Art Department Past Lecture Series & Events
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Makers Collective – Laney Art Club
Join a group of makers and creatives in the Art Center for experimentation, collaboration, and community. Check out The Makers Collective on Instagram for more information.
Throwvember
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Longest pulled handle
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Tallest 1 pull cylinder
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1 minute wheel thrown bowl
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Ghost throwing (use another person’s hands)
Laney College Campus Ceramic Studio, Art Center, Room 135.
Please enter from the side entrance by the water. We will have signage guiding you to this location.
Metered Street Parking is available along Fallon and 10th St. Handicap Parking is available off of 10th Street on campus by the Forum. If you are a Laney student, you can park in the lot off of 8th St.
Laney College is located directly across from the Lake Merritt Bart station. Walk across Fallon St to the Laney campus and walk north to 10th St. Turn right on 10th and the Art Center is located behind the Best Center (about 1/4 mile down 10th). Go to the far side of the Art Center and look for signage for the Ceramic Studio by the Courtyard.
Laney Art Department Lecture Series
Registration for Summer 2024 opens on April 19th. Contact the Laney Art Department Chair for more information.
In this engaging 2-day hands-on workshop, Punch will guide you through the delightful process of crafting her signature sculptural lidded jar. Blending pottery and sculpture infuses functional pieces with a sense of playfulness and joy.
Demonstrations include: hand-building vessels and sculptural parts, underglaze methods like water coloring, sgraffito, wash, and underglaze pencil. Drawing from her personal journey with clay, Punch will share valuable tips and tricks to help you navigate the creative process effectively. This is a hands-on workshop, so get ready
to get your hands dirty and let your imagination run wild.
Pricing – Students $140, General Public $180, June 8th Lecture and Demo $95
Artist Bio/Statement
Bangkok-born Chanakarn Semachai, known as Punch, is a ceramic artist and educator. She earned her BA from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and her Master of Fine Arts from Edinboro University, USA. Her work explores identity and multiculturalism, blending sculptural and functional elements with vibrant colors and ornamentation to convey personal narratives with humor.
A 2022 NCECA Emerging Artist awardee, she also earned recognition from The Ceramics Monthly. Additionally, in 2024, she attended the Gulgong Ceramic Festival in Australia as one of the featured masters. Currently, she teaches creative ceramics full-time at Chulalongkorn University.
Artist Website | www.numpucsh.com
Scott Jennings will present the techniques that he uses to produce his varied body of ceramic artwork in this 2-day workshop.
Day 1 will explore the use of soft slabs to produce function vessels. Scott will demonstrate how to create patterns, add texture to the surface, and how to bring volume into an otherwise static form.
Day 2 will focus on the versatility of using coil-building techniques to achieve vessel and sculptural forms. Surface treatments and design will also be presented.
Pricing – Student $90, General Public $110, Friday Evening Lecture $35
Artist Biography
Scott is a Bay Area artist who has worked with clay for 30+ years. He has many years of experience teaching at private, municipal, and community college ceramic studios. Scott has worked as a ceramic technician and a
production manager in the ceramic industry. He maintains a studio in San Francisco.
Artist Website | www.scottjenningsceramics.com
Past Visiting Artists
Summer 2023
Ceramic Visiting Artists
Press-mold & Paper Clay Techniques
taught by Wesley Wright and Malia Landis
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Saturday, June 10th 10am -4pm
Non-Student Rate $70
Student Rate $50
10% off for Laney Students use code LNYSTDNT at checkout
Join Wes and Malia for a collaborative workshop with hands-on demonstrations!
The workshop will begin with lectures discussing the broader applications of their process, followed by concurrent demonstrations. Wesley will use larger press molds to construct an animal totem while Malia will construct flower and plant forms in paper clay to be added to the totem toward the end of the demonstration. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the hands-on demonstration and work alongside each artist. Use of press molds, ceramic sculpting techniques and how to approach working with paper clay will all be covered…. plus so much more! Join us for the fun.
Wesley Wright
Malia Landis
Handbuilding, Surfacing & Play…Oh My!
Taught by Didem Mert
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Saturday, July 8th 10am -3pm
Non-Student Rate $75
Student Rate $60
Join Didem Mert for a one-day Lecture and Hands-on Demonstration!
Put a childlike sense of PLAY back into your clay practice with visiting artist instructor Didem Mert (she/they)! Those with some clay experience are all welcome for this “handy” workshop. Didem will teach participants how to make slab build vessels, over three different handle designs, coil and pinched and paddled large coil vessels, jewelry, and more! Oh, you thought we were only going to learn constructing and building techniques in this workshop? Guess again! Didem will also show participants how to use underglazes, stencils, and more to create one-of-a-kind surfaces that POP and feel alive! Participants should bring one bisque piece to try out different surfacing techniques and materials during the workshop. Come play in clay!