Hybrid Forms: Ceramic Creatures and Constructed Worlds with Jess Riva Cooper
January 8, 2026
Making and Decorating for Cone 1 Salt & Soda with Andrew Kellner
January 9, 2026
Workshop Description
“Thematic Research + Accumulative Installation: the essentials of research, planning and producing your specific project with multiple ceramic parts” is a five day workshop open to artists who are looking to make bigger more complicated thematic work.
All ceramic projects and objects are welcome at any stage of making! But it is important to the workshop that you bring something as a jumping off point, whether that is completed work, written down or sketched ideas or even in-process work.
For example,
Are you a potter? Bring 1-10 pots you have made and want to make again, change in some way/expand, or create a world for in exhibition.
Are you a sculptor? Do have a leather-hard sculpture you are making, bring it! Do you have sketches of a piece you have been dreaming of? Bring that.
In this workshop you will discover and describe a research topic that already exists in your work + refine it (I promise there is one, even if you do not see it yet). Then we will design and plan to make a more expansive installation featuring your ceramic work. We will use my personal practice as a guide.
In this workshop you will:
- Learn methods of research + project planning
- Make ceramic models + a make paper gallery
- Make ceramic multiples with repetition, templates, tracing and molds (plaster, ceramic + silicon).
- Play with additive and editing methods with kiln (glazing multiple times, luster, decals) and beyond the kiln “cold working” (aka painting) and gluing multiple parts.
- How to keep large projects organized, imagine how to work with or around physical studio constraints (trust me you can do it, I am a ceramic technician).
- Learn to install works securely and play with glues, screws + grout.
- Expand your personal work with a supportive + experimental group
Everyday there will be a slide presentation, demo + assignment/exercise to help your work get bigger and more complicated. Everyday there will be time to work in the studio on your personal project by the end your will have sample pieces of work + a new way to move forward with an expansive ceramic project.
Participant Required Materials:
- Clay + glazes of choice
- Basic Clay Tools
- Apron
- Sketchbook +/or computer
- Brushes + drawing utensils
- Pertinent parts of your project if you have begun
Instructor
Bridget Fairbank
Workshop Dates
Monday, July 6 - Friday, July 10, 2026 (5 days)
Registration Cost
$665 +GST
Registration Deadline
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Lodging
$348 +GST
*limited spots*
Photo Gallery
About Bridget Fairbank
Biography
Bridget Fairbank makes installation art + orchestrates happenings for the re-imagining of everyday actions and relations. Born in the mountains of beautiful British Columbia, her childhood was spent exploring nature. A University of Florida MFA, NSCAD University BFA, residencies from Miami-to-Berlin have punctuated twelve-years of wildfire-spotting for Alberta Forestry. As Technician at Alberta University of the Arts she knows one thing: the earth connects us all and that earth is made of clay.
Artist Statement
I use the metaphorical landscapes of flora and food as a catalyst for making work about the discourses that mediate our relationships. The handcrafted object is now the subversive object. Through project-based ceramic installation I aim to formulate strategies for modern existence. This work aims to implicate and empower a viewer through sensory enjoyment and social engagement.
