I create sculptures through the assemblage of clay components in combination with and the aid of other materials. Often that takes the form of a constructed wooden substructure to be clad with tile and mosaic components and sometimes hardware and epoxies are introduced to aid in with the joining of separate handbuilt components.  Other times I introduce foreign materials or different clays to add color or textural interest.

When working with mixed materials and assemblage, one need not always take into consideration, ‘how will I be able to make this out of this one clay body.’ But rather one can expand and exploit the unique physical and visual qualities to find the best clay body and firing temperature, or best object or material with the unique characteristic to best achieve one’s desired aesthetic goals.

In this workshop I will demonstrate my systems of sculptural assemblage. However since this process does open the doors to introduce just about any object and/or material into your ceramic sculptural pieces, I will challenge you to experiment and expand your sculptural palette. 

While this system of assemblage does indeed allow for a wide range of decorating approaches, please be aware that we could not possibly cover them all in just 2 weeks. We will be concentrating on the construction and assembly process and on creating unique surfaces through experimentation, and exploration. As part of all that, some basic tile making and installation techniques for cladding forms will be covered.