In this intimate symposium-style weekend workshop, eight members of Objective Clay will offer wide-ranging demonstrations, conversations and insights into their unique approaches to clay. Each day will include a morning and an afternoon session with two artists demonstrating simultaneously. Students will be exposed to diverse ideas and approaches to functional ceramics as each artist explores and discusses their specific material choices, techniques and firing methods. The dual-demonstration format will encourage thought-provoking dialogue between both the demonstrating artists and the workshop participants.

Objective Clay members will cover issues related to their business experience as individual artists as well as a group. Topics will include strategies for finding your market, expanding beyond your local community and using social media as a marketing tool.

A public panel discussion will take place in the evening on Saturday, May 20 at 6:30 pm at the Bray Resident Center and is free and open to the pubilc.

Objective Clay is a collective of twelve ceramic artists that developed out of the Utilitarian Clay Symposium at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2012. Through the experience, they discovered they shared similar goals and ideas and have since set out united in support of each other with the goal of fostering their ceramics careers and positively contributing to their community. In the years since, Objective Clay has grown into a vibrant group of ceramic makers and educators including Jennifer Allen, A. Blair Clemo, Sunshine Cobb, Bryan Hopkins, Brian R. Jones, Lindsay Oesterritter, Kip O’Krongly, Doug Peltzman, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Shawn Spangler, Emily Schroeder Willis and Gwendolyn Yoppolo.

To learn more about Objective Clay, visit their website at objectiveclay.com.