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Colored Clay: Basics & Beyond with Chris Campbell
August 24-28
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Workshop Fee: $825
Register Here
Do you think colored clay is too difficult, too expensive or too limiting? Join me for this exciting workshop where you can explore the possibilities of using color in your pottery work. While basic hand building skills are needed, you do not have to have experience with coloring clay. I encourage collaboration so you can share and learn new techniques. Supplies will be available for purchase onsite. Chris Campbell is a North Carolina potter who has been creating Nerikomi porcelain Artwork since 1991. She is known for her inventive use of brilliant colors and her unique bold designs. She has taught Nerikomi skills in her Workshops across the USA and Canada. She has written many articles on this subject and her pieces have been included in many show and collections.
Chris Campbell
Who is Chris Campbell?
Chris Campbell has been working with clay since 1989. Her studio is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1993 she turned to colored porcelain as her main medium. She was fortunate to be introduced to colored clay by the late Jane Peiser, a world famous Nerikomi Artist.
Porcelain presents a constant challenge, but its beauty is at the heart of her Artwork. The contrast of her brilliant custom colors on pure white porcelain is her trademark.
Chris is known for her use of bright colors and patterns inspired by various cultures and countries. She loves researching the pattern sense of other nations as their ideas swing from wild freedom to strict symmetry.
“I love the challenge of placing complicated, vibrant free form patterns within a strictly defined space. The pattern often feels as though it has only been contained for the briefest moment before breaking free of the surface.”
In addition to working with Colored Porcelain, Chris has been teaching her techniques since 1999. She has also written many articles on the subject of Nerikomi for many pottery magazines both in the USA and England. She has been selected for several Porcelain Artwork shows as well as jurying others. Her work is included in many public and private collections.
Silkscreen Enameling with Betty McKim
June 13 - 14
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Workshop Fee: $280
Register Here
Discover the vibrant possibilities of enameling in this two-day, hands-on workshop focused on silkscreening and stencil sifting on copper. Using specialty enamels designed for silkscreen applications, you'll experiment with pre-cut copper shapes - including a custom light switch cover - to explore how pattern, texture, and color can come alive in fired enamel. You'll create a series of samples as you learn, giving you plenty of room to play, practice, and refine your designs. A required $40 fee covers specialty supplies such as Sunshine Enamels, gel medium, blackboard (pre-enameled steel), light switch covers, and assorted copper blanks. Join us for a colorful, creative, and productive workshop that welcomes all skill levels.
Betty McKim
More about Betty McKim
Enameling continues to be a journey of exploration and experimentation for me. I have been fortunate to study with some of the best in the field. Though trained as a metalsmith, my minor was drawing. I love the choice of narrative, abstract or non-objective subject matter. Enameling incorporates the use of color, line, and texture to tell your story. There are so many different applications and possibilities. I see each piece as a blank canvas. For me the spontaneity of an enamel piece is in the initial drawing or design, followed by the technical process of selecting and applying color. I learn something new from each piece I make.
My jewelry is about structure and shapes with movement. Textural surfaces embellish the forms and give each piece a unique quality. The work is about keeping complexity, composition, and beauty interesting while creating visual movement and whimsy within the piece. Each piece is fabricated primarily from silver with gemstones and gold accents. The oxidized satin finish gives depth and creates value contrast. It also highlights and defines textured surfaces. My inspirations are reflections of visual editing and the abstracting of nature and my surroundings. The spoke shape has an energy that radiates and reminds me of an industrial flower, spinning wheel or sunburst. I restructure and abstract this shape, as you will see it appears throughout my work. The work is always a sensitive combination of restraint and indulgence. The multiplicity and repetition of shapes and textures are layered, clustered, tangled, and/or isolated. The elements and forms move, mimicking the rhythms of nature. The object can be playful and sensuous as it takes on a life of its own. Each piece is carefully executed and timeless in design. The jewelry is meant to be worn and enjoyed for many years. The predominate material is silver interlaced with genuine, colorful, gemstones. Some of the designs have been heavily gold plated with 18k gold, occasionally I include enameled surfaces, tin, and found objects into some of the pieces. Each piece is hand fabricated combining various metalsmithing techniques. I particularly enjoy the process of making a series of parts and then composing them in a harmonious way.
