This two‑day workshop introduces students to the versatility and precision of slab construction through the use of custom templates. Designed for both functional and sculptural makers, the class emphasizes thoughtful planning, clean construction, and the creative potential of working with flat clay transformed into dimensional form.

On Day One, we'll begin with demonstrations on how to design and make effective templates using roofing felt (tar paper). Students will learn how to translate ideas into flat patterns, how to account for clay thickness and joinery, and how to use templates to create repeatable forms. The afternoon shifts into guided studio time, where participants will sketch, refine, and cut templates for their own projects—whether vessels, boxes, architectural forms, or abstract sculptural components.

On Day Two, students move from planning to building. With their templates ready, they will construct one or more pieces, gaining hands‑on experience in assembling slabs, reinforcing seams, shaping curves, and troubleshooting common structural challenges. Individual guidance will support each student’s creative direction.By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with new skills, personalized templates they can reuse in their home studios, and a deeper understanding of how slab building can expand both functional and sculptural possibilities in clay.

This is an advanced beginner workshop so some prior clay experience is recommended.

About the Instructor: 

Bebe Alexander has been a professional ceramic artist and educator for over 35 years. Her sculptural and functional works draw from both the built environment and the rural landscapes of her upbringing, referencing architecture, industrial forms, and the quiet presence of man‑made structures in the natural world.

In addition to her studio practice, Bebe has been deeply involved in ceramics education. She began teaching at the Arvada Center in 1991 and went on to lead the ceramics program as Ceramics Program Coordinator from 1996 through 2024, fostering a vibrant community of makers.

Her work is held in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, including The Kirkland at the Denver Art Museum.

To see more of Bebe Alexander's work, check out her instagram @bebealexanderclay

Please Note: Firing service is not included; if you wish to fire your pieces an additional fee will apply based on the size of the items.

This class takes place at Groundworks Main (3750 Canfield St.)

The class will run 12:00-5:00pm both days with a break for lunch. We will provide light refreshments, but please plan to pick up or bring your own lunch. 

Ages: 16+

Susan Taylor Glasgow will share her unique style of sewing glass components together to make complex and exciting objects.  In this multi-day workshop,  students will learn pattern making, and advanced cutting skills*. We'll work with traditional hand glass cutting tools and also glass saws and Dremels, all while building a 3-dimensional house!

*Students need experience with cutting sheet glass.

Friday, January 9 (4-7pm), Saturday, January 10 (9am-5pm), Sunday, January 11 (9am-5pm)

Note: We will have a lunch break on Saturday and Sunday; please bring your own brown bag lunch for those days.

Ages: 16+

ARTIST BIO: Glasgow grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in Design. Her sculptures are included in the collections of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, the Alexander Tutsek Foundation, Münich, Germany, the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA, the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA and the Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ.  Susan Taylor-Glasgow lives and works in Columbia, Missouri.

Each sewn glass sculpture starts out as a flat sheet of glass. In her previous life, Glasgow was a professional dressmaker and seamstress, so had created a comfortable understanding about how to take a flat sheet of material and give it form. In her sculptures, each glass panel is cut from a pattern designed to match the form for which it was made. To establish the three-dimensional shape and holes, each section of the glass is kiln-fired several times. The imagery is embedded into the glass by sandblasting, and then by rubbing glass enamels into the blasted area to create the black and gray photo-like quality. The components are then re-fired to 1250 degrees to melt the enamel into the glass. Once cooled, the sections are finally sewn together. Depending on the complexity of the vessel or sculpture, the entire creative process may take two to four weeks to complete.

Artist website: http://www.taylorglasgow.com/category/available-work/