Ceramics

Ceramics is a dynamic art practice that operates at the intersection of material and process. Our Ceramics Labs  provide a site for artists to engage with these materials and processes within the context of contemporary art, craft, and culture. Students are encouraged to experiment with form and meaning in traditional and experimental genres, expanding definitions of ceramics to include object, sculpture, installation, social practice, performance, and more. We encourage interdisciplinary work and accommodate a wide range of ideas, often collaborating with our print and sculpture facilities. 

First developed by acclaimed artist Peter Voulkos in 1959, the Ceramics Studio has a strong legacy, both nationally and locally in the Bay Area. Former faculty members include Wanxin Zhang, Richard Shaw, Ron Nagle, Erik Scollon, Robert Hudson, and Jim Melchert. Notable alumni include Marilyn Levine, Nancy Selvin, Ehren Tool, Sahar Koury, Takming Chuang, and Nicki Green. The Ceramics Labs also supports CED Professor Ron Rael’s research in digital clay processes.

Our ceramic facilities include a large main studio and outdoor courtyard and garden, plaster mold making area, glaze lab and spray booth, and dedicated work space for MFA students. Our equipment includes a slab roller, extruder, pottery wheels, test kilns, Skutt kilns, Bailey front-loading Thermal Logic kiln, a 40 cu ft Bailey downdraft car kiln, pug mill, ball mill, sandblaster, and a Ricoh Ceramic Decal Printer. We also incorporate and encourage sustainable studio practices.

Courses rotate between these selections:

• ART 15 – Ceramics: Foundations
• ART 132 – Advanced Ceramics: Research and Methods
• ART 137 – Advanced Projects in Ceramic Sculpture
• ART 160 – Special Topics in Visual Studies

Ceramics Facilities & Contacts

Location: 182 Bauer Wurster Hall

Lab Hours: 24/7 access for students currently enrolled in ceramics courses

Lab Use: Access to these spaces is reserved for students enrolled in Art Practice Ceramics classes, Art Practice majors who have previously taken classes in our facility, and graduate students in Art Practice. Non-majors and students seeking ceramics facilities use should use the Berkeley Art Studio at the MLK Student Center.

Facilities/Materials Fee: varies per class

For more information, contact:
Ehren Tool, Ceramic Studio Mechanician
Email: tool@berkeley.edu
Phone:+1(510) 642-3673
Office: Bauer Wurster Hall 182C

Faculty Oversight:

Cathy LuAssistant Professor

Email: cathyclu@berkeley.edu

Instagram: @ucberkeley_clay

Media Highlights

• Bomb Magazine: “Swallow the Parts Whole: Sahar Khoury Interviewed by Anna Betbeze”
• 48 Hills: “With powers of porcelain, Ahn Lee spins Cantonese folklore futurism”
• “Origin Stories: Expanded Ceramics in the Bay Area,” featuring Professor Stephanie Syjuco, and former faculty/alums Nicki Green, and Kari Marboe at Berkeley Art Center
• KQED Arts: “Bay Area Sculpture Right Now: Nicki Green's Talismans of Queer Subtlety”
• The Brooklyn Rail: “Jim Melchert with Constance Lewallen”
• Craft in America PBS documentary: “Service” episode, featuring Ehren Tool (MFA and staff)
• The New York Times: “Peter Voulkos, an Influential Sculptor Who Broke the Rules”
• Berkeley News: “Cups for conversations — about war"
• KQED Spark episode: “Richard Shaw”