Pottery By Yvonne is a new private pottery studio and education center in Bend, Oregon.  Yvonne Tornatta, the owner is beginning an series of events called “Clay In The High Desert” in July and August to host three destination pottery workshops for pros and aspiring potters.  The studio is set on a small farm just outside of the Bend city limits. All of the workshops are hands-on with small class numbers (ten seats) per workshop, so the event will be smaller and more collaborative. Signups and detailed class schedules are online at potterybyyvonne.com/workshops.

The first workshop, titled Barware, will be taught by San Francisco Potter, Shawn Felts on July 14th and 15th.  He is a studio artist who’s focus is on wood-fired barware and flameware.  His workshop will cover making all forms of barware from whiskey flasks, to growlers.  His knowledge of clay and firing methods is deep and he is generous in sharing his knowledge. His skill set is a perfect match for Bend, home of the microbrewery and distillery.

Second up is a workshop titled Connecting Nature through Clay on August 4th-5th and is taught by Florida Studio Potter Cheryul Baduini.  Baduini splits her time between her vocation as an adjunct professor in marine biology and creating nature-based pots that have a botanical feel.  She has drawn upon her career in nature and applied it to clay.  Balduini is incredibly precise and works diligently to perfect any process she tackles.  Her hands-on nature-based workshop will cover applying plants to pots and then adding washes and paint.  The end result is a very realistic botanical pot.

Last up is Raku Surface Decoration Using Colored Mica on August 11 – 12th, taught by Dave Hodapp, a retired Chemistry Professor from Sacramento, California, Hoddap has applied his chemistry background to develop mica infused raku surfaces.  The workshop covers the application and firing of these forms.  The end result is a stunning color infused pot.

Each workshop will be preceded by a free community talk by that artist where they will demo their work and talk about their process.

About Pottery By Yvonne – Pottery By Yvonne creates functional pottery for the home and is sold nationwide in boutiques and galleries.  The facility is also used for community classes and workshops.

Pottery By Yvonne
65093 Smokey Butte Rd
Bend OR 97703
321-432-8009
potterybyyvonne@gmail.com
potterybyyvonne.com