NPC Instructor To Teach at Crystal Bridges Museum

April 6, 2017

Hot Springs, Arkansas – Lola Warren, ceramics instructor at National Park College (NPC), has been asked to teach a two day summer workshop at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. The workshop is scheduled for June 21 from 6-8:30 p.m. The class will complement the Dale Chihuly exhibit and will mimic, in clay, forms Chihuly creates in glass.

Students will work with fire clay to create elegant fluted bowls and saucers that imitate similar shapes created in glassblowing. When glass reaches temperatures of over 2000 degrees it becomes pliable and moves slowly, like cold molasses. It is in this state of plasticity that the art form of glassblowing takes place. When a hot glass bowl is spun out, the centrifugal force creates a fluted edge. In essence it ‘ruffles’ the outer rim causing a beautiful undulating pattern. This same effect can be created with ceramic clay when thrown on a pottery wheel.

In this workshop, students will learn to make these beautiful fluted bowls. Each student will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of glaze colors and the option to add glass to the center of their bowls. As the kiln heats the glass melts down and pools into the center of the work, creating a unique blend of colors. No two are ever alike.

Photo: Fluted bowl with glass created by Marie Wahl.