clay left behind by students. Students, please take your clay home if you plan to keep it. Otherwise, we'll recycle it for new uses.
We will also clear the shelves of all student bisque and glazed ware, so be sure to pick up your pieces.
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Here is our summer break schedule:
August 1-September 1: Closed
September 2: Studio reopens and classes resume
During the break, the studio will be open to Porcelain members and students enrolled in the Summer Studio Practice.
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Job opportunity
Studio intern
We're interviewing potential studio interns for summer and fall 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.
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Final call...
...to pick up your work from studio bisque and glaze ware shelves before summer break. On July 31, we will remove all bisque and glaze ware that has accumulated on the shelves.
- 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.
We're sorry but any unclaimed bisque ware and glazed pieces remaining after July 31 must be discarded to make room for new work when classes resume on September 2.
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Q. I've just rolled out a smooth fresh slab, but my mind is a total blank. What should I make? Please inspire me!
A. We all experience the feeling from time to time that the idea well has run dry. Here's a video from My Pottery Studio with a big batch of slab building demonstrations that will get you restarted and spark new ideas as well.
These videos are part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.
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Out of the Fire:
The Art and Science of Ceramics
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On-site exhibitions
We'll let you know when new ceramics exhibitions are on display and open to the public.
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 . . .
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Dot Dot Dash: Ceramics by Savanah Conrad. "...functional ceramics decorated with zig zag carvings and slip trailed dots." Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art Gallery, Now–August 22. More . . .
Dwelling: Ceramics by Jes Peterson. "...explores the fragility of nature through porcelain clay..." Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art Gallery, Now–August 22. More . . .
Making Her Mark. "...highlights the achievements of women ceramicists since the early 20th century." Flint Institute of Arts, Now–October 12. More . . .
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Pottery perspectives
Opportunities to expand your knowledge of ceramics past and present.
Out of the Fire: The Art and Science of Ceramics. Was pottery the first technology devised by humans? Where is it going today? More . . .
Alive & Unfolding contemporary ceramics exhibition. On display at le Delta, in Namur, Belgium. Article in Ceramics Now. More . . .
Matisse a name in pottery? We know Picasso made ceramics, but Matisse? Yes, but likely not the one you're thinking of. More . . .
And three from Colossal:
Paper-Thin Works Inspired by Origami, by Mark Goudy. More . . .
Rhythmic Tiered Vessels by Dara Schuman. More . . .
Luscious Vessels Piped Like Cake Icing by Ebony Russell. More . . .
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The arrival of July must mean it's time for Art Fair. Can you believe that Art Fair started 66 years ago? More than 95 ceramic artists will be participating this year. Here's the show schedule:
- Thursday, July 17 | 10:00 am–9:00 pm
- Friday, July 18 | 10:00 am–9:00 pm
- Saturday, July 19 | 10:00 am–8:00 pm
More about Art Fair here.
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The Cracked Pot Studio Tour returns on September 20-21. This self-guided tour of studios in the Greater Lansing area runs from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm each day and is free and open to the public. This year's tour promises new artists and more demonstrations.
Tour details are forthcoming. Check the tour site for updates.
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NCECA is coming to Detroit in 2026! "Volumes, the 60th conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), explores diverse cultures, material-driven experimentation, and conceptual frameworks that animate art created through clay. The essential energy of voices and sounds of the Detroit region catalyzes this conference’s theme."
Visit the NCECA site for details.
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We're getting ready to announce a call for artists to participate in our 2025 Great Lakes Cup Show, a juried exhibition that will be on display from October 24 through November 15 at Yourist Studio Gallery. The show will include both invited and juried artists and will be open to participation by all ceramic artists ages 18 and over in the Great Lakes region.
We'll release directions for submitting entries to the show soon. Watch your inbox for further details.
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Do your stackable serving dishes stack up? Potter Ingrid Tufts of Tufts Studio demonstrates how to throw a set of stackable serving dishes that stack perfectly. Her dishes are inspired by the traditional tiffin.
Tiffin? It's an Anglo-Indian word that refers to both a light, mid-day meal and the containers it comes in. A great addition to our pottery idea file and dictionary.
Visit Tufts' Instagram page to see more of her work.
| | Sticking with the stacking theme, here's a video from Eiji Kumamoto of Japan Golden Pottery showing how to hand build a contemporary vase of stacked cubes. Just think of the interesting possibilities for glazing this vase or adding surface decoration to it. | | Studio, Gallery, and Shop hours | | |
Open 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
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Our open studio
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.
Sunday open studio hours for students continue through July 20 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.
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.
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Our pottery tool shop
We welcome all ceramics lovers and all area potters to shop with us for their pottery needs during our open hours. Students may purchase tools as needed during their classes as well.
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.
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Stay healthy
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, flu, and other communicable respiratory diseases in Washtenaw county at this link:
Washtenaw County Health Department page
| | Contributors to this issue include Thank you to all. | | |
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
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