RAKU WORKSHOP
STONE QUARRY HILL ART PARK
Contacts for Workshop
Instructors (for information)
To register & SQHAP Info:
Amy Komar & Ron Kalinoski
Dylan Otts
Stoneharp Studios
Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia
Phone:
396-0322 or 416-4893
655-3196
E-mail:
studio@stoneharpstudios.com
sitemgr@stonequarryhillartpark.org
Website:
http://www.stoneharpstudios.com
http://www.stonequarryhillartpark.org/
Summary:
This class is designed for beginners but can accommodate any level of experience. The goal is to
explore the medium of clay to create a number of objects which will be glazed and fired using the
Raku technique which, after the objects are bisque-fired employs a rapid firing method to glaze,
fire, and cool the object within an hour.
Description:
We have designed an introductory workshop using the Raku firing process because it is so wellsuited to beginning students. It shortens the firing time so students get relatively fast results from their
creative work. We meet at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. The studio is cozy and heated. The final two
sessions are fired in a protected outdoor raku kiln. This is a very social, fun, and exciting time! The
location is beautiful and inspiring and will really get that creative energy flowing.
The emphasis for the workshop is to understand clay as an artistic medium, discover its properties,
and learn how to manipulate it to produce objects.
Students create a number of small ceramic objects that they glaze and will be fired using the raku
technique. Raku is a rapid firing method where the objects can be glazed, fired, and cooled
within an hour. Raku fired work is decorative only.
Goals:

Provide an introductory experience to the medium of clay, including forming objects using
several different technologies, then glazing them. Through this experience students
develop an understanding of the dynamic properties of clay as a versatile material for
artistic expression.

Exposing students to the raku firing technique.
Resources:
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We provide all working materials, including tools and clay. We provide sample work and books for
students to browse for ideas. After the third class, we bisque fire the clay objects in the studio kiln.
The final class will be a combination final glaze firing, discussion of work, and “potluck.”
Fees: $135 + tax includes all materials, instructions, & firings.
Schedule: Monday evenings, 5:30-8:30pm students meet for a three-hour block of time. (If
registration permits, we will open a second class on Thursday evenings and the two classes will
have open studio time on the other’s class time.) Raku firing is always somewhat subject to
weather conditions.
Week/time
9/10
Topics
Studio Activities
Overview, Introductory Studio Principles, using the
pinch method to form clay vessels (to get the
feel for the clay and its properties and to give the
Pinch pot, small cups & bowls
instructors a sense of the abilities of the students)
9/17
Working with clay slabs – forming & impressing
with tools, stamps, and found objects
Tiles, pendants, buttons, beads
9/22
Handbuilding construction using soft slabs
Small vases
9/27
Raku Glazing & Firing (3hrs)
Glaze & fire work
TBD
Raku Glazing & Firing (Final Raku firing party)
Glaze & fire work
Information about the instructors:
Amy Komar
Holds an M.F.A. from Syracuse University. Amy is an artist who has worked in various mediums,
including painting, clay, and performance art for over twenty years. Her work focuses on the
narrative – either involving myth or fairytales across cultures or telling the stories of private lives.
Ron Kalinoski
Ron Kalinoski has worked as a ceramic artist for eight years. His work includes other media – bronze
and cement as well as environmental sculpture. He is best known for his large ceramic drums, life
casting, and raku. He has exhibited and sold his work nationally. Ron has offered Raku Live! In the
Syracuse downtown Arts and Crafts Fair for the past four years to the delight of young and old!
Ron and Amy have collaborated under the name of Stoneharp Studios for almost three years.
More information and examples of their work can be found at: http://www.stoneharpstudios.com.
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