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Ceramic House Number
with Isabel Alff
Create a personalized ceramic house number plaque that’s both functional and beautiful. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll use slab-building techniques to design and construct a custom address plaque, incorporating natural textures from leaves, flowers, and stems pressed directly into the clay.
Participants will choose their plaque’s shape, layout, and number style, then add surface details that reflect their own aesthetic. With step-by-step guidance, you’ll learn how to cut, shape, and attach your design elements while exploring texture and composition.
All tools and materials are provided. Finished plaques will be fired and ready for pickup at a later date.
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.
Ceramic Yarn Bowl
with Isabel Alff
Design and hand-build your own functional and decorative ceramic yarn bowl in this beginner-friendly workshop. Using slab-building techniques, you’ll construct a custom bowl designed to keep yarn neatly in place while you work.
Under the guidance of an instructor, you’ll learn how to roll and shape clay slabs, join seams, and form a sturdy base. Once assembled, you’ll add your personal touch through carved or sculpted details—turning your piece into a one-of-a-kind creation that’s as beautiful as it is useful.
Whether you’re a ceramic enthusiast or a fiber artist looking to craft your own studio companion, this hands-on session offers a fun introduction to clay construction and surface design. All materials and tools are provided.
Finished pieces will be fired and ready for pickup at a later date.
Ceramic Bird Feeder
with Isabel Alff
Bring a touch of handmade charm to your garden with a ceramic bird feeder crafted by you! In this beginner-friendly workshop, participants will learn slab-building techniques to construct a functional and decorative feeder that birds will love.
You’ll roll and shape clay into a teardrop form, add texture using stamps or natural materials, and attach end caps and hanging holes to complete your design. Along the way, you’ll explore surface decoration and handbuilding basics while creating a piece that’s both artistic and useful.
All tools and materials are provided. Finished bird feeders will be fired and ready for pickup at a later date.
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.
Advanced Sgraffito
with Carly LoBrutto
Step off the canvas and into clay! This advanced workshop welcomes artists of all backgrounds—potters, painters, and illustrators alike—to explore the decorative technique of Sgraffito (skrah-FEE-toh). You’ll design, glaze and carve your own imagery onto unfired ceramic plates. This 4-hour workshop has been put together for potters that wish to elevate the surface design of their own pieces, but also for artists that enjoy painting and/or drawing and want to experiment with it on a new medium. Plates will be made ahead of time (so no 'pottery skills' are required for this workshop). Carving tools will be provided.
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS
Gouache: Inspired by Eyvind Earle
with Zoungy Kligge
Paint a layered, imaginative forest scene using techniques pioneered by Eyvind Earle for his work on Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty. Using opaque gouache paint, we will learn to layer colors into an intricate, woven texture resembling Medieval tapestries and Persian miniature paintings.
Clcik HERE for a materials list for this workshop
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support the mission of HYS.
Zentangle Mandala
with Susan Trembeth, CZT
"They say 'Go Big or Go Home'... and while the world of Zentangle is usually under 4 inches, we are going big for this workshop. This mega Zentangle-inspired mandala will be done on a 12x12 inch 'tile". Perfect for framing. Bring your Zentangle kit, or purchase a kit for $13 from the instructor. Previous Zentangle experience is not required, but is helpful. There will be some additional supplies needed for this class. List will be sent after registration.
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!
Needle Felting: Penguin
with Julia Inslee
Learn the wonderful art of needle felting with natural fibers as you create your own adorable penquin. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll follow step-by-step guidance to shape, layer, and build your sculpture using wool sourced locally from Locust Hollow Sheep Farm in nearby Coatesville. No experience needed, just bring your creativity.
Materials fee: $15
- We believe art should be accessible to all. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
- Membership is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support our mission! Learn more about it's benefits and discounts!
Surface Studies: Decoration at The Greenware Stage
with Celia Feldberg
The qualities of clay at the greenware stage, as it progresses from soft to dry, allow for a wide range of surfacing techniques that can bring detail, narrative, color, or depth to your ceramic pieces. In this one day workshop, Celia will demonstrate sgraffito, inlay, water etching, underglaze painting, and underglaze trailing on light and dark colored clays. Celia will talk about ways to transfer sketches to your pieces, how moisture and timing impact mark marking, and achieving a water color effect using underglazes. Participants will receive tiles to practice the techniques on and are also welcome to bring pieces at the leather-hard and bone dry stages to use. Come away with new approaches to surface decoration that can be used to create illustrations, abstract designs, or make patterns on functional or sculptural forms.
About: Celia Feldberg is a ceramic artist based in Philadelphia. She earned her BFA in ceramics from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2019 and has exhibited nationally, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and the Flower City Pottery Invitational.
She is a long-term resident artist and instructor at The Clay Studio of Philadelphia and has taught at community studios and craft schools such as Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Snow Farm. Her work has been featured by The Ceramic Shop, Pottery Making Illustrated, Tales of A Red Clay Rambler, and The Potters Cast, and she served as glaze technician for Ben Carter’s Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors.
Learn more: www.celiafeldberg.com