Archie Bray Foundation | Jennifer Allen and Shoji Satake workshop

2015 Workshop

Tea for Two: East Meets West with Jennifer Allen and Shoji Satake May 29–31, 2015 Tuition $335 (includes $35 lab fee) Maximum enrollment 15 Open to artists of all levels but basic wheel-throwing skills are recommended During this three-day workshop, participants will learn about Eastern and Western tea culture with an emphasis on the pots that are associated with these practices. Through hands-on sessions, lectures, demonstrations and a tea service, participants will become familiar with the history of Japanese, Chinese and English tea ceremonies. Satake’s Japanese heritage and studio experience in Shigaraki, Japan, have solidified his connection to ceramics and tea ceremony wares. Moreover, Satake’s constant travels to China have uncovered a deep admiration of Chinese tea culture. He will focus on traditional wheel-thrown and hand-built methods of making Japanese tea ceremony wares — chawans, water jars, Iga vases, tea caddies, wagashi plates, etc. — as well as expound on the history of tea in Japan and China. Participants will be able to practice forming traditional tea ceremony wares while gaining knowledge about their history and use. Allen, who is of Irish, English and Scottish descent, will examine wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques to form pots that relate to English afternoon tea — teapots, creamers, sugar jars, tea plates, cake stands, etc. Demonstrations will include altering wheel-thrown forms, darting, using paper templates to create and repeat 3D forms, slip trailing, glaze trailing and carving techniques. Ergonomics and design will be topics of conversation. Participants will gain confidence in combining methods of construction and decoration to create useful objects. Allen and Satake will give a public artist talk on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 pm in the Bray Resident Center. Registration Information Accommodation Information	Jennifer Allen Syrup Pitcher, 2013, porcelain Shoji Satake Kahiltna Manta, 2011, stoneware, porcelain

Jennifer Allen received a BFA from the University of Alaska-Anchorage in 2002 and an MFA from Indiana University in 2006. Prior to her formal education, she worked full-time as a studio assistant for Bliss Pottery in Anchorage. Among her achievements, Allen was awarded the 2006–2007 Taunt Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation, was recognized as an emerging artist at the 2008 NCECA Conference and was named the 2008 Myer Fellow Resident Artist at West Virginia University. Her work is showcased in galleries and collections worldwide. Allen is an active member of Objective Clay, an online collective of artists that promotes the ceramic arts. Along with maintaining a private studio, she currently teaches part-time at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she lives with her husband, Shoji Satake, their daughter, Annelise, and two dogs.
Shoji Satake was born in Kyoto, Japan, and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. Satake received a BA in studio art and a BA in government from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1996 and an MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2004. Satake is an associate professor and ceramics area head at West Virginia University (WVU). He currently spends time leading the WVU China Ceramics study abroad program in Jingdezhen, China, at the Pottery Workshop. Satake has conducted workshops and exhibited nationally and internationally. Satake served as a board member and a presidential appointee to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).