News, Events, Inspiration ◊

May 2023

Inside this issue: 4th-term classes open for registration. Surface design class and two sculpture workshops scheduled for July. Fall class sneak preview. Stamp making tips. Our own Great Pouring Vessel Throw Down. Private studio clearing sale. Plus more interesting pottery news, videos, and events for you.

Outstanding pieces by students in

Darcy Bowden's "Design Your Clay Surface" class

Spring, summer...

...fall, or winter? Every season of the year is the best one for taking a pottery class. So when planning your busy summer schedule, be sure to include time to make some pottery. Our 4th-term classes are now open for enrollment, and we invite you to join us for clay, creativity, and community in the comfort of our studio. Sign up by May 16 to receive our Early Bird tuition discount.

Here's our 4th-term class lineup:

Introductory and Continuing Wheel

• Mon, Jun 5-Jul 10, 3:30-5:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
• Mon, Jun 5-Jul 10, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
• Wed, May 31-Jul 5, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Kay Yourist
• Thu, Jun 1-Jul 6, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Thu, Jun 1-Jul 6, 12:30-2:30 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Thu, Jun 1-Jul 6, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Nick Glynos
• Sat, Jun 3-Jul 8, 9:30-11:30 am, with Laila Chalati
• Sun, Jun 4-Jul 16, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, with David Timm
• Sun, Jun 4-Jul 16, 1:30-3:30 pm, with David Timm

Early Bird Discount valid through May 16.

Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)

• Wed, May 31-Jul 5, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley
• Sat, Jun 3-Jul 8, 9:30-11:30 am, with Nancy Bulkley

Early Bird Discount valid through May 16.

Hand Building

• Listing coming soon. Please check our classes page.

Reserve your seat today.

Plant yourself in front of a potter's wheel this May and see what you can make grow there.

Try It Once on the Wheel

• Sat, May 13, 1:00-2:30 pm, with the YSG team

Enroll here.

Summer fun with clay

Summer school? Yes, please, especially when it involves decorating with slips or making botanical and animal sculptures in clay. This July we've scheduled a special 4-week slip decoration class and two 1-day workshops in botanical and animal sculpture for you.

We're delighted to introduce our new instructors for these classes, ceramic artists Jenneva Kayser and Elliott Kayser, who are returning to Michigan after spending time in California and other points west. You can learn more about Jenneva here and about Elliott here.

4-week class

1-day workshops

Fall sneak preview

Fluted amphora

by Elliott Kayser

Advanced and Intermediate Clay

• Tue, Sep 5-Dec 5, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Elliott Kayser

Early Bird Discount valid through July 15.

This class will explore various techniques for functional pottery making, with demonstrations on how to make nesting sets of bowls; how to make and assemble lids, spouts, and handles for teapots and other pouring vessels; and how to make large forms in multiple sections. The class will also cover decorative techniques, including creating your own custom stamps and tools.

Meet Elliott Kayser, the ceramic artist who will teach our Advanced and Intermediate Clay class this fall. Kayser received his BFA from Alfred University in 2007 and his MFA in Ceramics from Arizona State University in 2017. Prior to returning to Michigan, he was Production Manager for Sarah Kersten Studios in Oakland, CA. See examples of Elliott's sculptural works here.

Register here.

Nancy Bulkley sampling ants on a cracker

at the IMoDD Entomophagous Dining exhibition

The International Museum of Dinnerware Design's Entomophagous Dining exhibition is on display through August 26. You can see photos from the opening reception and the exhibition catalogue on the IMoDD website. It looks like Nancy doesn't fancy nibbling edible ants.

A highly intelligent-looking octopus

by student Sebastian Martinez

Sebastian also has a life-sized penguin sculpture in the works. If you're a hand builder who enjoys creating animal sculptures, then check out our July 1-day workshop, Animal Sculpture in Clay, with Elliott Kayser. And if you're curious about octopus intelligence, here's short video from SciShow.

Job opportunity

Studio intern

We're interviewing potential studio interns for spring and summer 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.

It's spring...

...shelf cleaning time. On May 31, we will remove all bisque and glaze ware that has collected on the shelves in April.

• 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 May 31 must be discarded to make room for new work.

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.

Potters quick tip

Q. I loved the tip about making clay stamps that you included in an earlier issue. Do you have any more stamp-making tips to share?

A. You bet. Ceramic jewelry artist Neha Gopinath Pillai demonstrates how to make five different clay stamps using simple tools. Then she takes it a step further, showing how she embellishes the impressions made with her stamps, again with simple tools, to come up with some amazingly elaborate designs great for any clay surface.

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

Donté K. Hayes: "I want to have conversations and art that

makes me think, makes me want to say this is beautiful."

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.

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 . . .

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

Dopamine Dressing. Colorful, textured clay and metal sculptures by YehRim Lee. University of Michigan Museum of Art. Now-August. More . . .

Animal Friends. Marcia Polenberg. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. Now-June 2. This exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually. More . . .

Persevere: 2D & 3D Works. WSG Gallery Artists. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. Now-June 2. 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. Now-December. 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. Now-May 14. More . . .

The Art of Refreshment. Illustrates the wide variety of materials, styles, and uses of drink and dinnerware from ancient times to current day. Flint Institute of Arts. February 25, 2023-August 27. More . . .

Spotlight—Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina. More than 60 works by African American potters in the decades surrounding the Civil War. University of Michigan Museum of Art. August 26, 2023-January 7, 2024. More . . .

Underneath Everything: Humility and Grandeur in Contemporary Ceramics. "Clay is the humblest of materials, often overlooked and more readily associated with a morning cup of coffee than with the international art world. But it is underneath everything." Theaster Gates. Grand Rapids Art Museum. October 7, 2023-January 13, 2024. 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!

Ceramic Artist Donté K. Hayes takes baskets as inspiration for the design and texture of his pieces in this exhibition at the Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, New York, where he held a commissioned residency. More . . .

Pottery Reconstruction. Pottery supplies a wealth of important information to archeologists. See how they reconstruct pottery to learn from it A famous glue is involved. Arkansas Archeological Survey. More . . .

Stories of Chinese Ceramics: Chapter II—South vs North. The progress of ceramic production in China, including the famed polychrome Tang sancai pottery. The Shanghai Museum. More . . .

Latest Unforgettable Dinnerware online lecture from The International Museum of Dinnerware Design is now available as a video: Insect Foods: Back to the Future? With Gina Louise Hunter.

And three from Colossal:

Clay faces display universal emotions by Aman Khanna. More . . .

Metal objects bind shattered porcelain by Glen Taylor. More . . .

Vivid vessels inspired by ancient myths by Clara Holt. More . . .

A Dinnerware Collector's Journey

Entomophagous Dining (Eating Insects)

The fifth biennial juried exhibition from the International Museum of Dinnerware Design features artists and designers exploring how dining on insects (entomophagy) may be in our future, if not in our present.

Image: Nancy Bulkley's cup and plate set for the IMODD Entomophagous Dining exhibition.

Now – August 26, 2023

Museum on Main Street

Open weekends, noon to 4 pm or by appointment

See exhibition catalogue here.

2023 International Ceramic Art Fair

Ann Arbor Westside Art Hop!

Is it an art walk? Is it an art fair? Or maybe it's both. Art Hop takes place on Ann Arbor's historic West Side.

You can look forward to seeing a number of participating artists from Yourist Studio Gallery at the 2023 Art Hop.

Image: Some Yourist Studio Gallery artists taking part in the June, 2022, Art Hop.

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

Sunday, June 11, Noon -5:00 pm

Learn more here.

Michigan Mud

Potter vs. Potter

The Great Pouring Vessel Throw Down

Making a ceramic pouring vessel has its challenges: it must not only look good but pour well. Watch as two experienced and highly regarded potters compete on the wheel to produce the best pouring vessel in our Great Pouring Vessel Throw Down. Potters, start your wheels...

Contender 1: Florian Gadsby

Contender 2: The Ondo Studio potter

The Verdict

And the winner is...drumroll, please...Florian Gadsby and the Ondo studio potter. Yes, our entirely neutral and unbiased judge declares this contest to be a tie! Two different potters, two different pouring vessel styles, both beautifully rendered.

Private Studio Clearing

Here are our open studio hours 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.