“Electric vs. Gas Firing:

What’s all the fuss about reduction, Anyway?”            

  

May           12 - 16                                                       

July            21 - 25

August       25 - 29

                                                                                            

Cost: $990 (inclusive - workshop, meals, lodging)      

   I love the variation that occurs naturally across the surface of salt, soda and wood fired pots. I salt fired for 2 years in the early 70‘s but since then my pottery has been reduction fired in gas kilns. Throughout this time I have strived to create atmospheric surface qualities through the careful blending and layering of sprayed glazes.

    About a year ago I was surprised to discover that reduction firing plays a rather insignificant role in the finished look of my pottery! The cascading rivulets of ash-like glazes and mysterious microcrystalline mat surfaces work just as effectively in oxidation as they do in reduction. Even the rich brown and orange colors that I have always attributed to reduction firing are possible in oxidation. For the first time ever I am questioning whether the results I achieve justify the limitations of a gas kiln: where it can be located, and the difficulty of building, plumbing and venting a kiln... or the expense of buying and installing a manufactured gas kiln.

    This workshop will address the ways I achieve the kind of richness and surface variation that potters have come to associate with fuel burning kilns and reduction firing. The information provided will also help you get the most out of YOUR glazes, applied to YOUR pots and fired in YOUR kiln - be it gas or electric. I will demonstrate the basic techniques of spraying and also spend time with the more advanced theories of layering and blending glazes. Although glaze formulation is beyond the scope of this workshop, I will discuss mid-range and high-fire glazes and suggest ways to experiment with the layering process to create your own unique look. Firing schedules and how they affect glaze surfaces will also be included in the discussion. To read more about my experiences with electric firing, click to read Atmospheric Effects For Electric Firing.

   Equipment and technique both play a vital role in successful spraying. We will cover the range of possibilities, from the bare necessities to the ideal glaze spraying studio. We will have disposable dust masks for use while spraying glazes, but if you have a good respirator bring it with you. - Steven Hill

Schedule: 7-10 Wednesday, 10-5 Thursday-Saturday, with after dinner activities. 10-3 on Sunday.

Day 1       Welcome dinner at 7PM.

Day 2       Lecture on spraying / demonstrations of techniques necessary to achieve consistent success.                

Day 3       Students will glaze their pots (6-8 bone dry or bisque) for both electric and gas reduction firing. After glazing we will load 

                both kilns and begin pre-heating.                                                                                                           

Day 4       Fire kilns, with an in-depth discussion about the firing process. Discussions about spraying equipment.

Day 5       Unload kilns and discuss results. Why things look the way they do? Workshop will be over by 2-3PM.

Students are welcome to stay Sunday night if traveling on Monday.

  Center Street Clay offers an intimate environment for small groups to immerse themselves in clay. By providing housing, meals and studio space in one building, we will strip away the stress of daily life and allow attendees to explore their relationship with clay in a creative and nurturing environment.

    We offer flexibility in scheduling and small class size for optimum personal attention. Center Street Clay also features a gallery full of Steven Hill’s pottery along with other regional pottery and sculpture.

    During workshops we provide family style meals on the main floor of the house. In addition, the first floor apartment has a complete kitchen facility for anyone with special dietary needs, craving a midnight snack or their own brew of coffee. There is a grocery store, drug store, therapeutic massage, antique stores, a winery and a liquor store within easy walking distance from the studio.

    Lodging is provided in a spacious first floor 3-bedroom apartment. These rooms are double occupancy. There is one private bedroom on the main floor, available for a premium. Its queen-sized bed would be ideal for a couple. There are 2 ½ bathrooms for the 7 – 8 workshop attendees to share.

    Center Street Clay is located just off of Rt. 34 in Sandwich, Illinois—50 miles southwest of Chicago.

CENTER STREET CLAY

218 West Center Street

Sandwich, Illinois 60548

Phone: (815) 570-2030

email: studio@centerstreetclay.com

centerstreetclay.com

Residencies

    We also offer unique longer-term residencies at Center Street Clay. With the flexibility to accommodate students for a complete summer or even longer, we will provide you with the kind of studio experience you are looking for. Steven Hill is available for one on one instruction and critiquing of work during your stay. We provide meals during workshops, but the first floor apartment has a complete kitchen facility for anyone wishing to stay longer. There is shopping available; including grocery, drugstore, liquor store, antiques and restaurants; a short 3 block walk from our studio.

    Cost: Contact us and we will design a residency to fit your needs

Special Workshops or Classes

   If you have a group of 4 or more, Center Street Clay will be happy to schedule a class or workshop tailored to your needs, at a time that is convenient for you. It can be either demonstration or participatory and given on any number of different topics.

    Cost: Contact us and we will design a workshop or class to fit your needs

“Journey Workshop”

You are invited to visit the blog, Steven Hill’s Journey Workshops.

    My journey began with a summer workshop in 1972. Since then, I have shared MY aesthetic and techniques in nearly 200 workshops. This workshop is different; it is about you and your relationship with clay. This journey is YOURS. – Steven Hill

You are inspired,

You are motivated,

Begin your journey… now.

    What inspires you? Art? Music? Nature? Architecture? Each of us is capable of expressing individuality in our ceramic work. Is your work as personal as you would like it to be?

    Your journey begins with seven days of exploring your relationship with clay. Through a combination of individual critique, group discussion and hands-on experimentation, we set in motion the search for personal expression. You will leave Center Street Clay with a self-directed assignment for the upcoming year. Return to your studio with focus, renewed motivation, a group of peers to share with and a mentor to keep you on track.  Steven will meet with you monthly, either in person or via the Internet. Journey workshops culminate with a 3-day celebration and a public gallery opening.

More information about Journey Workshops...

    Bring as much information about yourself as possible … slides or examples of recent pots or other artwork, your journal, music, or anything else relevant to who you are as an individual.

    You will be assigned Robert Piepenburg’s book, Treasures of the Creative Spirit. Each day about half of your time will be taken up with class discussions, some based on Robert’s book, and group exercises. The rest of your time will be spent working in clay, drawing, journaling, or other individualized creative activities, applying insights gained in the class. At the end of the initial 7 days at Center Street Clay, you will choose an assignment to be completed over the upcoming year. Each month there will be scheduled follow-up critiques with Steven. If you live within reasonable distance of Center Street Clay, we will meet in person. If you live too far to travel to the studio monthly the critiques will be via the internet, either through email or webcam

    You will not be learning Steven Hill’s techniques in the Journey Workshops. Instead, these workshops are designed to help each student find his/her voice in clay. Steven  will push you to go deeper inside of yourself and discover personal ways of expressing yourself. Yes, it is true that there is nothing “new” in art, but that doesn’t preclude you from being able to produce work that is unique and expressive of who you are as a potter, artist, and human being. To find out more about Steven’s philosophy on workshops, read the May 2007 Comment in Ceramics Monthly, Rethinking Ceramics Workshops. The Eight Month Workshop-A Journey of Discovery Steven’s article about the first 8-Month Journey workshop that began at the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts in Victoria, BC In July of 2007 and ended at Center Street Clay in March of 2008, is in the June 2008 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

    The Journey Workshops DO NOT INCLUDE firing at Center Street Clay, unless you would like the work made here to be bisque fired to take home with you. Since the work completed for the gallery show at the end of the Journey Workshop will be made and fired in your studio, it only makes sense to do your firing in the temperature range, atmosphere and kiln you normally fire in.

    Approximately 1 year from the initial workshop we will get together once again at Center Street Clay for 3 days to share and celebrate our individual journeys with the rest of the class and for final critiques. The workshop will culminate with a gallery opening in our gallery.

2010 “Journey Workshop”          

   October 17-24 (Begins with a welcome dinner on Saturday evening the 16th)

                  

    Students will stay in the dormitory at Center Street Clay for the initial 8-day workshop. A 30-minute individual critique will be arranged once a month in person if possible, if not via webcam or email for 11 months. The journey will culminate with a 3-day (and 2-night) gathering and Gallery Opening at CSC approximately one year after our initial meeting.

   Cost: $3340 (including the initial 8-day residential workshop with room and board, 11 monthly critiques, a 3-day residential workshop and participation in an exhibition in our gallery at the conclusion of the workshop)

“Journey Workshop: Your Studio” (wherever that might be)

    In this instance, you would gather the group and Steven would teach the initial workshop in your space. Follow-up would be done remotely and held once a month via webcam or email. This journey will culminate with a 3-day gathering and a Gallery Opening, either at Center Street Clay or in your gallery, approximately one year after our initial meeting.    

Cost: Contact us and we will design a program to fit your needs

Who is a prime candidate for a “Journey Workshop”?

    The most important criteria is that the prospective student should not be struggling too much with basic techniques. If you are a thrower you should have at least moderate proficiency at the potters wheel. Centering should come easy and you should have the technical ability necessary to make the kind of work you are interested in. If making basic forms is still a struggle for you, put your effort into tightening up your technical skills before signing up for a Journey Workshop. If you are a hand-builder the same principles apply, only with the techniques you use to make your work.

    These workshops are perfect for the professional who feels stale, for the amateur who wants to develop a body of work to sell, or anyone who wants to make their pots more personal.

“Dinnerware & Serving Pieces / Electric vs Gas Workshop”

This workshop includes all the information from the Electric vs Gas Firing Workshops + 3 1/2 days of making pots!

    Making successful dinnerware requires careful planning, weighing, measuring, drying, trimming, firing and finally, record keeping.  A systematic approach goes a long way towards solving most of the problems related to making sets of plates that function well on the table and stack safely in the cupboard. I will teach you how to make technically successful dinnerware and, hopefully, inspire you to come up with spirited and personal solutions.

    For this workshop you will need standard throwing tools, sharp trimming tools and porous bats. I use Hydro Bats and have some to share, but not enough for the whole class to use. If you are drving you should plan on bringing some plaster or Hydro Bats with you.

    After 3+ days of throwing, assembling and decorating, we will glaze our pots and load both an electric and a gas kiln. (We will have disposable dust masks for use while spraying glazes, but if you have a good respirator bring it with you) This workshop includes the glazing and spraying information from the Electric vs Gas Firing Workshops. While we fire, there will be lectures on oxidation and reduction firing and setting up a spraying facility in your studio. Firing day will also be a time for everyone to catch their breath and celebrate a successful week of pot making! On the last day we will unload the kiln and critique the work.

    In the past, my participatory workshops were also single firing workshops. I have finally realized that while most potters are fascinated by single firing, very few continue on with this technique. In this workshop your pots will be bisque fired, with single firing offered as an option for those who would like to learn the technique.

    As most potters know, it can be challenging to get lots of plates into a firing, with shelves being the limiting factor. If this class produces more work than will fit into our kilns, you will be ecouraged to self-critique and fire only your most successful pieces. We will make sure that everyone fires plenty of work. - Steven Hill

“Dinnerware and Serving Pieces”

        June 12 - 19, 2010 (begins Saturday evening at 7pm with a welcome dinner)

 

Cost: $1760 (inclusive - workshop, meals, lodging and 1 bag of clay - Additional bags are $13-15)

  

Skill level required for this workshop:

    Intermediate to advanced: The prospective student should be comfortable with either the basic techniques of throwing or hand building. The demonstrations with focus on shaping, assembly, slip application and decorating.