Classes & Events

Osa Atoe demonstrating at Harvard Ceramics in April 2023

  

Upcoming Workshops

Clay Is for Everyone (Virtual)

Saturday, February 10, 2024, potterybyosa.com

This workshop is for beginners who would like to work with clay from home but don’t know where to start. Ceramics used to be a free creative medium but has become an expensive hobby. In this workshop, I will explain exactly how to take advantage of the therapeutic benefits of working with clay, but at minimal cost.

In the first half of the workshop, we will cover where to get clay and what kind to get, creating a workspace in your home (all you need is a table or counter), safety, basic handbuilding methods, handmade tools vs. commercial tools, surface decoration options, glazing, firing options and much more. 

In the second half of the workshop, I will demonstrate simple handbuilding methods to get you started making pots you can use.

Art Brunch Session III: Clay & Convos

Saturday, March 2, 2024 Emerge Sarasota

Art Brunch is a series of carefully-curated, BIPOC-led brunch x art programs hosted at elevated and eclectic venues around Sarasota-Manatee. 

Join Emerge on Little Sarasota Bay at our third art-focused brunch of the year— Clay & Convos.

Featuring Nigerian-American ceramic artist Osa Atoe, this session invites attendees into a world of clay, culture, and connection.

Art enthusiasts and brunch lovers will enjoy an artist talk that will examine Atoe’s work and its connection to ancestry, community, environmental stewardship, and activism during this pottery-making workshop hosted on the protected waterways and lands of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.

Guests will learn the basics of pottery, utilize and become familiar with native, foraged clay and leave with a unique work of art.

Purchase tickets here.

Past Workshops

Coil Building

October 7-8, Studio T/M, Gainesville, FL

In this hands-on workshop, Osa Atoe will demonstrate coil building techniques passed on to her by South African Zulu potter Jabulile Nala. We will use these methods to create voluminous sculptural vessels that we will then decorate with coils, carving and other methods inspired by various African art and craft traditions. Additionally, Osa will share wild clay samples that she has collected from around the United States including Florida. All materials and lunch provided!

Africa Adorned: Surface Decoration Techniques Inspired by the Continent with David MacDonald

April 1-2, 2023, Harvard Ceramics, Allston, MA

This workshop will consist of fundamental surface decorating techniques used to articulate an African aesthetic. Atoe and MacDonald will share their influences and how they each developed a decorating language that connects them with their heritage. The artists will demonstrate their individual carving techniques used to create rhythmic geometric patterns, including David MacDonald’s method using his handmade ebony wood carving tool.  The artists will also demonstrate how they use slip trailing, stamps, and other techniques to create texture and visual interest. Students are welcome to bring up to four leather hard items to decorate. Leather hard tiles and tools will be made available to those who do not have pots available. For those not enrolled in a course at the Ceramics Program, bisque firing of student work will be made available at a cost of 2 cents per cubic inch. 

Pattern Play (with Jen Allen)

May 2022, Arrowmont School of Crafts

Come play with us! This workshop will focus on translating two dimensional patterns to three dimensional forms. Students will learn aspects of pattern making and are encouraged to bring a collection of pattern images that are inspiring to them. We will make tools to apply patterns to clay slabs and wheel thrown cylinders and create templates/ bisque molds that have patterns already integrated in them. Students will learn how to carve patterns with ease and will learn how to achieve purposeful mark making and varied line quality. They will also learn how to choose slips and glazes that accentuate texture. Participants will leave with a couple of glazed pieces, some bisqueware and a handful of tools to add to their toolbox. Some clay experience is helpful but not necessary.

Artist as Entrepreneur (Virtual)

Saturday, March 5th, Online

Let's adjust our attitudes around money and figure out ways to thrive as artists in an increasingly demanding economy. I'll be sharing my approach to selling pots and running a pottery business with lots of time for Q&A. I'll cover social media marketing, shop drops, retail vs. wholesale and how to choose in-person events wisely.  Sign up: https://kalastein.thinkific.com/courses/Osa-Entrepreneur 

Don't Overthink It: Making a Classic Coffee Cup (Virtual)

May 2020, Companion Gallery

After resisting the "regular" coffee cup form form for years, Osa Atoe realized
that the mugs she reached for in her own cupboard morning after morning were the most basic, no nonsense cylinder mugs with comfy handles. In her workshop, Osa will demonstrate how she throws her mugs, creates handles that are both attractive and comfortable to hold and decorates her surfaces with carving and stamping. She will also share some of her glazing techniques and recipes.

Terracotta Textures: Handbuilding with Clay

Saturday January 29, 2020

10am-4pm Sarasota Clay Company This workshop will be divided into two sections. For the first half of the class, we’ll expand the possibilities of pinch pots by using them to create a hand built teapot. In the second half of the class, we will make our own clay stamps and use them to create fun, personalized textures while slab building. No previous clay experience is necessary. Sign up here.  

Saturday, January 23, 2020 1pm EST
The Potters Class In this workshop, we’ll build a pour over coffee dripper using the potters wheel. As our guide we will be using the popular Hario pour over, and we will create a high quality coffee dripper that includes a flange, a small handle, and interior ridges using slip trailing. Click here to purchase class recording for $35.

Thrown & Altered

February 29-March 1, 2020
Los Angeles, California
In “Thrown & AltePred,” we’ll take wheel throwing to the next level by combining it with handbuilding techniques. You will learn to take your forms out of the round and add complexity to your pieces—from mugs to serving dishes, including teapots and butter dishes.

 

Handbuilding with Clay

July-October 2019

There’s nothing like handbuilding with clay to teach you to slow down and be grounded in the moment. In this weekly class, we will learn the three basic techniques of handbuilding: pinching, coil building and slab building. We will apply and combine these skills to create functional ceramics such as mugs, bowls, pitchers and serving pieces. The class may also be used as an open studio to work on the project of your choice. All materials and tools will be provided. No previous clay experience necessary.

Each session is four weeks long. $50 to sign up. $225 per session for new students, $175 per session for returning students.

Throw Me Something, 257 Lee Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Terracotta Textures

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Studio potter and teaching artist Osa Atoe explores all things lumpy, bumpy, and smooth with terra cotta clay. Children will use artist-quality tools to carve a stamp to create geometric patterns on hand-built clay vessels. Workshops will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The Knock Knock Museum, 1900 Dalrymple Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 

Handbuilding with Clay: Making Unique Terracotta Planters

January & February 2018

Hello, clay lovers! In this class, we will be making our own decorative tools and then using them to hand build. We will create bisque stamps from clay that will help us to create personalized and unique textures and patterns on clay slabs and then use the slabs to make plant pots. We’ll have a small selection of succulents available on the last day of class for you to plant in your new pots. All skill levels welcome.

The Journey Lab, 731 Franklin Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70806 United State