This experience is open to students from raw beginner to advanced creator. All materials and tools are included. Your only prep work will be to come with an idea for your project.

On the first day, you’ll use the coil method of building up your individual sculpture, using photographs or sketches as references. Then you’ll have a second day to refine your three-dimensional creation, carving, scribing or otherwise perfecting your work’s surface. Then your work goes off to the kiln for its bisque firing.

When you return two weeks later, you’ll be ready to glaze your piece before the final firing. Soon after, your finished piece will be ready to take home to display.

Sculptor Autumn Bildson’s works are in private collections and public spaces across Michigan. Two of her most recent public installations are at Culligan Plaza in downtown Alpena and at the Alpena City Hall. She is also a longtime contributor to floats for the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade. Autumn has taught at the Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center for decades.

Ceramicist Helen Hierta, whose studio is the venue for this class, just completed a year-long show of her iconic outdoor totems at Dow Gardens in Midland.

The Hierta ceramics studio is located in Greenbush, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Huron.

The class, limited to eight students, is open to all skill levels. 

Tuition is just $325. You may pay through the button below. Clicking on it will lead you to instructions for paying online or by check through the mail.