Surface Decoration (Mishima) Workshop with Ayla Mullen (April 21st, 11am-2pm)

Join Bellingham artist Ayla Mullen to learn the decorative art of Mishima, a traditional inlay technique on clay! In this one day workshop (no experience required!) you will learn how to transfer designs onto clay through careful carving and inlaying in one or many colors.

Mishima is a decorative technique originating in historical Japanese and Korean ceramics, and it results in delicate, intricate, clean linework on clay and a smooth finished surface. In this workshop we will cover topics including layout and composition of a design on either a flat tile or a 3 dimensional pot, neatly transferring images onto a clay surface as a guide for carving, tools and materials, common mistakes and how to avoid them, as well as all the steps of the inlay process.

 Students may bring their own in-process pieces (carefully kept at the hard-leather-hard stage of moisture) to decorate, or may decorate up to two of the pre-made tiles we will supply. The class-supplied tiles will be dipped in clear glaze and fired after the workshop ends, and arrangements can be made for pickup or to ship finished pieces to your home, where we encourage you to turn them into wall hangings or trivets. If you bring your own in-process pots, you will be responsible for taking them home and firing them after the workshop ends.

This will be a fun, creative workshop, with a balance of learning technique to maximize your decorative success as well as exploring the joy of creation and self-expression. Students are encouraged to bring drawings or images that inspire them to use during the workshop, and the instructor will also supply materials to draw visual inspiration from for the decorative process. NO DRAWING EXPERIENCE OR SKILL is needed for this class! If that little voice in your head is telling you that you can’t draw, this class is for you! If you draw all the time, this class is for you! We will approach this technique in a simple, unintimidating way that is accessible for folks of all skill levels.

April 21st, from 11am-2pm

$85 per person, limited to 15 spots!

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Tools and Materials included with the class:

• Clay tiles for decorating (2 per student)

• Needle tools and xacto knives for carving

• Decorating tools and materials

• Ceramic underglazes in a variety of colors for inlay

• Sponges, pencils, and paper

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Optional tools/materials for students to bring:

• Your own pots to decorate (preferably made with a grog/grit free clay body), preserved at a hard-leather-hard stage of dryness (this means they are very stiff but have not quite started to change color towards bone dry)

• Blue Mudtools Sponge for decorative inlay process

• Sketchbook and pencil for design work and/or note taking

• Inspirational images or books of design you want to pull from when decorating (instructor will also have books of design and botanical illustration for inspiration)