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Hello 2026, we're so excited to step foot into a new year! But before we get too ahead of ourselves, we always like to looking back in appreciation of the year we just had. Like always, we couldn't have done it without YOU - our amazing students, teachers, the incredible CSC community studio & volunteers, and the community's support! You know what we can't believe? We ran 14 Beginners Classes in 2025, Which I believe may be an all-time record! It's one of my favourite classes to teach, and reinvigorates my love of clay each time from a "beginners mind." And no matter if you make something or not, working with clay is so rewarding and fun!  In 2025, we also continued running pottery classes straight through the year - January til December. At the end of our Immersive 8-Week classes we ran a special Raku Firing Workshop squeezed in just before the hot weather arrived. Look at the amazing works we pulled from the flames! We also ran some new one-off workshops, such as Glaze Chemistry with myself and scientist Cathy DeKroon, teaching potters everything they need to know about glaze to mix their own recipes, make alterations and discover new colours. Our dear friend, teacher, and artist Heather Snow taught us a new side of pottery that we've never explored before - clay jewelry making. We created pieces that were miniature works of art with Heather, to be adorned as a wearable expression our own uniqueness and creativity. We learned so much, and will forever treasure the pieces we made and the time we spent with her. Summer Term continued with a Heather leading the sgraffito segment of Monica Viola's Glaze Design course in June, and then was capped off with Sarah Hamelin's 2nd Annual Bootcamp in August. You can read all about the success of our students here. Our Summer Term has proven time and time again to improve student's skills in leaps and bounds in just a single week course! We ended the year on a high note in an exciting development at the Clay Studio Collective... acquisition of new equipment! Diana B Earle gifted the studio a NEW WHEEL from her amazing efforts and contribution from her Clay Coaching Series, which has ran for the past 2 years, totaling almost a dozen group course and private lessons! During December's Appreciate Night, for CSC Members and Volunteers, Diana surprised us with this amazing gift to our studio. Christmas definitely came early for us this year! We are so grateful and excited to have a new toy to play with in the New Year. We feel excited and ready to welcome 2026 with lots of clay, learning, friends, community, surprises and discoveries. We hope you'll be able to also join in on the studio shenanigans and fun times ahead!
Today, we wrap up Summer Term 2025, on the unofficial "last day of summer" (aka, Labour Day Weekend). So we're taking a look back at our summer and the amazing successes of everyone who joined us! In June, we welcomed Monica Viola for her course Glaze Precision & Decoration. We learned the art of scraffito, oxide washes, effective layering with underglaze, and most notably using wax and latex resist for discovering hidden glaze combinations.  Six weeks later, we all met together again for a Show & Tell. We shared all the new skills we put into practice, and brought more questions for Monica. It was a fun afternoon sharing and learning! Monica shared the results of her glaze research, using combinations of our studio house glazes. Check out her awesome "cheat sheet below!" It's a great place to start with finding out which glazes to combine.  Below is a sample all the techniques we learned, made by both student and teachers. It just goes to show how vast the possibilities are in the world of glaze! In August, we had our very own Sarah Hamelin lead our annual Pottery Bootcamp. This 5-day course ran straight through Monday to Friday, being an intensive throwing course that clocked in 20 hours on the wheel. Our students always leave throwing 2-5x + what they could on Day 1, and this year was no exception!  Students practiced getting a strong, centered foundation before perfecting the thrown cylinder and bowl. By Day 3, they were off to the races throwing huge pieces that could be trimmed with both form and function in mind. Left: A successful bowl thrown from a study by Kelly. Right: A "bootcamp" boot from thrown parts (a cylinder and bowl) made by Peggy.  Above, you can see the progress of one student's work from Day 1 - Day 5. Starting from 1lb of clay all the way up to 5lbs! Now that it's September, we can't wait to get back in the studio for weekly classes again... which means a weekly dose of laughs, discoveries, long-term projects and general 'clay therapy.'
Will you be joining us? Everyone is always welcome - we have something for every skill level! Have you heard the fable of the ant and the grasshopper? Well, we want to both sing and dance all summer like the grasshopper while having the organization skills of the ant! Therefore registration is OPEN for all our Fall Term Classes, so that the KCP Team has more time to garden and make pots this summer!  Here are some shots from our studios, enjoying the summer sunshine and warmth... It makes the pots dry faster! We can't wait to see you soon for the legendary Pottery Bootcamp in August, - Krista & Sarah |
Krista CameronOffering pottery classes to adults and kids in Athens, Brockville, and Kingston, ON. Archives
January 2026
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