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Chandra DeBuse
Kansas City, Kansas, artist Chandra DeBuse earned her MFA from the University of Florida in 2010, several years after discovering clay at a community pottery studio in Lincoln, Nebraska. Named an NCECA Emerging Artist in 2012, she is a founding member of Kansas City Urban Potters. DeBuse’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the country, and she has taught numerous workshops. She handbuilds with soft slabs, and enhances the surfaces of her pots with narrative imagery.
Lisa Orr
Lisa Orr has maintained a studio in Austin, Texas, for nearly 40 years. She received her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1992, and was awarded a Fulbright and an MAAA/NEA grant to continue her studies. Orr’s work is formed in molds or on the wheel, then embellished with stamps, slips, springs and multiple layers of glazes. She has exhibited and taught workshops nationally and internationally, and her work has been featured in numerous publications.
Takuro Shibata
Wood-fire potter Takuro Shibata established Studio Touya in Seagrove, North Carolina, in 2007, with his wife and fellow artist, Hitomi Shibata. The director of STARworks Ceramics in Seagrove since 2005, Shibata received a degree in engineering and applied chemistry from Doshisha University, Kyoto, in 1996. His interest in ceramics led him to an apprenticeship at a pottery studio in Shigaraki the following year. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he has presented numerous workshops.
Experience Functional Ceramics Workshop!
About Us
Functional Ceramics Workshop & Exhibition
In 1977, Phyllis Blair Clark and the College of Wooster Art Department hosted the “Wooster Workshop,” with artists Ginny and Tom Marsh as demonstrators. A total of 35 students attended. That workshop—and the accompanying exhibition—expanded over the years thanks to Clark’s guidance, eventually becoming the highly regarded “Functional Ceramics Workshop.” In 1987, Clark moved the event to the newly renovated Wayne Center for the Arts. Over 200 artists attended that year. In 2012, she handed the reigns (and the whistle!) over to Ohio Designer Craftsmen. We are honored to continue the tradition of presenting outstanding workshops to a community of potters.
Ohio Designer Craftsmen and The Ohio Craft Museum
Established in 1963, Ohio Designer Craftsmen, located in Columbus, Ohio, is a nonprofit organization that supports artists and the community through year-round programming. Ohio Designer Craftsmen organizes three fine craft fairs, as well as “Functional Ceramics Workshop,” and owns and operates the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus, where we present exhibitions of fine craft and offer educational programming for all ages and skill levels. Ongoing funding for Ohio Designer Craftsmen is provided by the Ohio Arts Council, the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Foundation. For further information about the organization and its mission, click here.