HEY FOLKS: SUMMER CAMP is NOT happening this year. However I hope to see you at Kiwi Gardens.ca where I will be participating in their wonderful Father’s Day Art Weekend, (June 14, 15, 16,2023) Art in the Garden exhibition. Check out their website to see what this fun event is all about : kiwigardens.ca

Summer Pottery Camp is on hiatus for this year.. please check in Next year ( early March 2025) to see if camp will be continuing. By reading below you will know what to look forward to.

Below is the info used in previous years.

This year I will be offering my usual 2 week summer camp, in my garden by the river. Limited spaces available: ( 8 participants /week)

Week One: July 17-21

Week Two July 24-28

Fee for a 5 day, (1 week) course: $675

Participants of all levels of experience are welcome: from NO experience to advanced. For those who want a jumping off point, I will start each day with a demonstration of one of the fundamental techniques of handbuilding objects in clay with examples of pottery and sculpture that use the technique. However if you want to come to work on something you already are exploring, I can help you: I am here to mentor everyone individually as they use the week to explore making things at their own pace.

I have basic tools and other equipment but if you have some of your own please bring them: including a banding wheel if you have one. ( if not I have a few.) .

The day starts at 10 am , but I encourage you to come early and enjoy a cup of coffee and perhaps sit by the river and collect your thoughts, or tuck right into getting your clay out! I have a good library of clay and art books to mull over too.

Bring a lunch and your bathing suit as the river is good for swimming. I provide coffee and cold drinks. The day winds down at 4 pm , but enjoy a swim before you leave: no rush! This is your week to play and relax and have fun. Get in touch if you have any questions. chandlerswainart@gmail.com

Firing and Glazing: I will bisque fire everyone’s work here at my own studio and for those who are interested: I will be holding a glazing workshop for finishing your work at a local and/or Ottawa based studio ( TBA for a date in August), where a full range of stains, oxides and glazes are available. The finishing of your work is as important to the making, so I want to cover the correct way to get the best results, including a primer on “what firing is all about”. The cost for this day will be $150, which will include a materials and firing fee.)

I will be selling the clay that is compatible for my studio: (or your own clay with a $40 cost /10kg ) I fire bisque to cone 08 which I think is a good porosity for glaze and stain absorption.
The cost of clay will include bisque firing/ tech fee: $40/bag*

After a 5 year hiatus where I was busy with other projects, and in particular helping to start General Fine Craft with Richard Skrobecki: ( check out THE place to buy gorgeous Canadian Craft: www.generalfinecraft.com) , I got back to offering week long immersive pottery workshops at my riverside studio in 2018. It was a fun and busy 2 weeks and I enjoyed having students around again so much. 2019 was a stellar year here at summer camp: what a great bunch of folks showed up! Then we hit the summer of 2020 and all the issues around Covid safety. I was confident we could pull off summer camp in the garden with fewer people each week and it worked well! We had such a good time. It was an inspiring week in a year of so much stress, disappointment and upheaval. So Pottery Summer Camp survived and we are back for 2023.
email for more details and to book your days. Love to hear from you with any questions I haven’t answered here.
chandlerswainart@gmail.com 613 256 6522