July 16-19 - Creative Surface Design with Keok Lim -

Some experience with handbuilding is required. Basic handbuilding tools and a 25lb bag of clay will be provided. Participants should bring their favorite tools.

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore creative approaches to altering form and developing dynamic surface treatments. Working from either a personal project or a place of open curiosity, students will investigate how structure and surface can work together to strengthen and clarify an artistic vision.

Through guided morning demonstrations, participants will learn a range of techniques for building and transforming form using handbuilding methods such as pinch and slab construction. Emphasis will be placed on intentional alteration-reshaping, combining, and refining forms to create more expressive and engaging objects.

Afternoons will be dedicated to hands-on studio practice, where participants apply these techniques to their own work. Bisque ware will be provided to support focused exploration of surface design. Demonstrations will include working with slips, monoprinting, drawing with underglaze pens, and sgraffito, offering a range of approaches for layering imagery and developing rich, tactile surfaces.

This workshop encourages experimentation, play, and risk-taking. By the end of the session, participants will have expanded their technical vocabulary, loosened their approach to making, and created ceramic work that reflects a more confident and expressive integration of form and surface.

Workshop Spot includes three night Dogtrot accommodations, all meals, and workshop fee (Thursday Dinner through Sunday Brunch). This is for one participant.