Clay Speaks of Odyssey's “Living Forms, Narrative Pieces”

ASHEVILLE – Like Leonardo da Vinci, Lindsay Pichaske began her artistic career with a physician’s curiosity about the human body.

Pichaske studied to be a doctor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before beginning her life in clay. “My figures invoke a sense of morbid curiosity, making you wonder what sort of traumas they have experienced,” the potter said.

A former resident of Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, Pichaske gives back to the pottery community when she teaches “Living Forms, Narrative Pieces,” every Monday from August 20 to October 6. Students will use slabs, pinched forms, slip casting and molds to create narrative sculptures that can hang on the wall or stand on their own during this class.

Strongly influenced by what she calls the “creepy world of childhood,” Pichaske will teach basic sculpting techniques and explore how animals, figures and natural forms in clay tell stories. Her own figures challenge preconceived ideas, “their loaded stares, sullen power and fine features confront you with dual discomfort and magnetism,” she said.

“Living Forms, Narrative Pieces” is suitable for all levels and will be inspirational for all types of sculptural work, according to Odyssey Director Cynthia Lee. “Lindsay’s exuberant and cheerful personality will make this class a joy. Students will be intrigued by the strange contrast she embraces,” Lee said.

For more information about Odyssey classes and workshops, visit the center at 236 Clingman Avenue in the River Arts District, call (828) 85-0210, e-mail odyssey@highwaterclays.com or visit Highwater’s Web site at: http://www.highwaterclays.com.

Hands-On Teaching at Odyssey

Great potters aren’t born, they’re built, formed by their experiences with other great ceramicists.

In her new workshop “Good Ideas, Better Pots” held at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts from July 23 to July 27, Becca Floyd will make you rethink your pots, whether they’ve been throwing for a day or many decades.

“Becca is a wonderful instructor for beginners or experts,” said Lori Theriault, who has taken a class with Floyd in the past. “She responds well to all levels and you’ll learn something new no matter where you are if you’re eager to learn.”

Floyd is a highly acclaimed artist who has taught at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN, in addition to Odyssey. Her work has been featured in nationally recognized books and magazines, including “500 Teapots," “The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes" and “500 Pitchers."

In this workshop Floyd will teach altering, decorating, the use of line, texture and pattern to find the pot inside the thought. This class is recommended for students with recent experience throwing. Floyd will also share glazes and demonstrate glazing methods for the reduction kiln.

A former resident at Odyssey, Floyd is such an engaged teacher that many students return to take the same class over and over again. “A lot of people in the class I attended had taken classes with her in the past and they came back because they really enjoy her teaching style,” Theriault said.

“We get a lot of compliments about Becca’s classes,” said Cynthia Lee, Odyssey’s managing director. “People appreciate her teaching style, how she explains what her hands are doing, that sort of unique hands-to-brain communication.” Students even praise Floyd’s constructive criticism.

“It was a fabulous experience,” Theriault said. “I enjoyed it so much that I’m attending her next class. If you’re anything like me, you have a thirst to learn and Becca really adapts herself to her students.”

Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts is an educational program of Highwater Clays, Inc., located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. The studio school’s mission is to promote understanding, appreciation and professional development in the ceramic arts. The center has seven additional classes to chose from in the Late Summer Session in handbuilding and wheel throwing and sculpture with a talented instructors.

For more information about Odyssey classes and workshops, visit the center at 236 Clingman Avenue in the River Arts District, call 828.285-0210, e-mail odyssey@highwaterclays.com or visit Highwater’s Web site at: http://www.highwaterclays.com.

July 13, 2007 Potters Talk

Welcome to Potters Talk, Highwater Clays e-newsletter! Potters Talk was designed to give customers up-to-the-minute information on sales and new products while sharing information and tips.

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Clay Countdown

Highwater Clays summer sale ends on July 31. Act now!

Highwater is offering deals on the following popular Skutt Kilns and Brent and Shimpo Wheels:

Skutt Kilns - KM1027, KM1227, KS1027, KS1227, and KM1227PK.
Brent Wheels - EX, CXC, C, and B.
Shimpo Wheels - RK-Whisper and VL-Whisper.

Highwater customers also receive a free three-piece tool set and 12 bat with the purchase of a Shimpo RK or VL. Call 828.252.6033 or e-mail clay@highwaterclays.com for details.

Mention that you heard about the sale through Potters Talk to enter a special drawing.
See the latest Highwater Clays catalog or call our customer service specialists at 828.252.6033 for more information. Mention you saw this discount in Potters Talk to enter a special drawing exclusively for our Internet customers.

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Mix It Up! Click here for Highwater Clays glaze mixing advice.

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Book Recommendation
Dont you hate shopping at mega booksellers, where the person on the other side of the counter doesnt know cone 6 from a hole in the wall?

Highwater Clays employs potters like Les Powell (Smoking Turtle Studio), who works with our clays, uses our tools and knows the books we carry. Les is a highly read potter with decades of experience and when he recommends a book, you can be sure its worth having on your bookshelf.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is a great book for formulating glazes, he says, explaining the popularity of this glazing style. Cone 6 glazes became big in the 1970s, when many potters went electric to offset the high cost of fuel. A lot of potters wanted Cone 10 effects using Cone 6 [but] this was easier said than done.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes outlines the challenges of achieving predictable results, offers suggestions and even includes a material analysis. Cone 6 glazing is one of the most popular styles right now and Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is a great potters resource.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is available through Highwater Clays.

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The Grandmaster Comes to Odyssey

There is only one Grandmaster of Clay.

James Watkins earned the title the hard way, one lyric piece of pottery at a time. From Aug. 13 - 17 you can learn from this master ceramicist at a workshop entitled Environmental Inspiration at Odyssey.

Watkins is a Fulbright scholar, world lecturer and a celebrated potter with more than 30 years of experience. He has taught at Ho Chi Mihn City University of Architecture and the Shigaraki Institute for Ceramic Studies, Japan. He has displayed work at the Smithsonian Institution and the White House Collection of American Crafts.

Using jazz and lucid dreaming as inspiration and drawing heavily from trips around the world, Watkins collects experiences for his work. The idea is to become focused on everything around you, he explained in an interview with Texas Tech University. If you have that awareness you never run out of ideas.

Watkins guides students through their own inspirational landscape, a place where the unexpected is welcomed. Lots of times when youre working with clay you have an idea what you want the glaze to look like and what you want the surface to look like, but the fire can do something unexpected. something even beyond your own sensibilities.

Details
What: Environmental Inspiration with James Watkins
When: August 13 to August 17
Cost: $350 plus $75 registration fee

Other opportunities: Watkins work will be displayed at the Odyssey Gallery through August. He will hold a public lecture there on August 14 at 12:15. A gallery reception will be held August 16 at the gallery from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Click here to watch a small video interview with Watkins.
Happenings! Other workshops at Odyssey include Becca Floyds I Can Throw...Now What?! Click here for Odysseys Late Summer workshops.

Call Odyssey at 828.285.0210 or e-mail the director at odyssey@highwaterclays.com for more information.

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The Highwater Gets Around Contest

When we say we make the EARTHS BEST CLAYS, we mean it. We scour the globe to find the best ingredients for our clays. We draw customers from around the world because theyre searching for us as hard as we are for them.

We value their loyalty as much as they value our dedication.

Were proud of our customers. Thats why were asking you to send in photos of yourself from around the globe in your Highwater Clays logo wear. These photos will be posted in Potters Talk and on our new Web site. If another customer recognizes where the picture was taken, both will be entered into a special drawing.

Send your pictures to: randy@highwaterclays.com to enter.

A Thank You to the Highwater Family

Highwater Clays presents:
2007 Summer Sale

Featuring deals on the following popular Skutt Kilns and Brent and Shimpo Wheels:
Skutt Kilns - KM1027, KM1227, KS1027, KS1227, and KM1227PK.
Brent Wheels - EX, CXC, C, and B.
Shimpo Wheels - RK-Whisper and VL-Whisper.

Highwater customers also receive a free three-piece tool set and 12” bat with the purchase of a Shimpo RK or VL. Call (828.252.6033) or e-mail (clay@highwaterclays.com) for details.

Mention that you heard about the sale through Potters Talk to enter a special drawing.

This e-newsletter provides customers with up-to-the-minuteinformation on sales and new products, profile Highwater potters, sharesecrets, hints and suggestions and offer exciting contests.To help ensure that you continue to receive this e-newsletter, pleasetake moment to add our email to your email address book, spam softwarewhitelist, or e-mail system whitelist.

For more information about Highwater Clays or our products call828.252.6033. To submit story ideas or comment about “Potters Talk,”please email Information and Media Specialist Randy Moser(randy@highwaterclays.com).

June 15, 2007 Potters Talk

Welcome to Potters Talk, Highwater Clays e-newsletter! Potters Talk was designed to give customers up-to-the-minute information on sales and new products while sharing information and tips.

Fired Up for Highwater Clays Simmering Summer Sale

Highwater Clays heats things up this summer by cutting prices on select kilns and other items. Discounting our top-selling Skutt kilns is just one way we give back. Were cutting prices on the following models:

KM 1027 (7 cubic-foot Kilnmaster)
KM 1227 (9.9 cubic-foot Kilnmaster)
KS 1227 (9.9 cubic-foot kiln with sitter and timer)
KS 1027 (7 cubic-foot kiln with sitter and timer)
KM1227PK (9.9 cubic-foot production kiln with Kilnmaster Controller)

These energy-saving, electric kilns come with stainless steel jackets. The 1227 series comes equipped with three-inch firebrick that provides additional insulation while saving even more energy. Highwater is also cutting prices on our Brent Wheels and Shimpo Wheels. These products are on sale only from July 1 to July 31. See the latest Highwater Clays catalog or call our customer service specialists at 828.252.6033 for more information. Mention you saw this discount in Potters Talk to enter a special drawing exclusively for our Internet customers.

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Full Glaze Ahead!
Seeing is believing at Highwater Clays. We test the glazes we carry to ensure they work with our clays and meet our high standards. Highwater Clays resident potter and tech support Jennifer Hoolihan has worked with virtually every tool, clay and glaze we stock. Jennifer has tested the new Amaco Potters Choice glazes.

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Making Memories

It was total immersion in clay, Michelle Free said about her stay in Asheville. Michelle attended Bill van Gilders workshop The Functional Pot at the Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts and stayed at the Parsonage. As coincidence would have it, van Gilder was also staying at our guest house. It was interesting talking to a potter of this caliber over coffee in the morning, she says. It certainly added to the experience. Everything blended together and it was so wonderful to get to know Lori [the Parsonages live-in manager], who is a working artist herself with a studio at Odyssey, and then spend time with Bill [van Gilder] it was like coming home, Michelle said. Contact Highwater Clays Information and Media Specialist Randy Moser at randy@highwaterclays.com to share your own stories about visiting Odyssey, staying at the Parsonage or working with our products.

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Happenings!

Visit lush Asheville this summer for the Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts workshops. Western North Carolinas temperate weather and beautiful mountains make it a wonderful place to attend a workshop, and Odyssey draws instructors from around the globe.

Check out Big Risky Pots with Kevin Crowe July 9-13. Kevin will take students beyond the bowl in this intermediate-level class.

Mark July 16-20 for Form, Surface & Glaze with Richard Burkett. This intermediate- to advanced-level class will focus on stoneware and porcelain, and Richard will teach the HyperGlaze software.

Join James Watkins on August 13-17 for Environmental Inspiration. Students will explore procedures applied primarily to large functional and sculptural forms.

These four-day, intensive workshops cost $350 per person, plus a $75 registration fee. Call Odyssey at 828.285.0210 or e-mail the director at odyssey@highwaterclays.com for more information.