Upcoming Workshops

Hands-on Zoomorphic vessels workshop

Join us at The Potters Guild Saturday, 10/03/26 and Sunday, 10/04/26 for a hands-on workshop with Elliott Kayser. Students will draw inspiration from historical animal pots. With Elliott demonstrating and providing instructions, the students will make either wheel-thrown or hand built forms prior to class so they can stiffen up and be ready during class. The instructor will then guide the students to significantly alter them using a variety of hand building techniques to create playful and dynamic animal vessel forms.

Elliott, is a full-time ceramic studio artist living in Ypsilanti, Michigan. His primary muse in the studio over the last decade has been creating animal sculptures. He received his BFA from Alfred University in 2007, and MFA in ceramics from Arizona State University in 2017. He was a long term artist-in-residence at the Mesa Arts Center from 2017-2019, a Guest artist at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (SCCP) in Shigaraki Japan in 2019.

The class will be limited to 20 participants. **REGISTER NOW**

HANDS-ON FIRING : Raku and Foil Saggar

REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Join us on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13. 10:00am – 6:00pm for a raku workshop with Jane White and Susan Salmaron. The cost is $150.
**REGISTER NOW**
Through combination of lecture and firings, participants will identify variables that influence results of raku and saggar firings. Each day will include firings and discussion. We will have raku glazes, saggar combustibles, abvara, horse hair and naked raku slip available.
We will discuss/analyze results of each kiln load and work towards controlling and repeating results.
The Guild’s facility and checklists will be emphasized to ensure that participants can run a safe and successful firing at the Guild or anywhere they have access to raku and foil saggar firing. Safety concerns will be emphasized, including smoke, how fire behaves, possible burns, use of propane, burner, gloves, and choreography.
Plan to bring bisque ware to the workshop.
For more information, click here

Previous Workshops

**Structure and Surface Decorative Techniques for Functional Ceramics**
with Mike Stumbras

**Saturday & Sunday, October 11 & 12, 10 AM–6 PM**
Cost: $150
**Sign up here**
Demonstration workshop with hands-on decorating sessions.
During the demonstration, Mike will discuss key elements
of designing multi-component forms and planning
for the use of various ornamental techniques. Students
will be provided with leather hard and bone dry tiles
to try the teacher’s decorating techniques.
Mike Stumbras makes ceramic vessels that are inspired
by 18th and 19th century European production ware.
Bagels and coffee served starting at 9 AM each day

WORKSHOP Hands-On Firing: Raku & More

REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Join us on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27 from 10am to 6pm for a raku workshop with Jane White and Susan Salmaron. The cost is $150.
**REGISTER NOW**
*In the event of rain and/or wind, the workshop will take place the following weekend.*

**Description**
Through lectures and firings, participants will identify variables that influence results of raku firings. We will work towards controlling and repeating results. The Guild’s facility and checklists will be emphasized to ensure that participants can run a safe and successful firing at the Guild or anywhere they have access to raku firing.
For more information, click here

**Let's Dance!**

$100.00
Saturday & Sunday, April 5 & 6, 2025 10 AM - 5 PM
Bagels and coffee served starting at 9 AM each day
In this workshop, we will work through my process of imagining, creating, manipulating, and joining slabs to develop dynamic forms. My goal is to show a way that you can build forms from imagination, images, and sketches. In my practice, I construct pieces using a variety of joining and darting techniques and will share techniques and ways I question what clay can become.
Always thinking about what I can imagine when stretching, tearing, folding, bending? Let’s share a weekend together with the guiding questions of “what if?” and “why not?”
**Sign up here**

**"Altered States" with Jon Townley**

$110.00
Saturday & Sunday, October 5 & 6
10 AM - 5 PM (bagels and coffee served starting at 9 AM each day)
During this two day demonstration-only workshop, Jon Townley will present a range of his throwing and altering techniques, as well as his original approach to hand building.
Demonstrations will include both creating expressive wheel-thrown forms through darting, ovaling, distorting, and sculpting as well as using a template and cloth sling mold set-up to create elegant sculptural bowl forms.
Along the way, Jon will show examples of his work and share his designer’s approach to developing a unique creative voice.
**Sign up here**

This workshop is full. Check back again!

More information from the artist: As a potter and sculpture with a pretty good understanding of how to use the wheel and a love of hand-building, I always felt that there was no room or need in my creative making for molds or any process’s affiliated with molds … until I needed to be able to teach mold-making to others! From my first crude usage of plaster till now and with the help of one or two pretty great mold makers as teachers, I’ve learned to love this process and appreciate the great variety of forms that are almost unattainable through most other clay process’s.

Using this workshop as an overview, we will explore plaster and molds for designing and creating forms, whether it be tiles, pots or sculpture. An introduction to tools, materials, equipment and supplies as well as safety will be covered. Technically, we will learn about the variety of plasters as well as calculations and techniques necessary for consistently mixing and pouring plaster for its variety of uses. Handouts will be available.

One-part as well as multiple-part molds will be explored and the use of found objects, templates and using the wheel for models and prototypes will be demonstrated. Please bring an item to be used for a mold. Try to keep it fairly simple as we will not have enough time for 4,5 or 6+ part molds. Slip-casting and press molding will be discussed and demonstrated so that you will have a good working understanding of how to best use your molds. John Leyland

Making & Decorating with Lisa Orr

**October 2022**

Anthony Schaller & Troy Bungart

October 2021

Mark Arnold