Connecting to Place:
Exploring Local Ceramic Materials
Instructor: David Peters and Tim Stepp
May 29-31, 2009
tuition: $285
lab fee: $35
TOTAL: $320
max enrollment 15
open to artists of all skill levels, but participants should have some experience with clay materials
Registration Information
This three day workshop will introduce participants to a breadth of possibilities and meaning that local materials offer to a ceramic artist. Discussions will include how the various geologic origins of clays directly affect their working and fired characteristics and how these traits are controlled and standardized by industry through milling and blending. Historical ceramic examples will be used to discuss how geology has traditionally played a large role in shaping the quality of the objects made in a given area.
Participants will be taking small field trips around Helena to learn about the geologic processes that formed this ancient island-arc terrain not unlike that found in Japan. During these trips techniques for prospecting and collecting materials will be taught. Simple testing procedures as well as firings will be employed to learn about the unique properties and possible uses of various materials. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding and appreciation of what local materials can contribute to modern ceramic art, as well as the basic knowledge and skills to begin using them in their own work.
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David PETERS received his BFA from Utah State University and has studied in Jingdezhen, China and most recently he is the 2008-2009 Matsutani Fellow at the Archie Bray Foundation. His research of historical wares made by various indigenous cultures has inspired him to challenge himself to create his pottery exclusively from local materials.