2017

Throwing workshop with Thom Lambert

Saturday, November 25, 2017  10am – 4pm.

This workshop is designed to increase your skill while throwing on the wheel. We will focus on repeatable skills and approaches that will allow you to be more consistent, more versatile and more adaptable while working on the wheel. Special emphasis will be placed on finding the proper body position for your particular shape and strengths. This will allow you to throw better, and with less damage to your body.

Specific topics will include:

• Ergonomic body position at the wheel
• Using your body effectively to apply force to moving clay: use big muscles that don’t get tired as easily as small muscles
• Establishing a methodical, repeatable approach to throwing that will lead to more consistent results
• Self-assessment and trouble-shooting tools to help you solve problems long after this workshop is over
• How to change your throwing style and body position for different pieces: taller cylinders, wider bowls, variable shapes
• How to de-clutter your throwing space so that you can focus on making great pieces

This workshop will be suitable for developing potters that already know how to center, open, and lift a mug-sized pot, as well as experienced potters that want to take their throwing skills to the next level. Come with an open mind and a good sense of humour (and a willingness to cut pots in half).

About Thom

Thom is a potter living and working in the Haliburton Highlands. His work ranges from everyday, functional pieces to one-of-a-kind raku and saggar fired pieces. Largely self taught, Thom has been working in clay for 20 years. His inspiration comes from landscapes, both large and small: grand canyons and the line of windblown snow, great lakes and the curve of gray jays against the sky. He will try just about any technique in pursuit of this inspiration, but relies mostly on texture, glaze inlay, altering wet clay, and slip decorating.

Lisa Skog Raku Workshop

The Raku workshop with Lisa Skog is set for May 28th from 9-5. This is a hands on workshop exploring techniques to enhance your work. Participants may bring up to 5 small (less than 5″) bisqued, unglazed vessels or tiles.

2016

Image Transfer on Clay with Chris Snedden

Saturday, September 10, 2016 – 10:00 am – 4pm

Chris Snedden has been a potter for over 30 years in London, Ontario. He studied at Georgian College in Barrie, and has since worked in almost every facet of the pottery business, from building electric kilns, teaching courses and workshops, and internationally. Currently he serves as Director of Artistic Programming at the London Clay Art Center, is a Ceramics Professor at Lambton College, and serves as President for FUSION. He’s a busy man.

Details and Focus:

This is a one day participatory workshop. Participants bring some leather hard pieces to the workshop and we explore the use of mono-print, block print, and silkscreen prints on the work. In combination with more traditional slip decorating techniques, this gives richness and depth to the clay surfaces and allows the maker to explore the uses of imagery on their pieces. Chris has figured out an inexpensive way of making photo silkscreens in your own studio that can be used by anyone to create highly detailed custom images, complicated patterns, or even logos on clay pieces.

Handbuilding Workshop with Heather Smit

Sunday May 1, 2016 – 9:30 – 5pm

Heather Smit is a Toronto area ceramic artist. She is interested in the development of relationships created by placement and repetition, and the use of functional ceramics to create sculptural works. Her current body of work brings focus to the simplistic beauty of the collected object.
Focus: Serving set. The serving set would include a pouring vessel, drinking cups, snack plates, & serving/storage tray. This one day workshop will allow instruction for the techniques used to develop each piece – which can be easily translated to future projects and ideas.

Details:

• 9:30-10 Participants arrive. Tea/Coffee
• 10-10:30 Template, mold and tool discussion & demo
• 10:30-1:00 Hands-On construction (pouring vessels & cups),
• 1:00-1:30 Lunch
• 1:30-1:45 Handle demo
• 1:45-4:00 Hands-On construction
• 4:00-4:15 Surface decoration demo (basic wax mishima),
• 4:15-5:00 Finishing up

2015

Intermediate Level Throwing Workshop with Dan Hill

Sunday, Oct 25th 2015 – 9:30 to 4:00

Come join us for a hands-on throwing workshop for intermediate potters, led by Wilno, Ontario potter Dan Hill. Dan’s beautifully thrown pieces are always popular and sell quickly at the annual KPG Christmas sale. He has won Best in Show – Best Functional at the KPG sale in both 2013 and 2014!

“I strive to make pottery that is technically and functionally sound, combines historical context with personal contemporary expression and provides the user/observer pleasure and beauty in everyday life.”

Dan will cover all the bases with this workshop – clay prep, wedging, throwing techniques – including altered forms, use of ribs and even breaking away from bad habits. This is one workshop NOT to be missed!

This workshop takes place in our own studios at 993 Talwood Drive, Peterborough.  Participants need to bring clay and throwing tools including metal and plastic ribs.
**Remember – the Kawartha Potters Guild studio is a “stoneware only” studio!**

Pit Firing & Potluck with
Dan Ferguson

Friday September 18th, evening, unloading pit Saturday Sept. 19th morning.

Raku Firing & Potluck – members only with Lillian Forester

Saturday July 18th, 2015 – 9:30 am to 2:30 pm
$20 to be paid to Lillian, sign up in gallery or call 705-742-4979 to reserve your space.
“We usually start around 9:30 to glaze, start firing around 11, potluck at noon and done around 2-2:30 $20 to cover the cost of propane and glazes, no plates and 3-4 bisqued pieces each. Any clay will work! With each load, I put a cold brick on the hot shelf and then place each piece on a cold brick. So no dunting. Haven’t lost a pot yet and I work in porcelain!”
Please bring leather gloves, wear long sleeve shirts, NO SANDALS!

Marcelina Salazar

Saturday June 13, 2015 – Throwing workshop
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

In this participatory workshop, we will discuss some basic principles of design, thinking about the life of a piece once it leaves the studio. We will also explore some exercises to help the participants find or clarify their own voice. Marcelina will demonstrate some of her throwing and altering techniques and working with closed forms.

This is a throwing workshop and it is necessary that you are an intermediate thrower to take this workshop.

In the morning we will make bowls, closed forms (like the tear drop vases in the picture above) and closed bottomless forms (the base for making hanging forms: lanterns, planters, etc.). In the afternoon we will trim and alter these forms, using a variety of tools and techniques.

Through demonstrations, discussion and hands on experience, participants will gain a sense of the significance of design in the making process, and some practical tools to continue developing considered work.

About Marcelina

Marcelina grew up in Colombia and moved to Canada in 1999 to go to university. In school, she developed a keen interest in food issues.
At the same time, her passion for clay was taking shape. Pottery seemed to bring her interest in food and food issues to the table.
So, after finishing a degree in science at Trent University, she decided to pursue pottery more seriously. In 2007 she completed a Ceramic Certificate at The Haliburton School of the Arts, and then she studied some more ceramics at Sheridan College.
Now she works as a full-time studio potter in her timber frame studio, on her farm in rural Ontario.
She also tries to spend free time with her husband, organic farmer Jason Hayes, and her beautiful dog, Kanuk.

Stamp-making Workshop with Guida Pirita

Saturday, May 23rd 11am to 3 pm

Join us for a wonderful stamp-making workshop with Guida where she will show us how to make our own roulette stamps!  Workshop fee includes a kit with  1 thrown & trimmed roulette, 1 medium and 1 small handbuilt roulette, paper for design ideas, 6B pencil, and extra clay.  Guida will guide us through the steps of creating each type of stamp, and then everyone will create their own personal, one of a kind stamps!

Birdhouse, Faeryhouse workshop with Monika Schaefer

Sunday April 26th, 10 am to 4 pm

Houses! Bird houses and faery houses – come build one or two with Monika Schaefer at our one day workshop on Sunday April 26th from 10am to 4pm. Monika will demonstrate several handbuilding techniques that can be applied to either bird or faery house construction using slab and pinch methods. Participants will then make their own creations.

Please bring: clay, including 2 slabs each soft and leather hard clay, approx 12″x18″each, tools, rolling pins, texture makers (stamps, rollers etc), notebook and pen/pencil, a sense of humour and lunch!

Monika has been an artist all her life and took up pottery 16 years ago. She makes a wide variety of whimsical garden art from totems to dragon tails to tree bling and more. She has been teaching pottery since 2007 at the Oakville Art Society and in her own studio. Her work is in collections worldwide. To see more of her work, visit: www.MonikaSchaefer.com

Raku Firing – August 23rd

We have also planned a Raku Firing on Aug. 23rd at the home of Sheila Brenchley, in Dunsford, starting with glazing at 9:30 and firing until all the pieces have been fired.

Maximum of 10 people, maximum of 3 pieces each (no plates please). Please bring a potluck lunch. Darlene Malcolm Moran will be assisting.

Decorating Workshop with Terrie MacDonald

Two-Day Workshop – Sunday July 6th & Sunday July 13

for more information on our participant’s work and images, see our photos  and visit our Facebook page as well.

Various methods and approaches to decorating will be presented. While many of these techniques grow out of an earthenware tradition the techniques are equally applicable for any clay body.

Day One:

• Morning: Visual diary and finding inspiration.
• Define slips, underglaze, engobes (whats the difference and when to use each)
• Demonstraion: how to lay out and plan design
• techniques in laying slip, underglaze, wax resist, paper resist
• Afternoon: Hands on for participants.
• Participants would use bone dry tiles, approx. 6×6″ and/or small plates & low open bowls (nothing too precious please!!)

Day Two:

• Morning Slip Additives: Deflocculents/Flocculents/Binders – when to be used and how to use & mix them
• Various methods for application of slip; brush, pour, dip.
• Sgraffito
• Making stencils
• Using oxide washes and underglaze washes on top of slip
• Afternoon – Hand on for participants.
• Participants will work on leather hard tiles as well as bone dry (again nothing too precious for the sake of experimentation)