REGISTRATION
Registration Form:
print PDF file and mail with
payment to 112 Main St. #14, Putnam, CT 06260
Cancellation Policy: Tuition is refundable up to 1 week prior to the first class minus a $30 registration fee. Within one week, ½ tuition will be refunded. After the first class, tuition is non-refundable.
Late Registration: Registration for all classes closes one week prior to class start date. Late registration will be subject to a 10% late fee.
Contact us:
dot@sawmillpottery.com 860-963-7807
Adult Workshops
Sawmill Pottery offers classes and workshops for all ages and all levels of experience. Call (860-963-7807) or email us dot@sawmillpottery.com for details or to register.
2012 Workshops: January-June
Schedule (Descriptions below)
January:
1/6: Friday 6-8pm: Wheel 101. $45
1/8: Sunday 11am-1pm: Slab-built Mugs. $40
1/15: Sunday 11am-1pm: Wheel 102. $45
1/16: Monday 10am-Noon: Kids—MLK Clay Play. $40
1/28, 29: Saturday 11am-4pm, Sunday 11am-3pm: Mosaics.
Price below
February:
2/5: Sunday 11am-5pm: Texture Workshop. $75
2/17: Friday 6:30-9pm: Date Night. $105/couple
2/19: Sunday 11:30am-1:30pm: Wheel 101. $45
2/19: Sunday 2-4pm: Wheel 102. $45
March:
3/2: Friday 6-8pm: Wheel 101. $45
3/4: Sunday Noon-5pm: Potheads. $60
3/10: Saturday Noon-5pm: Potheads. $60
3/25: Sunday 11am-12:30pm: Woven Spring Baskets. $40
April:
4/16-20: Monday-Friday 10am-Noon: Kids Camp. $195 or
$45/individual day
4/22: Sunday 3-5pm: Wheel 101. $45
4/28, 29: Saturday, Sunday 10am-4pm: Large Scale Garden
Sculptures. $175
May:
5/4: Friday 4-5:30pm: Make a Vase for Mom. $35
5/6: Sunday 11am-1pm: Painting on Pottery. $35
5/13: Sunday 11:30am-1:30pm: Mom and Me Wheelthrowing.
$40 per person
5/28: Monday (Memorial Day) Noon-4pm: Raku. $12 per
piece
June:
6/9: Saturday 4-6pm: Wheel 101. $45
6/9: Saturday 6:30-8:30pm: Wheel 102. $45
6/17: Sunday 11am-1pm: Daddy and Me Mugs. $35 per person
Workshop Descriptions
in Alphabetical Order
**Stars indicate workshops that are appropriate for beginners.
**Date Night
Friday, February 17, 6:30-9pm
Take your valentine out for a shared night of creativity! You and your date will get the chance to throw a bowl on the pottery wheel as well as create a handbuilt bowl or plate. Take a break between the two for a plate of delicious valentines treats. Leave your stillettos at home and dress to get messy…this entirely new approach to Valentine’s Day will be a big hit with your loved one.
$105 per couple includes all materials and desserts
Large Scale Garden Sculptures
Saturday and Sunday, April 28/29, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Larry
Elardo
Designing
ceramics for the garden, whether functional or sculptural, presents the
clay artist with an extreme set of challenges and New England is perfectly
representational of those challenges. Creating clay works for the garden
is challenging on several fronts. It must survive the extremes of seasonal
temperature and the rigor of daily use. The work must serve its intended
purpose while appearing to be native to that garden environment. It must
have a presence of its own without dominating its surroundings.
Larry
says, “I feel that my work is most successful when it looks as if it has
just popped up from the soil like the plants around it. To this end I try
to keep my designs simple, angular and geometric, providing a contrast of
form in the otherwise curved line world of plants. My color palate is close
to the earth, allowing the natural unglazed color of a dark brown clay body
to serve as the background for bright accents of color.”
In this 2-day hands-on workshop we will explore clay design 
strategies
to “survive or compromise with” the New England weather. Demonstrations
will include slab building techniques for crafting large scale garden pieces.
We will also cover topics like: Handling large slabs, surface decoration,
bevel cutting joints, building in sections, identifying and using forms,
glazing and firing considerations.
Prerequisite: Slab Mugs or other slab building class. $175 includes up to $25 in firing fees
**Mosaics: Color, Shape, and Pattern
SATURDAY ONLY OPTION:
Saturday, January 28, 11am-4pm, $55 +$15 materials fee
WEEKEND OPTION: Sat and Sun, Jan 28/29
11am-4pm and 11am-3pm
$100 + $25 materials fee
This
workshop will offer you an opportunity to complete a mosaic project for
the wall or tabletop. You will have the option of taking a one day or a
two day workshop, whether you want an introduction to making mosaics (Saturday
only), or would like to complete a larger or more complex piece (Saturday
and Sunday).
The
Saturday introduction will include demonstrations and images from some historical
high points, including masterfully designed Greek and Roman mosaics. This
enjoyable process for any skill level uses color, shape and pattern to help
you generate your own piece to take home. The tesserae you will use in your
mosaic are all hand-made colorful bits of glazed ceramic tile. All tools,
grout, tesserae, and tile backing board are included. Come with ideas or
possible designs to get you started (beginners: keep it simple).
**Painting on Pottery
Sunday, May 6, 11am-1pm
Instructor: Brooke
Felt
I
n
this workshop, Brooke will share some of her secrets to getting beautiful
images on clay. She works both with underglazes and colored slips...and
sometimes both together! If you have been curious about underglazes or want
to paint more detailed controlled images on your pottery, this is the workshop
for you. Underglazes can be used like paints. Colors can be blended and
are more predictable than glazes.
Whether
you consider yourself a painter or not, you can have fun with underglazes.
The colors tend to be brighter and more intense than regular glazes. Come
to the workshop with a piece of bisque or greenware, some brushes if you
have some and/or inspiration. Brooke keeps a folder of images that she tears
out of magazines, catalogs, photographs, napkins, tissues, fabric... You
will also learn to create images by painting slip and underglazes on brown
clay and enhancing them through carving. Make color work for your pots in
this fun, informative workshop!
$35 does not include firing
**Potheads
Sunday, March 4, Noon-5pm
Saturday, March 10, 12-5pm
Instructor: Rachel Lewis
Learn
to build faces out of and onto clay. You’ll learn Rachel’s techniques for
creating expressive and unique human and animal features. Rachel has a wide-ranging
portfolio. Come learn her secrets from her extensive experience. Participants
must have a leatherhard piece to work on. We will provide a few pieces to
choose from for those that need them.
$60 includes firing of one piece up to 15 inches
Raku and Horsehair
Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day), Noon-4pm
Raku
is an interactive, quick-firing technique that occurs in an outdoor propane
fired kiln and results in unpredictable brilliant colors. Horsehair is a
type of Raku that uses horsehair as well as other organic materials such
as feathers to create stunning black and white patterns on the piece.
Bring
your glazed or terra-siged pieces outside to fire them in a propane fired,
fiber-lined kiln. These pots are not food safe.
This workshop is designed for students already familiar with clay forming
processes. Those who aren’t can enroll in one of our many beginner workshops
and use the pieces created then for Raku. Please make this clear when you
are enrolling, as your pots will need special care.
Prior to the workshop: Raku pieces must be bisqued and glazed with Raku
glazes. Horsehair pieces must be covered with terra sigilata and bisqued.
$12 per piece on top of regular firing fees.
**Slab-built Mugs:
Sunday, January 8, 11am-1pm
Learn
the basics of handbuilding through a functional mug form. You will learn
to use the slab roller, the extruder, and texturing tools to build a beautiful
and unique mug. When you’ve completed your mug, you’ll get to choose glaze
colors for it. The mug will be fired and glazed for you and will be ready
to pick up in two weeks.
$40 includes materials
Textures with Larry Elardo:
Sunday, February 5, 11-5.
Learn
how to create your own re-usable textures employing a variety of materials.
We’ll explore building textures directly onto both hand built and thrown
surfaces. We’ll look at the methods of paddling, pressing and stamping textures
into clay.
We’ll explore the infinite variety of found objects that can
be used to create surface texture that are 
intriguing
and beautiful to look at. Learn to create multi-sided objects with textures
that are uninterrupted from side to side. Additionally, we will address
important texturing issues such as good release.
$75 does not include firing fees.
**Wheel 101:
Friday, January 6, 6-8pm
Sunday, February 19, 11:30am-1:30pm
Friday, March 2, 6-8pm
Sunday, April 22, 3-5pm
Friday, May 11, 6-8pm
Saturday, June 9, 4-6pm
Wheel
101 is a great introduction to creating bowls on the pottery wheel. You’ll
learn to “throw” the clay and have the opportunity to make 2 bowls. One
is yours to keep, free with the workshop. If you’d like to keep both bowls,
there is a small additional firing fee. You’ll pick glaze colors at the
end of the session, and the bowls will be fired and glazed for you!
$45 includes firing of one piece.
Wheel 102:
Sunday, January 15, 11am-1pm
Sunday, February 19, 2-4pm
Saturday, June 9, 6:30-8:30pm
Have
you been to Wheel 101 at least twice, and are ready to move a little faster
and take your wheel throwing to the next level? Join us for this second
level throwing workshop where you’ll continue learning throwing techniques
and you’ll learn new ways of shaping the clay. You’ll work with larger pieces
and new tools.
$45 includes firing of one piece
**Woven Spring Baskets
Sunday, March 25, 11am-12:30pm
Fiber arts and clay meet in the middle for this unique project in which we learn to extrude coils or strips of clay and carefully weave them, as you would weave straw or reeds into a basket. Learn to overcome the challenges that weaving with clay presents, such as how to gracefully turn a corner, finishing the edges, or shaping a handle that works. Not interested in a classic Easter basket shape? How about a breadbasket? Use it as a warming dish in the oven, and then serve with it at your next family dinner.
$40 includes firing up to 15 cubic inches