Mission of the Alabama Clay Conference
The Alabama Clay Conference, as an initiative of the Alabama Visual Arts Network, serves practitioners and students of the ceramic arts. The conference celebrates and promotes the unique flavor of ceramics in Alabama by offering a balance of exhibition and educational programs intended to increase professionalism, inform technique, and inspire artistic expression of all participants.
37th ALABAMA CLAY CONFERENCE
February 18-19th, 2O22
SHELBY COUNTY ARTS CENTER
105 West College Street
Columbiana, AL 35051
The Shelby County Arts Center at Old Mill Square is nestled in the middle of downtown Columbiana, Alabama (just 35 miles southeast of Birmingham). Columbiana is the embodiment of small town charm and style with a walkable downtown area just steps away from the Shelby County Arts Center. Visit oldmillsquare.com and shelbycountyartscouncil.com for more information on the venue and hosting organization.
We appreciate the support of our guests and vendors who registered for the 2022 Alabama Clay Conference.
Registration for the 2022 Alabama Clay Conference is now full.
If you would like to join our waiting list in case there is a cancellation, please click the link below.
Registered participants may request a full refund until DECEMBER 16, 2021. After DECEMBER 16, registered participants who are unable to attend will receive an email acknowledgement of their charitable contribution to the Alabama Visual Arts Network in the amount of their registration fees. Registrations are non-transferrable.
The Alabama Clay Conference is made possible through grants, funding and sponsorships from the following. Please be sure to visit their websites for more information on our generous donors and sponsors:
Schedule
This schedule is subject to change. Masks are required during the entirety of the conference and workshops.
THURSDAY, February 17th, 2022
12:00 PM to 7:00 PM Registration Open at Shelby County Art Center Ticket Office
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Workshop: New Glazes from Amaco / Diane Farris
Learn about the newest products from AMACO. Diane will discuss new colors, product use and answer your glazing questions related to AMACO glazes.
Open to all ALCC attendees - FREE
Black Box Theater
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Presentation: Clay to Bronze Presentation / Nelson Grice
Have you ever considered turning your clay sculpture into bronze? Nelson Grice will take you on a visual journey through the steps used to create his bronze artwork.
Open to all ALCC attendees FREE
Black Box Theater
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM Workshop: Scratch Block to Bronze / Nelson Grice & Hank Simpson
A firsthand experience into the basics of bronze casting by providing a simple approach to an ancient method of creating long lasting works of art. Each student will be given a sand block to scratch designs into the surface. Multiple Sand Block workshops are schedule during the ALCC with one collective bronze pour on Sunday morning.
Space is limited, Registration required $30
Metal Art Foundry
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM Workshop: PM Tick Tock – Making a Clock / Karen Ingram
Creativity and emotion flow through Karen Ingram’s hands into each of her pieces of artwork. She will share her tips, templates and techniques for creating a clock from clay. Her work is whimsical and precise.
Space is limited - Registration required. $30
SCAC Visual Arts Studio
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Presentation Workshop: Making It! Building a career through Clay / Susan Dennis Gordon, Susan Dennis Gordon Pottery
Open to all ALCC attendees FREE
Black Box Theater
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Elegant and Graceful - The Art of Curt Benzle
Curtis Benzle’s sculptures gently echo the natural world. With rich color and layered patterning, he unites inner with outer, light with shadow, and simplicity with complexity. Learn from a master about his process and career in this presentation only workshop. Curtis Benzle is represented in major museums and collections around the world, including the Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the White House Collection. His signature works are translucent, porcelain sculptural vessels.
Open to all ALCC attendees. FREE
Black Box Theater
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM “Put a Handle On It” / Steve Loucks
Many different styles of handles will be discussed concerning their type, purpose, and relationship to the forms they are put on. These include handles attached from the top to the bottom, bottom to the top, pulled, rolled out, cut from a slab, wheel-thrown donut, and free form sculpted handles, along with thumb or lower finger rests. Several of these styles will be demonstrated. Then, each will get the opportunity to practice making their own handle on a supplied mug form.
Space is limited. Registration required. $10
SCAC Visual Arts Studio
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM Art Educator Workshop - Transferred Textures / Canne Hollady
Objective: The learner will develop their understanding of the element of art “texture” through tactile practice with the ceramic media. (ALSS Novice 2, Creating) Description: In this workshop, participants will create stamps from found textures, as well as a maker’s mark. These stamps will then be used to create a textured artwork. Participants will discuss ways of teaching impressed texture compared to applied texture. They will receive information about finishing these artworks with oxide washes and glazes. The techniques taught in this workshop can be modified for application with all ages of students. Participants should bring objects that have texture, and just before leather hard greenware (if desired).
Space is limited. Registration required. $30
Senior Center in Columbiana
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Vendors Open for Business Grande Hall
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Alabama Clay Market Open Grande Hall Stage
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Exhibit: Imagine.Create.Inspire ALCC 37th Presenters Exhibit
EBSCO Fine Art Gallery
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Welcome Reception
Shelby County Art Center
FRIDAY, February 18th, 2022
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Alabama Clay Market and Vendors open. Gallery Exhibit
Grande Hall and EBSCO Fine Art Gallery
9:00 AM to 11:30 PM Main Presenters / Benjie Hue and Paul Wandless
Black Box Theater
10:00 AM to 11:00 PM Presenter Workshop / Adero Willard
Visual Arts Studio Back Hall of Shelby County Art Center
11:30 AM to 12:00 PM Images and Artist Talk / Tim See
Black Box Theater
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Scratch Block for Bronze / Nelson Grice and Hank Simpson
A firsthand experience into the basics of bronze casting by providing a simple approach to an ancient method of creating long lasting works of art. Each student will be given a sand block to scratch designs into the surface. Multiple Sand Block workshops are schedule during the ALCC with one collective bronze pour on Sunday morning.
Space is limited, Registration required $30
Metal Art Foundry
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Lunch Break
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Grande Hall Main Presenters / Adero Willard and Tim See
Black Box Theater
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Presenter Workshop / Benjie Hue
Space is Limited - Registration Required. FREE
Visual Arts Studio Back Hall of Shelby County Art Center
4:30 PM to 5:00 PM Images and Artist Talk / Paul Wandless
Black Box Theater
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Scratch Block for Bronze / Nelson Grice and Hank Simpson
A firsthand experience into the basics of bronze casting by providing a simple approach to an ancient method of creating long lasting works of art. Each student will be given a sand block to scratch designs into the surface. Multiple Sand Block workshops are schedule during the ALCC with one collective bronze pour on Sunday morning.
Space is limited, Registration required $30
Metal Art Foundry
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Reception Meet and Mingle
All registered attendees
Grande Hall
SATURDAY, February 19th, 2022
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Information Desk Open SCAC Ticket Office
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Alabama Clay Market and Vendors Open EBSCO Fine Art Gallery Grande Hall
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Main Presenters / Adero Willard and Tim See
Black Box Theater
10:00 AM to 11:00 PM Presenter Workshop / Paul Wandless
Space is limited - Registration Required
Visual Arts Studio Back Hall of Shelby County Art Center
11:30 AM to 12:00 PM Images and Artist Talk / Benjie Hue
Black Box Theater
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Lunch Break Grande Hall
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM Main Presenters / Benjie Hue and Paul Wandless
Black Box Theater
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Presenter Workshop / Tim See
Space is Limited - Registration Required. FREE
Visual Arts Studio Back Hall of Shelby County Art Center
4:30 PM to 5:00 PM Images and Artist Talk / Adero Willard
Black Box Theater
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM Scratch Block for Bronze / Nelson Grice and Hank Simpson
A firsthand experience into the basics of bronze casting by providing a simple approach to an ancient method of creating long lasting works of art. Each student will be given a sand block to scratch designs into the surface. Multiple Sand Block workshops are schedule during the ALCC with one collective bronze pour on Sunday morning.
Space is limited, Registration required $30
Metal Art Foundry
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM Saturday Night Soiree - Dinner, Mug Exchange and CERF Raffle
Pre-registration required for dinner, $25 for meal only - Cash bar available. Raffle and Exchange are Free.
Alabama 4H Center
SUNDAY, February 20, 2022
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM Bronze Pour from Scratch Blocks / Nelson Grice & Hank Simpson
Observation of bronze pouring of the scratch blocks made in the workshops.
Open only to those who registered for Scratch Block Workshops
Metal Art Foundry
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Tick Tock – Making a Clock / Karen Ingram
Creativity and emotion flow through Karen Ingram’s hands into each of her pieces of artwork. She will share her tips, templates and techniques for creating a clock from clay. Her work is whimsical and precise.
Space is limited - Registration required. $30
SCAC Visual Arts Studio
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Glazing Workshop AMACO / Diana Faris
Open to all attendees FREE
Black Box Theater
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Throwing DEMO Workshop / John Pocopanni
Creating a wheel thrown closed form is intimidating for many. SCAC Instructor John Pocopanni will demonstrate the process in this small and up-close workshop.
Space is Limited - Registration required $20
Shelby County Art Center Pottery Studio
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM Workshop: Using GR Forms / Jeff Rottmann
Space is limited - Registration required $20
Shelby County Art Center Visual Arts Studio
Accommodations:
Alabama 4H Center
892 4-H Road
Columbiana, AL 35051
Registration:
Link: auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe
Distance: 7.8 Miles from the Shelby County Art Center
Rate: $90 + tax
Rooms Available: 50 Double Hotel Rooms and 1 King Hotel Room
Hampton Inn – Calera, Alabama
93 Metro Drive
Calera, AL 35040
Registration:
Link: hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/groups/personalized/C/CALALHX-CLA-20220216
No Group Code Required if registering through the link above. Deadline: January 23, 2022, Midnight
Distance: 9.2 miles from the Shelby County Art Center
Rate: $114+ tax
Rooms Available: 20 Double Hotel Rooms, 5 King Hotel Rooms
Candlewood Suites – Alabaster, AL
1004 Balmoral Drive,
Alabaster, AL 35007
Link: ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/alabaster/bhmqr/hoteldetail
Group Code: CLA Deadline: February 3, 2022
Distance: 13.6 Miles from Shelby County Art Center
Rate: $99 to $109 + tax
Rooms Available: 9 Studio Queen, 8 Studio Double, 8 One Bedroom
If the room blocks run out before you register, there are many wonderful AirBnb locations in the area.
Link: www.airbnb.com
Featured Presenters
Adero Willard
BIO
Adero Willard is currently a visiting professor at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She received a BFA at Alfred University in 1995 and MFA at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2006. She completed a one-year residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine. Adero has exhibited work nationally and internationally. She has worked as a professor of ceramics at Holyoke Community College since 2011. Since 2014 she is one of the cofounders of Pots on Wheels a nonprofit mobile clay education outreach project.
ARTIST STATEMENT
A unifying thread in my work is the exploration of ordered chaos on my surfaces, constructing layer upon layer of colorful spinning circles, flipping flowers, meandering vines, industrial grids, and geometric planes.
Red clay is an important part of my palette: it is the skin of the pot and provides a rich base as the first layer of the surface. Using engobe and underglazes — which like jars of paint allow me immediate access to color — I paint shapes with wax on each layer. These areas become windows through which different layers of decoration interact. The intricate visual dialogue I create presents endless possibilities for exploring identity, metaphor, materiality, and design.
Benjie Heu
BIO
Benjie Heu is Professor of Ceramics at Southeast Missouri State University. He received his MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University, post-bac from UMASS Dartmouth, and his BFA from the University of Montevallo. His artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally in juried, invitational, and solo exhibitions. He conducts visiting artist workshops and residencies at universities and institutions across the United States.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Illustrated objects communicate with the viewer much like a multiple-panel sequence in a graphic novel. I employ simple but richly textured surfaces to transform easily relatable and yet often overlooked anxieties of everyday life - the frailty of our bodies, the specter of chemical dependency, religious uncertainty, family dynamics, etc. - into figures or obstacles to be faced by the viewer. Battles against time, against the obstacles that prevent the fulfillment of desire, or the repossession of something cherished but lost are themes that provoke me. Revealing truth and humor in the face of horror and the seemingly absurd is my answer.
Ceramics and Drawing is an immediate and accessible format for me. I prefer simple line carving and mark making because of their concise nature: time sits still or zigzags through a composition. The most outlandish adventures are accounted with an eye fixed on the bare essentials. Translating oral narrative into a visual narrative not only reveals the significance of the story but it teaches me about myself and extends that revealing devise to the viewer.
Tim See
Bio
Tim is a ceramic artist born in Syracuse, New York in 1979. He has lived in the Greater Syracuse area, commonly known as Central New York, all of his life. He began working in clay while an art student at Onondaga Community College and completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics with Honors at Syracuse University in 2004.
Tim has taught beginning, intermediate and advanced pottery to adults in a community-based ceramics studio at Clayscapes Pottery, Inc. since 2006. He has also have taught children and teens at the elementary, middle and high school levels in workshops, as a visiting artist, and, in year-long after school programs. He has really enjoyed traveling throughout the country engaging potters in half-day, full-day and multi-day workshops tailored to their unique goals.
As a founding member of the Independent Potters Association, Tim works collaboratively with fellow artists to organize and implement several charitable events each year as well as group exhibitions. He helps organize group shows, an art trail and a high school ceramics competition annually as well.
Social media has provided Tim with many platforms to communicate with more than100,000 potters nationally and internationally. Since 2007, Tim has produced 1000+ educational videos and live streams on pottery related topics on different platforms.
Tim and his wife Brenda Pierce live in Bridgeport, NY with our cat Viggo
ARTIST STATEMENT
My Artist statement is the lack of one. Every time I make one up I get caught up in what I think my work should be and it’s the antithesis of they way I make. I am a potter that loves to throw, an illustrator that loves to tell stories and a pyromaniac that has found a productive outlet. The work I make is just a segment in a timeline a part of me caught forever in clay.
Paul Wandless
BIO
Paul Andrew Wandless was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Smyrna, Delaware. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Sculpture from the University of Delaware, a Master of Arts in Ceramics from Minnesota State University Mankato and then earned his Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Printmaking from Arizona State University. He also worked with art historians while earning his MA and MFA to study different styles of writing in the arts. Wandless returned to the greater Philadelphia area after finishing graduate school, where he taught and had his studio for 10 years.
Wandless currently lives and has his studio in Chicago, IL. His sculptures and prints feature ceramic processes, printmaking methods and a wide variety of sculptural techniques and mediums. Clay, printmaking, stone carving, mold making, leather working, metalsmithing, wood carving and painting are all mediums used in combination or individually for creation of his works. His clay work, prints and sculptures have been widely exhibited since 1995 including a recent solo exhibitions at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art. His art works are published in 16 books and collected privately and publicly.
As a writer, Wandless authored Image Transfer On Clay, 500 Prints On Clay, Image & Design Transfer Techniques and co-authored Alternative Kilns & Firing Techniques and is a contributing author in 10 clay technique books. He's written 30 published articles for several publications including Pottery Making Illustrated, Ceramics: Art and Perception and the International Review of African American Art. A DVD was also created of Wandless by the American Ceramic Society titled, Fundamentals of Screen Printing On Clay with Paul Andrew Wandless.
Wandless has served on several Boards in different capacities since 2001. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Penland School of Art (2015- ). He served on the Board of Directors for the International Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) as Vice President, the Board of Directors for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) as a Director-at-Large, the Board of Directors for The Clay Studio of Philadelphia and the steering committee for the Philadelphia Sculptors. He was also an NCECA Presidential Appointee for the Demonstrating Artist Video Program as the Video Editor/DVD Creator.
Wandless has given 96 workshops regarding his art, techniques and research around the U.S. and Canada. He lectures frequently and sits on panels addressing a wide range of art related topics from technique and process to aesthetics and art theory. He has received recognition for his work in the form of awards from Minnesota State University, Mankato as a recipient of the Distinguished Young Alumni Award and from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) as an Outstanding Achievement Award recipient. I'm a storyteller and my artwork is a vehicle through which my voice can be seen. As an artist, craftsman and writer, I want to engage and inform the viewer both visually and intellectually through the mediums and processes I employ. My personal philosophies and concerns manifest themselves as musings, stories or philosophical statements. These conceptualized ideas then take physical form as visual narratives through my work. This often manifests as figurative art or pictorial scenes.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My clay prints and prints on paper tell stories or share insights through printed images. My mythologized philosophy, symbology and narratives are manifested in pictorial format to visually and intellectually engage the viewer. The clay prints and the prints on paper are the most direct interpretations of my writings. The pictorial format also allows for the use compositional geometry to imbed multiple layers of coded information. Compositional arrangements of the objects and the symbolism of the imagery, contained in the prints, are for the viewer to decipher and further interpret the narratives for each.
My sculptural figures are metaphorical interpretations or personas of musings and concerns, that have come into being through clay and stone. Like putting a face to an emotion or in this case a figure to an idea.
As a Black Artist, Craftsman and Writer, I strive to engage and inform the viewer both visually and intellectually from my point of view that has been filtered through my own personal experiences. I want to leave something to think about from the dialogue or storytelling occurring between the viewer and me through my work. Then hopefully, due to this shared experience, the person will feel a commonality or recognition of the narrative I'm communicating through my art.
Special Events
Throughout the conference weekend, we host several ceramic community focused events with the goal of bringing our guests together for both fun and charitable causes
Mug by Chandra Debuse
Sculpture by Robin Nance Metz
Work by Steve Loucks
Cups by Stacy Morgan
Bowls by Naomi Clement
Tumblers by Adero Willard
Annual Mug Exchange
Bring a mug you made and when you arrive, check it in at the Mug Exchange table at the conference and you’ll be given an exchange ticket. Bring your exchange ticket Saturday night, and we’ll have a blind exchange while we get to enjoy some time socializing with each other, enjoying food and drink. Prizes will be awarded for "Most Inviting To Use", "Most Interesting Decoration" and "Most Intriguing Sculptural Form" mug sponsored by Steve Loucks
Participant Exhibition
We invite all attendees to bring one of their pieces to include in our Participant Exhibition. If you wish, your piece may be for sale. For your convenience, all sales transactions will be processed through the Alabama Clay Market, with 30% of each sale benefitting the Alabama Visual Arts Network’s Alabama Clay Conference.
Georgine Clark Scholarship Fund Silent Auction
Keep Georgine’s legacy of support for the visual arts alive! Your donation to this silent auction supports discounted student admission, helping them to build their skills and careers by attending future Alabama Clay Conferences. Bring a work of ceramic art you made or a creative donation idea such as: a vacation getaway, an adventure, or a meal for two at a restaurant. Be creative for a terrific cause: STUDENTS! They are the future of clay to the ALCC!
CERF RAFFLE
The ALCC is proud to raise funds for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. Just think, you could win wonderful tools, supplies, or even a kiln! CERF funds help artists who have suffered studio disasters, offers business plans and education, health and safety information, and insurance along with emergency readiness to all interested artists.
EMPTY BOWLS
Bring a handmade bowl to donate to our local Empty Bowls event.
SWAP TABLE
Bring tools, equipment, magazines, or books that you no longer need to the swap table. If you see something you need, you can take it home for free. If you know anyone closing their studio, ask them if they want to donate anything to the ALCC. This is a marvelous opportunity for students and beginning ceramists.
ALABAMA CLAY MARKET
Be sure to bring your cash, credit card or checkbook-or all three, because here is where you’ll find some beauties to take home for inspiration all year long! All pieces are created in Alabama by Alabama ceramic artists with the exception of works by featured guest presenters.