Arizona Clay Events from 2019
January: Raku Potluck Party
February: ASU Ceramics Studio Tour with Special Demos
March: Saggar Firing Demonstration by Alan Jones
April: Monoprint Demonstration with Diane Watkins
Diane says:
"I first got hooked on mono-printing when I met Mitch Lyons at the Tampa NCECA in 2011. Jeff Reich was the head of the Ceramics Department at the Mesa Art Center in Mesa, AZ and he approached me to do a mono-print workshop. It was so successful that he then asked if I would teach a class that featured mono-printing and the rest is history. Mono-printing is just what it sounds like - a one time print on clay using colored slips, underglazes and colored “chalks”. What you create in clay is only limited by your imagination!" "I have been a past member of the Ceramic Research Center Tour and Arts Advisory Council at ASU. I have been playing in clay since the late 80’s. I am currently still teaching ceramics at the Mesa Art Center - Altered Pots, starting Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 1:00 p.m., Cottonwood in Sun Lakes and Encore at Eastmark in Mesa." To see more of Diane's beautiful work visit her here: Instagram : @salem_mudwitch and Pinterest: Diane Watkins. |
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May: The ABC's of Entering a Juried Show (& Member Potluck)To help members navigate the show and sale application process, Arizona Clay is hosting a presentation entitled "The ABCs of Entering a Juried Show". Highly respected ceramic artists Sandy Blain and Beth Shook and photographer Kent Duffy will be the presenters. The talk will start with a round table discussion and audience question and answer session followed by a set-up and photo shoot, with an explanation of lighting, shadow, etc. There will be lots of samples to look at and handouts on photographing your work as well as how to write a biography and artist statement. We'll end with a potluck. Note: The event will be well worth the time of ‘seasoned’ entrants too.
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June: Social Media & Online Marketing Class
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This 3-hour class, designed specifically for Arizona Clay Association, will teach you the basics of online marketing.
Class topics include: * Setting up social media platforms for your art business. * Social media advertising. * Platforms for creating a website and why you need one. * The importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). * Online marketplaces (e.g. Etsy, Amazon Handmade, Marketplace on Facebook). * Email marketing (e.g. Mailchimp, Constant Contact). The class will take place in a large conference room with WiFi and digital equipment. We will have breaks for coffee, water, fruit and snacks. There will be handouts and take-aways…so you can remember what you heard in class and then progress to the next level on your own at home. Class fee is $20. We are limiting the number of attendees to 30.
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August: Field Trip to The Art Resource Center
THE ART RESOURCE CENTER (THE ARC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation whose objective is to collect reusable discards from individuals and industries and offer them free of charge to schools and other nonprofits such as community centers, charities, universities, colleges, religious institutions, and home-schooled students.
Executive Director, fiber and ceramic artist Sherrie Zeitlin, will have her wonderful volunteers welcome AZ Clay members to The Art Resource Center. Educators in our group can pick up materials for free. For non-educator artists some supplies are available at a nominal cost. More details will follow in future emails and newsletters.
Executive Director, fiber and ceramic artist Sherrie Zeitlin, will have her wonderful volunteers welcome AZ Clay members to The Art Resource Center. Educators in our group can pick up materials for free. For non-educator artists some supplies are available at a nominal cost. More details will follow in future emails and newsletters.
- What: Field Trip to The Art Resource Center
- When: Saturday, August 17, 2019
- Time: 10am - 12pm
- Where: 910 S Hohokam Drive, #105, Tempe, AZ 85283
September: Thrown and Stacked Forms with Dexter Woods
September 25, 2019
"I don't try to figure out the work I make, I just make the work and figure it out." Dexter Woods
Dexter Woods, a first-generation ceramic artist, hails from the Dallas area. He received his BFA in 2014 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. With an early interest in painting, sculpture and printmaking, he began his university studies in architecture but eventually switched to ceramics. Upon graduation, he moved to Phoenix and became involved with The Reitz Ranch Center for the Ceramic Arts in Clarkdale, Arizona. Dexter assists with the operation of The Ranch along with owners Sheryl Leigh-Davault and Ted Davault and teaches ceramics. Dexter is also the resident ceramic artist and the wood and soda firing instructor at the Mesa Arts Center.
Dexter makes both sculptural and functional work. His majestic sculptural “guardians” draw inspiration from his West African and Cherokee ancestry. The richly colored and textured surfaces are the result of his deep interest in atmospheric firings in wood and soda.
Please join us for another great Arizona Clay sponsored event. Watch as the masterful Dexter Woods throws stoneware on the wheel then stacks them into beautiful vessels. Learn how to achieve greater height with this fun and challenging method of working with clay in sections to make one form.
"I don't try to figure out the work I make, I just make the work and figure it out." Dexter Woods
Dexter Woods, a first-generation ceramic artist, hails from the Dallas area. He received his BFA in 2014 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. With an early interest in painting, sculpture and printmaking, he began his university studies in architecture but eventually switched to ceramics. Upon graduation, he moved to Phoenix and became involved with The Reitz Ranch Center for the Ceramic Arts in Clarkdale, Arizona. Dexter assists with the operation of The Ranch along with owners Sheryl Leigh-Davault and Ted Davault and teaches ceramics. Dexter is also the resident ceramic artist and the wood and soda firing instructor at the Mesa Arts Center.
Dexter makes both sculptural and functional work. His majestic sculptural “guardians” draw inspiration from his West African and Cherokee ancestry. The richly colored and textured surfaces are the result of his deep interest in atmospheric firings in wood and soda.
Please join us for another great Arizona Clay sponsored event. Watch as the masterful Dexter Woods throws stoneware on the wheel then stacks them into beautiful vessels. Learn how to achieve greater height with this fun and challenging method of working with clay in sections to make one form.
- What: Thrown and Stacked Vessels Demonstration with Dexter Woods
- When: September 21, 2019
- Time: 1pm - 3pm
- Where: Paradise Valley Community College, Ceramics Studio - Building D,18401 N 32nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85032
October: Caring for Your Kiln by James Schwarz plus Potluck Lunch
Kiln Repair Classified
Saturday, October 19, 10 am - 1 pm
If your kiln is not firing as well as it used to, it may need some TLC. James Schwarz does kiln repair and maintenance including brick repair/replacement, recoiling, programming, troubleshooting, and more!
The presentation goes from 10-12 and will be followed by a potluck luncheon. Please bring a main dish, side dish, salad, or dessert to share.
FREE for Arizona Clay Association members! Sign up by clicking the button below:
Saturday, October 19, 10 am - 1 pm
If your kiln is not firing as well as it used to, it may need some TLC. James Schwarz does kiln repair and maintenance including brick repair/replacement, recoiling, programming, troubleshooting, and more!
The presentation goes from 10-12 and will be followed by a potluck luncheon. Please bring a main dish, side dish, salad, or dessert to share.
FREE for Arizona Clay Association members! Sign up by clicking the button below:
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James was born and raised in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He moved to Tempe in 2012 to attend ASU for Digital Culture, where he began work as a mixed media artist focusing on interactive technology. One year later, he had to drop out mid semester due to a flare up of a chronic auto-immune disease known as POTS (ironic foreshadowing?). After a life changing outpatient program in Texas and an adjustment of lifestyle, James was able to return to his education, but this time at the community college level. In 2014, he took his first ceramics class and instantly fell in love. Since then, James’ work has shifted from incorporating technology into his ceramics, to pieces that focus on the struggle we have with recovery and reconciling with trauma. Working in Kintsugi and focusing on contrast, James attempts to help show that what we may consider to be varied and different aspects in our lives can come to work together in wonderful ways, and that even though we have traumas that leave behind mental and physical scarring, it doesn’t make us any less of a person. |
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October 25: Empty Bowls at Arizona Center
Presented by Arizona Clay and Waste Not Arizona
Arizona Clay Association's members provide the ceramic bowls for this fabulous event. Please come and bring friends and family!
October 25, 2019, 11 am - 2 pm
Arizona Center, 455 N 3rd Street, Phoenix, Az 85004
Please refer to the newsletter for locations to drop off the bowls you made. For more information, contact us.
October 25, 2019, 11 am - 2 pm
Arizona Center, 455 N 3rd Street, Phoenix, Az 85004
Please refer to the newsletter for locations to drop off the bowls you made. For more information, contact us.
November: Ceramic Jewelry Workshop with Jenneva Kayser
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Time: 9 am - 12 noon
Location: Mesa Arts Center Ceramics Studio, One East Main Street, Mesa, AZ
In this hands-on workshop we will design and decorate contemporary ceramic pendants and earrings using thin slabs and slip transfer techniques. Participants will leave with pieces ready to bisque that can be finished with a clear glaze later. All materials will be provided, participants just need to bring needle nose pliers, small wire cutters, and a few small paintbrushes suitable for use with slip.
There is a $20 fee to cover materials for the workshop.
This workshop is for Arizona Clay Association members only. Not a member? Join here.
Time: 9 am - 12 noon
Location: Mesa Arts Center Ceramics Studio, One East Main Street, Mesa, AZ
In this hands-on workshop we will design and decorate contemporary ceramic pendants and earrings using thin slabs and slip transfer techniques. Participants will leave with pieces ready to bisque that can be finished with a clear glaze later. All materials will be provided, participants just need to bring needle nose pliers, small wire cutters, and a few small paintbrushes suitable for use with slip.
There is a $20 fee to cover materials for the workshop.
This workshop is for Arizona Clay Association members only. Not a member? Join here.
Jenneva Kayser is the Studio Manager for Ceramics at the Mesa Arts Center, where she also teaches ceramic jewelry, soda firing, and rotating courses in sculpting and printmaking with clay. She has been working in ceramics for 13 years, teaching in Ecuador, Philadelphia and Ann Arbor before arriving in the desert, and loves the challenges and versatility of clay and its squishy goodness. See her work, at jennevakayser.com. You can follow her on Instagram @jennevakayser.
Jenneva Kayser is the Studio Manager for Ceramics at the Mesa Arts Center, where she also teaches ceramic jewelry, soda firing, and rotating courses in sculpting and printmaking with clay. She has been working in ceramics for 13 years, teaching in Ecuador, Philadelphia and Ann Arbor before arriving in the desert, and loves the challenges and versatility of clay and its squishy goodness. See her work, at jennevakayser.com. You can follow her on Instagram @jennevakayser.
December 2019: Holiday Brunch Potluck and Pot Exchange
image credit Leticia Plate
Date: Saturday, December 21
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Eat, socialize, and be merry! For our December gathering, we're having a potluck brunch graciously hosted at Sandy Blain's home. Do invite your clay-loving friends, even if not already AZ Clay members, to meet other clay enthusiasts. (Adults only, please.)
There will be a pottery exchange, so bring a smaller ($20-$30 value) ceramic item you made and your business card, wrapped.
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Eat, socialize, and be merry! For our December gathering, we're having a potluck brunch graciously hosted at Sandy Blain's home. Do invite your clay-loving friends, even if not already AZ Clay members, to meet other clay enthusiasts. (Adults only, please.)
There will be a pottery exchange, so bring a smaller ($20-$30 value) ceramic item you made and your business card, wrapped.