Ceramics Department
Guest passes are for ceramic studio members to bring a guest into the studio for the day. Each member is limited to 2 guests per day unless otherwise arranged with the studio managers. Guest passes are for individuals 12 years and older.
Kids 12 years and younger are allowed in the studio accompanied by a studio member under constant adult supervision. This is limited to 2 kids per member unless otherwise arranged with studio managers.
Guest passes can be purchased online or at the studio.
Do you learn better one-on-one or prefer small sized classes? This is an opportunity to have individual instruction throwing on the potter's wheel. An hour of private instruction paired with Open Studio time can be a huge boost to your confidence and throwing skills! This time can be tailor made for where you are on your potter's journey - from green beginners to potters looking for more advanced techniques such as lids, handles, sets, glazing techniques, and more.
Choose private lessons, or grab your bestie, your sweetie, or even your snarky teenager and take a semi-private class together and make some memories!
$60 for 1.5hr private lesson
$45 (per student) Semi-Private 1.5hr lesson
*Does not include purchase of clay or firing tickets.
Once you have registered, please email Genevieve Paddock at nomadsignart@yahoo.com to set up your lesson.
Genevieve Paddock
Like so many other potters, I was first introduced to clay in a high school ceramics class. By senior year, I was taking most of my lunches in the ceramics room with the other art geeks, spending as much time playing with clay as I could. But, again, it was the clay’s versatility that I was drawn to. You can make it look like anything you can imagine - tree bark, skin, leather, metal - you name it! And the meditative spin of a wheel, who can resist that?
To pursue my interest in the arts, I attended Bennington College in Vermont, a school with a deep history in ceramic arts, where I received my B.A. in ceramics. During that time, I also worked in a ceramics factory, under glazing literally hundreds of pots a day! The following year I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and intern at the Capitol Children’s Museum and create a ceramics studio and program. In 2003, I moved to Grant County where I met my husband, David, and joined him in the Nomad Sign Art studio and learned the old school art of hand lettering and hand-crafting signs. These days my 500-pound potter’s wheel sits cozily in our living room next to a sunny window, where our whole family can learn to play on it.
I am extremely excited to share my love of clay at the Painted Sky Center for the Arts. So many of my best memories and closest bonds have been made working in studios, making art, and playing in the mud.
Can’t commit to a 4-week class but would love the chance to try out throwing on a Pottery Wheel?
Are larger classes not really your thing but you’d love a small custom class with your favorite people?
This Private/Semi-Private class may just be for you, in this 2-hour allotment we will explore the basics of throwing on the wheel. This format of class is flexible and can be scheduled according to what fits everyone’s schedule best. This class will best fit beginners.
**Does not include purchase of clay or firing fees
**Please bear in mind this is for ONE two hour session, additional lessons will need to be purchased at a later date for further instruction on trimming and glazing at later dates.
Ages 10 & up (children must be accompanied by an adult)
Skill Level - Beginner
Brenna DesJardin
I’m a lover of almost all things creative. I enjoy sewing, painting, mending clothes, stamp carving, baking, cooking, gardening, the list goes on and on. Most recently, after quite a few years, I’ve fallen back in love with pottery and have primarily focused on throwing vessels on the wheel here at Painted Sky.
I’m very enthusiastic about helping others find their creative passions. I believe in supportive, collaborative classes with students that are curious and willing to try something new. Learning new things can be really difficult and I so look forward to helping you build your confidence in your creativity.
3-month pass - Fall Term Open Studio Pass
Your pass includes:
You may use open studio time to work on projects with clay you have bought from our studio, unless otherwise approved by studio managers.
All firing costs (not covered by open studio pass) will be invoiced at the end of the term.
If you are not a current or past student, please email our studio managers to arrange an orientation at paintedsky.ceramics@gmail.com.
Open Studio hours are 9:00am - 5:00pm with additional evening and weekend hours held by volunteers. Please see the calendar at the bottom of the ceramics department page for details.
Please email Lizz and Kara, studio Managers, at paintedsky.ceramics@gmail.com if you have questions.
Month-long Drawing Challenge: Using the drawing on clay techniques of scraffitto and mishima, make a set of 31 individual drink coasters inspired by daily word prompts.
Beginning on Saturday, September 30th, participants will come to an in-studio workshop in scraffitto and mishima. Students will then be given 7 pre-made clay coasters, 7 colors of underglaze, and a scratch tool to take home so that they can create a new piece of art each day as they follow the word prompts which will be texted daily. Stop into the studio each Saturday morning during October and drop off your pieces to be fired and pick up 7 more blank coasters for the upcoming week. Repeat through the month of October!
The ceramics department is offering two ways to participate:
Weekly or monthly.
***This sign up is for all four sessions***
To pursue my interest in the arts, I attended Bennington College in Vermont, a school with a deep history in ceramic arts, where I received my B.A. in ceramics. During that time, I also worked in a ceramics factory, under glazing literally hundreds of pots a day! The following year I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and intern at the Capitol Children’s Museum and create a ceramics studio and program. In 2003, I moved to Grant County where I met my husband, David, and joined him in the Nomad Sign Art studio and learned the old school art of hand lettering and hand-crafting signs. These days my 500-pound potter’s wheel sits cozily in our living room next to the woodstove, where our whole family can learn to play on it.
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PSCA cancellation policy: Teacher reserves the right to cancel if class size minimum is not reached. You will receive a full refund in this case or if the instructor needs to cancel for other reasons.
If you need to cancel: Cancellations within a week of class start date will receive a 50% refund. After that a refund will not be issued. Our teachers and staff put a lot of work in to be ready for your class. If you need to cancel, please communicate with us as soon as possible.
Join Painted Sky in celebrating "Artober" during the month of October! "Artober" is an opportunity to challenge your personal creativity by using daily word prompts to inspire creativity through every day of the month.
***This sign up is for one week***
Week-long Drawing Challenge: Beginning on Saturday, September 30th running every Saturday through the month of October.
Participants will be given an in-studio lesson in the drawing in clay techniques of scraffitto and mishima, and then will be given 7 pre-made clay coasters, 7 colors of underglaze, and a scratch tool to take home so that they can create a new piece of art each day as they follow the word prompts which will be texted daily.
Bring your coasters back to the studio the following Saturday to be fired and pick them up in a few weeks. This class would be fantastic for kids 6 and up accompanied by an adult!
Just as all great buildings start with a strong foundation, all good pots begin with a mastered cylinder. All thrown forms, from mugs, to bowls, to teapots originate from cylinders. This class is designed to focus on mastering this first essential form, and then serve as an introduction to the skill of repetition throwing. By learning to work in a production style, students will gain skills in muscle memory, creating consistency in ware, and establishing a work rhythm.
After five weeks and throwing dozens and dozens of cylinders, students will leave the class with a set of 8 identical tableware drinking glasses, and solid foundational skills they will use throughout their pottery journey.
This class consists of four weeks of instruction but will run for five weeks with the week of October 22 -28th serving as a " Gap Week" where students can use the extra time to practice their skills independently. Students will also have access to Open Studio time for the duration of the course.
Students must buy their own clay for this class. A minimum of one 25 lb. bag is required, but additional clay is recommended. Clay may be purchased the first day of class.
18 and up
