Hybrid Forms: Ceramic Creatures and Constructed Worlds
This intensive workshop invites participants to explore the hybrid potential of ceramic sculpture through transformation, surface, and constructed form.
Led by artist Jess Riva Cooper, participants will merge human, animal, and botanical elements into imaginative, layered sculptures. Through demonstrations, one-on-one mentorship, and open studio time, the workshop will cover paper clay construction, armature building, press-moulding, and experimental surface development with slips, stains, and underglazes.
Open to all levels, this workshop encourages experimentation, curiosity, and play, while providing technical and conceptual tools to push creative practice forward. The experience echoes Medalta’s vision of combining tradition and innovation in clay to cultivate new cultural possibilities.
Workshop Information
Dates: Monday, June 22– Friday, June 26, 2026
Price: $665+ GST = $698.25
Instructor: Jess Riva Cooper
Registration Deadline: May 22, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $348 + GST = $365.40
Check in: Sunday, June 21 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Saturday, June 27 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 3 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 05/22/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Thematic Research + Accumulative Installation
“Thematic Research + Accumulative Installation: the essentials of research, planning and producing your specific project with multiple ceramic parts” is a five day workshop open to artists who are looking to make bigger more complicated thematic work. Each participant should be skilled in their personal way of making (ie- throwing, coil building, slab building, press molds, or slip-casting) and be seeking to make more complicated installations.
Workshop Information
Dates: Monday, July 6– Friday, July 10, 2026
Price: $665+ GST = $698.25
Instructor: Bridget Fairbank
Registration Deadline: June 6, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $348 + GST = $365.40
Check in: Sunday, July 5 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Saturday, July 11 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 7 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 06/06/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Making and Decorating for Cone 1 Salt & Soda with Andrew Kellner
In this 8-day workshop students will make work for two low-fire ∆1 atmospheric firings (salt & soda). In the first few days we will be making work from slab wear (hump & slump molds) to thrown. Interspersed will be technical demos from decorating to making. Then firing all the pots simultaneously in both the salt and soda kilns.
Workshop Information
Dates: Monday, July 13– Monday, July 20, 2026
Price: $1104+ GST = $1159.20
Instructor: Andrew Kellner
Registration Deadline: June 13, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $504 + GST = $529.20
Check in: Sunday, July 12 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Tuesday, July 21 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 7 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 06/13/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Crafting Narratives with Maiolica
with Lindsay Montgomery @ Medalta
In this hands-on workshop, Lindsay will lead participants through creating small figurative sculptures using low-fire earthenware, combining hand-building with expressive surface decoration. Participants will learn Maiolica, a traditional low-fire painting technique where colorful slips are painted onto a white surface, producing rich, watercolor-like effects.
Using the figure as a starting point, the workshop encourages participants to draw from personal stories alongside historical and pop-cultural references. Through guided demonstrations and making time, participants will explore the sculpture in both 2D and 3D, discovering how drawing, painting, and sculpture can come together on clay.
The workshop will cover foundational skills such as building and refining figurative forms, developing gesture and proportion to convey the expression you are seeking, and using surface imagery to enhance narrative and expression. Lindsay will demonstrate Maiolica techniques focused on layering, line, and color, giving participants tools they can continue to use in their own practice.
Participants are encouraged to bring pre-bisqued work in order to immediately dive into the Maiolica process. Time will also be available to hand-build new pieces during the workshop.
Open to all skill levels, this workshop is beginner-friendly while still offering fresh approaches for experienced makers interested in figurative work, surface, and storytelling. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with one or more low-fire figurative works or decorated greenware, depending on studio firing schedules.
Workshop Information
Dates: Thursday, July 23– Friday, July 31, 2026
Price: $1281+ GST = $1345.05
Instructor: Lindsay Montgomery
Registration Deadline: June 23, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $540 + GST = $567
Check in: Wednesday, July 22 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Saturday, August 1 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 7 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 06/23/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Fauna Figures: Sculpting Full Figures from Slabs with Jai Sallay-Carrington
In this 5-day workshop Jai will lead the participants through building a standing animal-headed, human figure of approximately 2 feet tall. Using the slab-building technique, participants will learn how to transform slabs into simple cylinders and then standing legs, torso, arms and an animal head, creating a full figure standing on its own two feet. This technique is best for people who have at least intermediate experience with clay.
We will be going over the logistics of building tall, using armature, when its best to build in sections or make pieces removable from the sculpture for firing and transportation. We will discuss the gesture and position of the body, to achieve figures which invokes a feeling of movement and expression. Jai will demonstrate how to sculpt the figure as a nude body, then add some clothing elements once the form is built.
Special attention will be given to the anatomy of the human and animal forms, as well as details such as human hands, the animals face, as well as textures such as fur, hair and wrinkles in the skin.
Participants are welcome to build smaller if they work slowly. The technique Jai is teaching can be used for life-sized figures or smaller pieces. At the end of this workshop all participants will have a finished greenware figure of approximately 2 feet tall, which will come apart in 2 sections.
It is not expected that participants will fire these works at Medalta, only to learn how to use this technique. Participants are welcome to take their greenware figures home if they can transport them.
Workshop Information
Dates: Monday, August 3– Friday, August 7, 2026
Price: $665+ GST = $698.25
Instructor: Jai Sallay-Carrington
Registration Deadline: July 3, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $348 + GST = $365.40
Check in: Sunday, August 2 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Saturday, August 8 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 12 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 07/03/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Reveal/Conceal: From Wheel to Sculptural Forms with Rob Froese
This workshop will focus on using the potter’s wheel as a tool to generate forms for sculptural assemblage. Through completing a series of wheel throwing and hand building projects, participants will develop new ideas to integrate into their ceramic practice. If you can comfortably throw a cylinder and large bowl and wish to explore something new in your work, you are ready!
Workshop Information
Dates: Monday, August 10– Sunday, August 16, 2026
Price: $868+ GST = $911.40
Instructor: Rob Froese
Registration Deadline: July 10, 2026
Maximum enrollment: 12 per class
Lodging Information
Price: $448 + GST = $470.40
Check in: Sunday, August 9 after 3:00 PM
Check out: Monday, August 17 at 10:00 AM
Lodging Capacity: 10 spots
Registration for this schedule starts on 01/20/2026 and ends on 07/10/2026
Participants must be 18 years or older when the program starts..
Medalta’s Intensive Adult Workshops give you the chance to dive deep into a specific area of ceramics, strengthen your skills, and expand your knowledge base.
Led by accomplished artists and experts, these immersive, hands-on experiences take place in our collaborative studio environment where ideas, techniques, and inspiration are shared freely.
Why Choose Our Adult Workshops?
💡 Expert guidance from experienced mentors
💡 Explore and learn advanced contemporary techniques
💡 24-hour studio access for the duration of the workshop
💡 Immersive experience in the Historic Clay District
Registration Information
To register for a Workshop, please click REGISTER below. You will be asked to create a Jumbula account or to sign into your preexisting account.
Adding lodging? Click the CLICK TO ADD MORE TO YOUR CART button at check out. Select your workshop and click lodging.
Refund Policy
Before Registration Deadline: A full refund (less a $25 administration fee) is available if you cancel by the registration deadline.
After Registration Deadline: For cancellations after the registration deadline or no-shows, we will be unable to issue any refund. If you need to cancel due to medical reasons (documentation required), a partial refund will be given.
To cancel your registration, please email [email protected].
Post-Secondary Student Discount
Current post-secondary students can receive 25% off the workshop fee ONLY. Maximum of two students per workshop with valid proof of current student ID.
To receive the discount, choose one of the following:
1) Complete online registration and payment for the workshop. Once completed, email [email protected] with a photo of your current student ID. We will then issue a refund for the amount of the discount.
OR
2) Email a photo of your current student ID to [email protected] before registering online. We will email you a promo code to apply at check out.
Please contact Friends of Medalta Society if you have any questions.