Some throwing experience needed

“I love making functional pottery for daily use, every aspect of the process is an opportunity to dig deep. I believe pots can be a powerful conduit for human connection, convey a sense of comfort, curiosity, and play. My choice of clay and glaze are hyper-intentional. The arrangement of slip/glaze, idiosyncratic marks, leaf motifs, horizon lines, circles, and grids represent my interest in seeing the world through a filtered lens, allowing my taste and experiences to bleed into my work. This approach helps to shift perceptions about what pottery can be; a profoundly soulful way to build relationships through a simple pot”.

Doug Peltzman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. Having a voracious appetite for risk, being a skateboarder and artist, Peltzman has been making pots since 2003 and painting and drawing his entire life. After graduating with his MFA from Penn State, he established a pottery studio in Shokan, NY. He has taught workshops throughout the country, was a founding member of Objective Clay (2012-2021), and is one of the principal creators of the successful Hudson Valley Pottery Tour. Doug is a dedicated husband, full-time studio potter, and father of three superbly talented and cheerful children.

Fee: $660 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

All levels welcome

Using some of my hand-building templates as a starting point, students will learn how to design and create their own templates while transforming flat clay slabs into functional pottery forms. This class focuses on form development, template-making, surface texture, and thoughtful assembly/alteration techniques. Students will gain practical strategies for translating ideas into repeatable forms, strengthening problem-solving skills, and building confidence in slab construction.

Jen Allen is a studio potter, educator, and mother based in Morgantown, West Virginia. When she's not creating pottery, teaching, or designing templates, you’ll likely find her in the woods with her pup Margot, or at the hockey rink, cheering on her kids' teams.

Fee: $650 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $60 [first bag of clay included] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

All levels welcome

This course is designed to encourage students to lean into the history of ceramics and to explore ways to utilize historical forms as inspiration for new work. During this innovative workshop the throwing class, with instructor Suze Lindsay, will be collaborating with the hand-building class, taught by Margaret Bohls. Suze and Margaret will share their own deep pools of historical inspiration through brief and entertaining lectures to kindle purpose and intention. Students are invited to bring images of historical works that inspire them. Working on wheels and tabletops, we will explore strategies and techniques for creating functional pots. Conversations and demonstrations will help students create dynamic forms and explore approaches to surface using texture, carving, and a variety of slip decoration techniques. There will be a bisque firing.

Margaret Bohls makes pottery and vessel forms that are inspired and informed by a study of historical ceramics and other decorative arts. She has an abiding interest in the vernacular language of utilitarian forms, with an emphasis on the ways in which process and material can communicate abstract ideas. Bohls has been teaching ceramics at the college level for 30 years. Her teaching interests include the history of ceramics and clay and glaze formulation.

Fee: $655 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $65 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

All levels welcome

This course is designed to encourage students to lean into the history of ceramics and to explore ways to utilize historical forms as inspiration for new work. During this innovative workshop the throwing class, with instructor Suze Lindsay, will be collaborating with the hand-building class, taught by Margaret Bohls. Suze and Margaret will share their own deep pools of historical inspiration through brief and entertaining lectures to kindle purpose and intention. Students are invited to bring images of historical works that inspire them. Working on wheels and tabletops, we will explore strategies and techniques for creating functional pots. Conversations and demonstrations will help students create dynamic forms and explore approaches to surface using texture, carving, and a variety of slip decoration techniques. There will be a bisque firing.

Suze Lindsay is a studio potter in North Carolina. Her formal training started as a CORE fellow at Penland School of Craft, followed by earning an MFA from LSU. After completing 3 years in Penland’s artist-in-residence program, she established Fork Mountain Pottery with partner and fellow potter, Kent McLaughlin. She has presented workshops and lectures nationally and internationally. Suze strives to make pots that are good companions for daily use. “I make pots that entice the user to take pleasure in everyday activities, inviting participation, promoting hospitality.”

Fee: $655 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $65 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Some throwing experience needed

Students will learn how to throw, alter and assemble pottery out of round. Objectives include being more comfortable altering forms, a further understanding of utility, and an iterative process of developing form. Emphasis will be given to asymmetry, stamping, and dynamic attachments. Students will learn how to alter pots at different stages, from wet to bone dry, as well as creating compositions and unified surface. Students should have a basic knowledge of throwing, as well as a willingness to experiment with their work.

Ray Brown was born in Houston, Texas, and earned a BFA with Honors from the University of Mississippi under Matt Long. He earned his MFA in studio art with emphasis in ceramics at West Virginia University. While at WVU, Brown studied with Shoji Satake, Boomer Moore, Jen Allen, and Jeff Moser. He is currently an Instructor and Studio Technician at the University of Mississippi.  

Fee: $660 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Some throwing experience needed

In this workshop we’ll cultivate slow throwing, Jess’s boundary-pushing techniques for building large scale volumes on the wheel. We’ll throw, coil, and continue throwing, moving back and forth within the space between the wheel, handwork, and altered forms to grow the scale of our vessels and diverse approaches to our work. By abandoning traditional boundaries between throwing and hand building, function and sculpture, decoration and necessity, we’ll embrace the territories between and beyond categories and what we believe is possible.

Jess Thompson is an artist, teacher, and mother. She co-directs Cider Creek Collective, a ceramic arts residency near Mendocino, CA, with her husband, potter Nick Schwartz. They focus on building connections to the land through natural local materials, wood firing, and strong community. Jess’s upbringing in a family of midwestern industrial ceramicists and two decades among back-to-the-landers in Northern California have fostered belief in the radical integrity of handwork and carrying old skills forward amidst a technocratic world order.

Fee: $660 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $70 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

All levels welcome

With generous support from AMACO, join glaze designer Cory Brown for a hands-on workshop exploring AMACO’s amazing range of cone 5–6 glazes. From fan favorites like Potters Choice to exciting new lines, Cosmos and Phase, this is a unique opportunity to experiment, learn, and play with color and surface.  For the first half of Day One, Brown will give an overview of AMACO’s glaze families through a guided presentation and demos on reading glaze labels, layering effects, and application. Students will glaze their bisque-fired tiles using a wide selection of AMACO samples—many of which will remain in the studio for continued exploration on Day Two. Cory will teach during the morning of Day One, and Studio Techs will assist students and conduct the second firing on Day Two. All levels are welcome.

Cory Brown is a ceramic artist based in New York City. Committed to his career in ceramics from an early age, Cory refined his craft through artist residencies, ceramics tech roles, and a formative teaching opportunity in India. After earning an MFA from Alfred University, Cory has worked full-time developing new glazes for AMACO. He maintains a healthy art-making practice focused on experimental ceramics. His recent work with glaze foam explores a collaboration with the unpredictable nature of ceramic phenomena, embracing beautiful chaos.

Fee: $235 (Course Fee: $170 + Lab Fee: $25 + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)

Some throwing experience appreciated

This wheel-throwing workshop offers a focus on exploring and experimenting with different "lidding systems" used in pottery making. Taught by one of the country’s most renowned potters, this exciting course will offer students detailed instruction and hands-on experience with an array of different approaches to making lids for pots and, alternatively, pots for lids. Come expand your skills ten-fold through this concentration on tools, techniques, and aesthetics. There will be lively discussions, demonstrations, and lots of individual attention.

David MacDonald received his MFA from the University of Michigan in 1971; and joined the faculty of the School of Art at Syracuse University, retiring in 2008. His creative work is mostly inspired by his investigation of his African heritage. His work has been featured in several ceramic textbooks and magazines. He has also been featured in several nationally televised programs.

Fee: $650 (Course Fee: $550 + Lab Fee: $60 [includes first bag of clay] + Non-Refundable Registration Fee: $40)