Clay Culture: Hosting Workshops Alison Palmer

Appears in the February 2024 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

The organization and hosting of workshops by renowned artists became a new means to sustain a thriving business for this ceramic artist.

Ceramics Monthly: How and when did you start hosting soda- and wood-firing workshops at your studio?

Alison Palmer: Sixteen years ago, in 2008, the economy was on the verge of collapse. My husband and I had been renting studio space at various locations. These spaces were also large enough to add a retail business based on my work and, sometimes, the work of other craftspeople. The rent prices kept rising, and our lack of expertise in retail made these ventures untenable, so we decided to build a studio on our own property. We went to our bank and secured a loan. Having already built a wood kiln, and after the studio was complete, we added a soda kiln.

Before the wood kiln was built, I had a low-fire slip-casting business. I designed the work, made the molds, slip cast, decorated, and low fired everything. We sold mainly wholesale to several galleries and shops across the country and were represented by some major catalogs. Having the assistance of some invaluable coworkers made wholesaling possible. My husband did the non-studio work: computers, advertising, graphics, photography, shows, bills, and the ever-present collection calls. He did all this while still maintaining his own career as a professional musician. Although very taxing as we grew older, we were still setting up our booth at some major craft exhibits, such as the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, DC; The American Crafts Council Show in Baltimore, Maryland; the New York Gift Show; and the Philadelphia Buyers Market.

At that point, when most of our accounts closed their doors due to the recession, we still had a mortgage to pay on our house and now, on our new studio. Employees, sadly, had to be let go, and noticing the building was not being used to capacity, my friend suggested that we host a workshop. Jack Troy was our first presenter. Since then, we’ve had workshops by such notable clay artists as Jen Allen, Noel Bailey, Paul S. Briggs, Linda Christianson, Candice Methe, Bandana Pottery, Akira Satake, and an international lineup that includes Anne Mette Hjortshøj from Denmark, Ken Matsuzaki from Japan, and Elena Renker from Australia, as well as an upcoming workshop on Zulu pottery from South Africa. We also host Steven Hill’s “Journey” workshop every year—a three-part immersion into clay by one of the most esteemed masters of the craft. Since we started, we’ve hosted over 150 workshops.

Our workshops attract people with a wide range of skill levels looking for new or rediscovered interests. Most of our workshops do not include firings per se. We don’t include firing within the workshop timeline because they are often not long enough to fill the kilns. Students are, however, invited to return after any completed workshop to glaze and help fire in either our soda or wood kiln. I find there is better balance and rhythm at our studio if people make work for a specific firing and come back to glaze and fire when we’re ready with a full kiln’s worth of work.

CM: Describe the workspaces and facilities. How have you expanded to support workshops?

AP: Our two-level studio is 3400 square feet, with 1700 square feet on each floor. When we first designed the studio, we had no idea how big it would actually be. The top floor was intended for storage until I decided to have a 4-foot knee wall built on the sides. The floor then opened up into another usable space where most of our workshops are now held. Inside our two large workspaces, we have 16 electric wheels and one kickwheel. Workshops are often monitored on a large screen so that viewing the presentation can be seen by all in the room up close and detailed. On presentation night, we usually have a catered dinner for a small fee.

The size of our building precluded any thoughts of expansion. The two floors offer us lots of space and we have many worktables for people to spread out on. We’re located near Kent, Connecticut, which has inns and AirBnBs, great restaurants, hiking, farmers markets, lots of woods, and beautiful views of the Berkshire foothills. The workshops are akin to retreats, retreats to nourish the creative soul.

The building of our wood kiln was part of what inspired me to switch from production low-fire work to one-of-a-kind stoneware pieces. In a sense, we gave up one business and took our chances with another, but at the heart of my decision was that high-fired stoneware was the artistic path I wanted to follow. It was one of those choices that we sometimes must make in life if we want to follow our artistic dreams and goals. Luckily, it worked out for me, but it probably wouldn’t have worked out if it weren’t for the addition of our workshops, which, in themselves and through the artists involved, have also become an inspiration.

CM: Describe a typical workshop—how are guest artists selected or approached for hosting, how long are the workshops, how many artists participate, and how are the soda- or wood-firings planned?

AP: We have approximately twelve workshops a year. A typical workshop runs for about four days, some for two days, and some, especially if the artist comes from outside the country, up to seven days. I choose the artists through recommendations from my students or Instagram. I follow a lot of people on social media, and when I think their posts or reels are particularly interesting, I try to connect with them. There is also a balance that must be determined as to who will be able to draw people and who will provide enough inspiration to have people want to return. We want artists that inspire, so that we have full and exciting workshops. Our success rests on two things: if students continue to return, having had a fulfilling prior experience, and if we can continue to attract dynamic and interesting teachers. Every year we have a couple of artists return to teach after a two-year hiatus. And, of course, we have new, talented artists who teach here for the first time. The people who attend our workshops now come from all over, some locally and some as far away as the West Coast.

The workshops with firings are structured differently than most because of their shorter duration. As stated, they are not long enough to produce enough work to fill a kiln, so everyone is invited to come back and partake in the loading, firing, and unloading process if they choose. Sometimes, we fire in conjunction with others. We were one of the hosts, for instance, of the The New England Wood Firing Conference in 2023, and we have a soda-firing workshop planned at our studio on May 11, 2024, in conjunction with The Art School at Old Church (TASOC) in Demarest, New Jersey.

CM: How do you balance making your ceramic work with the demands of organizing workshops?

AP: I work from April 1 to December 31. An hour in the morning is generally spent on the computer, organizing my schedule, answering emails and messages, and returning phone calls. I then have the rest of the day to work on my own pieces. By November, all of the next year’s guest artists are on the schedule, plus most of the following year’s lineup. Currently, all of 2024 and half of 2025 are booked. In December, we start working on the workshop flyers, which will go out as emails and be posted on our website for reference. The PayPal modules are up on our “workshops” page, which makes signing up for a workshop simple and convenient.

We usually spend our winters in Mexico, either in Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula or the beautiful city of Oaxaca. I’ve taught classes in clay and papier-mâché while still attending to our business from afar. You might call it a “working vacation.” While in the Yucatan, we also do volunteer work at dog and cat sterilization clinics. We love to work in recovery knowing we’ve done our little part in helping curb the abundance of stray animals.

CM: What have you learned from this component of your business and practice?

AP: The main thing I’ve learned is how important my clay community is to me. After the pandemic, there was a real need to gather, create, encourage, and support each other. My feeling is that if more people were to make art and take a pottery class, for instance, the world would be a calmer and happier place.

I recently received a letter from one member of my clay community who regularly fires with me, and I would like to share a bit of it with you: “I would never have imagined when I started that I would be able to accomplish what I have. I attribute much of it to meeting you, and, of course, there is so much more to learn.”It’s this kind of feedback that makes it all worthwhile.

the author Alison Palmer’s work and additional information can be found here: www.alisonpalmerstudio.com. You can find her on Instagram @alisonpalmerstudio.