For all the home school families out there, I’ve recently partnered with Outschool, they are a new resource that helps you find and book in-person learning activities for kids.
I’m offering two 4 week clay classes designed for just for home school kids with small class sizes to allow for personalized learning opportunities. Please share this with any home school families you think might be interested.
Here is the link to view the details: Outschool | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
Stores are filled with a plethora of every tool imaginable and it can be overwhelming, sometimes I’m enticed touching the racks of perfectly clean tools still wrapped in plastic and I think, “That would be a nice texture.” or “That tool would make that one thing so much easier.” but the truth for me is that my tool needs are simple. That said, I fully admit that I have a studio filled with hand tools of every shape and size that my students use, but for making my own work, I have one small jar of tools and rarely do I need anything else.
From left to right, here’s my main arsenal of tools for nearly everything that comes out of my studio. Two loop tools with various shapes and sizes for carving and scraping, a sharpie marker that I use for the shape the back of it makes scraped in clay more than anything to do with its writing abilities. The garage sale fork is my main scoring tool, a rubber tipped blending tool for small areas and the back end of it is used too. A large wooden skewer for poking, blending, reaching into places my hands can’t fit and for stirring epoxy glue together. The wooden paddle is one of my favorite shaping tools and when I thought I lost it once, I was really disappointed, luckily it showed up again.
The sharp tool section are the most used of all my tools, a double ended carving tool, a pin tool and two well used x-acto knives. Every hole in every piece is cut with an x-acto knife and the clay edges carved off with them which shows in the way the blade has worn away in a curve. The handles had to be padded and wrapped because of so much use and I have a permanent callus on my right middle finger because of these tools. The last two tools, my metal scraper and large sea sponge are usually used as the first and last mark making tools on my clay.
What are your tools of the trade?
Just a reminder about our current and upcoming classes at the studio…
Private Classes
There are still a few spots open for private or semi-private classes in February, March and April. Open to ages 7 and up, families and students of all experience levels are welcome.
Spring Workshop for Kids
This 8 week create with clay workshop is open to kids 7 and up of all experience levels. We end with an exhibition at our Annual Spring Studio Sale on April 30th! Students can show and sell their work at this fun event!
March 1 – April 21, 4:30 – 6
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
Spots are going fast, so sign up today to reserve your space!
Adult Classes
Haven’t touched clay since kindergarten? Want to try a new medium for your creative endeavors? Join us at the studio for the opportunity to explore your creativity with clay.
If you’ve never been to the studio or you haven’t visited me in awhile, now is your chance to check out all the new and fun things going on at my studio in the redwoods. Click play on the video to take a virtual tour of my studio. You are always welcome to make an appointment to tour the studio in person too!
One of my students requests a bag of clay from me each year to use in her 3rd grade classroom in an under-served community for a chance to experience clay. Most of these students have never touched clay before. She shows them videos, gives them basic instructions on attaching pieces and the thickness requirements and then lets them get to work creating. This year I got a handwritten thank you note from each student, the general correspondence goes something like this:
Dear Jenni Ward,
Thank you for donating clay to our class. The clay felt squishy. I made a pot. I painted my art red, blue, purple and black. What I liked most was how the clay felt. I am going to give my art to my mom and dad.
Sincerely,
Student
These notes are so adorable and heartwarming but my favorite part is that they drew pictures on the back of them making their pieces or of me or of what they thought my studio and kiln looked like even though we haven’t met and they haven’t been to my studio. I love that an experience so small but so special can bring out so much creativity in each student. Clay donations are funded by the sale of Art Hearts which support philanthropic art projects locally and abroad. Enjoy their drawings…
Hungry for some creative time at the studio?
This January we are offering private clay class times for kids, families and home-school groups but they are filling up fast! There are a few more opportunities to get your hands into some clay, contact Jenni to schedule your studio time today!
Adult Clay Classes continue this week, join in on the fun!
Also check out the Spring Workshop for Kids coming up!
It’s been a while since we’ve offered an after school clay class for kids, so if you’ve been waiting for one, now’s your chance! This 8 week workshop for kids ages 7 and up is a great chance to explore the messy world of clay! Click the link for details on the Spring Kids Clay Workshop.
March 1 – April 21 2016
Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays
4:30 – 6
Yesterday was my last official class at the studio for the year. Normally, I have back-to-back classes all day long, so it’s always a busy day filled with my talented students coming and going. Yesterday was as busy as ever but such a surprise of a day! I started off my first class with a gift of an original ink drawing from one of my students that was inspired by my bone series– so amazing!
Then towards the end of class I was surprised with a gift from my entire adult class who apparently had been in cahoots with each other for awhile to gift me a clay extruder for the studio! I was so surprised, I don’t know if I expressed how amazing and thoughtful this was of them. I can’t wait to see what we can do with it when we start up classes in January! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to you all!
Not to be outdone, my next class brought a day old baby dwarf goat to the studio – wearing a pink sweater! The baby needed to be bottle fed, so they have to take it everywhere with them and I got to hold a sleeping baby goat all class!
Top that off with hugs, holiday wishes and happiness from all my little students throughout the day left me feeling the love.
Such gratitude to you all… thank you!
Classes are now winding down at the studio for the end of the year, but we will be starting right back up again in January. Make the resolution to B CR8IV in 2016 and sign yourself up for a class!
Adult Classes: Ongoing classes on Tues nights or Thurs mornings, all levels are welcome
Private Classes: Private/Semi-private classes for kids, families, home-school groups all on a schedule that works for you.
Spring Workshop for Kids: March – April (exact dates TBA)
I was recently asked why I teach community clay classes, as opposed to university level instruction. Well, one big reason is I don’t have the Master’s degree, so I actually can’t teach at universities. In the beginning, I thought I would go for the terminal degree for fine artists and get my MFA but after a few attempts in that direction, I finally made the choice to not pursue it. I realized that I really wanted to be my own boss, make my own schedule and share my clay experience with everyone, not just in an academic environment and I’m really happy with that choice. Over the past 15+ years, I’ve taught everyone from seniors to pre-schoolers how to make a pinch pot, roll a coil or add texture to a slab cup. I’ve worked in mobile classrooms in under-served communities and private classrooms in private schools. It’s been an amazing way to piece together an income for myself and I have learned that no matter what your background or experience level, everyone leaves clay class feeling pretty good about what they did.
As my own art career has launched forward, I’ve cut back on the number of classes that I offer at my studio but I know that no matter how busy the art world gets, I will always teach. Each week I welcome some of the most amazing and talented people into my studio space. I love that they are passionate about being creative and intrigued enough to try something new. What I hope that they take away from their time spent in my studio is an appreciation of what it takes to make something with your hands along with the confidence to try it, compassion for others creative ideas and a respect for the vulnerability of making something with your heart. Some of my younger students tell me that they are going to be artists when they grow up, which is sweet to hear but of course most of them will go on to do other things. So I’m not churning out the academic artists of the future here but what community clay classes create instead is art enthusiasts, supporters and collectors, and the world needs a lot of those kind of people!