Fall Term 2021
September 29 – November 24, 2021
Registration opens August 11th!
UVA’s Clay Place is Umpqua Valley’s only community clay studio. The Clay Place offers clay classes for all ages and abilities in a high-quality professional studio environment. It also offers open studio time and facilities for more experienced ceramic artists needing a place to work, share ideas, and expand their skills.
Because of the need for social distancing, the Clay Place will operate with a limited occupancy during this session.
This community studio has everything you need to make clay art, including kick and electric wheels, a slab roller, a pugmill, glazes, and electric kilns and raku kilns. Professional clay artists Ted Isto and Sam Reitenbaugh lead the classes and are available to students for personalized instruction and support.
Hours for Enrolled Students: Fall 2021
Mondays: Open Studio 10am–2pm
Tuesdays: Open Studio 10:30am–2:30pm
Wednesdays: Open Studio 3pm–5pm + Instruction by Ted 5pm–7pm
Thursdays: Open Studio 11am–3pm
Fridays: Open Studio 3pm–5pm + Instruction by Sam 5pm–7pm
How to Register
The Clay Place operates five terms a year in an Open Studio model with students selecting a Full-Pack or 10-Pack registration each term.
Full-Pack
Recommended for beginner students. A Full Pack entitles the student to 35 blocks of studio time (for a total of 70 hours of studio use in a semester). Because of social distancing requirements, we have a limited number of Full-Packs available.
$215 (UVA Members)
$235 (non-UVA Members)
10-Pack
This level is recommended for experienced ceramics artists looking for studio time. The 10-Pack entitles the registrant to 10 blocks of studio time (for a total of 20 hours of studio use).
$125 (UVA Members)
$135 (non-UVA Members)
Fall Term 2021
Term Weekly Themes (Sept 29 – Nov 24)
Each term offers weekly instructional themes allowing students to build upon and develop their skills at their own pace with high-quality instruction and support.
Week 1 (Sept 29 – Oct 1): Class begins on Wednesday. History of ceramics and ceramic materials. Hand built pots and primitive ceramics. Coils, pinch pots, soft slab bowls and the physics and chemistry of clay
Week 2 (Oct 4 – Oct 8): Soft slab mugs, joining leather-hard slabs, hump molds, tiles, surface and texture
Week 3 (Oct 11 – Oct 15): Kick and electric wheel throwing; cylinders and underglazes
Week 4 (Oct 18 – Oct 22): Kick and electric wheel throwing; bowls; glaze theory and application
Week 5 (Oct 25 – Oct 29): Kick and electric wheel throwing; plates and glazes on pots
Week 6 (Nov 1 – Nov 5): More glazing, stains, oxide painting and larger pots
Week 7 (Nov 8 – Nov 12): Extruder, molds, coil and throw techniques and more surface decoration
Week 8 (Nov 15 – Nov 19): Glazes, spraying and pouring; kilns, furniture, loading and firing. Tricks and tools; molds and extruder pots, fast things
Week 9 (Nov 22 – Nov 24): Last minute clean-up and organization
The Clay Pod
The Clay Pod is the Clay Place’s very own podcast, focused on ceramics in the Umpqua Valley Region and the Pacific Northwest more broadly.
Episode 1: Ash Glazes with Clay Place Instructor Ted Isto
Episode 2: Ceramics and Bonsai with Artist Sam Rogers
Episode 3: Water and Vinegar in Clay and Glazes with Clay Place Instructor Ted Isto
Thank You: The Clay Place community would like to warmly thank the following organizations and individuals for their contributions to our newly renovated space: the Dr. John Wm. and Betty Long Unruh Fund, Centerpointe Home Improvement, Manfre Design Source, Triple Oak Winery, the UVA Building Committee (with special thanks to Betty Tamm, Board Treasurer & Building Committee Chair, and Betti Manfre, Board Member & Building Committee Member), the Clay Place Volunteers (with a special thanks to Sam Reitenbaugh for leading the volunteer clean-up and painting team, and to Bruce Gravens, for shelving), and UVA staff members Sandee McGee and Raino Isto.
Payment and Refund Policy: Full payment at time of registration is required. Full refunds will be made in the event that the UVA has to cancel the event (workshop, class, Clay Place term, special program). Please be aware, should you need to cancel or change your registration 75% of your registration fee will be refunded up until two weeks prior to the start of the event. Cancellations made within two weeks of an event will be given a refund of 50% of the registration of the event. We are unable to refund registration fees on the day of or any days following the start of the event.