Ceramics | Shoji Satake | All Levels | All Day | Week 3 (July 21-26, 2024)
Spend the week and take your ceramic knowledge to the next level! Because of the long-form nature of this class, students of all levels can get individual attention, whether that’s learning how to center & throw or deepening your knowledge of the art. This week-long class is designed to increase and further students’ construction skills and methods in both hand-building and wheel-throwing. The class will be structured around projects or daily themes that include demos and lectures. This course is designed for students who want to broaden their skills and depth in ceramic studio expressive art making. Students will begin to develop an informed and personal style while refining both wheel-thrown and hand-built ceramic forms. This course will explore the properties of clay and ceramic materials through classroom demonstrations, lectures, and studio lab work. Lectures and demonstrations will explore a variety of ceramic processes and contemporary approaches to exploring clay as an expressive medium.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To learn and/or further develop ceramic construction techniques
2. To learn and/or further develop decoration and glazing techniques
3. To understand the ceramic fabrication process
4. To think critically in the design decision and execution
5. To learn, understand, and practice good craftsmanship
Supplies that students should bring with them:
– Kemper pottery tool kit (or your own pottery tool kits)
– Water bucket
– N-95 mask (for glazing)
– Fettling Knife
– Serrated metal rib
– Metal fork
– 1-2 good brushes (natural bristle, high “mop” Japanese hake brush or bamboo sume brush costs about $5 each)
– Bath Towel and/or Apron (when wheel throwing)
– Sketchbook (preferably 8.5 x 11)
– Pillowcase (for slab-building)
– Clear plastic bag
– Mudtools red rubber rib
There will be a $100 materials fee added to your total when you register for this class.
About the Instructor
Shoji Satake is the J.Bernard Schultz Endowed Professor of Art and area head of ceramics at West Virginia University School of Art & Design and Coordinator of the School’s ceramics in China program. He has taught at Indiana University, Hope College, and Central Michigan University. Shoji has served as one of the Directors-at-Large for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Board, he was a co/on-site coordinator (NCECA Pittsburgh 2018), and he will serve in the NCECA Presidential Cycle from 2023-2027. Shoji has conducted workshops, given lectures, and exhibited nationally and internationally. His most recent activities have been included in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, group exhibition at Red Lodge Clay Center, a solo exhibition at the Eutectic Gallery, and the Taiwan International Ceramics Biennale. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. His residencies have included numerous locales in China, Japan, Canada, and in the United States. Shoji in addition to teaching maintains an active studio practice with studios in West Virginia and Jingdezhen, China.
