Break out of predictable surfaces in this 5-day hands-on workshop with Michael Kline!

This studio intensive is focused on wheel-thrown pots and dynamic surface design. Through a series of engaging exercises, participants will explore mark-making and pattern structure using brushwork, stamping, and incising.

Students will create their own clay stamps and experiment with techniques including pigmented wax resist and inlay. Michael will demonstrate strategies for building surfaces that feel intentional, layered, and responsive to form—helping each participant develop patterns that are both meaningful and visually compelling.

While the workshop emphasizes process over finished work, participants may have pieces bisque fired to take home if time allows. Each student will also leave with a collection of original stamps and a growing personal pattern library to continue developing beyond the workshop.

Perfect for potters ready to move beyond form and develop surfaces that feel intentional, layered, and personal.

Ideal for intermediate to advanced potters with a foundation in wheel-throwing who are ready to push their surface design further. Click here to go to Starworks.

Come spend two creative days with me at JunkPot Studio in Hartford CT as we dive into the rich connection between form and surface in ceramics. I’ll share my process for throwing on the wheel and walk you through the layered surface techniques that give my work depth and energy. We’ll explore methods like stamping, slip inlay, painting with slips, wax resist, as well as the thoughtful and creative use of slips and glazes. This workshop will show how considered surface treatments can elevate both the look and utility of a finished pot.

Join me for a hands-on, three-day workshop at Snow Farm where we’ll dive deep into the interplay between surface design and form. I’ll demonstrate my process for creating wheel-thrown pottery, and you'll have the opportunity to try out a wide range of surface techniques for yourself. From carving and stamping to layering slips and glazes, we’ll explore methods that bring depth, rhythm, and personality to your pots. Come ready to get your hands dirty, experiment freely, and develop new ideas through making.

Sugar Maples Ceramic Arts Studio in a lovely setting in the Catskills in upstate New York.

In this 5 day hands-on workshop we will focus on wheel-thrown pots and embellishment of the clay surface. Participants will be guided through fun exercises to familiarize themselves with mark-making and the structure of pattern using brushwork, stamping, and incising. We will make clay stamps to be used to decorate the surfaces of our pots. Michael will discuss and demonstrate strategies for pattern with brushwork, pigmented wax resist, and inlay. We will help students find patterns that are meaningful and appropriate for their forms. This workshop is designed for students with a solid foundation in wheel-throwing.

$500+ $60 Materials Fee
Intermediate to advanced

The Brush and the Soda Surface

Meet me in Tuscany for this late summer /early Fall workshop! In this 2 week course we will develop an understanding of pattern and how to express ideas with pattern and how those patterns can be made rich in the atmospheric soda kiln.

Through a series of exercises we will explore pattern making with stamps, incising, inlay, as well as the painted pattern with brushwork, wax resists, and flashing slips.

Through repetition we will gain insights and skills that will help develop a personal pattern language.

Pattern is all around us! 

How do we pay tribute to the beauty of nature and its inspiring patterns? How do we translate that beauty into our pottery? In this intensive, two-week workshop we will set out on this quest in the Tuscan countryside and bring its inspiration to our pots!

Techniques taught

At the wheel, we’ll make a variety of functional forms large and small, as well as plates and platters, a natural canvas for a potter.

All the while, we’ll practice brushwork through individual and group painting exercises and so that we can translate those marks onto our pots with resists, underglaze, and flashing slips. To bring a personal touch, we’ll make our own brushes, and learn basic brush techniques using wax resists and flashing slips for the soda kiln, paying special attention to the way patterns can enhance form, and how the finished soda glaze surface can enhance function and food presentation.

Teaching Method

We will seek to recognize the joy in creativity and will gain a better understanding of how the surface and form can come together to make the complete pot full of passion and personality.
We will take the opportunity to let us inspire by the surrounding beauty. A field-trip to the Chianti countryside with wine and tastings is part of the course.
A basic knowledge of throwing or hand-building techniques is required

I’m very excited to present my work alongside Sunshine Cobb at the Functional Ceramics Workshop.

In 1977, Phyllis Blair Clark and the College of Wooster Art Department hosted the “Wooster Workshop,” with artists Ginny and Tom Marsh as demonstrators. A total of 35 students attended. That workshop—and the accompanying exhibition—expanded over the years thanks to Clark’s guidance, eventually becoming the highly regarded “Functional Ceramics Workshop.” In 1987, Clark moved the event to the newly renovated Wayne Center for the Arts. Over 200 artists attended that year. In 2012, she handed the reigns (and the whistle!) over to Ohio Designer Craftsmen. We are honored to continue the tradition of presenting outstanding workshops to a community of potters.

The Seasoned Surface

a workshop led by Kyle Carpenter & Michael Kline

Summer 2022 • Fifth Session • July 17 - 29

During this course, students will explore a full palette of surface designs and how it relates to functional pottery form. We will be stamping, painting, scratching, and scraping stoneware pots, bringing layer upon layer of visual interest to the surface. We will be experimenting with flashing slips, underglaze, and glaze, that will be enhanced in cone 10 soda and salt firings.

A confluence of fresh ideas and technical skills will open a path forward for each student’s creative exploration. The instructors will engage the class in conversation regarding their individual perspectives of studio potter life and practices.

All Levels

Registration for this workshop will be announced by Penland School.

Follow for updates:

Penland School of Craft website

Penland School instagram

Kyle Carpenter website

In this 5 day hands-on workshop we will focus on wheel-thrown pots and the development and the embellishment of the clay surface. Participants will be guided through fun exercises to familiarize themselves with mark-making and the structure of pattern using brushwork, stamping and incising. We will make clay stamps to be used to decorate the surfaces of our pots. Michael will discuss and demonstrate strategies for pattern with brushwork, pigmented wax resist and inlay, and will help students find patterns that are meaningful and appropriate for their forms. This workshop is designed for students with a solid foundation in wheel-throwing.