About the Course
The pinch pot can be the simplest yet most evocative of forms. Each time I return to making pinched vessels, they evolve to bear the mark of what’s occurred in my life and in my artmaking since the last go round. They are a signature of time passing. For this workshop you’ll use gorgeous, warm white porcelain to create a series of vessels (or simple sculptural forms) that reflect your own unique visual language. These will be an ideal surface for mark making: trailing with slips and underglazes, resists, and sgraffito.In the mornings we’ll begin with visual exercises and inspiration based on archetypal symbols that will engage your sense of play and, ideally, lead you closer to the discovery of imagery and marks that are personally resonant. To finish our work, we’ll do at least one smoke fire; you’ll also have the option of using simple glazes and engobes in a more traditional mid-range firing. Class is appropriate for beginners but encouraged for those who have some experience.
Your Instructor
Carolyn Hazel Drake
Carolyn Hazel Drake is a sculptor, arts educator, and third-generation Oregonian. Her work integrates textiles, ceramics, and domestic objects assembled and layered through traditional craft techniques and collage.
Drake studied Literature & Architecture at Portland State University’s Honors College and spent a term as a curatorial research & writing intern for the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She has an M.Ed. in Arts Education and was a longtime K-12 arts educator and arts administrator. She has been awarded several residencies including the GLEAN residency and the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology residency. Her work has been shown across the Pacific NW, and she is currently a member of Carnation Contemporary.
Drake is an assistant teaching professor for art education in the School of Art at Arizona State University. She divides her time between Phoenix, AZ and Portland, OR.