Clay I

Course Overview:
This course is designed to be an introduction to clay as a material, a creative process and a form of communication. Clay is an ancient, malleable mineral and as such it holds a spiritual significance for humans. The physicality of clay work is a particularly welcome experience in today’s virtual technology immersion, and you may find that in the process of forming in clay, you give form to your deepest self. Like any sport or physical activity, clay work requires practice to build up your muscle memory; learning is incremental, and effort is essential. While technical skills are integral to success, craftsmanship or quality of the work alone is not art. You will learn to integrate technique with the animating vitality of your personal and original voice.

The basic chemical and practical explanation of the behavior of clay, glazes, and kilns will be explained largely through lectures, and you will need to take notes and answer quiz questions on this material.

How to use this site:
Your course syllabus and assignments can be downloaded using the links to the right.
As we progress through the course, I will go over each assignment at the beginning of class. Should you ever need to go back over the assignment or you wish to print it out and keep it in your sketchbook, use the links to the right.