Visiting Artist Workshop: Soda Firing Intensive with Alexandra Barao

Visiting Artist Workshop: Soda Firing Intensive with Alexandra Barao
At the Clay Studio of Missoula Main Classroom
Saturday June 14 - Sunday June 15 + Kiln Unloading on Friday, June 20

Tuition: $340 for nonmembers / $325 for members (Use code MEMBER15)
Includes firing fees, glazing materials for workshop.

In this workshop, we will explore the range of surface possibilities achieved through soda firing with a downfire/reduction cool - aiming for a diverse range of surfaces and richer flashing colors. We will focus on the use of flashing slips that work well with this kind of firing, as well as creative wadding and loading techniques. The first day of the workshop, we will discuss slips and glazing,wadding work, and begin loading the kiln - followed by an overnight candle. We will then fire off the kiln the next day with workshop participants taking shifts and then finishing with a downfire that will bring us into the evening hours. Once the kiln has cooled, we would meet again to unload and discuss the work on Friday June 20.

This workshop is for those with at least some prior clay experience, as students will need to bring their own cone 10 bisqueware to glaze, load, and fire in the workshop. Cubic foot allowance depends on participant group size. The Clay Studio of Missoula provides Archie Bray Foundation John's Stoneware on site for our members. Please contact us to inquire about other suitable clay bodies for this workshop.

Alexandra Barao is a potter and educator based in Western North Carolina. She was born and raised in Virginia and received her BFA in sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010. She then spent a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area learning, teaching, and building community through clay. Since returning to the Southeast in 2022, she has been exploring new connections to this craft in a region where its history is deep and rich. She has recently been an artist in residence at Cub Creek Foundation in Virginia and Township 10 in Marshall, North Carolina.