News, Events, Inspiration ◊ November, 2022

The countdown to our traditional Holiday Show and Sale has begun, the studio and gallery are bustling with preparations, and we invite you to join us for our 2022 celebration of the season and ceramic art.

 Opening reception

Friday, December 9, 4:00-8:00 pm

The Holiday Show and Sale continues on

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

Sunday, December 11, 12:00-5:00 pm

Our Holiday Show and Sale features original ceramic art by 28 of our talented Yourist Studio Gallery artists. Participants include

Kathy Anastasia | John Blades | Darcy Bowden | Nancy Bulkley |

Patty Clark | Savanah Conrad | Nick Glynos | Rose E Gomez |

Linda Heckenkamp | Judith Hogue | Elan Lange | Jennifer MacLeod | Robin Mendenhall | Tempest NeuCollins | Beth Peterson | Averi Phan | Steve Rodriguez | Keith Shoultz | Eileen Somers | Josette Steele |

Elisha Talley | Dave Timm | Caron Valentine-Marsh | Ali Walsh |

Jeff Warrow | Kevan Wilson | Deb Wood |

and Kay Yourist.

You'll see exciting ceramic pieces by artists new to our show and by your favorite veteran artists. A wide array of functional and decorative ceramic works by these artists, from bowls to vases, awaits you.

This festive holiday event only happens once a year, so do join us. There is plenty of free parking on site. You'll find a map to our location on our web site. We look forward to greeting you.

First look...

...at a 2023 winter class. We're working on our schedule of Winter 2023 classes now, and we'll have full details for you soon. Meanwhile, here's a peek at the upcoming Advanced and Intermediate Clay class, to be taught by Kay Yourist.

November Try It

Start the holiday season by trying something new—experience throwing pottery on the wheel in our Try It class.

Try It Once on the Wheel

• Sat, November 19, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Kay Yourist.

Sign up now.

Work on the Jackson Road Technology Park parking lot on Saturday and Sunday, November 5-6, will affect where you can park on those days if you come to the studio.

On Saturday, November 5, contractors will seal cracks with tar throughout the parking lot, so parking will be limited only to those areas outlined in red on this map. No parking spaces will be available in front of the studio (6087). Please do not drive through wet tar because it will stick to your car. And be aware that you may have to move your car at the contractor's request.

On Sunday, November 6, no cars will be allowed in the parking lot. You can enter and temporarily park in the rear of the adjacent building to the east (formerly Adventures in Home Brewing).

...the great new test tiles attached to the handles of the cone 10 glaze buckets? They were made by Linda Heckenkamp, studio artist and all-star glaze mixer. One side of each tile shows you what the glaze looks like when applied directly to stoneware, and the other side what it looks like over a layer of white slip.

When asked what inspired her to make the test tiles, Linda told us, "I’m happy to do what I can to make the glazing process as simple as possible for both students and fellow studio members. Having test tiles on the buckets contributes that and I thought it was specially important to make cone 10 tiles that reflect how the glazes look in the new gas kiln."

Thank you, Linda!

My cup runneth—oh, oh

So, what's a eutectic, you ask? Here's how Ceramic Arts Network defines it:

"Glazes in combination can form what is called a 'eutectic,' which is two or more materials that, when combined, have a lower melting point than any of them individually. For our purposes, that means glazes that do not run very much individually might run down the side of the pot when combined."

Layered glazes can produce spectacular results, but they can also present a risk, especially if the layered glazes flow, or move, in firing. The glazes on the cup in the photo—Pete's Copper Red and Purple Haze—are both runny, so they become super runny in combination—a eutectic field day. Here are some tips for avoiding a melt-down:

1) If you're uncertain about the behavior of your glazes, put a patty of bisqued clay called a cookie (aka, a waster) underneath your pot when you glaze fire it. A cookie may or may not save your pot, but it will save the kiln shelf (or save you from the hard work of cleaning the runny glaze off the shelf). There's a cookie under the cup in the photo.

2) Keep your second layer of glaze to the top one-third of your pot. Don't cover the whole pot with it or add it to the bottom of the pot.

3) Leave a generous unglazed margin at the bottom edge of your pot—at least 1/8 of an inch, and more if your glaze is runny.

Studio intern

We're interviewing potential studio interns for fall and winter 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 time...

...to free space on our shelves for new work. On November 30, we must empty our shelves of all the bisque and glaze ware that has accumulated there in October.

• 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.

Any unclaimed bisque ware and glazed pieces remaining after November 30 must be discarded to open up space 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.

Q. Can you recommend some easy and inexpensive ways to transfer images to clay?

A. We didn't have to look any further than a recent Ann Ruel video to come up with some ideas for you. Ann demonstrates three easy ways to transfer images to clay with underglaze, stain, and sgraffito. And wait until you see how she improvises a lightbox.

This video is part of our continuing series for beginners at all levels.

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters

of Old Edgefield, South Carolina

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 temporary closures due to COVID-19 and for masking and other requirements.

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 . . .

Travel Dining. Collection of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. Now-December 2. (Note: this exhibition is limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors. A link on the exhibition page will allow you to visit virtually.) More . . .

Walk on the Wild Side: Animals in three-dimensional works of various time periods in stone, ceramic, and glass. Flint Institute of Art. Now-February 5, 2023. More . . .

Matt Wedel: Phenomenal Debris. Wedel's work represents "the phenomenal debris that is shed from being human." Toledo Museum of Art. November 5, 2022-April 2, 2023. More . . .

Clay as Soft Power: Shigaraki Ware in Postwar America and Japan. How pottery transformed global relations. University of Michigan Museum of Art. November 12, 2022-May 7, 2023. More . . .

Dopamine Dressing. Colorful, textured clay and metal sculptures by YehRim Lee. University of Michigan Museum of Art. December 3, 2022-June 4, 2023. More . . .

Expressions in Paper and Clay. Juxtaposes contemporary Japanese prints with contemporary Japanese ceramics. Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. January 28-May 14, 2023. 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!

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina. Virtual Opening | Met Exhibitions. "19th-century vessels testify to the lived experiences, artistic agency, and material knowledge of enslaved peoples." Do not miss this fascinating video. More . . .

What is: Ceramic Art? | HENI Talks. With Paul Greenhalgh, Director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. More . . .

Artist Portrait: Elyse Pignolet // Conversing in Clay: Ceramics from the LACMA Collection. Countering stereotypes of the female with clay. More . . .

"Michelle Erickson: Wild Porcelain" Exhibition Film. "It's not that I'm expecting an outcome from it, it's just that I feel compelled to do it." More . . .

And three from Colossal:

Playful Drippy Pots by Brian Giniewski. More . . .

Imaginary Planet Lifeforms by Monsieur Cailloux. More . . .

Ceramic Figures Cry Pearl Tears by First of May Studio. More . . .

Make a bowl...

...filled with movement.

In this video from Ceramic Arts Network, potter Martina Lantin introduces movement into a bowl by cutting away, then reattaching, the rim. View a portfolio of Martina Lantin's work here.

Branching out...

...with a creative candle holder. Watch as the Ondo Studio master turns a coil of clay into a tree branch candlelabra.

Just for fun

A not-so-great, extremely unfair pottery showdown. Guess who wins.

Here are our open studio hours for the rest of 2022:

• 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.