A few of upcoming deadlines for Northern Clay Center!

McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists

The McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists recognizes and supports outstanding mid-career ceramic artists living and working in Minnesota. Applicants should demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence and may be working in any mode—functional, sculptural, relational, performative, etc.

Two $25,000 grants are awarded annually. Fellowship support may be used for: experimenting with new techniques and materials; purchasing materials and equipment; collaborating with other artists; and pursuing education, exhibition, or travel opportunities. McKnight Fellowship recipients will be featured in a workshop and an exhibition with a corresponding catalogue at the end of their grant year.

Applications are due Friday, May 21, 2021, by 5 pm CT.

>McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists

The McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists program provides exceptional mid-career ceramic artists with an opportunity to be in residence for three months at Northern Clay Center. Up to three, 3-month residencies are awarded each year.

Each resident artist will receive a $6,000 award, studio space provided at no cost, and a glaze and firing allowance. Artists also present a public lecture, and are featured in a catalogue and group exhibition at Northern Clay Center.

Applications are due Friday, May 21, 2021, by 5 pm CT.

>Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award

The WMAA provides an opportunity for students, apprentices, and recent graduates to continue their ceramic research and education for a period of up to twelve consecutive months within the grant year, further expanding their professional development.

One or two cash awards, up to $3,000 each, are made annually for travel, education, or research.

During the grant year, the recipients can research a new technique or process, study with a mentor or in an apprenticeship setting, travel to other ceramic art centers or institutions for classes and workshops, collaborate with artists of another media, and travel. Proposals to fund large capital equipment purchases will not be accepted.

Projects must take place between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022. Recipients contribute project updates to NCC’s social media and are required to give a public presentation at their school or other institution. See updates from past recipients at northernclaycenter.blogspot.com.

Applications are due Friday, April 9, 2021, by 5 pm CT.”

>Emerging Artist Residency

The Emerging Artist Residency (EAR) program encompasses two unique Fellowships, designed to provide up to three ceramic artists with an opportunity to be in residence for one year at Northern Clay Center, where they can develop their own work, as well as exchange ideas and knowledge with other ceramic artists. The residency culminates in an exhibition in NCC’s galleries the January following the residency.

Applications are due Friday, April 9, 2021, by 5 pm CT.

>Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education

Now entering its seventh year, MN NICE is a rigorous program developed in collaboration with Program Head Ursula Hargens. MN NICE provides personalized professional development for artists who are serious about taking the next step in their ceramic evolution. The program is designed to respond to the changing needs of emerging makers with high-level training and mentorship in ceramic materials, history and theory, and professional practice. Through innovative instruction and individual mentorship, artists build skills, knowledge, and insight.

Priority deadline to apply is June 1, 2021.

Learn more about grants programs at Northern Clay Center here: https://northernclaycenter.org/artist-services/

Upcoming workshops with Ruth Chambers!

SCULPTING PORCELAIN FROM LIFE WITH RUTH CHAMBERS

ONLINE DEMO

Date: Friday, March 26

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Location: Zoom video conference

Fee: $10

Register ONLINE or call 306-522-5940

Ruth Chambers shares her creative process, rooted in minute and careful observation of bulbs and flowers at all stages in their life cycle in this online Zoom video conference demo. Watch as she delicately sculpts blooms and roots in porcelain, and glean insight into her unique approaches, such as working coloured porcelain slip into the clay body to tint her sculpted objects.

SCULPTING PORCELAIN FROM LIFE WITH RUTH CHAMBERS

IN-PERSON WORKSHOP

Date: Saturday, March 27

Time: 10 am – 4 pm (1-hour lunch break)

Location: SILT Studios, 200-2275 Albert St

Fee: $235 members, $275 non-members

Register ONLINE or call 306-522-5940

Observation is the foundation of creation. Professor Ruth Chambers invites beginner and experienced ceramic artists to carefully observe and sculpt porcelain from life conveying sensitivity, amplifying empathy for the still life subject, and appreciating the sensual tactility of this delicate material in this day-long workshop held at SILT studios.

Learn the specialized methods developed over years of experimentation developing a special formulation of porcelain that has delicacy and strength and is prepared in such a way that it is malleable and resilient enough to sculpt by hand.

Workshop fee includes specially-prepared porcelain and kiln costs to dry and fire participants’ completed pieces. Pieces will not be glazed and re-fired, instead participants will learn how to colour their sculptures by incorporating stain pigments into the clay body itself.

Please observe social distancing protocols, wear a mask and follow sanitation procedures.

workshop offered in partnership with SILT Studio, Regina.

THE ARTIST IS IN

Date: Wednesday, March 10

Time: 7 pm

Location: Zoom video conference

Fee: Free

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMscuusrTojEtaOnx3DRsrJdWs1mFdA8UmY
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Get to know ceramic artists in your community! The Artist Is In is a forum for discussion featuring short presentations by artists about their work. The AGR has invited KC Adams (Winnipeg), Carole Epp (Saskatoon) and Brenda Wolf (Regina) to share their practices as they resonate or contrast with our scheduled main gallery exhibition, Tend, featuring a profusion of porcelain flowers and bulbs sculpted by Ruth Chambers.

Audience members are encouraged to ask questions following these presentations. AGR staff member Sandee Moore will direct questions to the panel as a whole and engage our Zoom audience in discussion about these artists’ diverse and innovative approaches to this challenging medium.