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Date: August 22 & 23
Times: Sat 10am-4pm w/ 1hr lunch & Sun 2 - 4pm
Level: All
Membership Price: $200 (Members can use code MEMBERS10 upon checkout to receive 10% off).
Workshop Description:
Participants will learn the traditional technique of pit firing to create atmospheric ceramic works. This workshop emphasizes the use of locally sourced, foraged, and domestic waste materials, demonstrating how most firing elements can be found in our immediate environment to leave unique marks on the clay.
We will cover the construction of a firing pit and the use of various saggar types to create more intentional, controlled effects, while still embracing the serendipity inherent in the process. We will also discuss how indigenous ceramic cultures practice pottery in harmony with their landscapes, providing a sensitive framework for students to connect with their own local environments.
Participants will leave with their fired pieces and the practical knowledge to implement these place-based techniques within their own communities.
About the Instructor:
Sakshi Mathuria, an Indian artist, operates her studio MetaMaati in Pune, located in the rural grasslands of Maharashtra's Western Ghats. Her artistic development is self-designed, including instruction from Neha Kudchadkar and Sandeep Manchekar. Currently, she is a long-term artist in residence at the Mendocino Art Center. She was previously a resident at the Rochester Folk Art Guild, NY, and is a recipient of the NCECA Multicultural Fellowship’24.
Her work draws immensely from land and centers on the intertwining of ecology and spirituality in everyday lives. She uses clay not only as a tool but as practice itself to honour tactility as a way of knowing and challenging disconnected ways of living. This pursuit is explored through foraged material, wild clay and alternative firing techniques that become archival processes of the same pursuit.
Required Materials:
Low fired clay bisque ware of any colour (burnishing, tera sigillata is highly encouraged)
Closed toed shoes and full clothing for safety purposes.
Optional Materials:
N95 mask
Coffee grounds
Dried fruit peels (citrus and bananas)
Corn husks
Cobalt Carbonate