Claytopia, NCECA’s 2019 conference in Minneapolis will feature a Make-In Studio, a pop-up workspace in the heart of the convention center where anyone can come to touch clay, make pots, meet new people, and collaborate, celebrate, and cogitate together. This pilot project is an opportunity to get involved hands-on in the conference, side by side with fellow attendees. All are welcome: those just starting out in clay, K-12 teachers, university students and professors, professional and aspirational potters. The room is a drop-in, spontaneous space for expression, sharing, and experimentation. We might be decorating, trimming, and pulling handles on each other’s pots. The studio will be stocked with wheels (including a couple of treadle wheels), tools, slips, and wild North Carolina clay.  

Although the focus will be on spontaneous making, we have scheduled two one-hour informal demos, each featuring six potters, to provoke and inspire: Pitchers (Thursday, March 28 at 1pm) and Personal and Political Pots (Friday, March 29 at 10:30am). Among our demonstrators will be Michael Kline, Simon Levin, Michael McCarthy, Candice Methe, Mariko Paterson, Sam Taylor, Nate Wilever, and others.