Primitive Raku: A Ceramics Workshop with Katheryn Corbin

Sessions: July 9, August 20 (registration closed) & October 15. Sessions are standalone; sign up for any one. If you'd like to develop more skills/projects, sign up for multiple sessions.
Fee: $85/$75 members (all materials included)
Registration: Space is limited, advance registration required. Register online or by phone at 414-446-8794.

In the past, Native Americans probably made clay vessels on what are now the grounds of Lynden. In these pre-glaze days, pots were sealed by rubbing river mud into the surfaces, keeping the goodness in the container. We will spend a day at Lynden with artist-in-residence Katheryn Corbin forming vessels using traditional techniques: pinching, coiling, and smoothing. Instead of river mud, we will use sigellatta, a form of deflocculated clay to seal our pots. After bisque firing, Corbin will return to Lynden for a smoke firing. The smoke blackens the pots, leaving them with a subtle, shining finish.

Bring a bag lunch and beverages and dress for studio work as well as the outdoors. We’ll be making use of Lynden’s 40 beautiful acres during our breaks, weather permitting.

Attendance at smoke firing voluntary, but you will need to return at a later date to pick up your pots.

About Katheryn Corbin

Katheryn Corbin is a painter, potter, figure sculptor and artist-in-residence at the Lynden Sculpture Garden. As part of her residency, she will be offering a series of workshops based on Native American ceramic practices. Pots and figures have both been a part of Corbin's studio practice and teaching. Drawing and painting are important elements in each discipline, and her clay pieces are informed by the complementary processes of working with clay as vessel and as figure. Corbin is interested in historical developments in clay and variations across cultures, and she often explores different firing techniques and glaze surfaces. She has taught at all levels from elementary school through adult at the Evanston Arts Center in Evanston, IL; the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI; the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design; and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.