The overarching goal of the Intermediate Bayanihan Series is for students to confidently expand their technical repertoire by learning specialized throwing techniques, developing complex forms, and integrating surface decoration or hand-built elements into their work.

• Duration: 4 weeks (Typically one scheduled session per week).

• Shared Shelf Space: During your 4 week immersion, you will have an assigned shelf space (24” Depth x 24” Length x 16” Height) to house your pottery pieces as they dry.

• Targeted Skill Mastery: Students can select specific classes (e.g., Lids & Covered Forms or Tall Forms) to focus their learning, leading to deeper expertise in one area rather than general review.

• Expand Throwing Repertoire: Learn how to manage heavier clay and perform advanced maneuvers like collaring, altering symmetry, and joining sections, pushing the limits of their wheel work.

• Versatile Skill Set: Students are taught how to successfully integrate non-wheel techniques (like slab and coil construction) with thrown forms, opening up possibilities for sculptural and architectural pieces.

• Professional Quality Work: Modules like Dinnerware Sets focus on using calipers and templates to achieve precise, consistent results, essential for functional, matching ware.

• Signature Aesthetics: Students gain control over the final look by understanding glaze chemistry, layering, and decorative techniques (Sgraffito, Mishima). This allows them to develop their unique artistic voice.

• Tangible Success: Students walk away with fully completed, challenging objects (e.g., teapots with fitted lids, large floor vases, or dinner sets), demonstrating a high level of technical achievement.

• Confident Exploration: Provides a community where challenging new techniques are taught and practiced within the familiar, encouraging Bayanihan structure, reducing the frustration common with advanced learning.

• Clear Progression: Offers a structured bridge to potentially becoming an independent studio artist by equipping them with the specialized knowledge needed to tackle virtually any project.

1. Shift in Instruction Focus

• Less Repetition, More Troubleshooting: Unlike the Practice Module (Phase 2), instruction will dedicate less time to basic reviews (like centering) and more time to diagnosing technical failures related to complex forms (e.g., slumping walls on a large piece, warpage during trimming, or lid misfit).

• Project-Based Learning: Each module is centered around a specific finished object (e.g., a Teapot, a Set of Plates, or a Lidded Jar). Class time will be structured around the necessary steps to complete that project, which often spans multiple weeks (throwing, trimming, assembling, decorating, glazing).

• Emphasis on Measurement: Expect to use tools like calipers, rulers, and templates much more frequently. Precision is paramount for complex forms like lids, handles, and spouts.

2. Studio Time & Pace

• High Level of Independence: Students will be expected to manage their own projects efficiently during studio hours. The instructor acts more as a technical consultant and less as a step-by-step guide.

• Challenging Technique Sessions: Expect to tackle more physically demanding skills, such as throwing larger weights of clay (5 lbs+) or working with forms that require immediate intervention (like altering a cylinder while it's still wet).

• Integrating Multiple Steps: You will learn to integrate the entire process: throwing the main form, then throwing or hand-building the components (handles, spouts, knobs), then assembling them at the correct leather-hard stage.

3. Outcomes & Finished Work

• Higher Quality, Potentially Lower Volume: The focus shifts from producing 4-6 simple pieces (as in the Immersion) to successfully completing 2-4 complex, technically challenging pieces (e.g., one complete teapot or a set of two large vases).

• Creative Decision-Making: Students will be required to make their own choices regarding design, glaze selection, and surface decoration, applying the technical knowledge learned to develop their personal artistic style.

• Glaze and Firing Insight: Expect to gain a deeper understanding of kiln loading, firing processes, and glaze chemistry as they directly relate to the success or failure of complex forms and surface treatments.

Upon successfully completing the Intermediate Series, your journey branches into two exciting paths:

1. Specialized Learning: Continue to refine your skills and explore new techniques by enrolling in advanced, focused Intermediate/Advanced Modules within the Bayanihan Series.

2. Independent Practice: Transition to becoming a studio Member, gaining independent, ongoing access to the facilities, tools, and kilns to pursue your own projects and artistic goals.

$250 for 4 weeks to continue with classes OR become a member.