Thursday Morning Clay, Wheel Throwing for All Levels
Instructors: Ryder Gordon + Isabel Souza
January 9 - February 13
9am - 12pm
6 sessions
Includes Thursday Open Studio, 12pm - 4pm

All levels of throwers are welcome to this Thursday morning class. Ryder and Isabel have experience instructing beginners to advanced students in all aspects of the ceramic process. In this class, students will learn how to throw on the potter’s wheel, can learn new techniques, or hone specific skills. We will practice attachments, such as handles, as well as pulling handles directly from the side of the cup. The class will focus on tableware – mugs, cups, bowls, plates, etc, but all ideas and forms of expression through clay are encouraged!

Ryder grew up in the Boston area, where he was introduced to the potter’s wheel at a young age. He graduated with a degree in art education and ceramics from UMass Dartmouth. He has studied wood, gas, and soda firing with Chris Gustin and Chris Smith, as well as raku with Stephen Branfman (to name only a few!). Ryder has instructed and assisted at The Potter’s Shop and School in Needham, Peter’s Valley School of Craft, and Castle Hill Center for the Arts. Ryder’s work is defined by pushing the limits of what can be accomplished both on and off the potter’s wheel. He creates functional pottery with shapes that bulge, grow, and swirl as well as more decorative coil-built vessels. Ryder uses glaze and atmospheric firing to highlight his complex forms, creating dynamic surfaces.

Isabel Souza is a ceramic artist and teacher based in Truro, Massachusetts. In 2019, Isabel graduated with a BFA from Syracuse University. She pursued several mediums including ceramics, textile design, silkscreen and fashion photography. During a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, Isabel cultivated new ideas around craftsmanship, art, and fashion that she would use to inform her own work. After graduating, Isabel returned to her hometown on Cape Cod to pursue her dream of establishing a ceramics business. Isabel’s goal as a ceramic artist is to create functional handmade objects that hold stories and add meaning to our surroundings. Her designs aim to feel personal in how they interact with the human body- whether it is a mug that we hold to our lips and cradle in our hands for warmth, a serving bowl that is passed between loved ones at a dinner table or a pair of vibrant earrings that we thread through our ears on special occasions. Isabel’s hope is that her works spark as much joy for their users as the creative process kindles for her.

Note to students:

• *(NEW) A 25lb bag of stoneware or B-Mix clay is now included in the cost of the class.
  Clay is now only purchased online. Please pay for your clay prior to requesting clay from your instructor. Please show an emailed receipt or screenshot of payment.

• Clay for these classes must be purchased from Castle Hill for technical considerations. We are a cone 10 studio offering a tan stoneware clay, a white porcelaineous clay (b-mix), and porcelain.

• If you would like a towel or apron please bring your own. Castle Hill provides all of the basic tools but feel free to bring your favorite tools and or any specialty tools. Bagged clay can stay in the classroom till the last day of class. Please bring it home even if you are in the following session so staff can give the studio a deep clean.

• Open Studio time is available for current students for $25 on both Monday and Tuesday in the Throwing room from 9am - noon and from 1pm - 4pm. Please do not enter the studio early and be cleaned up and ready to leave at the end of your session’s time.

• Open Studio Glaze time is available for current students for $25 on Monday from 9am - noon and from 1pm - 4pm. There will only be two students per glaze session. Please do not enter the studio early and be cleaned up and ready to leave at the end of your session’s time.

• If you have any questions please email the Ceramic’s Director Chris at: christophersmith@castlehill.org