The clay mural making weekend is almost here! We are making a wall tile clay dragon for one of our building's bathrooms and you can learn how too!

Next weekend we are proud to host Ceramic artist Bruce Howdle at our studio. He has an incredible amount of experience and knowledge in the world of creating and installing clay murals. Below is a workshop description and his artist statement. The price for this workshop is $100 and will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 23 & 24, 10am-4pm.

Free public artist talk at 4pm
Sunday, September 24

Workshop Description

We will be creating a nine foot long ceramic relief wall of a dragon wrapping around an inside corner. Bruce Howdle, ceramic sculptor, will do the sculpting with assistance from participants. When done participants will know how to create a sculptural ceramic relief wall of their own making. They will know what tools and materials are needed, the step by step process, and how to install a finished piece. Participants should come prepared to get dirty and with something for taking notes.

Artist's Statement

I have been a ceramic sculptor in Mineral Point, Wisconsin since finishing an MFA at Arizona State University in 1976. I have produced and installed major works of freestanding or wall-mounted sculpture in both indoor and outdoor settings in several states.

My largest mural is fifty-two feet long and took nine tons of clay to create. Smaller work in the range of two to twenty five feet were made for public, commercial and residential wall hangings or for mortaring within stucco or brick walls. Each of my commissioned works is unique not only in esthetic concept but also in the engineering required for installation. I have designed works to fit enormous concave surfaces and to wrap around building corners.

As an artist working in clay I have derived a profound respect for "dirt" and what it has to offer. What I appreciate most about working with clay is the surface spontaneity. The malleability of clay allows me to create virtually any image in as much or as little detail as I wish out of the simplest material and with confidence that it will last hundreds even thousands of years.

Because of the need to be expedient in finishing a design before the clay dries, I sculpt at a rate of a ton of clay a day. The process pushes me to work intensely, totally focused on the image before me. When a mural is done it is fired with a sodium process that melts the clay surface thereby creating glazed stone.

Over the years my work has become increasingly more colorful and more playful. My themes have expanded to encompass animals in motion, under-water worlds, human aspirations and human history. Part of what I do is also engineering. I have designed installations that wrap around building corners, follow large curved surfaces, and adorn plaster, brick and stone walls.

The purpose of art is to create a quality environment that educates as well as stimulates and can be enjoyed in different ways by different people. Adding surface variation to walls is one way to exercise the perceptual mind.

For additional information go to www.brucehowdle.com