Pottery with George Blair - 3 sessions

Service Description

Renowned potter George Blair will teach this hands-on workshop. You will learn to design a vessel, form clay, and glaze your finished piece. Each student will have opportunity to complete up to 3 pieces of pottery to keep. Course will meet from 1-3 pm on January 10, 11, and 24. What to expect for the course: This class is for both beginners and people with some experience with clay. We will be learning/reviewing the characteristics of clay and methods to form a vessel. You will envision and form your pots during the first two sessions and then return to learn about glazing and glaze your pots during the 3rd session. George Blair will teach all three sessions, with Linda Haugen as host and “teaching assistant”. It is necessary to attend all three sessions to complete your projects(s). The clay we will be working with is a versatile stoneware clay. All materials will be provided. The types of forming you may learn and use include pinch, slab, coil, press mold, and combination (we will not be working on the wheel). All pots will be bisque fired after the first 2 sessions are complete, then during the 3rd session students will learn about glazes, choose which glazes they want to use, and glaze their pieces. The glazes we will use are all lead-free functional glazes. The instructors will fire the completed projects and have them available for pick-up approximately 1 week after the final session. The size of the class is limited to a maximum of 10 students. We will be working at tables in the Gathering Room at Iowisota. If you have questions about the class, feel free to contact Linda at Iowisota@gmail.com or (563)538-6510. About the Instructors: George Blair is well known for his unique functional pottery, but what many may not know is that George also holds both Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Ceramics from Northern Illinois University. He taught college level ceramic arts in Illinois for 5 years before moving to Iowa to work as an entrepreneur in mechanical engineering. We’re grateful that George is willing to share his art and teaching gifts with us! Linda Haugen will be assisting with the class as needed, providing some tools and materials, and firing the finished pots. She has been doing pottery as a hobby for over 30 years. Most of her instruction came informally during the four years she was a member of the Adelaide Potter’s Club.