CLAY/WHEEL:  ALTERNATIVE FIRING TECHNIQUES
JAMES C. WATKINS

Focusing on raku and saggar firing, participants will experience the excitement and spontaneity of these ancient techniques. Discover the intriguing surface marking that results when clay, heat and smoke interact. Learn the technical issues involved in large scale throwing of platters and double-walled vessels. Explore surface decoration techniques using the physical environment as inspiration. Experience with potter’s wheel is necessary. Download Materials List.

James C. Watkins is a ceramic artist teaching Architectural Ceramics and Architecture Drawing in the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University. He is a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, which is the highest honor that may be bestowed upon members of the faculty, and he is the recipient of the President’s Excellence in Teaching award. He is the co-author of two books, Alternative Kilns & Firing Techniques and Architectural Delineation, Presentation Techniques and Projects. His work is the subject of A Meditation of Fire and the Art of James C. Watkins, by Kippra D. Hopper and is included in the White House Collection of American Crafts and the Shigaraki Institute of Ceramic Studies in Japan. 
www.jcwclayworks.com