26Sp News

SPRING

EXHIBITIONS

EVENTS

EDUCATION

ARTIST SERVICES

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CALENDAR

As spring brings new energy and possibility, I’m reminded daily of how Northern Clay Center serves as both a creative home and a place of refuge. In our studios, classrooms, and gallery, people come together to learn, make, reflect, and connect— finding community and creative expression, even in perilous times. We strive to be a welcoming and safe space for all, where creativity is nurtured and everyone is treated with dignity and care.

As a nonprofit organization, this work is only possible because of generous donors who believe in the power of clay and community. Your gifts—whether through cash, appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, or planned giving—help ensure that our doors remain open, our programs accessible, and our support for artists and learners strong. Thank you for being part of this community and for helping Northern Clay Center remain a place of refuge, creativity, and belonging. Stop by anytime to introduce yourself or visit.

FEBRUARY

3 February Featured Artists opens

5 Thursday Discovery Series: NCC Video Premiere, 6 pm

10 Registration opens for summer clay camps, 10 am

19 Thursday Discovery Series: Self Care & Pottery, 6 pm

24 Registration opens for spring classes, 10 am

29 Artist Demonstration: Misty Gamble, 2 - 4pm

MARCH

1 February Featured Artists closes

3 March Featured Artists opens, 10 am

6 A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats Panel Discussion, 4:30 pm

6 Opening reception: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats and A World Unseen, 6 - 8 pm

7 A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats and A World Unseen open

12 3D tour online: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats and A World Unseen

12 Thursday Discovery Series, 6 pm

19 Artist Talk: Jing Huang and ChengOu Yu

26-29 NCC at NCECA

29 March Featured Artists closes

31 April Featured Artists opens, 10 am

APRIL

5 Applications due: WMAA and ECARs, 5 pm CT

11 Artist Demonstration: Katayoun Amjadi & Claudia Poser, 2 pm

16 Thursday Discovery Series, 6 pm

19 A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats and A World Unseen close

26 April Featured Artists closes

28 American Pottery Festival Preview opens, 10 am

MAY

2 Members Exhibition and K-12 Educators & Students open

15 Applications due: McKnight Fellowships and Residencies 5 pm CT

21 McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Shiyuan Xu, 6 pm

21 Thursday Discovery Series, 6 pm

25 NCC Closed for Memorial Day

31 Members Exhibition and K-12 Educators & Students close

31 American Pottery Festival Preview closes Executive Director, Northern Clay Center

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

On view March 7 – April 19, 2026

Main Gallery

Virtual 3D Tour on view March 12

Free public opening reception Friday, March 6, 6 - 8 pm

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats recontextualizes a familiar adage to explore the vital intersections of community, climate, and the collective power of presence. In this exhibition, the phrase is reimagined as an ecological and social imperative: the belief that our resilience—and our visibility—is inextricably linked to the strength of the systems we cultivate together. Working within the tactile, earth-bound medium of clay, these artists investigate the "tangled roots" of identity and eco-anxiety. Their works facilitate a dialogue between the individual and the aggregate, treating the human form and the natural landscape as a single, interdependent entity. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats refers to the notion of, “empowered women empower women,” and thus, the rest of the world. By interweaving symbols of ritual, scientific rigor, and biological form, the collection moves away from extractive perspectives in favor of an undercurrent of mutual care.

In an era of shifting environmental and social protections, this exhibition asserts that no voice exists in isolation. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats serves as a testament to the strength found in a shared ecosystem, suggesting that when we anchor ourselves in reverence for the earth and each other, we create a rising tide capable of elevating the whole.

Participating artists include: Katayoun Amjadi, Misty Gamble, and Claudia Poser.

Katayoun Amjadi is an Iranian-born, Minneapolis-based artist, educator, and independent curator whose work delves into the complex social systems that shape our perceptions. Her practice often considers the binaries of Self and Other, navigating themes of religion, gender, politics, and nationalist ideologies. Amjadi is deeply interested in blurring these boundaries to create a balanced, hybrid style that reflects both her life and her art. Her work

serves as an inquiry into the relationship between past and present, tradition and modernity, and the tension between individual and collective identity. By exploring these "tangled roots," she seeks to spur broader discussions about our understanding of time and history. She holds an MFA in Ceramics and Sculpture from the University of Minnesota and currently teaches at Normandale Community College. A recipient of the 2015 and 2019 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, her work has been exhibited at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Weisman Art Museum,

EXHIBITIONS

the Beijing Film Academy, Karlsruhe Art Academy and 7Samar Gallery in Tehran among others. She maintains a studio in the Q.arma building.

Misty Gamble’s ceramic practice is inspired by the human figure and its infinite capacity for communication. This focus is rooted in her childhood, where she was immersed in her father’s world of puppetry and performing arts—an influence that continues to shape her sculptural narrative. In 1998 she received a historic invitation to be the first American to perform at the International Puppet Festival in Tehran, a testament to her lifelong

commitment to global artistic exchange. Her current work, featuring life-size ceramic figurative sculptures and installations, draws attention to issues surrounding femininity while challenging conventional standards of morality and normalcy. Gamble is the co-founder of Studio Nong, an international sculpture collective that conducts residencies in China and Europe. She has been awarded prestigious fellowships at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and C.R.E.T.A. Rome. She is the recipient of a number of honors including awards from the Martin Wong Foundation, National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Arts and the Ellice T.

Johnston Foundation. Currently an Assistant Professor at the Kansas City Art Institute, Gamble’s work has been widely published in Ceramics Monthly and exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Claudia Poser is a German-born, Minneapolis-based ceramic artist whose work is informed by a unique synthesis of scientific rigor and European aesthetic traditions. In 1989, she transitioned from a successful ten-year career as a polymer scientist to the world of fine art, allowing her to translate her deep understanding of material properties into a dedicated ceramic practice. Her work explores the intersection of the natural world and structural form, a pursuit refined through decades of study at the Northern Clay Center under the guidance of masters like Warren MacKenzie and Paul Soldner. Poser’s practice is further shaped by her involvement in prestigious cohorts, including the WARM Mentor Program and the Women’s Art Institute. Her work has been commissioned for major public and corporate spaces, including the Mayo Clinic Hospital and United Healthcare Corporation. An international exhibitor, her work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly and Studio Visit Magazine. Since 2008, she has maintained a professional studio practice in the historic Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis.

Related events

Artist

Demonstration: Misty Gamble

Watch as A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats guest artist, Misty Gamble, demonstrates

her techniques and creative process.

Friday, March 6, 2 - 4 pm CT, FREE Teaching Studio C

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats Panel Discussion

Join the artists participating in A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats as they explore the ways that their practices intersect with one another and the core themes of the exhibition. Enjoy this discussion guided by Exhibitions & Collection Manager, Lauren Tucci.

Friday, March 6, 4:30 pm CT, FREE Main Exhibition Gallery

Artist Demonstration: Katayoun Amjadi & Claudia Poser

Join A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats guest artists, Katayoun Amjadi and Claudia Poser, demonstrate their techniques used to create work featured in the exhibition.

April 11, 2 pm CT, FREE Teaching Studio C

A World Unseen (未见之界)

On view March 7 – April 19, 2026

Emily Galusha Gallery

Virtual 3D Tour on view March 12

Free public opening reception Friday, March 6, 6 - 8 pm

This exhibition brings together the work of ceramic artists ChengOu Yu and Jing Huang, whose parallel journeys began in China and led them across oceans to North America in 2013. Over a decade later, their creations speak not only to the experience of crossing borders and navigating new cultures, but also to the quiet return of the gaze—turned back toward points of departure, now viewed through the lens of distance, memory, and time. Through different processes of making and thinking, both artists trace how perception takes form. Huang’s work, built through layered ceramic materials and unpredictable processes, explores the liminal space between her ‘past’ and ‘present,’ embodying the nature of her diasporic experience. Yu, on the other hand, investigates notions of perspective and idea of perception through objects and scenarios, responding to shifts in identity and cultural integration. The title carries a dual resonance. It reflects the initial drive to leave home in pursuit of the unknown, yet it also signals the long echo of reflection, the distance required to reinterpret one’s origins. In this act of looking again, the unseen is not just what lies ahead, but also what was overlooked, forgotten, or misread from behind.

Jing Huang was born and raised in Guilin, China, and is a ceramic artist currently living and working in the United States. She received degrees from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in

Jing Huang, Given.

China (BA, Ceramic Art, 2012), Sheridan College in Canada (Diploma, Crafts and Design - Ceramics, 2015), and Alfred University in the US (MFA, Ceramic Art, 2020). Huang has exhibited extensively and has received many awards and honors. In 2023, the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts

(NCECA) and Ceramics Monthly Magazine featured her as an Emerging Artist. She was also the recipient of the Liu Shiming Artist Grant, the Silver Award at the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, and the Second Prize at the Shiwan Cup Competition in 2024. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria

& Albert Museum, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Eton College, Durham University Oriental Museum, Guangdong Shiwan Ceramics Museum, Mint Museum, and Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Museum.

ChengOu Yu is a ceramic artist originally from China whose transnational experience deeply informs his creative practice. He received his BA in Ceramic Design from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute (2012), an Advanced Diploma with honors from Sheridan College (2015), and an MFA in Ceramic Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (2020). Yu’s work and research focus on iconography, cultural contrast, and the conceptual logic of space. He explores the representation of objects and ideas across different cultural contexts, specifically analyzing how the transition from East to West impacts the thinking and making process. Yu has exhibited widely across the United States, Canada, and Asia, with recent major appearances at the 2022 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale, and the 2023 NCECA Annual Exhibition. His work is held in numerous public collections, including the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Liling Ceramic Valley Museum, and the Belger Art Center.

Artist Talk: Jing Huang and ChengOu Yu

Join A World Unseen’s featured artists Jing Huang and ChengOu Yu as they delve into their creative process. In this talk, Huang and Yu will discuss how a decade of distance has reshaped their perception of home and belonging.

Thursday, March 19, FREE [time TBD] Galusha Gallery

Members Exhibition

On view May 2 – May 31, 2026 Main Gallery

Free public opening reception Friday, May 15, 6 - 8 pm

Join us this May as we celebrate the talent of our member community! Our 2026 Members Exhibition spotlights our incredibly talented members (comprising students, educators, professional artists, and novices) with a juried exhibition. Membership is the only requirement for application. This year, NCC will have a juried in-person exhibition in the main gallery featuring work by selected member-artists.

This Year's Jurors

Mike Helke grew up in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley, where he still resides with his wife and two sons in Stillwater. Since receiving an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2011, he has taught at various institutions including Carleton College, the University of MinnesotaTwin Cities, and the University of Wisconsin—River Falls, where he has served as an Assistant Professor and Ceramics Program Director since 2018. In addition to his commitment to family and teaching, Helke maintains a rigorous full-time studio practice. This research has been exhibited, presented, and published across the country at organizations including Harvard University, the Anderson Ranch Art Center, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, and the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. Helke is a two-time recipient of the Carleton College Dayton Hudson Distinguished Teacher/Artist award and

has received grant awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Jerome Foundation. In 2020, he was a United States Artist Fellowship nominee.

Makilyn Koep graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA focusing on ceramics, painting, and mixed media. She continued her education at the University of Minnesota to receive a Master’s in Education, specializing in culturally relevant curriculum and the value of the art-making process over the final product. While completing her graduate studies, she began her tenure at the Rumriver Art Center as a volunteer clay technician. Clay has long been her primary medium—a tactile means of exploring both sculptural and

functional forms. The flourishing creative community in Anoka has inspired her professional trajectory within the organization, moving from volunteer to teaching artist and Creative Director. In 2024, she was named the Executive Director of the Rumriver Art Center. As a process-focused and community-driven artist, Koep is dedicated to the healing power of art and its ability to foster deep human connection. Her work and leadership continue to be motivated by a desire to expand artistic opportunities and impact within her community.

Application Information

The member-artist is responsible for all shipping/transportation to and from NCC. Artists interested in applying, but who are not currently NCC members, may become members at the time of application. Not sure about your membership status? Email us at nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org, and we will assist you!

This exhibition will be juried. Members can submit up to two images of one piece that was created during the past two years. The work accepted for the exhibition MUST be the work submitted to the jury for consideration. Please only submit a work that has not been previously exhibited at NCC. Due to space constraints, and a desire to include as many members as possible, we must limit the size of any individual piece to 36” x 36” x 36”. To apply, or for further eligibility and submission requirements, please visit our website.

Important Dates:

February 2: Applications open

March 15, 5 pm CT: Applications due April 6: Applicants notified regarding jury results

April 12: Artwork must be dropped off to NCC by or before this date for the in-person exhibition

April 20: Gallery installation begins

May 2: Exhibition opens

May 15, 6 - 8 pm: Public reception

May 31: Last day of exhibition

June 2-6: Encouraged to pick up work from exhibition

June 21: Final day to pick up work from exhibition

ARTIST SERVICES Grant Deadlines

Northern Clay Center manages several grant programs that provide monetary awards or studio residencies to individual artists.

Deadlines are quickly approaching! If you are an early- or mid-career ceramic maker, visit our website for details about opportunities that you may be eligible for. Applications for all programs will be available on our website.

Deadlines:

Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award (WMAA)

Sunday, April 5, 2026 by 5 pm CT

Early Career Artist Residencies (ECAR) comprising the Anonymous Artist and BIPOC Studio Fellowships

Sunday, April 5, 2026 by 5 pm CT

McKnight Artist Residencies for Ceramic Artists

Friday, May 15, 2026 by 5 pm CT

McKnight Artist Fellowships for Ceramic Artists

Friday, May 15, 2026 by 5 pm CT

EXHIBITIONS

K-12 Educators and Students

On view May 2 – May 31, 2026

Emily Galusha Gallery

Free public opening reception Friday, May 15, 6 - 8 pm

Alongside our Main Gallery Members Exhibition, 2026 marks the return of our initiative to showcase the vital work of local K-12 educators and their students. Much like the show in the main gallery, K-12 Educators and Students will be juried, following the same timeline for important dates and deadlines. There will be an in-person exhibition featuring work by selected applicants.

Applicants need NOT be members to apply to this exhibition.

Application Information

The educator/student-artists are responsible for all shipping/ transportation to and from NCC. Please note that the final day to pick up work in the exhibition will end after most school calendars, so create a plan with students for the pickup and return of works in the live exhibition. Applicants can submit up to two images of one piece that was created during the past two years. The work accepted for the exhibition MUST be the work submitted to the jury for consideration. Please only submit a work that has not been previously exhibited at NCC. Due to space constraints, and a desire to include as many artists as possible, we must limit the size of any individual piece to 36” x 36” x 36”.

One note regarding photos for the K-12 Educators and Students application: NCC knows time and resources are stretched thin in an education setting. While we recognize that creating a photograph of one’s work may present an additional teaching opportunity and skill-building exercise, we do not require professional-level images for jury consideration. The quality of the images will in no way impact the jury process.

To apply, or for further eligibility and submission requirements, please visit our website. Please email us at nccinfo@ northernclaycenter.org with questions about the exhibition or application process. We are happy to help!

Important Dates:

February 2: Applications open

March 15, 5 pm CT: Applications due April 6: Applicants notified regarding jury results

April 12: Artwork must be dropped off to NCC by or before this date for the in-person exhibition

April 20: Gallery installation begins May 2: Exhibition opens

May 15, 6 - 8 pm: Public reception

May 31: Last day of exhibition

June 2-6: Encouraged to pick up work from exhibition

June 21: Final day to pick up work from exhibition

Save the Date! American Pottery Festival

August 28 – 30, 2026

Join us for the 28th Annual American Pottery Festival (APF), August 28–30, 2026! This beloved annual program brings together ceramic artists from across the United States, showcasing outstanding work from across the field. Experience a gorgeous variety of creative processes, techniques, forms, and surfaces, all in one place. The festival kicks off with our Opening Night Party on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Presented by Northern Clay Center, APF is a thoughtfully curated platform for makers, clay enthusiasts, learners, collectors, and the curious to connect, explore, and be inspired. The festival celebrates the depth and breadth of contemporary ceramics while fostering meaningful connections between artists and audiences.

Each year, NCC prioritizes diversity when inviting artists, ensuring a wide representation of lived experiences and perspectives. The 2026 festival will feature an extraordinary lineup of artists whose work highlights a broad range of techniques, aesthetics, and materials. Their unique paths within the field of ceramics offer insight and inspiration for participants of all backgrounds.

The program includes engaging opportunities to connect with artists through hands-on workshops, private gallery tours, artist talks, live demonstrations, and exceptional shopping. Whether you’re a student, collector, or maker, you’ll find rich creative experiences throughout the weekend. Scholarships are available for all demonstrations and

workshops, helping ensure access for all participants.

As of press time, APF artists include: Sara Alfieri, Kurt Anderson, Marissa Childers, Celia Feldberg, Stephen Heywood, Erica Iman, Samuel Johnson, Steven Young Lee, Suze Lindsay, Andrew McIntyre, Taylor Mezo, KyoungHwa Oh, Doug Peltzman, Lindsay Rogers, and Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy.

Visit www.northernclaycenter.org for updates on APF events, artist rosters, ticket information, volunteer opportunities, and details on purchasing work.

NCECA 2026 SALES GALLERY

March 26–28

NCC’s sales gallery, exhibition, and artist services programs will participate in Volumes, the 60th annual conference held in Detroit, Michigan, by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). The conference will take place March 25–28 at the Huntington Place Convention Center.

During the four-day conference, NCC will participate in the Gallery Expo, offering work by guest artists, full-time sales gallery artists, NCC Early Career Artist Residents, and 2026 American Pottery Festival guest artists. We look forward to building relationships with artists and ceramic appreciators that keep NCC vital and help expand our community.

NCC will have a table in the Resource Hall where will promote our grant and residency programs for current students, emerging artists, and midcareer artists. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, engage with staff, and gain valuable insights into the wide range of opportunities NCC offers for artists at every stage of their careers. If you are able to attend in person, please stop by our table in the Resource Hall and/or Gallery Expo booth to introduce yourself and say hello.

If you are not attending this year, please follow along on Instagram where we’ll be sharing fun updates.

Coming This Spring in the Sales Gallery!

March Featured Artists

Willem Gebben, Jan McKeachie Johnston, David Swenson, Betsy Williams

On view: March 3-29

Sales Gallery & Online

Visit us in the Sales Gallery this spring for a sneak-peek viewing of work by our emerging artist residency grant recipients! During April and May, we’ll feature Anonymous Artist Fellows Kara Zuzu and Marlena Goodman, BIPOC Studio Fellow Sarah Alsaied, and Pottery Museum of Red Wing Award recipient Anastasia Speer.

Willem Gebben

Willem Gebben was born in Delft, Netherlands. He received his BA from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, and in 1976 apprenticed with master potter David Eeles at Shepherds Well Pottery in Mosterton, Dorset, England. Currently, Gebben is a full-time studio potter in Colfax, Wisconsin. He creates a wide variety of wood-fired functional pottery out of both stoneware and porcelain clays and glazes, all of which he mixes and processes himself. His sure sense of form and expert handling of surface, texture and detailing make each piece a true work of art. Gebben’s work is included in collections throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Australia.

Jan McKeachie Johnston

Jan McKeachie Johnston studied at the University of Minnesota, Southern Illinois University, and received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Since 1979 she has been very active in teaching workshops and demonstrations, working in her Wisconsin studio, and has recently served as an adjunct professor of ceramics at UWRF. For the past 25 years, she has participated in significant exhibitions throughout the United States. She is represented in many private and public collections, including the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia; the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota; and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Additionally, her work has been featured in Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly.

David Swenson

David Swenson is a Clearwater and Minneapolis, Minnesota-based ceramist and instructor. Since moving to Minnesota in 2009, he has lived and worked in the Twin Cities area teaching ceramics in community education and many after-school programs. His hand-painted work is embellished with historical motifs and techniques, while maintaining an eclectic and modern aesthetic.

Betsy Williams

Betsy Williams and her late husband, stone sculptor Mark Saxe, own Rift Gallery in Rinconada, New Mexico. Williams earned a liberal arts degree at St. John’s College—the "Great Books" school (Santa Fe, NM) —then went on to become a money market trader at a Japanese bank in Manhattan. She ultimately left that job for a pottery apprenticeship in Karatsu, Japan, under Yutaka Ohashi (1994 –1999), and has been a potter since. Williams says "Individual pieces, modest in scale, are at the heart of my work. I concentrate on unobtrusively conveying a sense of quiet attention and mystery. To my mind, the best pots are both understated and forthright and can seem both new and familiar at the same time. They make themselves useful."

SALES GALLERY

April Featured Artists

Yael Braha, Paul Eshelman, Christina Erives, Mike Norman, Joe Singewald, Sandra Torres Jewelry Spotlight: Kristen Cliffel

On view: March 31 - April 26 Sales Gallery & Online

Yael Braha

Yael Braha is a US-based Italian artist of North African descent. She received a BA in graphic design from the IED Istituto Europeo di Design (Rome) and an MFA in cinema from San Francisco State University. Braha is a multi-faceted artist whose work spans sculpture, graphic design, and film. Her multidisciplinary background informs her current ceramic work. She integrates digital fabrication methods to create functional ceramics with bold, stylized surface designs that focus on optical and geometrical illusions, mathematical patterns, and tessellations. Drawing from her filmmaking background, she uses negative spaces and seams—alluding to the editing cuts in a film strip—to create a discourse between forms and surfaces.

Paul Eshelman

Paul Eshelman received a BA in art from the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) and an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence). Eshelman’s functional pottery is his cultural attempt, through the material of clay, to bring order and human dignity to the merely physical act of consuming food and drink. “As my pots are used daily, I hope that they carry measures of quiet and nourishment for body and spirit. I imagine people at a dinner table, workspace, or office cubicle where food and drink are served and humanized by hospitable, well-ordered pots.” Since 1988, Eshelman and his wife, Laurel, have been living and making pottery in Elizabeth, Illinois, a small farming community in northwestern Illinois.

Christina Erives

Christina Erives is a Mexican-

American artist from Los Angeles, California. Erives received her MFA from Pennsylvania State University and has worked as an instructor and resident artist at various studios and universities across the United States. Her ceramic work is highly stylized, sometimes sculptural, sometimes functional, and always colorful. Informed by her heritage and using a diverse range of imagery, Erives investigates the stories we create and tell about food and contemporary womanhood. She cherishes the beautiful power of ceramic artifacts as keepers of ancient knowledge and cultures. Through her clay objects, Erives immortalizes her own experiences, aspiring that they’ll one day offer the future a tangible glimpse of our present.

Mike Norman

Perhaps one might learn about me—and consequently my work—by reading this poem by Bill Holm:

Advice

Someone dancing inside us / has learned only a few steps: the “Do-Your-Work” in 4/4 time, the “What-Do-You-Expect” Waltz. He hasn't noticed yet the woman / standing away from the lamp. the one with the black eyes / who knows the rumba. and strange steps in jumpy rhythms, from the mountains of Bulgaria. If they dance together / something unexpected will happen; if they don't, the next world / will be a lot like this one.

Joe Singewald

Joe Singewald grew up in northeast Iowa where he discovered handmade

pottery. He first studied ceramics at the University of Wisconsin–Rivers Falls and received his MFA from Utah State University (Logan). His utilitarian vessels have been in multiple exhibitions throughout the country, including NCECA Clay National, Strictly Functional Pottery National, and Utilitarian Clay— Celebrate the Object. Singewald was a 2015 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant recipient. Since 2014, he has been the art department studio technician for the College of Saint Benedict and St. John’s University (St. Joseph, MN). He lives and maintains a studio in Cold Spring, MN with his wife and three daughters.

Sandra Torres

Originally trained as an architect, Sandra Torres eventually transferred her creative outlet into clay work. Her ceramic education started under the wing of a master ceramist at an experimental studio in Mexico City. In southern California, she continued her learning in three different studios. Torres spent time in China and Mexico to research traditional clay technique. An apprenticeship at Studio Pieter Stockmans in Genk, Belgium had a great impact on her work and later directed her to be an artist in residence at the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary. Torres’ work explores the effect of small but significant variations within repetition of shape, size and patterns. She has chosen a process that allows her to create contrast of color, while maintaining the soft bare feeling and translucency of the porcelain–delicate to the sight, yet strong to the touch.

Kristen Cliffel

Kristen Cliffel received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2015, she was awarded the Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. There was no shortage of artistic imprint during Cliffel’s childhood: art lined the walls of the family home and there was a castle in the basement where live mice ran around in tunnels. Now identifying as both a wife and a mother, Cliffel engages themes of domestic mythology through her ceramic practice. Central to her exploration is the unfolding of intimate relationships and the fear, hope, belonging, security, and connection associated with them. Cliffel uses visual metaphors and unexpected combinations of sculpted objects to dissect these domestic fairytales and expose their prescribed notions of happiness, fulfillment, and success. The bird is a form returned to throughout her body of work, both wearable and sculptural.

SALES GALLERY

May Featured Artists

American Pottery Festival Preview

On view: April 28 – May 31 Sales Gallery & Online

The American Pottery Festival Preview is your first chance to see and buy work by our 2026 APF guest artists until APF Opening Night. Please join us for this special opportunity!

Online work will go live at precisely 10 am CT on April 28, so set your alarms!

This year, we are fortunate to represent this year’s APF artists during the NCECA conference in Detroit, MI. NCC invites you to visit us at our NCECA Gallery Expo space, or follow along on Instagram, to be the very first to see their work in person at a specialpreview opening on the evening of Tuesday, March 24.

As of press time, APF artists include: Sara Alfieri, Kurt Anderson, Marissa Childers, Celia Feldberg, Stephen Heywood, Erica Iman, Samuel Johnson, Steven Young Lee, Suze Lindsay, Andrew McIntyre, Taylor Mezo, KyoungHwa Oh, Doug Peltzman, Lindsay Rogers, and Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy.

Please visit www.northernclaycenter. org for updates on APF events, artist rosters, ticket information, volunteer needs, and opportunities to purchase work.

OUTREACH

Clay, Community, and Belonging

A partnership with Nawayee Center School

In mid-October 2025, ceramic artist —and one of NCC's fall McKnight Residents— was introduced to the Community Outreach program because she expressed interest in teaching in our local Seward community in Minneapolis. Julia Rodman, the Community Engagement Manager helped her indentify several local schools she had researched online and a bus route to reach them. Instead, she ended up walking and happened upon a different school by chance, drawn in by a beautiful mosaic on the building. Sana’s passion for teaching during her threemonth McKnight Residency was the primary reason this partnership began; equally important was Nawayee Center School’s willingness to go along for the ride with us.

Center School began as a drop-in center for at-risk Native youth in the Phillips neighborhood and, in 1974, became a school serving grades 7–12 as an alternative school within the Minneapolis Public School system. In addition to being a school, it is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is currently housed in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis in a building that hosted many of the early meetings of the American Indian Movement.

You might miss the school if you weren’t looking for it—it’s housed in a small, two-story brick building—and includes a garden and fenced-in outdoor area. The school currently serves 40 students, approximately 95% of them identifying

as Native American. Center School has offered many students a fresh start after experiencing challenges in the traditional public school system. It emphasizes Indigenous education, relationships with teachers, small class sizes, and most importantly, a love of learning. Walt Johnson, science teacher, put it perfectly: “Center School's strength is that we have the culture, we’re small, and we accommodate students. I don't think there are a bunch of schools like that around.”

Benay McNamara, Art and Ojibwe teacher at Center School, shared that she had long wanted to bring ceramics into her teaching but “hadn’t quite figured it out.” Sana, with the

financial support of the Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Education grant, quite literally became an opportunity knocking on the school’s door. Through different projects including lanyards, beading, drums and papermaking, Benay has been able to share art from an indigenous perspective and the contributions Indigenous artists have made to the art world.

Through this program, Sana met with students at Center School for seven sessions, bringing clay directly to the school and working on a variety of projects, many guided by the students’ own interests. Students were even able to earn school credit for their participation. Reflecting on the support

that made the partnership possible, Sana shared, “[Northern Clay Center] made it real easy to be me. It’s lovely, absolutely lovely.” She continued, “[In] every academic institution, I’ve always had to prove that I fit—that I belonged. Here, I didn’t have to do that. This became a home away from home, and I want to see the partnership continue.”

NCC’s Community Outreach program is designed to create opportunities for you and your community, similar to this one. We do our best to meet the unique needs of each partner. Whether you are a small alternative school, a large public

school, a community center, a library or something else, NCC is here —with passionate and talented teaching artists— to bring clay to you.

If you’re interested in organizing a program like this, please send an inquiry to our Community Engagement Manager, Julia Rodman, at juliarodman@ northernclaycenter.

McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Shiyuan Xu

Join Northern Clay Center in welcoming our 2026 late spring McKnight Artist Resident, Shiyuan Xu. We look forward to supporting her creative practice while establishing new connections with our local ceramics community.

Inspired by scientific research of microscopic phenomena in cells and microorganisms ranging from singlecelled oceanic life forms to diverse plant seeds on land, Shiyuan Xu (Hangzhou, P.R China) creates complex sculptural forms highlighting the intricacy and fragility of the hidden world.

Citing a fascination in shapes, patterns, structures and textures of these microorganisms, Shiyuan utilizes unconventional processes to apply glazes to her hand built porcelain paperclay structures, allowing her to push the boundaries of fragility and strength, simplicity and complexity, and order and chaos.

Shiyuan received her BA in Ceramics from China Academy of Art (China) and an MFA from Arizona State University (US), and currently lives in Chico, California, where she is an assistant professor at California State University, Chico.

Shiyuan has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work has been added to permanent public collections in distinguished galleries and museums such as the Federal Reserve Board Fine Arts Collection, Archie Bray Foundation, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Korea Ceramic Foundation, the National

Museum of Slovenia, Jingdezhen Ceramics University and Victoria and Albert Museum. Named Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist in 2017, and NCECA Emerging Artist in 2018, Xu has also been awarded several prestigious residencies at notable ceramic arts organizations such as the Archie Bray Foundation, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawrence Arts Center and Lillstreet Art Center. Northern Clay Center is excited to join the aforementioned organizations in hosting Shiyuan for her late spring McKnight Residency.

Related Event

McKnight Artist Resident Lecture: Shiyuan Xu

Please join us in welcoming Shiyuan Xu to the NCC community for her late spring residency. During the first weeks of her time with us in Minneapolis, Shiyuan will present a talk on her work, with time afterward for questions. This will take place both in person, in NCC’s library, as well as online via Zoom.

Thursday, May 21, 6PM CST, FREE

Seeking Instructors and Assistants for 2026 Clay Camps!

Northern Clay Center seeks individuals ages 18+ for our 2026 summer camp positions. Every year, NCC recruits paid Clay Camp instructors and Clay Camp assistants. We offer over 40 four- and five-day camps which explore the basics of handbuilding (ages 6+) or wheel throwing (ages 9+), and occasionally some special collaborations with nearby art organizations.

Our Clay Camp instructors lead themed morning and afternoon programs inspired by various topics such as sea creatures, outer space, fairy

gardens, and more! They also work closely with Clay Camp assistants to provide guidance to students and maintain cleanliness in the NCC studios. Instructors and assistants work closely with the education manager to provide additional classroom support throughout the week.

See how a world-class ceramics education program operates from the inside out. As a NCC assistant you will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in preparing classroom materials, assisting with clay

demonstrations, and, most importantly, working directly with students ages 6 to 16. These paid positions are for 1520 hours per week, with commitments ranging from one- to ten-weeks. Assistants are valued team members and the experience can often lead to future summer teaching positions!

Experience working with clay, and interest and experience in working with young people is essential. See our website for full details about these positions and how to apply, or contact education@northernclaycenter.org.

EDUCATION

Spring Classes & Workshops

After a cold winter, what better way to put some spring in your creative step than joining a class at NCC! Join our exceptional roster of teaching artists for a 5- or 10-week class or one of our project workshops this spring. Whether you’re interested in handbuilding, wheel throwing, specialty topics, or family activities, our offerings are sure to have your creativity in full bloom.

We continue to offer open studio benefits to all enrolled adults for the duration of their class. Students may use this time to practice techniques learned during class hours, experiment, or practice their craft independently. Adult students generally have access to our studios Mondays, 4:30 - 9 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 am - midnight; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 9 am - 9 pm (subject to other NCC events, programming, and studio schedules).

We ask that in utilizing these studio hours, please be mindful of other students and make sure others feel welcome in this shared space. Weekly open studio schedules will be posted on the bulletin boards in each studio, as well as on our website; select the Education tab from the top menu on our homepage and click “Student Info” (northernclaycenter.org/education/ student-info).

We encourage you to register early as our classes fill up quickly. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to

education@northernclaycenter.org and ask to be added to the waitlist of your preferred class. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.

BEGINNER CLASSES

Interested in clay but unsure where to start? Sign up for our beginner classes and get hands-on experience and guided instruction during our 5-week introductory classes. Learn all of the basics such as building, throwing, slab rolling, and/or glazing techniques. These classes have plenty of guidance for beginners, making them ideal if you have little to no experience with clay and want to test your interest and grow your skills. We recommend you take a beginner class two or more times (within one term, or over consecutive terms) to build your skills and prepare for intermediate-to-advanced classes and beyond. Wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a beginner’s set of tools to the first class. Tool kits are available for purchase at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25-pound bag of clay up to a cost of $27, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.

Beginner Wheel Throwing

Get your wheels turning as you learn the basics of throwing pots on the potter’s wheel. This class will get you familiar with the material of clay and introduce foundational forms such as bowls and cylinders.

Education Access Scholarship applications open on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. NCC is committed to maintaining accountability and pursuing action to build meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity in the ceramic community. We recognize that there are significant systemic racial and economic impacts that impede participation in the arts, and resulting financial barriers contribute to further divide. To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC has implemented scholarship options for our education programming. Our goal is to open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.

We offer two scholarship options:

• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners experiencing financial need

• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

Scholarships are limited. For more information about these scholarships and to apply, please visit our website at northernclaycenter.org/education.

BW1: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Jennica Kruse

March 23 - April 20

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW2: Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Jennica Kruse

April 27 - May 18

Fee: $160 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW3: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Maia Danks

March 24 - April 21

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW4: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Maia Danks

April 28 - May 26

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW5: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Moz Rude

March 25 - April 22

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW6: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Moz Rude

April 29 - May 27

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW7: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

March 26 - April 23

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW8: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

April 30 - May 28

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW9: Sundays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Doug Van Beek

March 29 - April 26

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW10: Sundays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Doug Van Beek

April 27 - May 31

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

Beginner Handbuilding

Learn the basic skills for creating ceramic sculpture and handbuilt pottery through a series of projects and demonstrations. This class will introduce the three foundational methods of handbuilding—coiling, pinching, and slab-building—to provide the base for any project you might imagine.

BH1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Natalie Nicholson

March 23 - April 20

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH2: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Natalie Nicholson

April 27 - May 18 (no class Memorial Day, May 25)

Fee: $160 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH3: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Marlena Goodman

March 25 - April 22

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

BH4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Marlena Goodman

April 29 - May 27

Fee: $200 + $60 lab fee (5% member discount)

EDUCATION

Beginnermediate Wheel Throwing

So, you’ve taken a few beginner classes, but don’t feel ready for an Intermediate-to-Advanced class just yet? Try a “beginnermediate” level class for students who fall somewhere in between! Expand on the basics of wheel throwing, perfect your bowls and cylinders, and spend more time getting your hands dirty with an NCC instructor for a full term.

BW11: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Chris Singewald March 24 - May 26

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

BW12: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Lucy Yogerst March 26 - May 28

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

INTERMEDIATE-TOADVANCED CLASSES

Looking to refine your techniques and further develop your voice in clay? Intermediate-to-Advanced classes will take your skill set to the next level and deepen your understanding of clay! Many of these classes have a specific focus but leave room for personal interests and growth. If you’re unsure which level to register for, our education staff will happily assist you in finding the appropriate class, via phone or email: 612.339.8007 or education@ northernclaycenter.org.

EDUCATION

As with all NCC classes, please wear old clothes and bring an old towel, a bucket no larger than one gallon, and a set of tools to the first class. Tool kits can be purchased at NCC. Lab fee includes one 25-pound bag of clay up to a cost of $27, all glazing materials, firings, and open studio access.

INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED WHEEL THROWING

Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel, build on your foundations, and discover the secrets of making great pots. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing forms such as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool. You will learn surface treatments like glazing, staining, and slipping, and be introduced to firing procedures. These classes are designed for those with previous wheel-throwing experience, who have taken some beginner classes (or equivalent), and who feel comfortable navigating basic forms on the wheel.

Specialty

Storage: Making Bottles, Jars, and Storage Pots

Stretch your formal skills by deep diving into unique storage vessels including various bottles, lidded jars and storage pots. We will explore different styles of lidded objects, fermentation crocks, decanters, pitchers, butter keepers and more.

AW1: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Erin Holt

March 23 - May 18 (no class Memorial Day, May 25)

Fee: $360 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Leveling Up on the Wheel

Feeling as though you have hit a plateau in your technique? This class will help you break through barriers and continue your pottery development and take your throwing skills to the next level.

AW2: Tuesdays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Kevin Caufield

March 24 - May 26

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Intermediate-to-Advanced Wheel Throwing

Take the next step on your journey with the potter’s wheel, build on your foundations, and discover the secrets of making great pots. Improve your skills and learn new techniques for throwing forms such as cylinders, bowls, vases, and more using the pottery wheel as a tool.

AW3: Wednesdays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Mic Stowell

March 25 - May 27

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Explorations in Texture and Glazing

In this class, students will explore all manners of texture, glazing, and a combination of the two. Using tools, things found around the home, or even objects found outside in nature, we will find new and interesting ways to finish the surface of a pot. During the class, we will also talk about how glaze will interact with these surfaces, and glazing techniques to strengthen the textures we created on the surfaces of our pieces.

AW4: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Murphey Stromberg

March 25 - May 27

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Surface Decoration and Forms

This class is an exploration of creating surface decoration in the various stages of making. Starting with adding texture and variety of surfaces to your pots right on the wheel, to slips, underglazes, carving, stamping, layering surfaces, glazes and more. We will also discuss and look at pots with surface decorations that enhance and work with different forms. Be prepared to play and experiment.

AW5: Thursdays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Lisa Himmelstrup

March 26 - May 28

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Guided Study in Wheel Throwing

Are you looking for a more individualized approach to your ceramic instruction? Artists and makers with some experience are invited to join this guided study to sharpen their throwing skills and techniques, expand their repertoire of forms, and advance their craft.

AW6: Thursdays, 2 – 5 pm

Instructor: Leila Denecke

March 26 - May 28

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Pour Your Heart Out

The pitcher, the bottle, the dreaded teapot... Pots that pour can be intimidating, but they don't have to be! Learn to craft a variety of pouring pots, and accompanying vessels that may be useful in everyday life.

AW7: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Liam Hannan

March 26 - May 28

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Sculptural Throwing: Beyond Functional

Learn to make expressive sculptural forms through guided experimentation, conversations, and critique. Use both handbuilding and wheel throwing techniques to explore possibilities in clay.

AW8: Fridays, 2 – 5 pm

Instructor: Paola Evangelista

March 27 - May 29

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED HANDBUILDING

Take a break from the potter’s wheel and come over to Studio C for some handbuilding! Learn new techniques in coiling, pinching, and slab-building, and delve into concepts that offer new perspectives and ways to reimagine working with clay. Bring your favorite tools and challenging ideas to class.

Intermediate Handbuilding

Have you taken beginner handbuilding a couple of times but aren’t ready to move on to more advanced topics?

Intermediate Handbuilding is the class for you! Demonstrations will focus on all the things we don’t have time for in the half term class: slip and glaze application techniques, leatherhard slabbuilding, how to use the extruder and more. Topics covered based on student interest include: scaling up sculpture or vessels, internal and external armatures, bisque-mold making, and making multiple-part sculptures or vessels. Students may bring project ideas and the instructor will have a couple of intermediate level project prompts for those needing more direction.

AH1: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Elizabeth Coleman

March 24 - May 26

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Guided Study in Handbuilding

Expand your handbuilding fundamentals to explore figural, architectural, animal,

decorative, and functional applications of clay. Work with low- or high-temperature clays as you accept technical challenges and achieve your sculptural vision with guidance from the instructor. Investigate critical thinking as it pertains to the evolution of your work. Bring your favorite tools and have some challenging ideas ready for the first class.

AH2: Fridays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Franny Hyde

March 27 - May 29

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

Dab of Glaze Chemistry and a Tea Party

Learn about glazes and what makes them work and try your hand at making a new interesting glaze. Students will have access to the materials room during class time to make some test glazes. In addition we will hand-build a tea pot, yunomis or chinese tea cups, a plate for treats and a serving tray for a real tea party.

AH3: Fridays, 2 – 5 pm

Instructor: Marion Angelica

March 27 - May 29

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

From Paper to Clay - Translating 2D to 3D

In this course, students will learn how to translate their 2D creations into clay sculptures, taking ideas on paper and transforming them into clay. Students can draw during class, or bring drawings and paintings to class, even rough sketches, as a starting point for their clay creations. Each week, students will

EDUCATION

work towards bringing their creations to life, balancing between their vision and structural security. Slab and coil techniques will be used to make medium to large scale (6” to 12”) interpretations of their work.

AH4: Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm

Instructor: Harry Malesovas

March 28 - May 30

Fee: $400 + $120 lab fee (5% member discount)

SPECIAL TOPICS CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Ceramic Jewelry

Learn the basics of ceramic jewelry! Teaching artist Alysha Hill will teach you how to design, shape, decorate, glaze, and create your own handmade jewelry and pendants. Recommended for any skill level!

T1: Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Alysha Hill

March 25 - May 27

Fee: $400 + $160 (5% member discount)

Ringing in Spring: Handbuilt Ceramic Bells

Welcome the new season by creating a functional ceramic handbell that reflects your personal imagery and interests. In this five-week workshop, students will design and handbuild a bell form and create small sculptural elements to embellish the surface. Using simple handbuilding tools—brought from home or made during class—you’ll explore how animals, plants, symbols, and objects can personalize your bell and influence its voice.

Bells have long been associated with marking transitions, calling in clarity, offering protection, and celebrating beginnings. Throughout the course, you’ll consider how these themes can inform your design. The final sessions will focus on finishing your bell with underglazes and cold-surface applications to highlight detail and form. By the end of the class, you’ll leave with a functional bell that celebrates the arrival of spring and carries your own meaning and intention. Students are required to bring their own tools and Amaco underglaze.

T2: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Kara Zuzu

March 26 - April 23

Fee: $200 + $60 (5% member discount)

Spring Equinox Chiminea Workshop

Celebrate the balance and renewal of the spring equinox by creating a symbolic chiminea-style incense burner. In this focused workshop, students will build a small handbuilt chiminea intended for ritual, reflection, or simply welcoming the new season.

We’ll begin with basic form-building techniques, then explore how to incorporate sculptural details and decorative elements that embody the themes of the equinox: balance, growth, and new beginnings. Students may add small figures, floral motifs, or personal symbols that honor their own seasonal intentions.

You’ll finish your chiminea with underglaze decoration to bring color and meaning to the final piece. By the close of the workshop, you’ll leave with a thoughtfully crafted vessel—part functional incense burner, part altar object—created to usher in the light and energy of spring.

Students are required to bring their own tools and Amaco underglaze.

T3: Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Instructor: Kara Zuzu

April 30 - May 28

Fee: $200 + $60 (5% member discount)

Key Holder Workshop

In this two hour workshop, learn from artist Harry Malesovas to create handbuilt sculptural wall art, in the form of key holders. Great for all skill levels!

T4: Thursday, 2 - 4 pm

Instructor: Harry Malesovas

April 18

Fee: $55

The Hot Seat: Electric Kiln Firing 101

So, you’ve read your kiln manual but still have questions about firing? We’ve got answers! In this one-day workshop, you will learn the basics of firing and maintaining your own electric kiln. Covering basic information about firing speeds, kiln requirements, and firing temperatures, this class will have you walking away more confident in your ability to be in control of your kiln. The workshop is led by teaching artists who fire multiple kilns each month. This workshop does not authorize NCC students to fire our kilns independently, but is helpful for art educators and anyone aspiring to become an NCC studio artist. Basic clay knowledge is preferred.

T5: Sunday, 10 am - 1 pm

Instructor: Audra Smith

April 19

Fee: $55 (5% member discount)

Spoon Rest Drop-In

Join us for a drop-in hands-on activity! Come make your own spoon rests and decorate them with colorful glazes—a perfect handmade gift or keepsake for the kitchen. All pieces will be kiln-fired and ready before Mother’s Day! No experience needed—just drop in and create!

T6: Sunday, 1 - 4 pm

Instructor: NCC Staff

April 19

Fee: $20

Get a Grip …on Handles!

Learn a variety of ways to make handles, knobs and feet to make your pottery truly unique. So many people complain about not liking to make handles, but you can learn ways that are easy, fun and finish off your pots so they are both utilitarian and one of a kind. Current NCC students may bring greenware pots to work with or focus on your skills by making a panel of handles and knobs.

T7: Sunday, 10 am - 12 pm

Instructor: Marion Angelica

April 26

Fee: $45 (5% member discount)

PROJECT WORKSHOPS

No previous experience required! NCC will provide all materials and tools for these workshops.

Try the Pottery Wheel Workshop

Bring your friends and make a few new ones as you learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel. This three-hour workshop is a fun and messy introduction to clay. The $55 fee includes instruction and materials for one adult. Students can expect to make up to three pots and decorate them using colorful slips and textures. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks after the workshop date.

X1: Saturday, April 4, 1 - 4 pm

X2: Saturday, April 11, 1 - 4 pm

X3: Friday, May 15, 6 - 9 pm

Instructor: Liam Hannan

Fee: $55 (per person, per session)

Clay for Couples Pottery Workshops

Looking for a unique date activity that is sure to impress your partner? Try NCC’s original Clay for Couples. Sign up with your significant other, BFF, or family member and learn the secrets of throwing pottery on the wheel in a fun and relaxed environment. Already attended a session? Sign up again and take your skills to the next level! The $110 fee includes instruction, materials, and firings for two adults. Completed pieces will be ready to pick up about two weeks after the workshop date.

EDUCATION

X4: Friday, April 10, 6 – 9 pm

X5: Saturday, April 18, 6 – 9 pm

X6: Sunday, April 26, 1 – 4 pm

X7: Saturday, May 9, 6 – 9 pm

X8: Saturday, May 30, 1 - 4 pm

Instructor: Liam Hannan

Fee: $110 (per couple, per session)

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR FAMILIES

For all family classes, children must be accompanied by an adult. Neither children nor adults will have access to open studio time during the quarter. Weekend workshops are open to all skill levels, ages 6 and up for handbuilding workshops and 9 and up for wheel-throwing; there are no exceptions to stated age requirements.

Throwing Together

Parents and kids spend a little quality time together learning a new skill! Learn to make basic cylinders, bowls, plates, and more as you grow your skills using the potter’s wheel during this 8-week class. High-temperature clay and glazes will be used. Wear old clothes, bring an old towel and a one-gallon bucket for each participant. Class sessions are designed to allow adults and children to work side-by-side in a collaborative environment. Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.

F1: Sundays, 2 – 5 pm

Instructor: Keather Lindman

March 29 - May 17

Fee: $365 for two people, one adult and one child. Materials included in class cost. (5% member discount)

Family Wheel Throwing Workshops

Learn how to use the potter’s wheel in this warm and cozy wintertime workshop! Practice centering, opening, pulling, and shaping the clay, then paint your projects with colored slips. Dress for mess! Ages 9+; all skill levels welcome.

F1: March 28, 10 am – 1 pm

F2: March 28, 1 – 3 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

Fee: $85 for two people, one adult and one child. $40 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.

In Flight

As the days grow longer, Minnesota comes alive with returning birds—robins, bluebirds, and waterfowl bring the first signs of spring. In this class, create your own bird-shaped dishes inspired by these seasonal visitors. Learn simple handbuilding techniques to form and decorate your birds, then finish your projects with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.

F4: April 12, 10 am – 12 pm

F5: April 12, 1 – 3 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

Fee: $65 for two people, one adult and one child. $30 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.

Mother’s Day in Clay

Honor the moms in your life by creating something beautiful together or to give as a gift. In this floral-inspired class, you’ll handbuild a vase and personalize it with texture, pattern, and color.

Fill it with flowers later. Learn basic handbuilding techniques, then finish your project with colored slips. Ages 6+; all skill levels welcome.

F6: May 10, 10 am – 12 pm

F7: May 10, 1 – 3 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

Fee: $65 for two people, one adult and one child. $30 for each additional participant; please contact education@ northernclaycenter.org to register additional participants.

CLAY FOR YOUTH

Pottery Punch Card for Teens

Our Pottery Punch Card for Teens program is currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the

@ waitlist, please reach out to education@ northernclaycenter.org and request to be added to the waitlist. When a spot opens, we will reach out and extend the opportunity to register.

Teens may purchase eight, 2-hour classes, to be used on any Saturday, 10 am - 12 pm. These eight "punches" can be used over a 6-month period, from the date of purchase. Classes will cover the fundamental techniques of throwing basic forms on the potter's wheel and creating surface decoration using glazes, slips, and applied elements, with varied demonstrations and projects for advanced students. Create a series of functional pots with high-temperature clay bodies. Previous experience is not required. Students may attend on a drop-in basis and the complexity of projects will depend on multiple consecutive classes. Great for students and families with busy schedules. Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty; NCC will provide the tools and the clay. Students do not have access to open studio time. For ages 13 to 17 only.

Y1: Saturdays, 10 am – 12 pm

Instructor: Erin Holt

Ongoing

Fee: $295

Four additional sessions: $150

PLEASE NOTE: Classes will meet every Saturday during the NCC class term unless otherwise posted (some Saturdays are not available due to holidays or NCC events). Students must sign up for sessions in advance on our online sign up form. Sessions expire six months after the date of purchase.

ART@HAND CLAY FOR OLDER ADULTS

ART@HAND is NCC’s series of accessible programs for enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Intended for individuals 55 years and older (and their families!), ART@HAND offers lectures, tours, workshops, and hands-on activities.

Leap Into Spring

Be inspired by the cheerful sounds of spring! In this class, create your own frog or toad using a simple pinch-pot technique. Personalize your amphibian and finish your project with colorful slips. All skill levels are welcome.

AAH9: Sunday, April 26, 10 am - 12 pm

Instructor: Eileen Cohen

Fee: Free

Spring Class Registration Opens Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 10 am CT

To Register:

Register with cash or any major credit card. NCC accepts registration online at www.northernclaycenter.org, in the gallery, or by telephone at 612.339.8007. Member discounts are available online.

Due to the high demand for classes, we require full payment with your registration to reserve your seat in class.

NCC will send confirmation of registration. If there is insufficient enrollment, we will cancel the class, notify registered students, and refund all payments without penalty. Decisions are made approximately one week before classes begin.

Please register early or you might find that your favorite class is full, or canceled due to low enrollment. If the class you are interested in sells out, reach out to education@northernclaycenter.org and ask to be added to the waitlist of your preferred class.

Education Access Scholarships:

To address and help bridge financial barriers to ceramic education, NCC is implementing new scholarship options for our education programming. This will open access to the ceramic arts and welcome all who wish to learn, grow as an artist, and participate in the ceramic arts community.

We offer two scholarship options:

• a half-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners with financial need

• a full-tuition scholarship open to artists and learners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

Scholarships are limited and will be available via a lottery system to adult students only. Students are eligible to receive only one scholarship per session. We will do our best to offer students one of their top three choices of class or workshop. Once enrolled, all scholarships are nonrefundable and non-transferable.

Scholarship students are committed to their selected class, and the scholarship cannot be applied to a different class or term. Should a selected class cancel due to low enrollment, students will have the option to transfer classes. Previous recipients can apply multiple times per year, though priority will be given to new applicants.

Within a week of your application, you will be notified of the status of your application and will be aided in registration from there should you receive the scholarship.

For any questions regarding NCC’s scholarship program, please contact education@northernclaycenter.org

Policies:

Tools: Standard tool kits are available during check-in on the first day of class and in NCC’s Sales Gallery. Other specialty tools are available as well.

Open Studio: The tuition for regular adult classes includes access to open studio time. On average, adult students enrolled in a qualifying class will have access to our studios from 4:30 to 9 pm on Mondays, 9 am to midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9 am to 9 pm Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (subject to other NCC events and programming). Browse our open studio schedule online to check the most up-to-date listing of available studios. NCC reserves the right to close studios for special classes or workshops.

Minimum Age Restrictions: Unless otherwise specified, students must be 18 or older to register for NCC’s adult classes and workshops. Family wheel throwing classes and workshops are open to attendees aged 9 and above, while handbuilding workshops for families are open for those aged 6 and above. NCC’s age restrictions are nonnegotiable and will be strictly enforced.

Continuing Education Credits: If you are a teacher in need of CEUs, contact the education department to learn how NCC’s classes and workshops can be taken for continuing education credit.

Weather: As a general rule, NCC will remain open during inclement weather. We take our cues from local colleges and universities for canceling or rescheduling classes during particularly hazardous conditions. When in doubt, feel free to call us at 612.339.8007, and please be safe!

Tuition, Fees,

& Refunds:

Please refer to class listings for tuition and fees. Unless otherwise noted, fees for adult classes include instruction, open studio time, 25 pounds of clay (up to $27), basic glaze materials, and a firing allowance. Tuition may not be prorated. Some students may incur additional expenses if they choose unusual glaze materials or if their work occupies a large volume of kiln space.

Class Refunds: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a class no later than two weeks (14 days) before the day of the first class meeting. 50% of tuition will be refunded if a student drops or transfers a class between 1 and 2 weeks (7 and 14 days) prior to the first class meeting. Within 1 week (7 days) of the first class meeting, if a student elects to drop a class, tuition and fees will NOT be refunded for any reason except documented medical emergencies. There are no other exceptions to this policy.

Workshop Refunds: 100% of tuition (less a $25 processing fee) will be refunded if a student elects to drop or transfer a workshop for any reason at least 7 days prior to the workshop. Students can also transfer their registration to another similar offered workshop within the same term, or to another individual, for no fee. No refunds or transfers will be given with less than one week’s notice.

If you find you need to cancel your enrollment, email education@northernclaycenter.org or call 612.339.8007.

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406

612.339.8007

nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org www.northernclaycenter.org

Visit Us

2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406

612.339.8007

nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org

Gallery hours:

10 am – 5 pm, Tuesday – Sunday Thursdays: 10 am – 7 pm

Office hours: 9 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Information for Visitors with Disabilities

Please contact us at 612.339.8007 or nccinfo@northernclaycenter.org with any questions about our facility or with requests for accommodations.

Exhibition Group Tours: Available for visitors with physical or cognitive disabilities and the hearing-impaired. Tuesday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm. Please call at least three weeks in advance of the event to make a booking.

Signed Interpretation: Signed interpretation is available for any public NCC event. Please call us at least three weeks in advance to request an interpreter.

Mission: Northern Clay Center is a 501(c)(3) which advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Ongoing programs include exhibitions by contemporary regional, national, and international ceramic artists, as well as historical and architectural ceramics; classes and workshops for children and adults at all skill levels; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere. EIN: 41-1616650

Northern Clay Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the ceramic arts through education, exhibitions, artist support, and community engagement. Everything we do is rooted in the belief that hands-on creative experiences build connection, understanding, and belonging.

Your generosity makes this work possible. NCC gratefully accepts donations of appreciated stock, gifts through Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), cash contributions, and bequests. These giving options can offer meaningful tax advantages while sustaining programs that serve artists, students, and our broader community. Visit our website to learn about the many ways to give.

Wheelchair seating for classes or other accommodations: We offer a rehabilitationstyle potter’s wheel for those individuals who use wheelchairs. NCC is ADA compliant and is entirely wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance of attendance if there are other accommodations we can provide.

The information in this newsletter is available in large-print format upon request.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.