Tag: pottery

Make a Spaghetti Plate – February

Join us on  February 7 and 14 to make the plate shown, or one very similar, that reflects your very own creativity!  This plate, which is about 9 inches wide, and is oven and dishwasher safe, microwavable and food safe. It is deep, bowl like, making it a good spaghetti bowl.

During this 2 day workshop you will be led through the steps to make your very own plate.  The first day, which will take about 2 hours, we will make the plate, and cover different ways to decorate it. The plate is made from a slab of clay, molded, and then finished on the wheel. Once the plate is made, you can finish it any way you want. A number of different methods of decorating  will be covered, including use of texture, use of underglazes and stencils, and sgraffito, a popular Italian method of decorating pottery (as shown on the plate pictured).  The focus will be on using the sgraffito method, but you can finish it as you like, but the class focus will be on creating a  concentric sgraffito design of black, white, and a minimal amount of red as accent. The second scheduled day, we will finish the plate. Depending on how much is done the first class, the second class could take an hour to 2 hours. Your plate will be ready for you to take home within 2 weeks of you finishing it.

Other spaghetti plates made by students:

The workshop will take place February 7 and 14 from 6 -8 pm. The first class will be very short – probably an hour at most.  The second class will likely take the full 2 hours. Make a reservation now at one of the many nice restaurants in Groton and have a very special valentine’s day. 

The class is limited to 6 people. Grab a friend and make an evening of it.  No experience needed!

To reserve your spot – click here : Spaghetti Plate February

I have been teaching pottery and ceramics in a variety of situations, for all age groups, for more than 30 years. I absolutely love teaching and sharing my love of clay with others.

Open Studio – January 27

Feeling creative!? Join us Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm to make your own creations. I will be available to provide technical assistance for you to achieve your clay ideas. Pretty much no limit on what you can make. 

This will be a test run for the month of January, where clay and materials are  included in the price.  If you make something at home, or take something home to work on, you will be charged an additional fee for glazes and/or  firing. 

Prerequisite: 2 previous classes or workshops with me, or a completed Prescott Class. Limit of 6 people per class. 

To reserve your seat, click here: open studio

This workshop is best for students who can work independently, and are comfortable with the rules of the studio.

Open Studio – January 20

Feeling creative!? Join us Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm to make your own creations. I will be available to provide technical assistance for you to achieve your clay ideas. Pretty much no limit on what you can make. 

This will be a test run for the month of January, where clay and materials are  included in the price.  If you make something at home, or take something home to work on, you will be charged an additional fee for glazes and/or  firing. 

Prerequisite: 2 previous classes or workshops with me, or a completed Prescott Class. Limit of 6 people per class. 

To reserve your seat, click here: open studio

This workshop is best for students who can work independently, and are comfortable with the rules of the studio.

Open Studio – January 13

Feeling creative!? Join us Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm to make your own creations. I will be available to provide technical assistance for you to achieve your clay ideas. Pretty much no limit on what you can make. 

This will be a test run for the month of January, where clay and materials are  included in the price.  If you make something at home, or take something home to work on, you will be charged an additional fee for glazes and/or  firing. 

Prerequisite: 2 previous classes or workshops with me, or a completed Prescott Class. Limit of 6 people per class. 

To reserve your seat, click here: open studio

This workshop is best for students who can work independently, and are comfortable with the rules of the studio.

Zentangle and Clay – January – Make a Tray

Join us for this multimedia fusion workshop where clay and mindfulness combine for an uber creative experience. Certified zentangle teacher, Donna Spencer, will start the first of 3 classes to share her knowledge of zentangle. Zentangle is defined as ” a form of meditative doodling that has repeating patterns, or tangles, put together to form a Zen-tangle.” This fun and relaxing art has numerous applications beyond how it will be used in this workshop. (Tied up on zoom meetings – pull out your zentangle designs and make the meeting more productive!) . No experience or artistic ability is required…if you can write your name, you can create beautiful Zentangle designs!

What we will be doing in this workshop is adding texture to a platter that you will make using stamps, that you will make, in a manner consistent with zentangle design. 

During the first class, January 3, Donna will lead you through some selected zentangle  patterns.  You will take that knowledge to create a zentangle design of your own on paper – about the size of the eventual platter you will make. You will then take that knowledge and create clay stamps which will be used on your own clay platter.  
 
The next week, January 10, you will make a clay platter. Your stamps will have been “fired”, so that they will be hard enough to stamp the clay, and can be used on your platter. The platter is about 5 by 12 inches*. The final platter will be oven proof, dishwasher safe, and microwavable. 
 
The last day (January 17) of the workshop, week 3,  will be spent refining your platter and glazing. 
The combination of clay, where you take a lump of clay and turn it into something beautiful and functional, and zentangle, is surely one of the most mindful activities ever created. 
 
Here is a fun example of how one potter uses stamps in his pottery.
 

Please familiarize yourself with my studio rules before signing up for this class. 

 

This is a platter Donna made using a glazed zentangle design on a clay platter.

The class will meet January 3, 10, and 17, from 7 – 9 pm.  The class is limited to 8 students. No experience needed.
 
Here are examples of zentangle design used on pottery from the internet (It requires joining pinterest which is free); zen pottery
 

To reserve your seat, click here: Zentangle Tray

Make a Mug – Half Day – GDRS

This 2 day workshop will take place Friday afternoons, February 11 and 18.  This class is specifically for 3rd and 4th graders and will be limited to 8 students. It will take place over 2 days. The first day, Monday February 11, from 1 – 3 pm,  we will make a mug. Textures, from a variety of different sources, will be used to decorate the outside of the mug.  The mug will be made from a slab of clay, but finished on the wheel.  The second day, the following week, Friday, February 18, we will glaze the mug and make a small plate to match. The plate will also be made form a slab of clay and finished on the wheel. All pottery made will be microwavable and dishwasher safe.  Attendance will be required for both classes. Finished products will be available for pick up with in two weeks from the class at Prescott. 

The mug will hold about 12 ounces, while the plate (or saucer) will be about 5 inches wide. 

Please familiarize yourself with my studio rules before signing up for the class. 

To sign up for this class, click here: Mug

Learn to Throw – Teens – winter 2022

Learn to throw on a potter’s wheel. Group lessons limited to 4 students. A great opportunity for your children this winter.  Price is for 8 two hour classes and includes materials. The class will cover centering, throwing techniques, trimming and glazing . Techniques to decorate a pot, including adding clay, carving, sgraffito, and use of underglazes and washes will be covered.

If your child has taken a previous class with me, the focus will continue to be on throwing with additional attention on ways to finish the pot, adding texture and glazing, and working on throwing larger pieces of clay. 

This is primarily focusing on beginner techniques. Click here for a course outline .     8 week class outline

 This class will take place Wednesday afternoons, from 3 – 5  pm starting January 26. It will run 8 weeks: January 26, February 2, 9, 16 and 23, and March 2, 9, and 16.

Please read my studio rules before signing up. 

 

Make a Vase

Spring is coming and this workshop is an opportunity to show off beautiful spring flowers in a vase you make yourself.  The first class, February 4, 6 – 8 pm, students will be given a square cylinder of clay about 8 inches tall, and 2 inches square. Using additional clay to decorate the tube, there is no end to the designs that are possible. Add clay to make flowers, add texture, make a mountain scene…no end to where your imagination will take you. Students will also finish the tube so that it holds water. The second class, February 11, students will glaze their vases. Depending on how much detail you include, it is likely that each class will take the full 2 hours provided. 

To reserve a seat for this workshop – vase

Make Two Luncheon Plates – for teens

This workshop is specifically for children during winter school vacation week.

During this workshop, students will make two plates, about 9 inches in diameter. The plates will be microwavable, oven proof and dishwasher safe when completed. 

The plates will be made using a mold, and then finished on the potter’s wheel.  The first day of this 2 day workshop, will be spent making the plates. The second day will be spent using underglazes to decorate the plate. A method of mono-printing will be used. Various stencils of prints will be used and layered on each other. A final stencil, that will be the focal point of the plate, will be used. Students will be encouraged to find their own final design that I will print out for them. Simple silhouette designs of dragons, flowers, mandalas, trees, animals….are all possibilities. 

The workshop will take place Monday Dec 27 and Wednesday Dec 29 from 11 am to 1 pm. 

The plates will be ready for pick up with in 3 weeks from the last class.

To reserve a seat in this workshop: monoprint plates

The examples below are monoprints. The plates your children make will be plates – not platters.

Make a Valentine’s Plate

I have yet to figure out what this will actually look like…I have been thinking about it, but have yet to create a design. Anyway, we will make a plate, about 9 inches across that when finished will be microwavable, dishwasher safe and oven proof if protected from thermal shock. 

The class will be limited to 8 students,  and no experience is needed. The plate will be made from a slab of clay molded into a form and then finished on the wheel. The workshop will take place on Monday afternoon, from 4 – 6 pm, December 20 and 27.

This is a 2 day workshop. The first day we will make the plate. Based on the ideas bouncing around my brain, I think it could take about 1 1/2 hours to make the plate. The second day, a week later,  we will glaze the plate. That will likely take about an hour. 

To reserve a seat at this workshop, click here: valentine

Pictures to come, hopefully.