Past Workshops

HAND-BUILDING YOUR PRECIOUS PET

All profits will be donated to Dogs Without Borders

In this workshop Vicki will guide you through hand-building your beloved pet, beginning with creating the basic body, positioning the limbs and tail to capture movement, building the face, and adding the coat through texture. At the end of the workshop you should have one animal or reptile figurine (roughly 4” x 6”) ready for bisque firing.

Prep Work: Observe the pet you plan to use as a model for your figurine. Take pictures, especially closeups of the face, nose, mouth, eyes and ears. How is your pet positioned when sleeping? How does it typically sit? What are unique qualities or characteristics you could highlight?

Prerequisite: Basic hand-building skills. You will be guided step by step.

Nerikomi Workshop with Kelsey Ayala of Uniti65

Learn how to make nerikomi with Kelsey Ayala of Unit65! In this 2.5 hr class we will start by learning how to color our clay and wedge it into plain clay to change the opacity. We will then go over techniques to make multiple patterns such as stripes, checkers, swirls, and inlay. We will spend the second half of the class making things with our clay patterns.

Examples of finished products include soap dishes, dessert plates, small bowls, and incense holders!

GOLD LUSTER WORKSHOP with Liga Krievans

Saturday, July 13⋅10:00am – 12:00pm

$55 Members - $75 Non-Members

***All materials and safety gear will be provided and it also includes firing of your pieces

Liga Krivans will walk us through how to prepare your ceramic piece for luster, how to use lusters safely, and different application techniques. We will also learn how to avoid and fix common mistakes that may occur in the luster process. 
Please bring 2 - 3 glazed pieces to the workshop to add gold accents. They can not be larger than 8 inches in any dimension.

We will provide the gold, brushes, mask, gloves! Finished work will be fired and available to pick up within two weeks.

At the end of the afternoon, you will leave with the safety gear you need to continue your luster journey.

The duration of the class depends on how intricate are the details you would like to add. Many end after 1.5 hrs 

HANDBUILDING WITH SOFT SLABS w/ Arleen Ferrera

In this intermediate handbuilding class, you will work with a fresh soft slab. This novel technique allows you to create “crumpled” vases, “undulating” mugs and “organic” pitchers and planters. There will be a demonstration on how to prep your slab, get it vertical, form your base piece and how to add other elements from there. After that you’ll be free to work on several pieces.

MoLA will bisque-fire 2 pieces no larger than 8” in any direction for Non-Members.

Members will get 6 firing points for pieces made in this workshop.

DEMYSTIFYING THE EXTRUDER with Ian Riccardo Aguilar of Ian Aguilar Studios

The extruder is one of the most diverse pottery tools we have, and this class will help you take full advantage. Hollow tubes, coils and handles can be made in amazing shapes – square, triangular, twisted– and added to wheel thrown or hand-built pieces or for magical sculptural work.

Slip Cast Demo Workshop with Brendan (@tikifetish)

Slip casting is a pottery technique for the production of multiple, identical vessels, especially for shapes not easily made on a wheel. This class will demonstrate how to make a two part- square plaster mold for slip casting and how to cast from a mold.

Brendan will cover all of the basics for this method including materials, choosing the right objects to make casts of, mixing plaster, undercuts, using cottle boards, preparing a mold for slip, and finishing a cast.

Each attendee will be able to access a video link of this process that we will record during class.

Kurinuki: Japanese. Meaning “to hollow out”. with Dan Manns

In this workshop we will explore techniques used to form a vessel from the outside in. We will explore methods used to shape the outside of the vessel and hollow out the inside. Kurinuki is a free flowing approach with many different options and combinations of techniques to create truly unique objects.

Dan is a lifelong artist. He has practiced painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, sculpture and now ceramics. He enjoys the free flowing nature of creating objects through intuition, action, immediacy and accident. Playfulness and discovery are the main focus of his artwork.

Surface Decoration using Transfers and Decals with Seth Gantman

When it comes to adding decorations, patterns, and images to your work the possibilities are endless! In this three hour workshop you will learn three neat techniques to decorate and personalize your pieces and put them immediately into practice!

Seth will guide us step by step one how to make and apply our own slip transfers and decals onto greenware. We will learn surface decoration using stains, slips, stencils and resist on bisque ware, and finally we will discuss and learn the different types of glaze decals and apply one to our already glazed piece.

We will provide all materials needed, but please bring one bisque piece with texture and one glazed one. Together we will use molds and make a simple slab for our slip transfer portion of the class.

Intermediate/Advanced Wheel Throwing: Large Vases with Sarah Glass

Learn different techniques for creating medium to large wheel thrown functional vases with Miami visiting ceramicist Sarah Glass @SarahGlass_Ceramics. This workshop is perfect for experienced ceramic artists looking to improve their ability to throw larger on the potter’s wheel. We will cover a few different shapes such as round forms, tall cylindrical vessels, and narrow necked vases. Clay used during the workshop will be Laguna’s Bmix cone 5, but you are welcome to bring a preferred clay body such as porcelain.

All tools and equipment provided. Your vases will be available for pickup at Members Only LA upon completion of bisque kiln firing. Bisque firing is included with this workshop. If you are not a member and need to glaze fire please let the studio know, there will be a firing fee depending on the size.

Relief wall hanging inspired by nature with Sharon Hardy

Sharon is an artist who primarily uses clay to create wall and free- standing sculptures. The dualities of chaos and order, growth and decay, organic and mechanical are the inspiration for her work. Sharon has exhibited throughout California including, The Richmond Arts Center, The Irvine Fine Arts Center, SCAPE Gallery and Gallery 825. Her works also hang in private collections throughout the US! How neat!

She will be teaching and assisting students in creating a small relief wall hanging piece and going over the different techniques she uses to achieve the striking wall pieces that she is known for. This workshop includes Bmix clay with grog as well as bisque firing to non-members. If you need to arrange a glaze fire please let us know.

HANDBUILDING WORKSHOP WITH INDIGO HSU @CHRYSANTHEMUMJELLY

On the morning of Day One Indigo will start us off with a talk about her development as an artist, her experiences, and her subjects. Indigo will also talk about her glazing process. She combines glaze and underglaze in a unique manner and with a sophisticated application. This is a great opportunity to learn a very different approach to glazing your artwork.

After the artist talk, each student will work with Indigo to plan a way to build and create their sculpture.

Please bring a drawing(s) of your idea for a sculpture to the class. The ideal size is 10” – 12” in the largest dimension. Some experience with clay required. Off the wheel or on the wheel. Clay and bisque firing included. If you need to make arrangements to glaze fire your sculpture at MoLA please email us at contact@membersonlyla.com (fee varies by size).

11:30am – 12:00pm
Break. We suggest you bring a lunch or snacks to the workshop.

12:00pm – 3:00pm
We will spend the afternoon working with Indigo on our sculpture projects. This will be a 3-hour open studio where Indigo will assist you in bringing your sketch to life! You will have access to a torch, but are welcome to bring your own as this will be a very helpful tool to speed up the drying process.

Throwing Large with Molly Sanyour

Molly will guide us on all the techniques involved in throwing large:
-Wedging and preparing large amounts clay
-Best claybody selections for throwing large
-How to center large amounts of clay
-Wheel-throwing body posture when throwing big
-How to deal with the various challenges that arise when throwing large pots.

Molly will also demo how to use coils to build up and up and up and up ! 🙂

Handbuilding Techniques by Titia Estes

This one day workshop is devoted to the skills and techniques of hand building using soft slabs, coil, and pinch methods. Utilizing forms, we will build a cylinder and can change its shape by stretching, pushing, and pulling the clay in order to transform it into a more natural vessel. With pinch method and/or slabs, attachments will be formed and attached to the cylinder. Students will draw on their own influences and inspiration to aid in the development of a personal voice while building your technical skills.

We will have an hour lunch break.

Thrown and Altered Workshop w Kevin Kowalski

Take your pottery to the next level with this thrown and altered workshop. This workshop will focus on making forms on the potter’s wheel and altering them on and off the wheel. We will be aiming to make a flask but other forms like flower bricks, trays and butter dishes can be shown and explored depending on time and experience. We will discuss building a body of work and developing your creative voice while building new skills.

We will have an hour lunch break