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Important Notice

In compliance with CDC and Washtenaw County Health Department guidance, we are asking everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to resume wearing masks in the studio. We thank you for helping us keep our studio safe, healthy, and welcoming for all students and members and we hope this precaution will be short-term.
Whole lotta glazin' going on!
Autumn is near...
...and our early fall classes begin very soon. Are you registered and ready to go? No matter your level of experience, we have a class on our early fall schedule that's sure to meet your needs.

This term we're introducing an exciting new class, Bigger Pots on the Wheel, with Aaron Cole. And our Saturday morning Introductory and Continuing Wheel class was such a great success we're offering it again.

Here's the schedule of our open fall classes:

Bigger Pots on the Wheel New!
  • Sun, Sep 19-Oct 24, 4:30-6:30 pm, with Aaron Cole

Introductory and Continuing Wheel
  • Mon, Sep 13-Oct 18, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kevan Wilson
  • Thurs, Sep 9-Oct 14, 4:30-6:30 pm, with Kay Yourist
  • Thurs, Sep 9-Oct 14, 6:30-8:30 pm, with Kay Yourist

Introductory Wheel Saturdays
  • Sat, Sep 11-Oct 16, 9:30-11:30 am, with YSG team

Introductory Wheel Sundays
  • Sun, Sep 12-Oct 17, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, with Aaron Cole

Continuing Wheel Sundays
  • Sun, Sep 12-Oct 17, 1:30-3:30 pm, with Aaron Cole

Coffee and Clay (In studio or via Zoom)
  • Wed, Sep 8-Oct 13, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with Nancy Bulkley

Advanced / Intermediate Independent Study
  • Wed, Sep 1-Dec 1, 6:30-9:00 pm, with Kay Yourist

Try It Once on the Wheel
  • Sat, Sep 18, 1:00-2:30 pm, with Kay Yourist

Work on your own
If you're an experienced student interested in working in the studio on your own time, without a class enrollment, we have community studio workspace programs designed for you. Consider our arrangements for hourly or monthly community studio use.

Our unlimited community studio programs offers three membership tiers to meet your need for studio time. And our hourly studio time program provides a choice of four packages of time by the hour. Check out the details of these programs here.
Extruder demo!
Platter formed with extruded supports
Let Diana Pancioli teach you yet another use for the versatile extruder in this upcoming free demonstration.

Using the extruder to make a platter
Free one-hour demonstration with Diana Pancioli
Saturday, September 25, at 1:00 pm

Hand builders: extruder dies can help you make platters with easeand in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The die produces shaped supports that you use, while unfired, to design the platter shape you prefer. You then form your platter on top of the supports. (You can also bisque fire your extruded supports to produce multiple similar platters.) 

No registration is required for this demonstration. Just drop by the studio at demo time.
Studio life
Latest news!
Our new mirrors being installed.
Elsewhere in the studio:
Teacher Nancy Bulkley
sometimes lets the clay
go to her head
Where are they?

Uh oh, misplaced your glasses? Take a look at student Ellen Finch's solution to the problem. She has created some charmingly eccentric clay creatures that serve as holders for glasses. Pop your glasses on a holder like this and you'll never misplace them again.
Do you know . . .

. . . where your August bisque ware is? If it's sitting on our bisque shelves, please glaze it now or take it home for glazing in the future. We must clear our shelves of all August bisque ware by September 30. Regrettably, any unclaimed bisque ware remaining after that date must be discarded to make room for new work. (Please don't make us do that!)
Try It reminder

If you took our Try It Once on the Wheel class in March, April, May, June, or July, your finished pots await you for pickup at the studio. You may collect them any time during our regular business hours.
Potter's quick tip
Q. When I throw I end up with a wheel pan full of water, I'm drenched with water, and there are sometimes water puddles on the floor beside me. Tell me, am I using too much water?

A. We hear you. Judging how much water to use and when is often tricky for beginning wheel throwers. In this video, Donte the Potter from Earth Nation Ceramics explains the how, why, and when of applying water to your clay without letting it get too wet or too dry. Find out why Donte says wringing your sponge over your clay when centering is a no-no.

See some pretty pictures of Donte's pieces here.

This video is part of our continuing series for beginners.
Clay lover's events
Untitled (Rat With Cookie) Teapot
Craig Hinshaw
Flint Institute of Art
On-site exhibitions

Area art museums are beginning to open again. We'll let you know when new ceramics exhibitions are on display. Add these to your calendar.

Steeped in Tradition. Flint Institute of Art. October 23, 2021-March 20, 2022. Teaware exhibition. More . . .

Colorful California Dinnerware. International Museum of Dinnerware Design. Gifts of Art Gallery, Taubman Health Center. September 7-December 3. (Note: this exhibition limited to Michigan Medicine patients and their visitors.) More . . .

Art Nouveau Innovation: Danish Porcelain from an American Collector. Flint Institute of Arts. Now-November 27. More . . .
Virtual tours and videos

Here's a selection of pottery events, exhibitions, and museum tours that you can visit and enjoy online. Lots of tasty ceramic eye candy!

Expositie "Kleistof" Textiele kunst van keramiek. Is it textile or ceramic? It's certainly amazing. More . . .

Ken Matsuzaki Ceramics Exhibition Walkthrough. An exhibition of famed Japanese potter Matsuzaki's innovative tōkaiseki pieces. More . . .

NCECA Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition 2021. More . . .

NCECA National Juried Student Exhibition 2021. More . . .

Beyond the Vessel: Narratives in Contemporary European Ceramics. Messums Productions. More . . .
Ceramics web pages

CFile. Better bookmark this web site, a repository of information about contemporary ceramics. You'll want to visit this site again and again.
Resources for potters
Need a special place...
...to get away to? Or to store your favorite treasures? Let Ondo Studios show you how to create an out-of-this-world planet that's all your own.

Challenge for hand builders: how would you adapt this project to make a planet? Two pinch pots or two bowl forms and an attached circular slab? Let us know if you try it.

Secrets revealed!
How do they do that? If you're scratching your head after looking at pictures of ceramics folded into elaborate knots or composed of layer upon layer of thin sheets of clay, wonder no more. Watch as ceramicist Yukiya Izumita demonstrates how he makes these complex forms.

Visit an exhibition of Yukiya Izumita's earthy work here.
Studio and Gallery hours
Here are our current open studio hours for 2021:

  • Tuesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
  • Wednesday, 12:00-6:00 pm
  • Friday, 12:00-6:00 pm
  • Saturday, 12:00-6:00 pm

There are no open studio hours on Thursday. Saturday open studio hours begin at noon with the exception of one Saturday a month, when the Try It Once on the Wheel class meets from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. Check our class schedule for the date for this class.

Please remember to sign in when you arrive and sign out when you leave. And make sure to clean your work area thoroughly before leaving.

We have curbside delivery of clay, tools, and pottery during our regular hours. If you have a specific need, please call us at the studio, during regular hours, at 734-662-4914.

Yourist Studio Gallery
6087 Jackson Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-662-4914 | www.youristpottery.com

•Classes and workshops
•Community studio workspace
•Pottery tools for sale
•Exhibit gallery