Workshop Inquiries
If you’re curious about the workshops I teach and interested in hosting one, you’re in the right place! Below is a list of some workshop topics that I have covered over the years. Each topic can be taught over a period of 1-5 days, with longer workshops covering more material and giving students more time to learn the techniques and finish their pieces. Shorter workshops may need to be demonstration-only, but are very informative. I pour everything I know into these sessions. I have been told that they are well worth attending!
My honorarium varies depending on the amount of time I will be traveling to teach, how much I have to prepare before arrival, how long the workshop will be, and whether or not I can bring work to sell to help supplement the cost of being away from my home studio.
If your institution is not within 3 hours of Netcong, NJ, I require reimbursement for travel and housing.
If you find a topic that interests you and would like to chat about hosting an in-person workshop, please contact me via the form at the bottom of this page!
Workshop Topics
Surface Decoration
My most-requested workshop topic and one of my specialties, these workshops are packed with all the tricks I’ve learned through years of experience decorating pottery. If you’re looking to spend some time adding layers of richness to your work, this workshop is for you.
Open to all skill levels.
1 Day (3 hours minimum, hands-off demonstration only): I can cover either stamping, incising, slip trailing, and slip refinement or underglaze layering with paper resists and refinement.
2 Days (6 hours minimum per day if hands-on): I can cover both of the topics mentioned under “1 Day”. 2 days is the minimum required time if the workshop will be hands-on. We cover a LOT of techniques together. It will feel like decoration boot camp if crammed into two days, but it’s worth it!
3 - 5 Days : I can cover both of the topics mentioned above and discuss how I approach composition, color theory, and glazing. If students want to leave the workshop with bisqued work, 5 days is the minimum amount of time for the workshop.
Please note that if you are interested in hosting a workshop about my underglazing technique, each student will need 2oz of 6 underglaze colors. I will create stencil packets for each student before showing up to the workshop.
Thrown and Altered Pouring Vessels
Another workshop topic I absolutely pack to the brim with techniques! Using throwing, altering, and handbuilding techniques, I will demonstrate how I craft a variety of vessels that pour well. Tired of those drippy spouts? Uncomfortable pouring vessels the bane of your existence? This workshop is for you.
Beginner experience is required if hands-on.
1 Day (6 hours minimum, hands-off only): I can cover throwing and altering a ewer and a pitcher. Students will see how I throw components, dart forms, create spouts using templates and slabs, and make handles. Special attention will be given to the refinement of the spout in order to achieve a nice pour. This workshop will be given cooking show style, meaning I need to bring or be able to prep components the day before so they are leathersoft.
2 Day (6 hours minimum per day, hands-on possible!) : I can cover everything listed in 1 Day and be able to assist students with attempting the techniques.
3 - 5 Day : I can cover everything listed in 1 Day and I will be able to demonstrate more pouring vessel forms, such as a teapot, watering can, cruet, and more. Students will learn how to make lids, cork-stopper tops that are airtight, how to use molds to create bases and spouts, how to make several types of handles, and more. This is a workshop that is densely loaded with information. There is something for everyone to learn!
Ceramic Jewelry
This is a fun workshop that doesn’t use much clay, and very useful for learning about the pitfalls of making ceramic jewelry from someone who has been doing this for years!
Open to all skill levels.
1 Day (2 hour minimum for hands-off, 5 hours minimum for hands-on) : I will show students how to make and cut thin, decorated slabs into earrings and pendants. We will bend, cut, and add wire attachments for suspending the jewelry, and discuss how to glaze and fire the pieces in the kiln.
2 Day : I will demonstrate everything listed in “1 Day” and show how to make several types of beads. A 2 day workshop gives students more time to finish the pieces they’ve made with guidance from me.
3 - 5 Day : A longer workshop gives students more time to focus on design and show allow for a quick bisque firing for easy transport of jewelry pieces back home.
Thrown, Darted, and Handbuilt Cups and/or Mugs
Using throwing, altering, and handbuilding techniques, I will show students how I craft my favorite footed drinking vessels. Students will see how I use molds to create bases, how I make handles, and how I keep these complex porcelain forms from cracking apart during drying.
Beginner experience required if hands-on.
1 Day (3 hour minimum if hands-off, 6 hour minimum if hands-on) : I will show how I throw bottomless cylinders, how I make slabs and form them into molds, how I dart forms, how I attach components so they are less likely to crack, how I add feet, and (if time is alotted) how I make handles to turn cups into mugs.
2 Day : I will show everything described in “1 Day” plus students will have a greater chance of their pieces not cracking apart since we will be able to slow dry them. This is the best shorter option for hands-on. Students will also be able to throw their own molds to bisque at a later time and use with their own work.
3 - 5 Day : I will be able to show everything described in “2 Day” plus I will demonstrate several different types of handles and several different types of drinking vessel forms. Students will be able to complete their projects and, if the institution allows, bisque them for transportation home.
Additional Topics
These are just some of the workshops I am capable of teaching. More ideas are…
Molded by it: Using molds to create handbuilt vessels (a great 5-day option)
Out of the Round: How to alter bottomless cylinders and use handbuilding techniques to make vessels like trays, boxes, vases, and more (a great 3-5 day option)
Stamp-Making (a great 1 day option)
Designing & Cutting Stencils (a great 3-5 day option if your institution has computers with Adobe Suite and a laser cutter)