The Decorated Cup
Instructor: Kevin Snipes
March 13–14, 2010

Tuition: $235 (includes $35 lab fee)

Maximum Enrollment: 15
Open to artists with intermediate to advanced clay experience

This fast-paced, two-day workshop will explore greenware ceramic surface decoration. Using throwing or hand building techniques, participants will create simple porcelain three dimensional canvases on which they will practice mishima, sgraffito, underglaze and slip decoration.

Snipes will demonstrate a variety of techniques he uses to produce his layered, intricate surfaces. Formal design, composition and meaning will be discussed; historical and contemporary resources will be referenced for creative inspiration, and dialog about the social relevance of creating narrative ceramic vessels will be encouraged. Snipes will also discuss the development of his work, his artistic inspirations and demonstrate how he builds his porcelain thrown and altered and hand built forms.

Snipes will give a public artist talk along on Saturday, March 13th at 7:30 pm in the Bray Resident Center.

Kevin Snipes is a ceramic artist working as an artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation. He holds a BFA in Ceramics and Drawing from the Cleveland Institute of Art and a MFA from the University of Florida, Gainesville. Snipes' work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Jingdezhen, China. His narrative drawings are about the uncertainty of relationships, race, ethnicity—things that are difficult to talk about. Snipes' drawn stories are intentionally imprecise, but give enough clues to allow the viewer to engage in decoding their meaning.