2022 Summer Newsletter

SUMMER EXHIBITIONS | EVENTS | EDUCATION | ARTIST SERVICES

2022

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Northern Clay Center

NEWS & UPDATES

News & Updates

ADMINISTRATION

ARTIST SERVICES

NCC’s new health care plan went into effect for staff members who elected to participate. NCC has not had a group health care offering in recent memory.

We hope the plan will provide employees with meaningful benefits, and that it helps NCC remain competitive in the employment market.

Applications for the Emerging Artist Residencies (Fogelberg, Anonymous Artist, and new-this-year BIPOC Studio Fellowships) and the Warren Mackenzie Advancement Award closed on March 28. NCC will award six to seven awards to emerging artists this season.

Annual audit preparations and onsite field work by the auditors went smoothly.

Two auditors were onsite for three days to complete the work necessary for the thorough review of NCC’s FY21 fiscal activity and documentation.

FACILITIES The newly-installed security system has been functioning well for both intrusion and access control purposes.

Staff will be leading a spring cleanup day to tidy the interior and exterior of our building and the grounds surrounding it.

STUDIO PROGRAM The first professional development opportunity of the year for studio artists was hosted in a hybrid format by McKnight Resident Artist Lynne Hobaica.

This event provided both individual critique and community building.

The Blaauw kiln was temporarily out of service due to damage caused during a studio artist-led firing. To help prevent this situation in the future, we will be adding guidance to the door of the kiln.

The MN NICE priority application deadline was moved to April 1 to align with the application period for residency programs. The final deadline will remain June 1 for a September start.

The MN NICE 2021-2022 cohort has started their second block. Some upcoming experiences for this group include field trips to Linda Christianson’s studio, and to the Weisman Museum; and further investigation into materials with Joel Froehle.

EDUCATION Kip O’Krongly joined us in the studios for a full-day workshop sharing her techniques while simultaneously streaming live online to 13 attendees all over the nation. O’Krongly demonstrated her stencil resist, latex resist, and underglaze techniques.

For the spring term, 15 students received half-tuition financial aid or full-tuition BIPOC scholarships for adult education.

To promote the continued involvement of scholarship recipients, we have begun a Studio Monitor Mentorship Program, which allows current or past Education Access Scholarship recipients to train and become studio monitors, serve as a resource in the community, and continue

their clay journey by taking classes at a discounted rate.

Summer Clay Camps are on the horizon and we are looking forward to bustling studios with a total of 372 registrations thus far in 43 unique camps that will be filled with lots of fun, creativity and learning. We have granted a total of eight, 50% scholarships for youth participating in summer camps thus far.

We welcomed Metropolitan State University back to NCC for a 12-week introduction to ceramics, taught by Ursula Hargens.

We received feedback that our classes fill up so quickly that it creates a barrier to access for those who have limited internet access or who cannot take time on a weekday morning to register.

To help lessen this frustration, broaden access to our classes, and include new students in the community, we opened registration several days early to those on the waitlist who were not able to get into a class. We plan to continue with this initiative in an effort to increase accessibility with our class registrations.

OUTREACH School residencies scheduled in the spring include: Braham Area Elementary School (Braham); new partner school Friendly Hills Middle School (Mendota Heights); and a ceramics support residency with Patrick Henry High School (Minneapolis). Our school residency with 4th and 5th graders at Keewaydin Elementary School (Minneapolis) began in January and will be completed in May.

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NEWS & UPDATES

In addition, NCC is providing after-school arts learning classes for youth at eight locations weekly, including at Bethune Community School (Minneapolis) and Richard R. Green Central Park Elementary School (Minneapolis). NCC has also been working with People Serving People (Minneapolis), supported by a DiscoveryArts Grant through E. A. Michelson Philanthropies, to deliver afterschool programming.

Long-time partner, Ebenezer Senior Living, was awarded grant funding to enable programming with 11 of their communities. As in past years, NCC worked with Ebenezer Ridges (Burnsville) to support their annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. NCC collected bowls made and donated by Chili Bowl Workshop participants to the event.

This winter and spring we also brought ceramic programming to senior groups at Aurora on France Senior Living (Edina), Central Towers (St. Paul), Cerenity Senior Care (St. Paul), Ebenezer Loren on Park (Minneapolis), Ebenezer Martin Luther (Bloomington), Ebenezer Ridges (Burnsville), Founders Ridge (Bloomington), Lyngblomsten Senior Living (St. Paul), Mount Olivet Adult Day Services (Minneapolis), Open Circle Adult Day (multiple locations), and Partnership Resources, Inc (St. Louis Park).

SALES GALLERY The gallery is open seven days a week from 10 am – 5 pm. Visitors were still limited to four at a time, masks were still required at all times, and contact tracing forms were no longer required, except for special events.

Our NCECA hybrid event was a great success! Thanks go to the artists, NCC staff helping with photo-editing, and everyone who attended lectures and purchased work! Our staff photographed, edited and uploaded nearly 600 pieces of work to our website for the event, including work by each of our Emerging Artist Grant Recipients.

The gallery is currently working on several new initiatives to increase accessibility and equity in the space. We are designing a set of guiding principles to evaluate cultural appropriation with works in the gallery. We are also working with the artists represented in the gallery to share artist bios that place value on diversity in all of its forms as well as myriad paths to a career in clay such as apprenticeships, community education, and self-instruction. In addition, we are evaluating names and titles of works to ensure we use language that is clear, simple, and welcoming.

We value the input of others and will be formally asking our community for thoughts and ideas to incorporate into any new guidelines so they are truly representative of a full range of perspectives. Please contact us at salesgallery@northernclaycenter.org if you’d like to be a part of this process!

The gallery internship positions (American Pottery Festival and Galleries Intern) were revived, and a simple application is available on our website.

EXHIBITIONS Several exhibitions were able to accommodate in-person visits by exhibiting artists for lectures and

workshops, and all originally-scheduled lectures and panels took place as paid opportunities for the artists either virtually or in-person. In addition, all exhibitions were documented through a virtual 3D tour experience and will remain available as entertainment or teaching tools on our website. More artworks were included online for sale to our virtual guests, and sales continue to grow to pre-pandemic levels.

Marisa Finos visited NCC in conjunction with the exhibition, Memento Mori, to build a site-specific, large scale sculpture. This site-specific piece, with a performative element, was presented during a small, private event on the first evening of the exhibition. This gathering provided an opportunity for members of our community, and students from Bethel University, to connect with Finos and take part in a guided tour of Memento Mori led by exhibition curator, Heather Nameth Bren.

The Traveling McKnight Exhibition went to Gustavus Adolphus College and Bemidji State University.

The Artist Advisory Committee met virtually to consider exhibition proposals and plan the exhibitions cycle for 2024 and 2025.

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EXHIBITIONS

American Pottery Festival September 2 – 4, 2022 Sales Gallery, Main Gallery, & Emily Galusha Gallery Opening Day Gallery Appointments & Online Benefit Sale: Friday, September 2, 10 am – 7 pm Daily In-person and Virtual Workshops Daily Free Virtual Artist Lectures & Demos, 6 – 8 pm

24TH ANNUAL

AMERIcAN PoTTERY FEsTIvAL SEPTEMBER 2 - 4 : 2022

Northern Clay Center is pleased to announce the guest artists for the 2022 American Pottery Festival, our annual fundraising benefit. Ceramic artists from across the country will help celebrate the honor in, and value of, the millions of ways to be and live and create in this universe of ours. They will generously offer glimpses of their personal perspectives and histories, technical studio information, and insights into their journeys through time, space, and the world of art. They will share experiences as makers through artist talks, demonstrations, and an exploration of what sets their minds in motion.

AMERICAN POTTERY FESTIVAL 2022 INVITED ARTISTS Darcy Delgado, Maria Dondero, Christina Margarita Erives, Brett Freund, Delvin M. Goode, Nancy Green, Turiya Gross, Sarah Haven, Joshua Hebbert, Mike Jabbur, Maggie Jaszczak, Tom Jaszczak, Lee Love, Mary Martin, Lizbeth Navarro, Kip O'Krongly, Brent Pafford, Patti Paiz-Jones, Al Clemente Saks, Tricia Schmidt, Mike Stumbras, Minsoo Yuh, Sunkoo Yuh Please visit www.northernclaycenter.org/ APF for updates on APF events, artist rosters, ticket prices, volunteer needs, virtual workshops and lectures, and opportunities to purchase work online.

Maggie Jaszczak, Container.

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EXHIBITIONS

APF Schedule & Fees

GALLERY ADMISSION As the public health landscape evolves, so will this year’s event. It is our hope to have a larger American Pottery Festival in 2022 than in the past two years and to bring many of the artists to NCC in person for workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and real-life conversations!

OPENING DAY: Friday, September 2, 10 am – 7 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $35 Saturday, September 3, 10 am – 5 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: FREE Sunday, September 4, 10 am – 3 pm 1.5 hour gallery appointment: FREE

PRE-FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees.

50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

NCC Members receive $10 discount.

Thursday, September 1, 12 – 4 pm Fees: $80 In-person workshop

$40 In-person for students and educators $40 Virtual content only Friday, September 2, 12 – 4 pm Fees: $80 In-person workshop

$40 In-person for students and educators $40 Virtual content only

Top: Darcy Delgado, #8 Combo Bowl w/ Tlalocan Cloud Mountain Foot Ashtray (flipped over). Bottom: Lee Love, Winter Chawan.

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EXHIBITIONS

WEEKEND WORKSHOPS

DON'T MISS!

100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees.

50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

May Featured Artists: American Pottery Festival Preview On view online: May 3 – 29 Sales Gallery and Online

Saturday All-day Workshops Saturday, September 3, 10 am – 4 pm Fee: $60 In-person workshops $30 In-person for students and educators $30 Virtual content only Sunday All-day Workshops Sunday, September 4, 10 am – 2 pm Fee: $45 In-person workshops $25 In-person for students and educators $25 Virtual content only

The American Pottery Festival Preview is your ONLY chance to see, and buy, work by our visiting APF artists in person, until APF Opening Day on Friday, September 2. Join us for this special opportunity! While we may not know what autumn will hold for our in-person APF event, we do know that May is your month to visit the gallery and enjoy a sneak peek!

Stay tuned to our website for up-to-date Saturday and Sunday workshop listings.

Online work will go live at precisely 10 am CT on May 3, so set your alarms!

This page, from top left: Christina Margarita Erives, Tile; Al Clemente Saks, Sculpture; Mike Stumbras, Mug; Sunkoo Yuh, Tiger Cup. Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Kip O'Krongly, Mug; Mary Martin, Hair Ties, I; Sarah Haven, Serving Bowl; Mike Jabbur, Container; Patti Paiz-Jones, Tumbler; Turiya Gross, Bowl.

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EXHIBITIONS

Images, clockwise from top left: NICE!, Delvin (Del) M. Goode; Ain’t Nothing Like Whiskey Decanter Set, Stephen Phillips; Fallout Mug, Chris Burch; Speak With Plants, Avé Rivera.

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EXHIBITIONS

Members Exhibition On view April 29 – June 18 Main Gallery Virtual 3D Tour on view May 5, 2022

NCC once again turns its exhibition spotlight on our incredibly talented members (comprising students, educators, professional artists, and novices) with a juried exhibition.

Membership is the only requirement for application. Unlike any members exhibition in our history, this iteration promises to engage the audience with a glimpse into the multitude of possibilities when we lend our collective creative voices to the experience of isolation, challenge, pain, hope, and triumph.

This year, NCC will have a juried in-person exhibition in each gallery featuring work by selected memberartists. All submitted work will be included in an online exhibition featured on NCC's website.

This Year’s Jurors Paul Briggs earned his BSEd in education and ceramics from The City College of New York (New York City), an MA in rabbinic literature from Oral Roberts University (Tulsa, OK), his PhD in art education and educational theory and policy from Penn State University, (State College, PA), and his MFA in ceramics/3D from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Boston), where he is currently an associate professor of art education and director of Saturday studios. He has also contributed through many community roles and taught at such

notable institutions as St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), Penland School of Crafts (NC), and Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snow Mass Village, CO). His ceramic work is based in pinch forming and slab work, and he shares, “Slab building is my ‘primary’ method of expression. Pinch forming is what I do to meditate, slab building is what I do to think through ideas, to philosophize concretely.”

Lisa Buck is a studio potter and art educator living and working in the St. Croix River Valley of Minnesota. She holds degrees in art education with an emphasis in ceramics from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Buck uses a combination of wheel thrown, handbuilt, and carved techniques to produce her pieces featuring generous forms and hardy feet. Her electric-fired, functional work is characterized by

the use of terra sigillata, juxtaposed with glaze and slip. Buck has been the recipient of a Jerome Foundation Project Grant for Emerging Artists to study the historic pottery in La Borne, France, and has been greatly influenced by the rich earth tones and cooking vessels of Morocco, where she lived for several years. Her work has been exhibited in galleries nationwide and can be found in numerous publications.

This page: Asma Waheed, Journey.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: GH Wood, Painting with Slip.

Vincent Burke, Undertow. Olivia Gallenberger, unidentifiable object no. 5. Stephen Fisher, Teapot. Beth Thompson, Waiting.

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EXHIBITIONS

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EXHIBITIONS

Members Exhibition: K-12 Educators and Students On view April 29 – June 18 Emily Galusha Gallery Virtual 3D Tour on view May 5, 2022

In addition to Members Exhibition in the main gallery, this year gives us the special opportunity to amplify the critical and highly-impactful work by the K-12 educators and students in our community. Much like the show in the main gallery, Members Exhibition: K-12 Educators and Students will be juried.

There will be an in-person exhibition, featuring work by selected applicants, as well as an online exhibition including the work of all applicants.

Northern Clay Center awarded oneyear Education Memberships to all K-12 students and educators who applied for the exhibition.

This page, clockwise from top left: Brynne Macosko Paguyo, Dented Lamp, educator, Southside Family Charter School. Adam Miller, Wake-up Call, educator, Richfield High School. Marlow H., Heart Plate, kindegarten. Calliope T., Pencil Head, grade 5.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Omar M., Pouring Pot, grade 10.

Jamaya B., The Weald, grade 12. Kelsey R., Paracosm, grade 12. Static L., Foster, grade 11. Sierra J. A Homeless Flower, grade 12.

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EXHIBITIONS

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EXHIBITIONS

Six McKnight Artists July 1 – August 21 Main Gallery and Emily Galusha Gallery Summer Open House: July 9

In 2022, the Center’s annual McKnight Artist exhibition will provide the unique opportunity to view works by the 2022 recipients of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Mike Helke (Stillwater, MN) and Juliane Shibata (Northfield, MN), as well as the 2021 recipients of the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Ashwini Bhat (Penngrove, CA), Hyang Jin Cho (Fort Collins, CO), Tom Hubbard (Attleboro, MA), and Roberta Massuch (Philadelphia, PA). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship or residency.

Ashwini Bhat An artist born in southern India, Bhat currently lives and works in the Bay Area of California. Coming from a background in literature and classical Indian dance, she now works in ceramics, sculpture, installation, and performance. Bhat often introduces radical, but somehow familiar, forms to suggest complex interplay between the landscape, the human, and the non-human. Exploring the deep relationship between the constructed and the inherited, Bhat creates sculptural pieces to invite viewers to view them in the round, and to interact with the revealed and the hidden.

Trained in wheel-throwing methods, Bhat made the conscious decision to begin working as a handbuilder to better articulate her passion for form. Creating sculptural pieces that draw attention to the overall movement and physical

engagement with the materials through fingertip depressions, scrapes, and dents—more than what have become standard references to contemporary theory and various isms—Bhat’s work addresses concerns that are distinctively international. She notes, “If I speak several languages, if I can call on resources in literature and dance, perhaps I can use this distinctive experience in my ceramic work to break down some of the borders that keep feeling, empath, even beauty bound.” Prior to her career as a visual artist, Bhat studied and performed Indian classical dance, known as Bharata Natyam, as part of the Padmini Chettur Dance Company and later received her MA in literature from Bangalore University (Bengaluru, Karnataka, India). Studying ceramics alongside Ray Meeker at Golden Bridge Pottery (Puducherry, India), she has participated in numerous residency programs around the world including those at Tin Shed Pottery (Deloraine, Australia), FuLe International Ceramic Art Museums (Fuping, China), Gustin Ceramics (South Dartmouth, MA), UMASS Dartmouth (New Bedford, MA), and Red Lodge Clay Center (Red Lodge, MT).

Bhat is a recipient of the Howard Foundation Award for Sculpture. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and can be seen in collections at the Newport Art Museum (USA), Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (Japan), FuLe International Ceramic Art Museum (China), the Watson Institute at Brown University (USA), New Bedford

Ashwini Bhat, Self Portrait as Kali, 2021, ceramic, glaze, gold leaf, silk, 22" x 8.5" x 8.5".

Historical Society (USA), Daugavpils Mark Rothko Centre (Latvia), and many private collections. Her sculpture has also been widely reviewed and featured in Los Angeles Review of Books (USA), Alta Journal (USA), Brooklyn Rail (USA), Lana Turner: a Journal of Poetry and Opinion (USA), Riot Material (USA), Ceramic Art and Perception (USA/Australia),

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EXHIBITIONS

States. Exploring themes of diversity and community, her work is composed of modules that suggest human relations and interdependency in our society.

Representing the vulnerability of the individual, each component is connected to the next, holding one another, and functioning as a member of a larger system to survive together.

Hyang Jin Cho, We Hold Each Other (Series), 2019, stoneware, 27" x 20" x 20".

Ceramics Ireland (Ireland), New Ceramics (Germany), Caliban (USA), Crafts Arts International (Australia), The Studio Potter (USA), American Craft Council (USA), Logbook (Ireland), and Ceramics Monthly (USA).

Hyang Jin Cho A ceramic artist, researcher, and educator, Cho has been developing her practice, knowledge, and understanding of the arts in academia since 1991. Cho utilized the time, space, community, and support that the McKnight Artist

Residency for Ceramic Artists provided and noted that the opportunity provided her the chance to “develop my structures further to create objects examining cultural diversity in the US.” Drawing from the community in which she is immersed, “the structures would represent a land as a home where people with diverse backgrounds could enjoy their lives together.”

Cho is enthusiastic about continuing the development of her work and exploring the cultural diversity in the United

In addition to her residency at Northern Clay Center, Cho completed residencies at the European Ceramic Work Center (Oisterwijk, the Netherlands) and Smokestack Pottery (Fort Collins, CO).

She received her BA in archeology and art history in 1991 and her MA in art history in 1995 from Seoul National University (South Korea). Continuing her studies as a postgraduate foreign research student and PhD candidate within the department of art history at the University of Tokyo, Cho turned her academic focus to a more tactile experience as an undergraduate student at Colorado State University (Fort Collins). Over the course of her career, Cho has exhibited work, completed projects and residencies, and published in Korea, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Mike Helke Exploring his interest in the role of pots as both historic and contemporary vehicles to facilitate and share culture, Helke creates functional forms to encourage the user to think, feel, question, and wonder how things could be, rather than how

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University (Boston, MA), Red Lodge Clay Center (MT), and Morean Center for Clay (St. Petersburg, FL).

In addition to inclusion in both local and national publications, Helke has received recognition for his work through awards such as the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award (2006), the Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant (2008), and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant (2017). In 2020, Helke was a United States Artist Fellowship nominee. He is actively represented by various galleries including The Clay Studio (Philadelphia, PA), Lillstreet Art Center (Chicago, IL), and Lucy Lacoste Gallery (Concord, MA). Helke’s work has been exhibited a venues including ClayAkar (Iowa City, IA), Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), TRAX Gallery (Berkley, CA), Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge), Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis, MN), and Huntington Museum of Art (Huntington, WV).

they should be. Connecting a vessel with personal experience and a broad array of subject matter, his compositions are created to activate a call and response relationship between the maker, the object, and its user.

Helke grew up in Minnesota's St. Croix Valley where he still resides with his wife and two sons in Stillwater, MN. He received his BFA in ceramics with a minor in American studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2005 and his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2011.

Throughout his career, he has remained active as an educator through faculty postings at various institutions including, but not limited to, Northern Clay Center, University of Minnesota, Carleton College (Northfield, MN), Anderson Ranch Art Center (Snowmass Village, CO), and University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he is an assistant professor.

Additionally, Helke has led workshops, demonstrations, and lectures at locations across the United States including Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge), Utah State University (Logan), Pottery Northwest (Seattle, WA), Harvard

Tom Hubbard Allowing each project to evolve organically, Hubbard approaches his work with foundations built through his design training and strong belief that the solution is often derived from the problem in question. Through a diligent process of inquiry, research, and immersion, he explores, interprets, and distills visual opportunities into solutions that are specific, unique, and meaningful. Informed by current events, and exploring themes of loss, memory, and the passage of time, Hubbard aims to allow the viewer to freely interpret his abstract forms that reference industrial implements to discern their forms, markings, and meanings.

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Hubbard received his BFA from Indiana University Bloomington and has continued to interact with myriad colleges, universities, museums, and institutions to present lectures and workshops. Over the course of his career, Hubbard has been awarded numerous grants, residencies, and honors including an Individual Artists Grant by the Indiana Arts Commission in 2004, Open Studio Residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2014, and named Merit Fellow & Resident Artist at The Steel Yard in 2019. Additionally, he has received recognition through numerous print and broadcast sources including The Indianapolis Star, Chicago Sun Times, The Hague/Amsterdam Times, The Veteran, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art & Perception, and TEDx Augusta.

Hubbard’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally at venues including the Herron School of Art (Indianapolis, IN), National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum (Chicago, IL), Haagse/Kunstkring (Den Haag, the Netherlands), Kent State University (OH), and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art (IN) with works additionally included in various collections including the Chicago Public Library (IL), University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, IN), the Robby Poblete Foundation (Vallejo, CA), and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art (IN).

Roberta Massuch Influenced heavily by the architecture of her surroundings, Massuch creates functional pottery, sculptural vessels, and installations with evident reflection on construction techniques and the presence of hand. Utilizing the interplay of adjacent surface colors, she establishes a comparison to individuals

Opposite page: Mike Helke, Salt Dish, 2020, stoneware, shino glazes, stains, 12" x 4" x 11".

This page: Tom Hubbard, Future Relics Nos. 51 and 54, 2020, stoneware, porcelain, stamped graphics, 17" x 5" x 2" and 8.5" x 12" x 2.5".

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Studio. Massuch’s work has been exhibited at universities, institutions, galleries, and museums across the United States including Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN), Appalachian Center for Craft (Smithville, TN), Worcester Center for Craft (MA), The Clay Studio, Philadelphia Museum of Art (PA), Goggleworks Center for the Arts (Reading, PA), and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond (VA).

Juliane Shibata Shibata’s installation-based compositions investigate the contrast between the transience of nature and the relative stability of fired ceramics. These pieces, which incorporate both real flowers and plants and their ceramic counterparts, allude to memento mori and aim to create an awareness of the fleeting nature of our existence. Over the course of the installation, the living components gradually decay, while the porcelain emerges more boldly. Shibata’s work is informed by Japanese concepts of beauty, such as wabi-sabi aesthetics of imperfection and impermanence, and the profound grace of yūgen. She creates immersive environments in which color, the transformation of real botanical materials, and the rhythm of repeated forms, all combine to impact the viewer.

and human interaction. Her incorporation of the step motif serves as a metaphor for change. Leaving seams exposed as evidence of construction, her work allows the viewer opportunity to ascertain the interaction of individual components and reference to their structural influence.

Massuch received her BFA in ceramics from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb) in 2005 and her MFA from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) in 2013.

In addition to posts as an instructor at The Clay Studio (Philadelphia, PA), Tyler School of Art (Philadelphia, PA), and the Community College of Philadelphia (PA), she has received awards including the Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant in 2009, the Independence Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship in 2015, and further recognition through publications such as Clay Times, Ceramics Monthly, Musing About Mud, and various exhibition catalogs through The Clay

Shibata received her BA from Carleton College (Northfield, MN) and her MFA from Bowling Green State University (OH). She has held various academic positions at Ox-Bow School of Art (Saugatuck, MI), Tennessee Tech University (Smithville), Hope College (Holland, MI), the College of St. Benedict & St. John’s University (St. Joseph and Collegeville, MN), and Carleton College (Northfield, MN). She has been an artistin-residence at The Pottery Workshop (Jingdezhen, China), the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities,

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and author, Shibata’s work has been included in over 50 invitationals, juried, and solo exhibitions since 2010. Her works have been commissioned by the Four Seasons Hotel (Minneapolis, MN), Abbott Northwestern Hospital (Minneapolis, MN), and K’ul Chocolate (Minneapolis, MN) and has pieces in the collections of the BrownForman Corporation (Louisville, KY), Northern Arizona University Art Museum (Flagstaff), the Ron Gallas Ceramic Cup Library at St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), and the Perlman Teaching Collection at Carleton College (Northfield, MN).

Related Events Six McKnight Artists Drop-in Workshop Visit NCC for an afternoon of clay-centric fun—featuring a handbuilding activity/ making station. Drop in for this free hands-on activity any time between 1 and 4 pm! Space is limited to eight participants at the making station at a time. There will be 30-minute sign-up sessions on the day of the event.

AAH7: In-person, Saturday, July 9, 1 – 4 pm

and the Appalachian Center for Craft (Smithville, TN). In 2016, she co-curated Michi–Distinctive Paths, Shared Affinity: An Exhibition of Japanese American Ceramic Artists, which traveled across the U.S. She received Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants in 2014, 2018, and 2020, the first-place award at the 62nd Arrowhead Regional Biennial at the

Duluth Art Institute, and the Tile Heritage Prix Primo award at the 23rd Annual San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, and was named one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists in 2016.

In addition to curatorial projects, community and civic engagement efforts, and publications as both artist

Six McKnight Artists Virtual Tour and Hands-on Workshop Tune in with a friend or a family member for a 30-minute virtual tour of the exhibition Six McKnight Artists, featuring recent artwork by two 2022 McKnight Fellowship recipients from Minnesota, and four 2021 McKnight Artist Residents.

The remaining time will be spent learning handbuilding and decorating techniques to create a one-of-a-kind ceramic work of art—in the comfort of your own home!

AAH8: Virtual, Friday, July 29, 2 - 4 pm

Opposite page: Roberta Massuch, Deco Vase, 2020, stoneware, terra sigillata, glaze, 13" x 8" x 8".

This page: Juliane Shibata, Temporal Patterns II (spring panel), 2019, porcelain, flowers, decorative papers, 6' x 4' x 4".

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SALES GALLERY

June Featured Artists Kevin Caufield, Wendy Eggerman, Taylor Sijan, David Swenson Jewelry Spotlight: Heather Nameth Bren May 31 – July 3 Sales Gallery & Online

Kevin Caufield Kevin Caufield has been a full-time artist and teacher for over 41 years. Caufield is known for functional porcelain and stoneware pottery, custom dinnerware, and his custom-designed restaurant tableware. His work is collected nationally and internationally. Caufield is a popular ceramic instructor for all levels of students, and he teaches classes and gives workshops worldwide. Caufield apprenticed with the late Robert Eckels in the 1970s. Since then, he has been living and working in the Twin Cities.

He opened his 1600 sq ft studio gallery in St. Paul in 2013.

This page, from left: Kevin Caufield, Platter. Heather Nameth Bren, Rainbow Stack Earrings. Wendy Eggerman, Cocktail Glass.

Opposite page, from left: Taylor Sijan, Pouring Pot. David Swenson, Basket.

Heather Nameth Bren Heather Nameth Bren received an MFA in ceramics from the University of Kansas in 2003. Since then, Bren has received grants through the Jerome and McKnight Foundations and has been recognized as a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist.

She is a 2013 recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant which funded her research on Delft tiles. Her creative practice and ceramic exploration are diverse, including ceramic jewelry, installation, functional ware, and her most recent "tile paintings." Bren’s tile paintings explore the relationship of inner trauma to external environments and conditions. In contrast, Bren’s “uncentered centering cups” encourage and affirm the user with playful imagery, cheeky quips, and glitter glaze. In addition to her studio practice, Bren has been a professor of art since 2007. She currently teaches at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Wendy Eggerman Minnesota native Wendy Eggerman first fell in love with pottery while attending Warren Wilson College in the mountains of North Carolina. Since then, her work has been exhibited nationally and she has been an active ceramic artist in a variety of studios.

Eggerman’s work is primarily influenced by her love of antiques, especially hobnail glass. Tactility and functionality guide her practical, elegant aesthetic.

Eggerman’s pots are brushed with a terra sigillata finish on the exterior and seasoned with coconut oil. Over time they will acquire a patina and grow more beautiful, visually developing with use, as an heirloom might collect stories through generations.

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CALENDAR

APRIL 26 Applications open: Education Access Scholarships 29 Members Exhibitions open MAY 1 April Featured Artists closes 3 Summer class registration opens, 10 am May Featured Artists: APF Preview opens, 10 am 5 Members Exhibitions virtual tour online 8 AAH: Gnome & Fairy Home Workshop, 2 pm 20 Applications due: McKnight Fellowships & Residencies, 5 pm 24 McKnight Artist Lecture: Eliza Au, 6 pm 25 AAH: Looking & Learning, 6:30 pm 29 May Featured Artists: APF Preview closes 31 June Featured Artists opens, 10 am Taylor Sijan Originally from the shores of Lake Erie and the forests of northern Ohio, Taylor Sijan received her BFA in ceramics and metalsmithing in 2016 from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Upon graduating, she relocated to Wichita, Kansas for a two-year postbaccalaureate program at Wichita State University, where she studied woodand soda-fired pottery. In 2021, Sijan received her MFA in ceramics from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Sijan works in porcelain with asymmetrical and altered forms that she hopes encourage touch and approachability.

Her vessels are designed to foster full spectrum sensual experiences, and celebrate a reverence for plants, nourishment, and functional beauty. Her colorful and intricate surfaces reference her passion for the cross-cultural history of medicinal herbology with a process of symbolic decoration that includes lasercut stencils of actual plants.

David Swenson David Swenson is a Clearwater and Minneapolis, Minnesota-based ceramist and instructor. Since moving to Minnesota in 2009, he has lived and worked in the Twin Cities area teaching ceramics in community education and many after-school programs. His hand-painted work is embellished with historical motifs and techniques researched from many cultures, while maintaining an eclectic and modern aesthetic.

JUNE 18 Members Exhibitions close JULY 1 Six McKnight Artists opens 3 June Featured Artists closes 6 July Featured Artists opens, 10 am 9 Summer Open House AAH: Drop-in Workshop, 1 - 4 pm 12 McKnight Artist Lecture: Edith Garcia, 6 pm 26 McKnight Artist Lecture: Claudia Alvarez, 6 pm 29 AAH: Six McKnight Artists Virtual Tour & Workshop, 1 - 4 pm 31 July Featured Artists closes AUGUST 2 August Featured Artists opens, 10 am 21 Six McKnight Artists closes 28 August Featured Artists closes SEPTEMBER 2- 4 American Pottery Festival All event times are Central.

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SALES GALLERY

July Featured Artists Mike Helke, S.C. Rolf, Olivia Tani Jewelry Spotlight: Kate Marotz July 6 – July 31 Sales Gallery & Online

Mike Helke Mike Helke received his MFA in ceramic art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and his BFA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. A former NCC studio artist, he currently maintains a studio in Stillwater, Minnesota. Helke received a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant in 2008 and the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award in 2006. He’s an assistant professor of art/ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and has been a visiting artist, lecturer, juror, and workshop leader at clay centers and universities across the United States. In 2017, he received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, and in January 2020, Helke was featured in Ceramics Monthly with a “Spotlight Interview.” About his work, Helke says, “Each piece physically and conceptually records an animate sensibility derived from my experiences. This record is the catalyst for a call-and-response relationship that exists between maker, object, and user.”

Kate Marotz Kate Marotz received her BFA in ceramics and BS in art education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie). Since 2015, she has been teaching high school art while simultaneously pursuing and exploring her own studio practice. Her current work bridges sculpture and functionality with pinched stoneware objects inspired by seed pods, chrysalides, shells, and other vessels of natural origin. The surfaces of her objects are painted with terra sigillata in calm, muted versions of both earthy and jewel-toned colors. Marotz’s pieces are ridged, speckled, playful, and precarious. They emanate the energy of creatures from a biome at the junction of desert and ocean—at once feeling newborn and contemporary, treasured and ancient.

S.C. Rolf S.C. Rolf lives and works as a studio potter in River Falls, WI, creating oneof-a-kind functional pots. His work reflects an ongoing search to unite his ideas with the generosity and the intimacy that the functional pot offers. Rolf holds multiple degrees in art and exhibits his work nationally and internationally. Rolf has received a number of national and international awards. He lectures and teaches workshops throughout the country. His work has been included in numerous publications, museum collections, and best of all, many kitchen cupboards.

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EDUCATION

NCC Seeks Clay Camp Teachers & Assistants

Olivia Tani Olivia Tani earned her BFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work is driven by formal exploration and interest in the process of slab-building. During this process, Tani translates from two-dimensional “blueprint” to three-dimensional form.

She blends precise building techniques with experimentation to derive her forms. Though she is a functional potter, Tani “indulge[s] in moments of excess that guide [her] formal stylization,” creating forms that serve both as functional utilitarian objects and sculptural forms. She is interested in the way that the viewer interacts with the piece and the “haptic quality of masses and volumes.” Tani is a 2017 recipient of the Fogelberg Studio Fellowship at Northern Clay Center.

Opposite page, from left: Mike Helke, Mug. Kate Marotz, Necklace.

S.C. Rolf, Jar. This page: Olivia Tani, Clamshell Vase.

A clay camp instructor (center) and two happy campers in the handbuilding studio.

Northern Clay Center seeks college students and recent graduates, ages 18 and up, for our summer camp positions.

Each summer, NCC hosts dozens of weeklong, half- and full-day clay camps for youth ages 6 - 17.

Clay Camp Instructors create and lead projects through myriad themed camps for up to 14 students in each camp. Instructors work with a Clay Camp Assistant to provide guidance to students and maintain studio cleanliness.

Instructors are paid positions.

Clay Camp Assistants work closely with NCC's Education Coordinator and Clay Camp Instructors to provide classroom support for weekly summer clay camps. Assistants are valued volunteers who can earn credit toward NCC's adult education classes based on hours worked.

If you are interested in learning more, contact us at education@ northernclaycenter.org.

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SALES GALLERY

August Featured Artists Willem Gebben, Shaina Renae Lund, Ernest Miller Jewelry Spotlight: Tricia Schmidt August 2 – 28 Sales Gallery & Online

Willem Gebben Willem Gebben was born in Delft, Netherlands. He received his BA from Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI), and in 1976, apprenticed with master potter David Eeles at Shepherds Well Pottery (Mosterton, England).

Currently, Gebben is a full-time studio potter in Colfax, Wisconsin. He creates a wide variety of wood-fired functional pottery out of both stoneware and porcelain clays and glazes, all of which he processes and mixes himself. His sure sense of form, and expert handling of surface, texture, and detailing make each piece a true work of art. Gebben’s work is included in collections throughout the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia.

This page, from left: Willem Gebben, Cup. Shaina Renae Lund, Set of Small Dishes. Ernest Miller, Vase.

Opposite page: Tricia Schmidt, Face Earrings.

Shaina Ranae Lund Though Shaina Renae Lund was first introduced to ceramics as an art medium in college, she’d always had a strong connection to minerals, rocks, and clay from her upbringing amidst the glacially-formed landscapes of western New York. In 2014, she received her MFA with an emphasis in ceramics, from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Between undergraduate and graduate school, Lund established an artists’ collective for encouraging dialogue in art and design, and has an ongoing collaborative curatorial project with other artists. In 2020, she launched her own small business, Shaina Renae Ceramic Design, through which she sells her own handmade functional pottery, ceramic jewelry, and custom pieces. Lund’s ceramic process involves both handbuilding and slip casting techniques, and her aesthetic is inspired by Modernism, Zen, and the Norwegian concept of hygge (a mood of coziness, contentment).

Ernest Miller Ernest Miller has exhibited his ceramics in various regional and national art fairs including the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis and the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, Missouri. Miller teaches at Fired Up Studios in Minneapolis and at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts in Wayzata, Minnesota. In 2011, he received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Miller studied at Olney Central College (IL), and received his BFA from Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL). Miller’s work is inspired by architecture and machinery found in the rural Midwestern landscape. He is interested in the aesthetic of weathered paint and surface deterioration that reflects time and use. He applies these influences to his pots to create a hybrid between functional and sculptural work, utilizing wheelthrowing and off-wheel alteration.

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NCECA 2022 Wrap Up

Thank you to the 2022 American Pottery Festival Artists, NCECA Guest Artists, Emerging Artist Grant Recipients, and Gallery Artists who trusted us with your wares and allowed us to feature an exciting offering for this event!

Tricia Schmidt Tricia Schmidt lives in a world of nasty women, ambivalent sloths, thunderous rabbits, ferocious squirrels, and industrious dung beetles—or at least her pots do. Schmidt’s pots are functional forms that sport a variety of eccentric illustrations that create simple narratives.

The image combinations change from time to time, but the visual vocabulary, conceptual juxtaposition, and offbeat sense of humor remain at the core of each piece. Schmidt finds inspiration in the ironies and injustices of our time, as well as the simple, sweet things that make her smile and forget the rest of the world. Using a white porcelaneous clay body and utilizing detailed carving and inlay techniques, each piece requires a lengthy, multi-step process of creation that takes several days and multiple firings to complete. But through that process, each piece becomes personal as she spends hours throwing, altering, carving, sanding, and glazing—and that is what she believes creates the connection between the maker and the person who ultimately uses her pots in their daily life.

Executive director, Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp at NCC's table in the Resource Hall at a past NCECA conference. Mask added in post.

We offer our collective thanks to all of you who engaged with NCC to view lectures or purchase pots for Fertile Ground, the 56th annual conference held in Sacramento, CA by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) in March. This year, we were able to send Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp, our executive director, to meet with attendees at NCC’s table in the Resource Hall as well as offer a virtual Gallery Expo experience to in-person and virtual attendees. With thousands of registered attendees, your purchases of nearly 300 pots, views of hundreds more, and over 150 visits to our Virtual Exhibition, we were able to help keep income streams open for artists and introduce new works and makers to a larger audience.

We’d also like to offer a special thanks to the artists who graciously gave their time to speak during the Gallery Expo Artist Lectures: Katie Bosley Sabin, former Fogelberg Studio Fellow, and Lee Love, local full-time sales gallery artist.

Additional thanks must go to NCC staff, who somehow kept pace with preparing hundreds of works for the online gallery.

And, lastly, thank you to those of you at NCECA who managed a mountain of challenges to somehow bring people together for an educational event in entirely new ways.

Always, Tippy Maurant Deputy Director Director of Galleries & Exhibitions

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ARTIST SERVICES

McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Claudia Alvarez & Edith Garcia

Claudia Alvarez, Las Boxeadoras, 2020.

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depiction of fragmented narratives as reflection of human conduct, ethics, belief systems, culture, race, assimilation, and displacement.

Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming 2022 Summer McKnight Artist Residents—Claudia Alvarez and Edith Garcia. As we welcome these artists and embark on this unique opportunity to host two McKnight Artists at once, we look forward to supporting their individual creative visions while establishing new connections within our community.

Claudia Alvarez Addressing the ways in which social, political, and psychological structures impact human behavior and personal interactions, Claudia Alvarez (New York, NY) tackles issues relating to violence, empowerment, endurance, and what each reveal about human nature through her drawings, paintings, and ceramic sculptures. Greatly impacted by terminally ill youth and elderly patients met during past work experience, her painted and sculpted figures continue to reflect both their strength and vulnerability through the

Alvarez received her BA from University of California, Davis in 1999 and her MFA from California College of Arts (San Francisco) in 2003. Throughout her career as a maker, she has participated in residencies at locations including SASAMA International Ceramic Art Festival (Shizuoka, Japan), Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (Omaha, NE), SOMA (Mexico City, Mexico), and FUTUR (Rapperswil, Switzerland).

She has received multiple awards including those from institutions such as Art Matters Foundation (New York, NY) and Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund (New York, NY). Currently, Alvarez is serving as an adjunct instructor at New York University (New York, NY), visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, (Brooklyn, NY), and faculty at Greenwich House Pottery (New York, NY).

Alvarez has had works exhibited nationally and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions at venues including Nexus Gallery (Berkeley, CA), Museo de la Ciudad (Merida, Mexico), The Observatory (Dublin, Ireland), Keramik Museum (Westerwald, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany), FUTUR

(Rappererswil, Switzerland), Centro Nacional de las Artes (Mexico City, Mexico), and the Edward Hopper House Museum and Study Center (Nyack, NY). Her works have been featured in books, catalogs, and periodicals around the world and included in the museum collections at El Museo Latino (Omaha, NE), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatan (Merida, Mexico), Sheldon Museum of Art (Lincoln, NE), the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago, IL), and the Museum of Nebraska Art (Kearny).

Edith Garcia Edith Garcia (San Francisco, CA) has long embraced unconventional and experimental projects. Within her research-driven creative productions, she addresses the ideas of transience, the status of the object in contemporary art and theory, and the consciousness of our contemporaneity as a society. Her body of work has been exhibited throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Europe and has been the recipient of national and international awards, artists in residencies, and a Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the California College of the Arts.

She has been featured in solo, touring and group exhibitions at national and international venues such as the Royal College of Art (London, UK), Gimpel

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Edith Garcia, Fabricating the Real, 2020.

Fils, (London, UK), British Ceramics Biennial, (Stoke-on-Trent, UK), Barbican Art Centre (London, UK), The Tampa Museum of Art (St. Petersburg, Florida), International Museum of Applied Arts (Torino, Italy) Transmission Gallery (Oakland, CA), Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN), and Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MN).

Garcia continues to be actively engaged in critical research on the convergence of contemporary art, technologies, and our contemporary visual art and design culture with curatorial projects, publishing, and the realization of creative productions.

Garcia received her BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MN) in 1998, MFA from the California College of the Arts (San Francisco) in

2004, and a research degree MPhil at the Royal College of Art (London, UK) in 2012. She has authored numerous articles for publication on visual and design culture, including VJ: AudioVisual Art and VJ Culture, Laurence King Publishing (with creative collective D-Fuse); Ceramics and the Human Figure, A & C Black Publishers and The American Ceramic Society; and has been featured in publications

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About the McKnight Artist Residency Program including Confrontational Ceramics, Ceramic Review Magazine, American Craft Magazine, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Ceramics Monthly, and Breaking the Mould: New Approaches to Ceramics.

Garcia has conducted lectures and workshops nationally and internationally at venues including Westminster University (Harrow, UK), University of Ulster (Belfast, UK), Carleton College (Northfield, MN), Cardiff School of Art and Design (Cardiff, UK), and Minneapolis College of Art and Design, (MN). Garcia currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts as the Director of Communications.

Related Events Please join us in welcoming each of these artists to the NCC community for their residencies taking place from the beginning of July through end of September. During the first weeks of their time with us in Minneapolis, each artist will present a talk on their work, with time afterward for questions.

McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Edith Garcia Join us remotely on Tuesday, July 12, at 6 pm CT, when Garcia will present a free lecture on her work.

X12: Tuesday, July 12, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Claudia Alvarez Join us remotely on Tuesday, July 26, at 6 pm CT, when Alvarez will present a free lecture on her work.

X13: Tuesday, July 26, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login

2020 McKnight Artist Resident, Pattie Chalmers, working in her studio at NCC.

Since 1997, Northern Clay Center has been the steward of these awards, made possible by the generous contributions of The McKnight Foundation. These programs directly support mid-career ceramic artists in Minnesota through the McKnight Artist Fellowship program, and artists from around the world through McKnight Artist Residencies. Providing a threemonth opportunity for focused time in the studios at the Center, this residency program offers the opportunity for symbiotic sharing of ideas, techniques, and materials science while facilitating opportunities for critique and in-depth conversation between the visiting artist and our local community.

Applications for the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists are due May 20 at 5 pm CT. More information on the programs and how to apply is available at: https:// northernclaycenter.org/artist-services/ grants-for-artists/

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OUTREACH

Partner Spotlight: People Serving People

A new outreach partnership with People Serving People began in September 2021 and continues through the spring of 2022. This partnership was born out of a short interaction between two community members in a neighborhood group.

People Serving People is the largest and most comprehensive emergency shelter for families and children experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. In addition to emergency shelter and meals, they offer holistic services that support the entire family. This includes supporting their youngest guests, encouraging children to grow and thrive with their bright futures in sight. Their education services are offered all year-round and provide specialized programming for children from infancy through school age. They work to meet families where they are, walking alongside them on their path towards stability and bigger goals for themselves and their children.

NCC teaching artist Abigail Cooper has been providing weekly classes for schoolaged youth during after-school hours in collaboration with People Serving People staff and volunteers. Each week, students get the opportunity to make a clay project. The teaching artist demonstrates how to create an object and its individual components. Learners each get the chance to make their own piece based on what they are interested in that day.

Sometimes the creations are all in the same theme, other days students need to make something that just feels good for them at that moment in time. Every project looks totally different!

Creating clay objects is rich in both immediacy—of mark-making and

manipulating the material—and delay.

The firing processes required to transform the clay into a ceramic object that will last and is food-safe can often take up to two weeks. Because People Serving People provides shelter for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, the group of participants varies week by week. Participants aren’t always in attendance to receive the project they made. The creative solution to this conundrum, is that students are given projects that are ready the week they are there to participate—made in the group two weeks previous. It might be something someone else made, or it might be their own project if they have been around for some time. Students are prepped with this expectation, and make pieces knowing they may be for someone else. The kids often ask thoughtful questions as they create for someone else, and try to make objects that will brighten the recipient’s day. It is a very community-oriented perspective and just one of the many ways that this partnership is unique and important.

In reflecting on our work together in the fall of 2021, People Serving People staff shared the following.

“What ended up happening is a full and total bond with our teacher … minus the clay. Abbey has become an intriguing part of our classroom—she has bonded to the teachers and students, and this is easily everyone’s favorite day. We have learned so much from her and we have a creative outlet ... she has truly changed us for the better.”

—Haley Wireman Sobba, People Serving People In order to continue to work with populations that are historically underserved with access to the arts, NCC applies for a variety of grants

A young participant posing and playing with their pottery creation.

every year. We are lucky to have been funded by multiple organizations, foundations, and agencies to continue our work of bringing complex ceramic arts to people who otherwise would not have access—often at little or no cost to the organizations. This is hugely impactful as both participants and the organizations and schools serving them rarely have any excess funding to provide beyond basic needs, let alone to finance complex arts opportunities.

If you want to sponsor NCC’s ClayToGo programming, learn more about what a clay residency looks like, or set up a class or demonstration for your group, please visit our website or contact Alison Beech, Community Engagement Manager, at 612.339.8007 x 313 or alisonbeech@ northernclaycenter.org.

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EDUCATION

Summer Classes & Workshops

We have finally arrived at the longawaited summer season, and it’s time to relax your routines, and revel in the warmth and energy that these months bring. And, it’s a perfect opportunity to take a trip to the NCC studios for some uninterrupted time in clay. During summer daytime hours, many of NCC’s studios will have a bounty of Clay Campers making discoveries of their own in clay, but the evenings, weekends, and open studio hours are dedicated to you. Our summer class roster—a mix of signature classes with the added flavor of some special topics, atmospheric firing, brand-new handbuilding courses, and intriguing workshops—is sure to satisfy and sustain your clay cravings through the summer months. Our diverse cast of expert makers and teachers are ready to usher you into an energetic season of new discoveries in clay.

utilize our facility, and setting a mandated standard is an important step in keeping NCC a safe space to engage with clay and community. Everyone participating in classes or workshops at NCC, is required to provide proof of receipt of full COVID-19 vaccination before the start of your activity with NCC.

Take advantage of the open studio time offered to NCC students as you practice skills and incorporate classroom demonstrations into your own work.

Adult students will have access to the studios during weekday evenings once Clay Camps wrap up, generally 4:30 – 9 pm, and 9 am to 9 pm access on weekends (subject to other NCC events and programming). Our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class via phone or e-mail: 612.339.8007 x309 or samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org.

Education Access Scholarships Applications open Tuesday, April 26

NCC mandates proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster dose for all students, studio artists, teaching artists, and staff entering our building. For the wellbeing of our community, it is necessary to do everything we can to preserve the health of all individuals who

Our offerings may continue to evolve as new public health guidelines are made available. Class sizes may continue to be limited and appropriate safety initiatives will remain in place. We encourage you to register early as our in-person classes will fill up quickly.

Please visit our website for the most upto-date information.

A student standing at a table, behind a set of small matching plates.

NCC is committed to maintaining accountability and pursuing action to build meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity in the ceramic community. We recognize that there are significant systemic racial and economic impacts that impede participation in the arts, and resulting financial barriers contribute to further divide. To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC has implemented scholarship options for our education programming.

Our goal is to open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community

We offer two scholarship options: • a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color • a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need Scholarships are limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter.org

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CLAY-ALONG VIRTUAL CLASSES Stay connected to your creativity from home and Clay-Along with NCC through virtual classes and materials kits designed to fulfill your clay longings at a social distance. We offer self-guided clay kits with lesson plans for an athome independent clay experience.

Kits include low-fire clay (a choice of low-fire red, a smooth terracotta body; or Raku, a grittier, off-white body), a set of engobes (colored slips), firings at NCC, and a guide to setting up a space for clay in your home. No clayspecific tools? No problem! All classes and lessons can be accomplished with everyday utensils and objects. If you have everything you need already, just select the content-only version.

Self-Guided Kit Clay-Along Self-Guided Kits balance the independence of self-guided clay exploration with the support of instructions that guide you step-by-step through a variety of projects at a range of levels—kid-friendly lessons included!

These kits are sure to satisfy your clay cravings, keep you creative, and increase your knowledge of forms and techniques. It’s also a great opportunity to play and explore clay, whether you’re brand-new or very experienced.

INTRODUCTORY

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Want to learn the basics of making clay art? Get your hands dirty during five weeks of instruction, and practice in these introductory classes that focus on the basics of building and glazing techniques. These classes will have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little or no experience with clay and want to test your interest. We recommend that you take an introductory class two or more times (within one quarter, or over consecutive quarters) to build your skills and prepare for Wheel or Handbuilding 201 classes and beyond. Wear old clothes, and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first class.

Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one bag of clay (25 pounds), all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.

Land of Round Pots— Wheel Throwing 101 I1: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jason Wang June 15 – July 13 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) I2: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Persis Wade July 20 – August 17 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)

VKit: Fee: $45 I3: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Zoe Kaplan June 16 – July 14 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)

I4: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Zoe Kaplan July 21 – August 18 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) I5: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Ruby Sevilla June 17 – July 15 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) I6: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Ruby Sevilla July 22 – August 19 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) I7: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm Instructor: Claire O’Connor June 18 – July 16 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) Also check out our series of one-day workshops listed on pages 33 - 35—ideal for makers with little or no previous experience.

Three Graces—Handbuilding 101 Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine.

I8: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger June 13 – July 11 Fee: $165 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) (Class will not meet on July 4)

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WHEEL We recommend that students begin their study at NCC with an introductory experience in clay, such as our Project Workshops or five-week classes (above).

Beginner Throwing—Wheel 201 will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay to prepare you for Wheel 301 and advanced special topics classes. Our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class, via phone or email: 612.339.8007 x309 or samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org.

Beginner Throwing—Wheel 201 Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel to build on your foundations and discover the secrets of making great pots. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing such forms as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments such as glazing, staining, and slipping, and be introduced to firing procedures.

Dress for mess, bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of pottery tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. These classes are designed for those with some previous wheel-throwing experience, who have taken one or two Land of Round Pots sessions, or equivalent, and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.

W1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Lucy Yogerst June 14 – August 16 Fee: $350 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)

W2: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Jennica Kruse June 15 – August 17 Fee: $350 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) W3: Fridays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Clarice Allgood June 17 – August 19 Fee: $350 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) Intermediate Throwing—Wheel 301 Take your skills to the next level as you learn additional techniques for throwing more complicated forms. Refine your skills and continue to define your voice in clay. Each section has a specific focus but leaves room for personal interests and development. Each course will also include more information about surface decoration, firing procedures, and the differences between low- and high-temperature clay bodies and glazes. Designed for those who have taken several Wheel 201 classes or equivalent who are looking to refine their techniques and further develop their voice in clay.

W4: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Erin Holt, Focus on Thrown and Altered Forms June 13 – August 15 Fee: $330 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount) (Class will not meet on July 4) W5: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Leila Denecke, Focus on Function June 16 – August 18 Fee: $350 + $40 lab fee (5% member discount)

A student concentrates on opening their centered clay on the potter's wheel.

HANDBUILDING Match the relaxed pace of summer in the studio as you embrace the s-lo-w philosophy of handbuilding. This rhythm of working with clay invites your attention in new ways, and will broaden your understanding of clay processes. Challenge your knowledge of making this summer, and explore new color palettes, processes, and fresh approaches to a familiar material.

Land of Square Pots Ready for a new angle on handbuilding?

During this 5-week class you’ll design and handbuild boxes, baskets, and geometric vessels or sculptures, while practicing your skills in foundational handbuilding methods including building with hard and soft slabs and coils. Once you’ve created a few forms, turn your attention to creating surfaces

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that enhance your forms with color and decoration, using slips, stains and more. This creative framework for handbuilding will offer a fresh take on forms and inspire continued exploration in handbuilding outside the round pot.

Open to all skill and experience levels.

H1: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Priya Thoresen June 15 - July 13 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) For the Love of Low Fire: Pinch Pots & Glazes Curious about low-fire glazes and their many combinations? Intrigued by pinch pots but never had the chance to focus on developing your technique? Then this class is for you! In this 5-week class you will learn how to combine various low-fire glazing techniques to create a palette of your own using low-fire red or Raku clay.

With a focus on basic pinch pot forms, you will then learn how to alter, stack, and combine them into unique sculptural vessels with coils and slabs as decorative elements. The first week is all about making test tiles—small pinch pots that can be used to explore surface treatment combinations. These small test pots can stay with you as reference for any future low-fire glazing you do at NCC! We will jump right into glazing the second week, so we can see the results before we glaze our final pieces. You will learn how to build multiples to help create multipart pieces during the rest of the class.

Basic knowledge of glazing is preferred but not necessary.

H2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Olivia Gallenberger July 18 – August 15 Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)

SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES Atmospheric Explorations Dive into ten weeks of making with an emphasis on form, design, and the materials suited best for an atmospheric kiln. Participants will explore form and surface treatments to further develop their work, and take better advantage of the varied surfaces that atmospheric kilns provide. Through explorations applicable to both soda- and reductionfirings, students will take part in the loading and firing of three soda kilns and group critiques to better understand the fired results. This class is designed for makers of intermediate to advanced levels of construction with interest in exploring and learning about alternative atmospheric firing techniques.

Tentative firing schedule: Kiln loadings: July 11, August 1, August 15 Firing and unloading schedule will be discussed during class.

Studio meetings all other weeks.

T1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Joel Edinger-Willson June 13 - August 15 Fee: $370 + $70 lab fee (5% member discount) Ceramic Mentorship for Youth Makers Calling all youth makers—high school students, college students, apprentices or ceramic enthusiasts ages 16 - 21! Dive into five weeks of devoted study in ceramics, and discover what it means to connect to, and share, your story in clay.

Whether you’re preparing a portfolio to apply to your next program, want to increase your skills, or get more involved in the clay community—or maybe all of the above—this class will help to tune your skills and expression, polish your supporting materials (artist statement,

photographs, etc.), and build community in clay. Whether your goal is to become a professional ceramic artist or to develop or cultivate your hobby, this class will put you well on your way to becoming more confident in your voice in clay.

During weekly class meetings, NCC’s McKnight Resident Artist, Claudia Alvarez, will serve as your guide offering demonstrations, individual guidance, training professional practices and will facilitate small group discussion and critiques to help develop your personal expression in the ceramic arts. Students should have 1 – 2 years of experience working in clay. All ways of working in clay—wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpting, etc.—are welcome.

A limited number of scholarships are available for this course—100% for BIPOC students and 50% for students experiencing financial need. Please email samanthalongley@northernclaycenter.org to inquire about these opportunities.

T2: Tuesdays, 6:00 – 9:30 pm July 19 – August 16 Instructor: Claudia Alvarez Fee: $170 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount) Tile Making for Everybody Have a project in mind or want to learn the secret behind creating flat, visuallyengaging decorative or functional tiles? This is the course for you! Spend five weeks exploring the possibilities of creating dimensional tile-work with methods like sgraffito, resists, decorating with slips and glazes, relief, and tricks for creating multiples. Instructor Elizabeth Coleman will offer demonstrations to equip you to start your project, whether that be creating accent tiles for a

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backsplash, decorative wall pieces, or to simply inspire and give you a jumpingoff point. Learn to integrate planning, design, and skill to build a composition or colony of ceramic tiles tailored to your imagination. All skill levels and experiences with clay are welcome.

T3: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm July 19 – August 16 Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman Fee: $175 + $20 lab fee (5% member discount)

SPECIAL TOPICS WORKSHOPS

A fresh load of recently-fired pots in the soda kiln.

Shine a Light on Lamp Making This project-based workshop will creatively explore ceramic versions of table lamp bases—a wonderfully variable and fundamental household form. With coiling as the framework for the project, there’s a lot of room to play! For your first workshop meeting, come prepared with a few ideas of forms sketched out. Then, work to build your lamp base in three dimensions—up to 12 inches tall—using low-fire clay and coiling techniques. When you return for the second workshop meeting, complete your lamp with colorful glazes to complement your form and household décor. Your work will be glaze-fired and ready for pick up approximately two weeks later. Basic hardware for one lamp is included with the workshop fee so you can incorporate it into your design. Lightbulbs and lamp shades are not included. Previous experience handbuilding with clay is recommended for this workshop.

X1 Thursdays, July 7, 6 – 9:30 pm, & July 14, 6 – 9 pm Instructor: Persis Wade Fee: $120

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or ritual in mind, and join Rivera in the studio to embody your traditions in clay using coil and slab building. This class is designed for those with some previous handbuilding experience and knowledge of basic construction methods.

X2: Saturday August 6, 12 - 4 pm Fee: $60 (5% member discount)

A student delicately removes excess water from the inside of their pot, using a sponge.

Vessels for Ritual Ceramic artist Andrew Rivera thoughtfully crafts objects that elevate ritual by designing pieces that serve a tradition, particular food, or function.

His pieces are inspired by and reference design and traditions from his Mexican heritage. Whether leaving clues about function in the shape of the form or on the surface, Rivera guides and invites users to connect to time-honored traditions and to contemplate them in the present moment. During this workshop, students will design a vessel around a family or personal ritual—anything from a small tea cup to a coil vase. Rivera will guide you through the nuances of the vessel’s particular function, and help you consider questions such as, how can this plate optimally serve and feature food or drink? How does it reflect and connect to my culture or tradition? Where will it be used and how? Come with a food, drink,

Setting Up a Home Studio 101 Curious about taking the leap to set up a space for clay at home? Already have a space and looking for tips and improvements? Join teaching artist and home studio artist Heather Barr for an evening of information and discussion about getting started with or improving your home clay studio.

Cover important considerations such as safety, appropriate equipment, and recycling and disposing clay; and absorb and apply helpful knowledge on planning and layout, handy studio accessories, DIY and professional setups, and more. There will be time for Q&A and discussion, so come with your home studio inquiries and get ready to take notes and the next step in your studio planning! This workshop is great for those who want to know what a home studio set up entails, for those who are planning and preparing for a home studio, or for those who have a simple studio setup and are wanting to expand. Setting up a home studio is a big step—let us help you get there safely and effectively!

X3: Thursday, August 11, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: Heather Barr Fee: $50 (5% member discount)

GET WILD: Harvesting and Processing Local Wild Clay Join Minnesota native, Amy Joy Hosterman for a weekend adventure in wild clay hunting, harvesting, and science. Hosterman is the ceramics director of the Visitor Center Artist Camp (VCAC) in Ewen, MI, where she teaches the immersive, two-week Wild Clay Workshop each summer during the annual VCAC Wilderness Artist Residency.

In this two-day workshop you’ll learn how to locate, identify, harvest, and process your own wild clays and natural additives. You’ll also learn how to conduct basic tests, both in the field and back at the studio, to determine their suitability for use in your practice.

Discuss soil science and sedimentary geology as they relate to finding and identifying clay deposits in your area, learn to navigate online soil surveys and mine databases to find possible collecting sites, and compare the properties of a variety of wild clay samples that Hosterman has collected from across the country.

On Saturday, spend time off-site hunting for local wild clay and natural additives, interpreting local soil profiles, and getting hands-on experience of assessing clay for usability. Perform field tests and collect your own samples to bring back to the studio at NCC. Back in the studio, process collected materials for use in ceramics, and mix test batches of simple clay bodies using a variety of clays and additives. We will create test pieces to get a feel for the properties of each clay body, and prepare sample clay test tiles for firing in a kiln. Students will leave equipped with basic knowledge

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of how to locate, process, and utilize wild clay, and will leave with their own small batches of one or more wild clays to continue their experiments after the workshop. This workshop is best suited for those who have an understanding of the stages of clay, building methods, and material components. Students will need to provide their own transportation to the off-site location on the first day; the location will be within 30 minutes of NCC and will be sent to participants closer to the workshop.

X4: Saturday, August 13, 10 am - 3 pm, & Sunday, August 14, 10 am - 1 pm Instructor: Amy Joy Hosterman Fee: $175 (5% member discount)

PROJECT WORKSHOPS No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.

Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops Looking for a unique date night activity that is sure to impress your partner?

Look no further than this NCC original— Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment. Already attended a session? Sign up again and take your skills to the next level. The $90 fee includes instruction and materials for two adults. Pots will be ready to pick up after approximately two weeks.

X5: Saturday, June 18, 6:30 – 9:30 pm X6: Saturday, July 9, 1 – 4 pm X7: Saturday, July 30, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $90 per couple, per session

Crafternoon and Crafterdark Pottery Workshops Bring your creative friends, and make a few new ones, as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel.

This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $45 fee includes instruction and materials for one adult. Students can expect to make 2 – 4 pots and will decorate them using colored slips and textures. Your pots will be ready to pick up after approximately two weeks.

X8: Saturday, June 15, 1 – 4 pm X9: Saturday, July 23, 1 – 4 pm (bilingual Spanish-English workshop; Spanish speakers welcome!)

X10: Saturday, August 6, 6:30 – 9:30 pm Instructor: NCC Teaching Artist Fee: $45 per person, per session Sgraffito Planters for Summer Get your hands dirty to help your garden grow this summer by making personalized pots to house your favorite plants! Whether you’re looking to grow herbs or show off summery blooms, create a planter using basic slab-building techniques. Then, turn your attention to the surface of your pot by decorating it with colorful slips and trying out some simple designs using a sgraffito technique (made by carving through slip or a colored surface to reveal the clay below). If you’re interested in pottery and plants, this workshop is for you! No previous experience required. Participants can expect to make 1 – 2 planters between 5 – 8 inches tall. Pots made during the workshop will be ready to pick up after approximately two weeks.

X11: Sunday, July 24, 1 - 4 pm Instructor: Zoe Kaplan Fee: $45

VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS & LECTURES McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Edith Garcia Join us remotely on Tuesday, July 12, at 6 pm CT, when Garcia will present a free lecture on her work.

X12: Tuesday, July 12, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Claudia Alvarez Join us remotely on Tuesday, July 26, at 6 pm CT, when Alvarez will present a free lecture on her work.

X13: Tuesday, July 26, 6 pm CT FREE, Remote Login

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILIES For all family classes, children must be accompanied by an adult. Neither children nor adults will have access to open studio time during the quarter. Weekend workshops are open to all skill levels, ages 6 and up for handbuilding workshops and 9 and up for wheel-throwing; there are no exceptions to stated age requirements.

Round and Round Learn to use the potter's wheel and explore the basics of wheel throwing as you center clay and shape it into cylinders and bowls. At the end of class, decorate your creations with colored slips. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, June 18 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F1: 10 am – 1 pm F2: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $60 for two people, $25 for each additional participant

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Backyard Retreat Turn your outdoor space into a mini getaway. Imagine birds in a bath, fairies fluttering in your garden, or a drink in your hand. Learn handbuilding skills to create projects that connect you to an outdoor space. Decorate your creations with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, July 16 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F3: 10 am – 1 pm F4: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $60 for two people, $25 for each additional participant Round and Round Again Back by popular demand! Learn to use the potter's wheel and explore the basics of wheel throwing as you center clay and shape it into cylinders and bowls. At the end of class, decorate your creations with colored slips. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.

Saturday, August 13 Instructor: Eileen Cohen F5: 10 am – 1 pm F6: 2 – 5 pm Fee: $60 for two people, $25 for each additional participant

CLAY FOR YOUTH Pottery Punch Card for Teens Teens may purchase eight, 2-hour classes, to be used on any Saturday, 10 am - 12 pm*. Classes will cover the fundamental techniques of throwing basic forms on the potter's wheel and creating surface decoration using glazes, slips, and applied elements, with varied demonstrations and projects for advanced students. Create a series of functional pots with high-temperature

clay bodies. Previous experience is not required. Students may attend on a drop-in basis and the complexity of projects will depend on multiple consecutive classes. Great for students and families with busy schedules. Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty; NCC will provide the tools and the clay. Your eight class sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.

Students do not have access to open studio time. For ages 13 to 17.

Y1: Saturdays, 10 am - 12 pm Instructor: Erin Holt Student Fee: $265 (5% member discount) 4 additional sessions: $135 (5% member discount) PLEASE NOTE: Students may begin as soon as they register.

Due to NCC's COVID-19 capacity protocols, students must sign up for sessions in advance online. *Classes will meet every Saturday unless otherwise posted.

Class may not take place due to holidays or NCC events.

ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years old or greater (and their families), ART@HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and handson activities. ART@HAND specializes in meeting people where they are at, this year in their homes, and we are offering distance led workshops.

Six McKnight Artists Drop-in Workshop Visit NCC for an afternoon of claycentric fun—featuring a handbuilding activity/making station. Drop in for this free hands-on activity any time between

1 and 4 pm! Space is limited to eight participants at the making station at a time. There will be 30-minute sign-up sessions on the day of the event.

AAH7: In-person, Saturday, July 9, 1 – 4 pm Six McKnight Artists Virtual Tour and Hands-on Workshop Tune in with a friend or a family member for a 30-minute virtual tour of the exhibition Six McKnight Artists, featuring recent artwork by two 2022 McKnight Fellowship recipients from Minnesota, and four 2021 McKnight Resident artists. The remaining time will be spent learning handbuilding and decorating techniques to create a one-of-a-kind ceramic work of art—in the comfort of your own home!

AAH8: Virtual, Friday, July 29, 2 - 4 pm

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Summer Class Registration Opens Tuesday, May 3, at 10 am Education Access Scholarship applications open Tuesday, April 26

To Register: Register with cash, check, or all major credit cards. NCC accepts registrations online at www.northernclaycenter. org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007.

Download a paper registration form online, or call the gallery for more information. Member discounts are available online.

Within a week of your application, you will be notified of the status of your application and will be aided in registration from there should you receive the scholarship.

Due to the high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class.

Policies: COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate: NCC students are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a notarized exemption before the start of their activity with NCC. Proof of vaccination or exemption may be submitted online, and information regarding this submission will be sent to you upon registration.

Students may also submit information in person at the start of activity at NCC. Youth 16 and under are not required to provide proof of vaccination, exemption, or a negative COVID-19 test result for one-day programming.

All youth attending summer Clay Camps are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

NCC will send confirmation of registration. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel class, notify registered students, and refund all payments without penalty. Decisions are made approximately one week before classes begin.

Please register early or you might find that your favorite class is full, or canceled due to low enrollment.

Education Access Scholarships: To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is implementing new scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.

We offer two scholarship options: • a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners with financial need • a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color Scholarships are limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis to adult students only. Students are eligible to receive only one scholarship per session.

We will do our best to offer students one of their top three choices of in-person or Clay-Along classes or workshops. Once enrolled, all scholarships are non-refundable and non-transferable. Scholarship students are committed to their selected class, and the scholarship cannot be applied to a different class or term. Should a selected class cancel due to low enrollment, students will have the option to transfer classes. Previous recipients can apply multiple times per year, though priority will be given to new applicants.

For any questions regarding NCC’s scholarship program, please contact Samantha Longley, Education Coordinator, at samanthalongley@northernclaycenter.org

Tools: Standard tool kits for introductory classes are available in NCC’s Sales Gallery for $25.00 + tax. Other specialty tools are available as well.

Open Studio: The tuition for regular adult classes includes access to open studio time. On average, adult students enrolled in a qualifying class will have access to our studios between 9 am and 9 pm Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9 pm on Mondays, and 9 am to midnight on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (subject to other NCC events and programming). To regulate our studios as much as possible out of concerns for safety this term, students will sign up for open studio in advance via an online sign-up system.

Browse our open studio schedule online to check the most up-to-date listing of available studios. NCC reserves the right to close studios for special classes or workshops.

Minimum Age Restrictions: Only students ages 18 and up are eligible to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops.

Continuing Education Credits: If you are a teacher in need of CEUs, contact the education department to learn how NCC’s classes and workshops can be taken for continuing education credit.

Weather: As a general rule, NCC will remain open during inclement weather. We take our cues from local colleges and universities for canceling or rescheduling classes during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe!

Tuition, Fees, & Refunds: Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees.

Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay, basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be pro-rated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space.

COVID-19 Cancellations: In the event of an NCC-initiated cancellation, students will be issued a full refund without penalty. Cancellations initiated by the student will be handled on a case-by-case basis with individual and community well-being maintained as a top priority. If you are sick or have COVID-19-related symptoms, we ask that you contact us before coming to or entering NCC. Classes: 100% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a class no later than one week (seven days) before the day of the first class meeting. 50% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class within the seven days prior to the first class meeting or within the first two business days after the first meeting. After this period, if a student elects to drop a class, tuition and fees will NOT be refunded for any reason except documented medical emergencies.

There are no other exceptions to this policy.

Workshops: 100% of tuition (less a $15 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least one week (seven days) prior to the workshop. No refunds will be given with less than one week’s notice.

If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, please contact Samantha Longley at samanthalongley@ northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007 x309.

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 28375

612.339.8007 nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org www.northernclaycenter.org

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

NCC Shop/Gallery Hours Galleries are open 10 am - 5 pm, 7 days a week.

Masks are required and visitors to the galleries are limited to four at a time.

We would like to respectfully acknowledge that NCC is located on Dakota land.

Special Needs Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with mental or physical disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event.

Signed Interpretation: Available for any NCC public event. Please call the Center to request an interpreter at least three weeks in advance.

Wheelchair Seating for classes or other accommodations: Please call the Center at least two weeks in advance of the event. NCC’s building is wheelchair accessible and includes a wheelchair accessible potter’s wheel.

The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.

Mission: Northern Clay Center advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Ongoing programs include exhibitions by contemporary regional, national, and international ceramic artists, as well as historical and architectural ceramics; classes and workshops for children and adults at all skill levels; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere.

Front cover: Ceramix Tile, Christina Margarita Erives.

Announcing the Peter Leach Scholarship Fund We are thrilled to announce the Peter Leach Scholarship Fund at Northern Clay Center. The Peter Leach Scholarship Fund will be used to fund the BIPOC NCC education scholarship which covers 100% of class costs at NCC for BIPOC students.

This humbling opportunity is made possible by Nan Skelton in Peter’s memory. Cash donations may be made by contacting the gallery at salesgallery@ northernclaycenter.org. Donations of pottery for the ReCollect program, with all proceeds earmarked for the scholarship fund, may be made in the gallery during business hours, 10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week.