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june workshops in the north ga mountains

updated thu 5 may 05

 

Dawn G. Holder on wed 4 may 05


The Hambidge Center is located on 600 pristine acres in the mountains of
northeast Georgia. To register for workshops call (706) 746-5718; email
center@hambidge.org; or print a registration form from our website
www.hambidge.org. Register soon to secure your place!





Mikey Walsh “Object Moments”

June 6 – 10, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

$350, Lunch included

In this workshop, each participant will create a series of small, hand built
objects that reflect investigation into their own interests, obsessions and
imaginations. Using a daily journal and brief drawing and writing exercises,
participants will be encouraged to unearth, develop and translate personal,
two-dimensional imagery into three dimensional forms. Objects created at a
small, handheld scale will allow for exploration of various clay forming and
glazing techniques. Slab and coil building techniques, stamps and textures,
as well as layered application of a variety of low-fire surface treatments
such as terra sigillata, slip and colored glaze will take place. Red
earthenware clay and colored low- fire glazes will be used, and these will
be fired repeatedly in an electric kiln for different results. Each person
will leave the workshop with broader technical, aesthetic, and imaginative
skills.

Michaelene (Mikey) Walsh received a B.F.A. in Crafts from the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and an M.F.A. in Ceramics from the New York State
College of Ceramics at Alfred, NY. She has taught at various academic and
alternative institutions such as the University of Georgia, Massachusetts
College of Art, Haystack School of Crafts, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Santa Fe Clay, and the University of Washington. Mikey has lectured and
exhibited extensively across the country. Recent shows include "Gigantic" at
the Kirkland Arts Center in Washington and "TransMissions" at the Macon
County Museum of Art in Georgia. An upcoming solo show of her work will be
held at Grover Thurston Gallery in Seattle, where she is represented. Mikey
is currently Assistant Professor of Art at Louisiana State University. She
lives in Baton Rouge.


Ellen Shankin “Altered Pots”

June 13 -17, 9:30 – 4:30

$350, Lunch included



Ellen Shankin’s passion, for 25 years, has been taking pots beyond
round....past where the wheel allows, to an edge defined and honed by
function. In this workshop, students will see the many methods and
techniques involved in making these altered pots. Students will focus on
pouring vessels and covered jars, paying attention to the form and details
of soy bottles, pitchers and jars: lid seatings, rims, handles, spouts,
surface, and balance. Students will evaluate decisions made in the creative
process, by choice or by default, which affect the expressive qualities of
functional pottery. Through discussion, demonstration, and slide
presentation, Ellen will offer new ideas, and encourage a playful
exploration of form.
Students should come to the class with a basic ability to throw. The
fundamentals of centering, opening and raising clay walls will not be
taught. The class will focus on pushing those skills in order to experience
different techniques and ways of thinking about thrown functional pots. As
time is short, there will be no glaze firing at the end of the session.
Students should view this as a genuine opportunity for experimentation.

Ellen Shankin has been a studio potter in the mountains of Virginia for
the past 25 years. She received a B.F.A. with honors from the N.Y. State
School of Ceramics at Alfred. An honored recipient of a 1990 National
Endowment Visual Arts Fellowship Grant, and a 2001 Virginia Museum Grant,
she exhibits her work in juried shows and galleries throughout the United
States. She has pieces in the collections of numerous museums, including the
Mint Museum, the International Museum of Ceramics at Alfred, the San Angelo
Museum of Fine Art, and the Art Museum of Southwest Virginia. Her work has
appeared in many periodicals and books of Ceramic Art. For the past 13 years
she has pursued a growing interest in teaching workshops and has been a
guest lecturer and instructor in more than 50 universities, art centers, and
craft schools. She lives with her husband Brad Warstler, woodworker, in
Floyd, Virginia. They have built their home and studios in the tranquil
rural setting where they raised two sons. They are both founding members of
16 Hands, an association of Artist craftsmen in their region.




Debra Fritts “Exploring the Figure”

June 20 – 24, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm


$350, Lunch included



This workshop will explore the figure using hand building techniques and
personal mold- making. We will use found object impressions in slabs and
coils during the construction of the figure. Also, incised lines, carving,
and appliqué will be demonstrated and discussed. We will explore ways to
personalize the figure by using symbols. We will allow intuition and spirit
to be our guides. The head, torso, and full figure will be challenges for
the week. Surface decoration will be discussed.



Debra Fritts is currently the Director of the Clay Program at the Roswell
Visual Arts Center near Atlanta, GA. She completed her undergraduate
studies at the University of Knoxville in Tennessee, and did graduate
studies from 1984 to 1995 at Penland School of Art and Craft in NC, and
Arrowmont School of Arts in Gatlinburg, TN. Debra’s work has been included
in various exhibitions throughout the country, and is regularly shown at
Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, NC. Images of her work have been
published in various ceramic books and magazines, such as Ceramics Monthly,
500 Teapots by Kathy Triplett, and The Ceramic Glaze Handbook by Mark
Burleson.



Coming up in July and August:



Dawn Holder “Approaching the Wheel”

July 7 – 9, $210

Have you felt fascinated and curious about the process of creating pottery
on a wheel, but never had the chance to try it?



Bernadette Curran “Dare to Play”

July 11 – 15, $350

In this class, we will investigate a playful approach to clay by
transforming simple pottery shapes into zoomorphic forms and their
architectural abodes.



Leah Leitson “Responding to Touch: Porcelain Pots Thrown and Altered”

July 25 – 29,$350

Working with porcelain, students will explore manipulating the form of
freshly thrown pots.



Randy Brodnax “The Dynamic Potential of Clay”

August 1 – 5, 9$350

Texas craftsman Randy Brodnax will delight and amaze students with his
charming manner and plethora of pottery skills.



Annette Gates “Hand as Tool: Handbuilding with Porcelain”

August 15 – 19,$350

In this one week hands-on class, our goal will be to build porcelain pots
with function in mind.