LAST SPOTS IN WORKSHOPS UNTIL FALL - GRAB YOURS BEFORE IT'S GONE!

I have just a few spots left in my two remaining weekend workshops in April. Grab your spot before they sell out. I won't be teaching again until the fall and already have a waiting list building for fall dates that I'll announce soon. Please note that my May workshop has been cancelled due to heavy order volume, so I need to be in the studio making pots for all of you beautiful people!

For the first time I've decided to give a gift when friends or family take the class together. Sign up with a friend and each of you will get to take home a bud vase of your choice! 

Remaining workshops with limited space left are:

1.  APRIL 8 AND 9                 $275
2.  APRIL 29 AND 30            $275

This class is for absolute beginners through advanced. I have many students who take weekend workshops many times, building their skills from absolute beginners to advanced ceramics artists, developing their own style and artistic language over time. I work with experienced students to build skills and visual style based on one-on-one conversations about what people want to work on.

We cover many different ways of working with clay during these fun-filled, information-packed two-day workshops.

Hand building
Hand building, as I have found for myself, can be even more creative than throwing. I introduce many hand building skills. I will have slabs of clay ready for you to work with. I will show you quick and easy ways of making mugs to teapots.

Wheel work: Basic wheel skills
If you have never been on the wheel before I will get you throwing, working hands-on (literally) with you to throw pots. If you have been on the wheel before, I will watch you throw and trouble shoot everything from your ergonomics to your pace. I am happy to demo and teach anything you wish.

Surface decoration
We will be imprinting clay, carving and painting. I will give lots of creative decorating and glazing demos. I have many coloured slips and underglazes to finish your forms with, and will instruct on how to use them. 

We have a simple potluck luncheon each day, with each student providing something light to share. *Please let me know if you have any dietary needs*

Cost: $275  Includes all materials and firings (bisque and glaze)
$200 downpayment required for registration to hold your place. $100 non-refundable due to small class size and cost of pre-ordering materials. I accept E-Transfer and credit cards.

Please email juliemackinnonceramics@gmail.com or call Julie at 250-537-2100 for registration.

SPRING WORKSHOPS - NEW 5-DAY INTENSIVE ADDED!

SPRING CLAY WORKSHOP CALENDAR 2017
I am offering my clay workshops on these upcoming dates before my busy summer months. For the first time I'm offering a 5-day intensive along with my standard weekend workshops.  Classes fill quickly so if you are interested in signing up, please contact me asap.

1.  MARCH 23 THROUGH 27.    $625
2.  APRIL 8 AND 9.                   $275
3.  APRIL 29 AND 30.               $275
4.  MAY 13 AND 14.                    $275

5-DAY WORKSHOP MARCH 23 THROUGH 27.  $625  10AM-5PM

In this 5-DAY intensive you will gain a comprehensive and versatile set of clay skills. I will tailor the class to each student so you work on the skills and design explorations you most want to focus on, whether you want to focus on wheel throwing or hand building, or a combination of both! The longer class will provide us time to work with detailed skills and exploration. We can chat one on one to figure out what you would like to accomplish during the workshop.

The workshop will include:
All wheel work, with a wheel I provide.
You will build strong basic wheel skills or if you have wheel experience I will create a custom workshop to further build and improve your throwing technique, speed, and skill. I will also be instructing trimming and altering to complete your thrown work.

Sculpture/slab work
I will develop your confidence in building structurally sound table ware / decorative / sculptural pieces.

Custom stamp creation
We will make personal/decorative stamps for you to keep to sign/mark all your work as well as decorative stamps if you want.

Firing and glazing instruction
You will learn about my kiln and have the opportunity to unload, load and glaze work.

This five-day workshop is for beginners through advanced, so there is no pressure on skill or even ideas. You can come with a list of things to try or just an open mind. I will discuss your workshop goals with each student before the workshop begins.

We have a simple potluck luncheon each day, with each student providing something light to share. *Please let me know if you have any dietary needs*

Cost:  $625  Includes all materials and firings (bisque and glaze)
$400 downpayment required for registration to hold your place. $200 non-refundable due to small class size and cost of pre-ordering materials. I accept E-Transfer and credit cards.
Please email juliemackinnonceramics@gmail.com or call Julie at 250-537-2100 for registration.

WEEKEND WORKSHOPS, all take place Sat & Sun, 10am-5pm, $275

APRIL 8 AND 9
APRIL 29 AND 30
MAY 13 AND 14
This class is for absolute beginners through advanced. I have many students who take weekend workshops many times, building their skills from absolute beginners to advanced ceramics artists, developing their own style and artistic language over time. I work with experienced students to build skills and visual style based on one-on-one conversations about what people want to work on.

We cover many different ways of working with clay during these fun-filled, information-packed two-day workshops.

Hand building
Hand building, as I have found for myself, can be even more creative than throwing. I introduce many hand building skills. I will have slabs of clay ready for you to work with. I will show you quick and easy ways of making mugs to teapots.

Wheel work: Basic wheel skills
If you have never been on the wheel before I will get you throwing, working hands-on (literally) with you to throw pots. If you have been on the wheel before, I will watch you throw and trouble shoot everything from your ergonomics to your pace. I am happy to demo and teach anything you wish.

Surface decoration
We will be imprinting clay, carving and painting. I will give lots of creative decorating and glazing demos. I have many coloured slips and underglazes to finish your forms with, and will instruct on how to use them. 

We have a simple potluck luncheon each day, with each student providing something light to share. *Please let me know if you have any dietary needs*

Cost: $275  Includes all materials and firings (bisque and glaze)
$200 downpayment required for registration to hold your place. $100 non-refundable due to small class size and cost of pre-ordering materials. I accept E-Transfer and credit cards.

Please email juliemackinnonceramics@gmail.com or call Julie at 250-537-2100 for registration.

FALL 2016 WEEKEND WORKSHOPS - ALL DATES ARE NOW FULL!

Some beautiful work from students drying in prep for the first firing

Workshop Details

DATES
All workshops take place Saturday & Sunday from 10am-5pm
September 24 & 25 - FULL
October 22 & 23 - FULL
November 5 & 6 - FULL

All workshops take place at my studio on Salt Spring Island. These two day workshops are suitable for beginner to advanced students. Space is limited to 8-9 students so that I can spend a lot of hands-on time with each student.

I take you through hand building, wheel throwing, and decorative techniques. If there is anything in particular you really would like to learn or create during the weekend, all you need to do is let me know and we'll do our best to make it happen together!

Hand Building
Hand building, as I have found for myself as well, can be even more creative than throwing. I will have slabs of clay ready for you to work with. I will show you quick and easy ways of making mugs to teapots. You will be addicted in no time.

Wheel Throwing
Wheels will be ready to go after the first morning of demos and hand building. I will watch you throw and trouble shoot everything from your ergonomics to your pace. I am happy to demo and teach anything you wish.

Full place settings made by students!

Decoration
I have many coloured slips and underglazes that we will be working with. We will be imprinting clay, carving and painting. I will give lots of decorating demos.

Finishing & Glazing
You will do the final finishes of your "greenware," unfired pieces. Due to timing and complexity, my assistant and I put your pieces through their initial bisque firing and glaze all your pieces. I will have samples of all my glazes and have a short individual glazing meeting regarding the finishing of each of your pieces.

We have amazing potluck lunches, often filled with ‪local foods like Salt Spring cheese and other treats from our famous Saturday Market. 

Classes run from 10am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

$275 includes all the materials, hands-on instruction and glazing and firing. 

A $200** deposit per weekend (many students opt to take more than one class) reserves your spot.

**Due to the costs of materials and time, I've had to institute a new policy regarding cancellation or rescheduling. If you need to cancel or reschedule to another date (space permitting), you can do so with a full refund up to two weeks before the start of the class. Less than two weeks notice will result in a $75 charge, so you would get $125 of your $200 deposit back. This is not something I decided upon easily but as an independent small business owner, it is something I need to put in place.

Spots sell out quickly, so please email me at juliemackinnonceramics [at] gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Salt Spring in the City Love

Feeling the love big time this week with all the fabulous coverage we've been getting for Salt Spring in the City. My fellow show producers and I are so, so proud of this show that brings a little taste of our world-famous Salt Spring Saturday Market to the big city in Vancouver. If you can get yourself to Heritage Hall in Vancouver March 4-6, 2016 you'll be glad you did! If you want to keep up with all the latest on Salt Spring in the City - hint, we may have some more exciting things in store - please sign up for my email list and you'll be among the first to know.

UPPERCASE MAGAZINE
Holy cow! My favourite magazine profiled our show! Here's some of what editor Janine Vangool had to say (thanks, Janine!):
I love a good craft and art fair and there's one in Vancouver this weekend that I'd attend if I could. Salt Spring in the City brings artisans from Salt Spring Island into the big city to show and sell their wares. "Over thirty vendors have been invited to attend Salt Spring in the City," write the organizers, "It's a curated, pop-up village market, where the criteria for inclusion means the product must be designed, and produced on Salt Spring Island. The Vancouver showcase will include food and fashion, paintings and pottery, wine and crafts, and a sense of nostalgia for the West Coast’s homesteading practices. Visitors will discover the wares of woodworkers, designers, jewellers and potters, artisanal cheese makers and preservers, weavers and painters, artists and foodies."

Read the full story and the profiles of all the show producers, including yours truly.

VANCITY BUZZ
VanCity Buzz is feeling the love for our show as well. Hurray! Here's what they had to say: This popular venture from Salt Spring Island is back for its third year, once again bringing with an array of crafts, art, and of course, food and drink. Look for award-winning cheese, small-batch jam, "wild untamed cider," elixers and tonics, and wines. 
Get the full details here. 

30 DAY ADVENTURES
We couldn't have said it better ourselves:
I love visiting Salt Spring Island. It has been names by the New York Times, "52 Places to Go in 2016" and "Canada's Coolest Island" by the Washington Post. If that isn't enough to get you over here for a weekend escape or a weeklong retreat how about the fact that the 10,000 people who call Salt Spring Island home all seem to be talented artists and craftsmen.