Open Studio Passes are intended for folks who do not need basic instruction about how to use clay and/or clay equipment. If you can work safely and independently on your own ceramics and pottery, a studio pass is right for you! All of our Studio Passes entitle you to use the studio during our regular business hours. This includes kiln firing, glazes, and the use of all equipment.
Scholarships
We have scholarship funds available on our website for all youth and adult classes. If you or your child would love to take an art class, but it is just not within your family’s means right now, we may be able to help.
Download, print, and fill out the appropriate application, then send or bring it in to the studio. You will be notified if you are chosen as a recipient.
Waitlist
If you would like to be added to a waitlist for a class or workshop that has been closed, please call 503-365-3911.
Cancellation/Class Refund Policy
Willamette Art Center reserves the right to cancel, combine, or reschedule classes in order to adjust for enrollment. If the WAC must cancel a class due to insufficient enrollment, all registered participants will be informed and given the opportunity to register for another class or will be given a full refund. A processing fee of $25 will be charged to students withdrawing from a class up to 10 days before it starts. No class refunds will be given if withdrawing 10 days prior to the class start date or after classes are in session.
Propose a Class or Workshop
Do you have an idea for a class or workshop? If you would like to have your proposal considered for a WAC-sponsored activity, please complete the following form. If your proposal fits the mission of the center, and if our schedule can accommodate it, we will contact you for further information.
Do you ever get back bisqued items and have no idea how you should glaze them? Next time you trim a pot, don’t let it dry out! Wrap it in plastic and bring it to my workshop…
This is a two-day, two-week workshop that ‘scratches the surface’ of the many ways one can modify clay items in that fleeting leather-hard moment after trimming, before they become bone-dry and have to be bisqued.
With an emphasis on carving, we will explore effects of different clay bodies, stains, slips, and carving tools. We will also spend some time thinking about how texture operates on positive and negative space in figurative and abstract carving, how different clay bodies and dryness’ lend themselves to different kinds of line, and imagining forward to glazing during the process of carving.
The second week we will glaze everything we carved the first week and think about how different glazes work with slips and stains. Although I will provide a variety of leather-hard pieces for you to work with, everyone is strongly encouraged to bring their own work to play with. Said work should be somewhere between swiss cheese and bone dry.
Glaze and firing included. Limited to 10 students age 14 years & up.
$40 for 2 day workshop
Class meets twice from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Monday March 27 and Monday April 3.
Explore the basic skills of wheel throwing and glazing. Students will learn a variety of throwing, trimming and glazing techniques. We will have you making plates, mugs, and bowls in no time at all. No experience is necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$146 for 5 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Friday June 16 – Friday July 28 (No classes July 7 & 21)
We will explore design and construction of masks from simple to complex. How to decide on surface treatment and glazes. Masks can be flat or. Formed to fit the face. Masks can be decorative, to hang on a wall or garden fence, or they may be intended to be worn. If they are to be worn, we will have different challenges. Whatever plan you have for your mask, the object of creating one is to enjoy the opportunity to let your shaman loose. No experience is necessary.
Clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 16 years & up.
$120 for 4 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Friday June 16 – Friday July 14 (No class July 7)
I became interested in masks when I saw one of ancient and simple design. It was the antiquity that intrigued me. I have made many masks since then, always looking for simplicity and antiquity. People make masks for many reasons. They present a strangeness to the world. They free expression because they erase identity. When the drums are beating and the fire blazes in the fire pit, when the moon is dark and the stars are wheeling overhead, the spirits call out. They howl and cavort around the fire. Some of us find ourselves in tune with these spirits and we need only put on a mask to join them. A blanket and something wispy cloth to wave about is never a bad idea. But the most important part of dancing with the spirits is the mask. Of course there is also the quandary before going to the fire circle. It is always better to have options, “Which mask should I wear?” than to have to admit, “I don’t have a single mask to wear.”
Explore the basic skills of wheel throwing and glazing. Students will learn a variety of throwing, trimming and glazing techniques. We will have you making plates, mugs, and bowls in no time at all. No experience is necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$176 for 6 weeks
Class meets weekly from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Friday June 16 – Friday July 28 (No class July 7)
Explore the basic skills of wheel throwing and glazing. Students will learn a variety of throwing, trimming and glazing techniques. We will have you making plates, mugs, and bowls in no time at all. No experience is necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$176 for 6 weeks
Class meets weekly from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Monday June 12 – Monday July 24 (No class July 3)
Explore the basic skills of wheel throwing and glazing. Students will learn a variety of throwing, trimming and glazing techniques. We will have you making plates, mugs, and bowls in no time at all. No experience is necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$176 for 6 weeks
Class meets weekly from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Thursday June 15 – Thursday July 27 (No class July 6)
Students will explore challenging pottery forms, functions and design as well as glazing techniques and spray application of glazes. Discover creative tips for lidded forms, throwing large pieces, making matching pieces, and altered wheel thrown designs. Experience necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$176 for 6 weeks
Intermediate and/or advanced classes are not for beginners:
You must be able to center at will;
You must be comfortable throwing 2 to 5 lbs or more; and
Must have thrown on the wheel regularly in the past 6 months.
Class meets weekly from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Wednesday June 14 – Wednesday July 26 (No class July 5)
Have crows been calling to you? If so, you may want to try making your own crow out of clay. But that’s not all! You can use the same techniques to make any bird shapes. We will be learning how to make birds with attitude. No experience necessary.
One half bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$115 for 4 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Friday April 7 – Friday April 28
The Raku class will focus on firing and surface decoration experimentation. Clay building demos and slips for surface decorations will enhance your work. Adding horsehair, feathers, copper and glass as alternatives or additives will make for unique work. Plan to bring bisqueware pieces to glaze and fire at the first session. Experience necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$176 for 6 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Monday June 12 – Monday July 24 (No class July 3)
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