Clay on Main welcomes new ceramics teacher
Clay on Main has just brought on a new ceramics teacher, Constance McBride.
McBride was selected to be one of the jurors of their June 2019 exhibition, Clay Speaks, which focused on ceramic art.
Having recently returned to the area after living in Arizona, she was eager to explore the area art scene, and had room in her schedule to begin teaching Clay on Main’s Tuesday 12-2 ceramic sculpture class, as well as a 4-part course, “The Magic of Slip.”
“We are so pleased to have her here — her work is really interesting, she’s accomplished and professional, and maybe most importantly, she’s a kind and encouraging teacher,” said Liz Wheeler, Clay on Main’s managing director.
View Constance’s work at https://constancemcbride.com
“The Magic of Slip” will take place on Tuesdays from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., Oct. 1, 8, 15, and 22. In this class, participants will dip fabric and paper, such as lace doilies, into liquid porcelain (also known as slip). The wet pieces are then carefully arranged for drying, so that loose, fluid shapes are captured as the porcelain clay stiffens. When fired in the kiln, any paper or fabric will burn out, leaving a thin, translucent shell. The resulting pieces can be used as dishes, lamps, wall hangings, or sculptures.
In addition to “The Magic of Slip,” students can get to know Constance by signing up for a single drop-in class on Tuesdays for $35, or for a six-week set of Tuesday classes, registered using rolling enrollment so artists can start when it suits their schedules. McBride joins the teaching team of Liz Wheeler, Alizabeth Wenrich, Pirjo L’Esperance, and Dolores Kirschner.
A native of Philadelphia, McBride relocated to the Southwest in 2002 and for 16 years, observations of the desert made a transformative impact on her professional practice as a research-based visual artist. Her work has been supported by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and in 2016, she received the Phoenix Art Museum’s Contemporary Forum award, a grant supported in part by the Nathan Cummings Foundation Endowment. It has been exhibited at Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art and Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona, Las Cruces Museum of Art in New Mexico, San Angelo Museum of Art in Texas and is currently on view at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arcadia University, Glenside. McBride has been teaching ceramics at various art centers since 2015.
Now living and working near Philadelphia again, her current affiliations include Chester County Art Association, Philadelphia Sculptors, The Art Trust and Women’s Caucus for Art/Philadelphia Chapter.
“I am thrilled to be teaching at Clay on Main; it’s a gem in Oley Township. The center is wonderful, the programming is strong, and everyone has been warm and inviting to me. I look forward to sharing my ideas and techniques with students, associates and the co-op members too!” said McBride.
Clay on Main is a nonprofit artists’ cooperative, located at 313 Main St in the historic village of Oley.