College hosts ceramics celebration
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 12 years, 7 months AGO
<p class="p1">FVCC instructor David Smith, who created the piece shown her, is one of the artists who will teach sessions at Ceramics Festiva.</p>
<p>FVCC instructor David Smith is one of the artists who will teach sessions at Ceramics Festiva.</p>
<p>FVCC instructor David Smith is one of the artists who will teach sessions at Ceramics Festiva.</p>
Flathead Valley Community College is hosting a four-day celebration of ceramics and ceramic artists next week.
Ceramics Festiva runs Wednesday, May 22, through Saturday, May 25, at the college.
“Ceramic artists love to get together, learn from each other, and have a good time,” the event’s website says. “We also like to celebrate our passion for clay and community, which was the main inspiration for the Festiva Conference. ...
“So basically we invited a bunch of artists with a wide range of talents. Conference attendees will be encouraged to bring their pots or sculptures (pre-bisque fired), and together we're going to create a huge mess of ceramic goodness.”
The event takes place in the Arts and Technology Building and at outdoor sites on campus.
Artists from around the country are donating their time to teach at the conference. FVCC instructors David Smith and Stephen Braun are among the artists who will teach sessions at Ceramics Festiva.
Registration for the full workshop is $185. Those who want to watch but not participate in the classes are welcome to do so for free, as space allows.
The conference also features non-ceramics-related events open to everyone. For more information about the conference, visit www.ceramicsfestiva.com.
A partial schedule of events follows:
Wednesday, May 22
Wood firing techniques and utilizing indigenous materials with Bryce Brisco
• 9 a.m. to noon, AT 108
• Limit: 15 participants
Brisco will spend the morning discussing using “found” natural materials (clay, slips and silt, ash, recycled glass, etc.). He will demonstrate how to test and use these materials; this session is a prelude to his firing May 23.
Raku glaze workshop with Stephen Braun and David Smith
9 a.m. to noon, AT Ceramics glaze room and outdoor kiln pad
Limit: 15 participants
Braun and Smith will spend the morning mixing glaze recipes that will be test-fired in the afternoon.
Saggar firing and pit firing techniques with Curt Jacobson and Robert Markle
9 a.m. to noon, AT Ceramics, outdoor kiln pad and field next to community garden
Limit: 10 participants
Group will discuss saggar firing techniques and options for preparing work to be pit fired.
Continuation of raku glaze workshop with Braun and Smith
1-5 p.m., outdoor kiln pad
Limit: 15 participants
Students will be firing glaze tests previously mixed, experimenting with horse-hair and naked raku techniques, and discussing raku firing techniques.
Wood firing techniques and utilizing indigenous materials with Brisco
1-5 p.m., AT 108 and outside kiln pad
Limit: 15 participants
This is the conclusion of the morning workshop, which will end in loading the kiln (to be fired the next day).
Sgraffito with Dennis Sipiorski
1-5 p.m., main ceramics studio, AT building
Limit: 15 participants
Sipiorski will demonstrate how he creates his work and discuss the process of making art. Poets and free-thinkers are encouraged to attend.
Thursday, May 23
Wood firing techniques and using natural materials with Brisco
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., outdoor kiln pad
Limit: 10 participants
Brisco will spend the day firing the wood kiln and discussing working with indigenous materials.
Pit firing
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., next to community garden
Limit: 10 participants
Building for raku with Braun
9 a.m. to noon, ceramics studio
No limit; the audience will watch as Braun discusses and demonstrates how he builds sculpture for raku.
Building for raku with Smith
9 a.m. to noon, ceramics studio
No limit, but only 12 hair nets will be available.
Smith will discuss and demonstrate how he builds for raku. Students also will make clay food and wear hair nets.
Building a raku fiber kiln with Braun and Smith
1 to 5 p.m., ceramics studio
Limit 6 people building kilns; additional fee required to cover materials.
Participants will have the opportunity to build their own fiber kiln.
Friday, May 24
Continuation of wood firing techniques and using natural materials, with Brisco
9 a.m. to noon, outside kiln pad and AT 108
Raku firing, with Braun and Smith
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., outdoor kiln pad
All Festiva attendees are invited to attend
Participants will spend the day firing work brought by Festiva attendees. Attendees will also have the opportunity to pit fire, horse hair, naked raku and saggar fire their work; connect with the people who are organizing these firings.