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 we must cancel a class we will notify all registered participants. Registrants will have the opportunity to register for another class (depending on space available) or receive a full refund. If you withdraw from a class more than 10 days before the start date, you will be subject to a $25 processing fee. If you withdraw from a class 10 or fewer days before the start of class, you will not receive a refund.
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. You will make plates, mugs and bowls in no time at all. Enrollees do not need any previous clay experience. Limited to ten students aged 18 years and older. Participants will need basic tools*. One 25 lb. bag of clay and open studio time included.
$204 for 7 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Friday January 12 – Friday March 1 *Available for sale at the Willamette Art Center
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.”
During the first 4 weeks basic wheel throwing skills will be taught. The last 4 weeks will focus on basic handbuilding techniques, using the tools in the studio. A FABULOUS glaze lecture is included. No experience is necessary.
One 25 lb bag of clay provided. Open studio included. Limited to 10 students age 18 years & up.
$234 for 8 weeks
Class meets weekly from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm. Thursday September 21 – Thursday November 9
Explore the basic skills of wheel throwing and glazing. Students will learn a variety of throwing, trimming and glazing techniques. You will make plates, mugs and bowls in no time at all. Enrollees do not need any previous clay experience. Limited to ten students aged 18 years and older. Participants will need basic tools*. One 25 lb. bag of clay and open studio time included.
$234 for 8 weeks
Class meets weekly from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Thursday January 11 – Wednesday February 29 *Available for sale at the Willamette Art Center
Have you taken a beginning wheel class and centering is going fairly well? It might be time to move to the intermediate class. Students will explore more challenging throwing techniques and pottery forms, as well as design and glazing techniques. Struggling with a clay idea? Bring it and we’ll tackle it! Experience required. Limited to ten students aged 18 years and older. One 25 lb. bag of clay and open studio time included.
$234 for 8 weeks
Class meets weekly from 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm. Thursday January 11 – Thursday February 29
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 focuses 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 result in unique work. Plan to bring bisqueware pieces to glaze and fire at the first session. Experience necessary. Limited to ten students aged 18 years and older. One 25 lb. bag of clay and open studio time included.
$234 for 8 weeks
Class meets weekly from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Monday January 8 – Monday February 26
Out of stock
