6 Week Intermediate Handbuilding

Service Description

This class is intended for students who have an intermediate level of experience with clay that want to dive deeper into the language of surface decoration. While clay is the flesh and bones of the objects we make, the surface becomes the skin we outwardly express. This class will give you the tools to explore surfaces utilizing various techniques and materials. You will learn about techniques that can be applied to a variety of stages- greenware, bisqueware, and post-firing. Sgraffito, inlay, water etching, overglaze painting, and luster application are several techniques that will be demonstrated. How to utilize ceramic specific materials such as slip, underglaze, wash, wax, and stains to drive the narrative of your surfaces will be discussed in detail as a class. Incorporated throughout the class, there will also be handbuilding specific demonstrations such as coiling (how to control them), slab building (soft and hard), and more sculptural methods (solid method). Balancing creative expression and experimentation with topics surrounding chemistry which the ceramics medium is bound by will guide narrative and instruction of the course. Take a deeper dive into the complex world of this humble medium we all love and build a solid working knowledge of ceramics. *Please note that some techniques will require students to purchase additional materials to try *Firing costs are included in the class Duration: 6 weeks (May 15th - June 26th) *no class on May 29th Day & Time: Wednesdays 6:30pm - 9:00pm Teacher Bio: Michelle Im is a ceramic artist and educator with 12 years of experience working in the ceramics medium. As an educator, she has worked in a variety of settings in NYC since 2008. She holds a B.A. in combined studies in Biological Sciences and Art. Applying ceramic science knowledge, introducing ceramic histories as it relates to class material, and balancing this knowledge to empower and guide intuition in one's own creative expression is at the core of her teaching practice. She is currently the Artist Fellow at the Museum of Arts & Design and is a 2023 award recipient of the Teaching Artist Cohort Award, Center for Craft. Her residencies include Township10 (2024); Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Guest Artist, 2023); Penland School of Craft (Distinguished Fellow, 2023); and Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts (Visiting Artist, 2022).