Visiting Clay Artist Series Water + Rocks a wild clay workshop
with E. Saffronia Downing
All levels of expertise welcome
Ticonic Clay Studio is pleased to announce its inaugural Visiting Clay Artist Series. This welcoming, hands-on program will allow participants to work closely with professional and practicing ceramic artists to learn unique pottery methods. Each visiting artist is a master of their field, chosen for their distinct style and expertise. Join us for this special opportunity to meet and learn from members of our vibrant creative community.
Have you ever wondered about local Maine clay?
Through Water + Rocks: Wild Clay Workshop, participants will learn about Maine’s native clay from its glacial origins to redware pottery. This workshop will begin with an exploration of Maine’s local “blue clay,” followed by a hands-on pottery demonstration. Participants will learn how to use wild clay as a clay-body and surface treatment utilizing hand-building techniques. Through this workshop, students will create a small work of pottery from Maine’s native clay.
E. Saffronia Downing works with clay to map material residues across time and place. She received her B.A. in Studio Art from Hampshire College and her M.F.A. in Ceramics from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Downing forages local material to create site-specific installation and sculpture. She is the co-creator of the digital publication Viral Ecologies. She teaches the course Knowledge Lab: Craft Ecologies in the Sculpture Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Downing is the recipient of awards and residencies such as the Oxbow School of Art Fellowship, ACRE Residency, and Salem Art Works Studio Artist Residency. Downing is currently a residential fellow at the Lunder Institute for American Art in Waterville, Maine.