Programs of Study

Become a potter!  Students will receive inspiration and direction from instructors and talented peers, as well as focused, one-on-one instruction.  Both hand-building and wheel throwing techniques will be covered to create functional and decorative pieces in response to individual goals set by students.   Intermediate and advanced students can expand their abilities by altering their forms, using surface decoration, and carving or sculptural methods to enhance their work.  The clay studio is well equipped with nine high quality electric wheels, a slab roller, a hydraulic extruder, two electric kilns, a raku kiln, a pit-fire kiln, and a stoneware "reduction" kiln.  In addition, there are over 100 possible glaze, underglaze, and slip combinations to pair with various kilns.  Your imagination is the limit!

This workshop is a multi-layered, exploratory, educations and expressive experience. Lessons provide students with confidence-building technical skills and portfolio level foundational projects while emphasizing experimentation and self-expression. The development of ideas is stressed using mixed media, from charcoal and graphite, to water-based paints, collage and found objects. Participants are exposed to many drawing scenarios that are both observation and imagination based, which build a variety of skills including composition, color theory and design, just to name a few. Observation goes beyond the still life and short field trips are included to explore drawing in the field. We draw from the live model as well.  There is something for every young artist in this workshop.

This workshop is designed to give an overview of photography and imaging techniques while working with the students to develop their own "eye".  We cover camera and lens choice, manual controls, shooting techniques, lighting, color, composition, Photoshop, digital imaging, printing, editing and portfolio review.  We work outside the classroom exploring the world through the lens of the camera and then work together to refine the image making skills used to create a unique vision. 

The Textiles Program will be filled with various fibers techniques that are not only beautiful to look at, but technically, historically and scientifically intriguing. New this year: each of the two sections (morning and afternoon) will have a different focus. Students may sign up for both if they are primarily interested in Textiles.

Morning - Screenprinting

 To truly understand the art of screenprinting, we will be taking a look at the history of the repeated print and design. From early Chinese printers to Victorian wallpaper designs, we will trace the historical leaps that this medium has taken to become one of the most economical and widely used to embellish garments and communicate our ideas. To begin, the class will explore the simple techniques such as contact paper printing, stamping, rust prints, and bleach resists. Once we have created designs through basic approaches, we will delve into layering images, employing multiple color pulls, composing repeat patterns, and controlling potato dextrin. Fearlessly, students will design T-shirts, bags, scarves, and "art yardage". It is sure to be a fun, and sometimes messy, class!

Afternoon - Sewing, Dyeing, and Weaving

This class proves that weaving, dying, and sewing is not for the timid! We will be learning the basics of sewing and cloth construction as well as what it takes to make a successful dye bath. Manipulation of our chosen fibers will reveal just what we can do with color and texture. The resist dye techniques of shibori and ikat will be used on cotton, and then on our own warp strings for the loom. Learning to weave is exciting and technical! Some weaving history is incorporated with our studio practice. After learning the loom basics, students will weave a piece on the loom, constructed of alternative materials - plastic bags, pipe cleaners, holiday lights, the list goes on and on!

This class will focus on techniques of turning, carving and shaping wood.  Using the skill you learn, you will design your own projects which could include: turned bowls & platters, longboards, pedestals, knobs, candlesticks, relief carving, salad serving utensils, and the list goes on!  The focus will be on creativity and the versatility of wood as a medium for both functional and decorative art pieces.  Bring your imagination!

The versatility of metal as a medium for jewelry, vessels, and small sculpture is boundless. It is both malleable and rigid, which allows it to be manipulated freely and last forever. This studio will examine the working properties of non-ferrous metals such as silver, brass and copper. We will cover a wide range of fabrication techniques including surface design, cutting, soldering, riveting, simple forging and forming, stone setting, metal inlay, and the chemical coloring of metal. This course offers students the unique opportunity to develop a broad-based foundation in metalsmithing with an emphasis throughout the summer on designing objects of personal meaning.

Glassblowing is a fascinating medium. Molten glass has been blown and formed into works of art for at least 2,300 years. In our glass studio you will experience all the facets of this ancient art form from the creative to the technical. The glass studio is equipped with a 120 pound furnace, 3 annealing ovens and 3 ovens and 3 glory holes. In the process of working with hot glass you will be involved with casting, slumping, sculpting and cold-working, as well as glassblowing. There will be a strong emphasis on developing basic skills, but you will also be encouraged and given the opportunity to experiment with historical as well as contemporary techniques as you develop proficiency in the medium. In the course of the program you can expect to produce such classic forms as vessels and stemware, as well as more non-traditional pieces. The hot shop is an exciting place to be, whether you're working on a piece yourself or just watching the action!

Flameworking is an exciting and evolving art form that builds on world-renowned Venetian glass techniques. Colorful glass rods and glass tubing are melted and manipulated with a torch fueled by oxygen and propane, allowing the artist endless creative freedom. This course will teach you the basic techniques you will need to make hundreds of objects: from beads, pendants and marbles to hollow forms and even intricate glass sculpture.


This fast-paced medium allows great flexibility in forming the glass by allowing you to control the torch's flame right in front of you. This class is designed for any student, beginner as well as more experienced, who is eager to become competent in the exciting medium of flameworking.

MIG Welders, Plasma Cutters, Bench Grinders, Oxy-Acetylene Torches and Forges are some of the tools you'll learn to use in this workshop. Learn to weld, cut, drill, grind, forge and otherwise shape steel, our most abundant element.  Use your creativity to repurpose parts of old stoves, bicycles, hinges and other found objects into spectacular sculptures that you will treasure.  The course allows for a comfortable balance between assigned and self-designed projects.  When working with steel, the only limit to your aesthetic is your imagination. (Session 2 only)