◊ News, Events, Inspiration ◊ June 2025 | | Inside this issue: "Short Stories" exhibition begins May 31. A few days left to sign up for next class term. Totem-making teamwork. Mastering mocha diffusion video. Great Lakes Cup Show call for artists coming soon. Plus more exhibition news, events, and informative videos. | | |
...opens May 31. Yourist Studio Gallery invites you to "Short Stories," our exhibition of thought-provoking sculptures by ceramic artist Lie Ladendorf.
Exhibition hours:
- May 31 through July 12
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
- 12:00-6:00 pm
Artist's reception:
- Friday, June 13
- 6:00-8:00 pm
Join us in the gallery to see what stories Lie's sculptures tell you.
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...has started to the beginning of our final class term before summer break. You still have a few days left to sign up, but act quickly because classes start soon.
If you wish to continue working in the studio over the break, be sure to look into our Summer Studio Practice, which begins July 13.
Here is the complete summer class lineup:
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Introductory and Continuing Wheel
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Mon, Jun 2-Jul 7, 3:30-5:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
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Mon, Jun 2-Jul 7, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
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Thu, Jun 5-Jul 10, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
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Thu, Jun 5-Jul 10, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Nick Glynos
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Sat, Jun 7-Jul 12, 9:45-11:45 am, with Laila Chalati
Intermediate Wheel Throwing
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Thu, Jun 5-Jul 10, 12:30-2:30 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)
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Wed, Jun 4-Jul 9, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
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Sat, Jun 7-Jul 12, 9:30-11:30 am, with Nancy Bulkley
Hand Building
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Thu, Jun 5-Jul 10, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Elliott Kayser
Save my seat.
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De-stress in our June Try It wheel throwing class. Clay is a super stress buster.
Try It Once on the Wheel
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Sat, June 21, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Laila Chalati
Register now.
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...with us at the studio. Work in the studio 24/7 in our 7-week Summer Studio Practice. 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.
Studio orientation attendance is required prior to the Summer Studio Practice start date. A studio key will be issued to you, along with a copy of studio guidelines, at this time. The orientation will be offered on Friday, July 11, at 5:00 pm, or Saturday, July 12, at 12:00 pm. 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!
| | 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 work
A towering achievement
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Student Ellen Finch describes this totem "an unnamed, mother-daughter collaborative, long distance labor of love." Starting with the dragon, Ellen and her daughter Kate each made a piece at the studio when Kate visited from Chicago, so the totem was a long-term project for them. Kate also does ceramics at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago.
The totem stands 17 inches tall on a stand made by Dave Timm. Occupying the base of the totem is a rather disgruntled looking dragon, followed by an elephant on a platform, a globe, a spacer, a turtle (Discworld reference!), and ending with a perky mouse sitting atop the structure.
Ellen says she and Kate had no grand plan for the totem; they just wanted to make an assemblage of fun pieces. The totem currently lives with Ellen, but she plans to share possession of it with Kate.
Although Ellen says the design of the totem was not intentional, your editor sees it as a perfect representation of our love for the animals (both real and imaginary) that inhabit the planet with us.
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Sunday open studio
Sunday open studio hours continue during June and July:
Sunday, May 4-July 20, 4:00-8:00 pm
(except June 29)
You must have taken at least a one-semester pottery class at any studio to participate in Yourist open studio.
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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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Deadline approaching...
...to pick up your work from studio bisque and glaze ware shelves. On June 28, we will remove all bisque and glaze ware that has accumulated on the shelves in May.
- 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 June 28 must be discarded to make room for new work.
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Q. I love the dendritic patterns left by mocha diffusion, but the traditional recipe using tobacco in the diffusion colorant hasn't worked for me. Any suggestions?
A. Donte the potter at Earth Nation Ceramics has a secret for you: it doesn't matter what liquid you use to make the diffusion colorant as long as it's lower in viscosity than the high viscosity liquid, like slip, onto which you drip it. The low viscosity diffusion colorant then displaces the high viscosity slip to create the branching patterns.
As an experiment, Donte has tried making the diffusion colorant with a number of different liquids—milk, water, lemon juice, soda pop, and even mouthwash— to which he added the colorant and a few drops of soap. They all worked, so viscosity is the key.
Throughout this video demonstration, Donte gives a number of tips for success with mocha diffusion.
These videos are part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.
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"And I take a breath, and I make a move,
and the shape changes"
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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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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 . . .
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 . . .
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Pottery perspectives
Opportunities to expand your knowledge of ceramics past and present.
Peter Aguero's life takes an unexpected turn in a pottery class. When Peter Arguero was struggling, his wife told him, "Peter, you need to take a pottery class." So he did. And here is the story of what he learned, as told at The Moth. A big thanks to Nancy Bulkley for this contribution. More . . .
NCECA 2025 | Ceramics Presented in Galleries. Didn't make it to NCECA this year? Here's your chance to tour the galleries at NCECA to see the ceramic art on display there. Next year Detroit! More . . .
Mid Century Beverage Ware. International Museum of Dinnerware Design. The video of IMODD's May online lecture is now available. More . . .
And three from Colossal:
Why “Ugly” Ceramics Are So Appealing, article by Maxwell Rabb. More . . .
A visit to 2025 Ceramic Brussels. More . . .
Motherly Sculptural Vessels by Clementine Keith-Roach. More . . .
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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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The Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art Program has issued a call for exhibits for its September 2025 to August 2026 exhibition year. Sunday, June 15, 2025, is the deadline for applying. Each day thousands of people see the art displayed in the medical center's nine galleries, which host over 30 exhibits per year.
See full information here.
| | Basket building is not limited to weaving strips of clay together. The Ondo Studio potter demonstrates another way to hand build a pretty, practical clay basket using flower shapes. | | Florian Gadsby to the rescue | | While potter Florian Gadsby was googling himself on the Web (as one does), he came across a post on Reddit (r/Pottery) from a potter asking for advice on how to throw a low, wide pasta bowl with a narrow foot. The challenge in making this kind of bowl is its extended overhanging walls. Gadsby shows how he took on this problem and resolved it. | | Studio, Gallery, and Shop hours | | |
Open studio 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
- Sunday, 4:00-8:00 pm*
*Sunday open studio hours are available May 4-July 20, with the exception of Sunday, June 29, when the studio will be closed.
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.
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Gallery 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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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
We welcome all ceramics lovers and all area potters to shop with us for their pottery needs during our shop 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 and other communicable respiratory diseases in Washtenaw county at this link:
Washtenaw County Health Department page
| | Contributors to this issue include Nancy Bulkley, Ellen Finch, Deb Wood, and Kay Yourist. 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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