Ceramics: Smoke-Fired Garden Sculptures and Ceremonial Forms with Susan Raber Bray

Title: Ceramics: Smoke-Fired Garden Sculptures and Ceremonial Forms

Instructor: Susan Raber Bray

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, February 7 - 23 from 10:00am - 12:00pm

Tuition: $180 Member / $220 Non-Member

Supply Fee: $45

Level: Beginner - Advanced

Class Description: In this workshop with visiting artist, Susan Raber Bray we will create garden sculptures and ceremonial forms, drawing inspiration from indigenous cultures worldwide. There is a sensuous, soft, and varied quality created by primitive firing. We will explore smoked-fired pottery using many different local materials: seaweed, sawdust, grasses and straw are just a few examples. We will share in the unpredictability and excitement that this firing process creates.

Students will have the opportunity to learn or expand their knowledge in hand building techniques: coil, pinch, slab or throwing on the wheel. We will burnish our pieces with terra sigillata, or colored slip. We will create surface designs using wax, tape, wire, brushes and tools for incising and sgraffito We will share in experiencing the joy in creating, and embrace the spontaneity of the natural smoke firing process.