◊ News, Events, Inspiration ◊ March 2025

Inside this issue: Final call for second-term classes. Our illuminating exhibition is now live in the gallery. The artists' reception is set for March 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Michigan Ceramic Art Association announces Michigan Mud for 2025. Plus exhibitions, events, and informative videos.

Lie Ladendorf glazing

her bold ceramic cage

Do I still have time...

...to sign up for a second-term class? Yes, you do but hurry. We have three open classes that are just about to start:

Introductory and Continuing Wheel

• 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

Intermediate Wheel Throwing

• Sun, Mar 2-Apr 6, 1:30-3:30 pm, with Savanah Conrad

Enroll here.

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.

Dive into glazes

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 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.

Enroll in our spring glaze classes here.

Now showing...

...in our gallery: LIGHTPLAY, a dazzling exhibition of ceramic lamps by esteemed ceramic artists Elliott Kayser and Kate Tremel. Be sure to make plans to come see this new exhibition soon: it will take your breath away.



Exhibition hours:

• February 21 through April 5
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
• 12:00-6:00 pm

Artists' reception:

• Friday, March 21
• 6:00-8:00 pm

Elliott Kayser's whimsical animal lamps include a whole host of dinosaurs, plus elephants and other animals you might see on safari in Africa. Kate Tremel's elegant pierced lamps cast a lovely contemplative play of light and shadow. For both artists, these works arise from and promote the joy of light and play.

Come visit the gallery and bask in the glow of these lamps. Meet Elliott and Kate at the artists' reception on Friday, March 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Job opportunity

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.

Is your clay art...

...languishing on our shelves? Be sure to pick it up now. Our shelves quickly get overpoputated so we must clear them regularly to accommodate new work. On March 29, 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 March 29 must be discarded to make room for new work.

Potters quick tip

Q. I want to take the teapots I make from functional to fabulous. What details do you suggest I pay special attention to?

A. Potter Sarah Wells Rolland has some great tips for improving teapots. She offers advice on fitting teapot lids, placing spouts, and even undercutting the teapot to cast a dramatic shadow on the surface where the teapot+-+++++ sits.

These videos are part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.

Award-winning short film about

a potter's love for pottery

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 . . .

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.

KERAMOS - The Art of Ceramics | Cinematic Video. Matteo Mangano's short video telling "the story of an artisan and her great passion for ceramics." Mangano's video won the international competition "Ceramic stories – Short Movie Competition" from the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza. More . . .

The Nature of Things. Take a walk through this Abel Contemporary Gallery exhibition of pottery by Joanne Kirkland and Maggie Jaszczak. More . . .

From the White House to Our House: Why Functional Pots Reflect Culture and Time. International Museum of Dinnerware Design. The video of IMODD's February online lecture is now available. More . . .

And three from Colossal:

Paper or porcelain? by Saori Matsushita. More . . .

Vibrant ceramic "cup-cakes" by Naomi Peterson. More . . .

Sculptures merging ceramics and glass by Christina Bothwell. More . . .

The Michigan Ceramic Art Association has announced the dates and location of its Michigan Mud Conference for 2025:

Michigan Mud 2025

May 16-17, 8am – 5pm

Frostic School of Art, Western Michigan University

The conference program includes keynote presenters Kyungmin Park and Paul Briggs, both noted ceramic artists, plus live demonstrations from 23 artists and designers, and much more.

Find out more on the MCAA website.

The many uses of Pyrex

in the kitchen

The Women Behind Pyrex, America's Favorite Dish

For all you glass dishware fans, the International Museum of Dinnerware Design's March on-line lecture features Regan Brumagen, Manager for Reference and Access Services at the Corning Museum of Glass's Rakow Research Library, who "explores how women helped create, design, test, market, and popularize Pyrex throughout its history."

Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 pm

Learn more 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 on 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.

Let's do some surface decorating.

3-D surfaces

Taking her inspiration from the print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, potter Ann Ruel uses applique, sculpture, and carving to create a bas-relief of waves and a lighthouse on the surface of a mug—all while maintaining control of the weight of the mug.

Surface depth

Potter Vaughn Smith of Westcote Bell Pottery provides a clinic on achieving depth in surface design by using multiple layers of paper stencils. Correct placement is crucial.

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