STARworks Ceramics Newsletter

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STARworks Ceramics Newsletter, Fall 2010

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Open House on Sep 24th, 2010, Friday 5-7pm

STARworks Ceramics will have Open House on September 24th (Friday) 5-7pm. We offer you our new clay samples for free. Please save this date and come to see us. Refreshments and drinks are to be served.

Clay Pumpkin Workshop/ Oct 16th (Sat), 10am-12pm

Our Clay Studio will have a Clay Pumpkin Workshop on October 16th (Sat) 10am-12pm for families, kids, and friends. Please join us and make clay pumpkins, and it will be a great candle-holder for this coming season. Bring your apron and towel. Fee: $5 for child, $7 for adult. Your work will be dried, glazed and fired in 2 weeks. Your reservation is needed, maximum 30 people. First come, first served. 
Contact: hitomi@starworksnc.org

Two New clay-bodies available

STARworks Ceramics has two new clay bodies in its inventory. The new local clay products are called Okeewemee10 and Grogeewemee10. “Our customers have been asking for clay that is a little darker,” said Takuro Shibata, director of STARworks Ceramics. “Both of these are a light brown in cone10 reduction, These are a totally different blend than our STARwhite10 clay body. However firing range is a little bit lower and range wider than our STARwhite10. Both are made from several kinds of local clays from within a 40‐mile radius of Star. According to Takuro, the Okeewemee10 is a good all around cone 10 clay, while the Grogeewemee has 20% more grit. “It is coarser and good for hand‐building and slab work.” “The new clays have tested well during firings in gas and electric kilns,” Takuro said. And we just fired our wood kiln to test them, and “ It worked great and came out beautiful.”. The moist clays are sold in 25‐pound convenient packages. STARworks’ clay factory also produces two white clays, Star White 10 and Star White 6, as well as Okeewemee 6, which is a buff‐colored clay. 

“We are using extra thick plastic bags for our clay and are starting a recycling program. We will clean and test each bag, and if it is good for re‐use, we will give our customer credit $0.05 per bag. We hope this program works and hope we can reduce waste in some landfills.” 
Visit the website
www.starworksnc.org/Ceramics/ceramics.htm 
or call at (910) 428‐9007

Hands-On Clay Workshop for children group

STARworks Ceramics are welcoming school/ children groups and we can give special tours and quick hands-on workshop. It'll be a great experience and education for your school children to make clay objects from local clays. Also as special field trips they can see us process the dirt and turn into the pottery. The clay factory tour is to see how the local dirt is processed to make pottery clay and also how it becomes a piece of pottery. In the past, children made small face jugs, candle holders, clay houses and simple functional pottery. In several weeks after the workshop, you will have pottery to enjoy! A small fee will be charged. 
Contact: hitomi@starworksnc.org

Schedule your own ‘clay experience’ at STARworks

STARworks Ceramics has two standard workshops for people who don’t have any/much previous clay experience or beginner potters. Both courses include all materials (local NC clay, bisque and glaze firing fee) and instruction fee. Pots will be ready for customer pick-up in a month. Reservations are needed in advance. One‐hour class: $15/adult, $10/child
two‐hour class: $30/adult, $20/child
Large groups from schools and organizations are also welcome. 
Email: hitomi@starworksnc.org

STARworks Ceramics visits Potter’s Guild

Carolina Clay Guild in Greensboro area, NC, invited STARworks Ceramics in August 14th for their meeting. Takuro Shibata gave a slide lecture about STARworks Ceramics programs. Santiago Ramirez talked about our local NC clays and gave clay samples to the potters. We enjoyed talking to potters there and appreciate their hospitality. They are one of the biggest clay guild in NC and the most active pottery guilds in NC. 
Please visit their website to see details. 
www.carolinaclayguild.com/

Come to See us! Events outside of STARworks Ceramics

September 12, Sunday from 2pm-4pm 

"DIRECTion: Native Clay" Exhibition will be hold at Meredith Collage in Raleigh NC between September 12 to October 31, 2010. The opening reception will be September 12, 2-4pm at Frankie G. Weems Art Gallery. 16 artists from across the US present functional and sculptural objects made from hand dug local clay and fired in wood burning kilns. The variety of artistic visions is great, the touch of the hand to a natural resource is a marvel in today's high-tech world. Takuro and Hitomi Shibata will join the exhibition. Please go to see their website for the details. http://www.meredith.edu/art/gallery-exhibits.htm

September 16, Thursday from 6pm-6:30pm

Takuro Shibata/ the director of STARworks Ceramics will have a slide presentation at the gallery "Frank" in Chapel Hill NC, it will be  in September 16th from 6:00pm and the title is "Where and what is clay? The process of making the material.". They have a " NC invitational Show" August 10th- September 5th, and they have events every Thursday nights during the show. They are showing over 30 of the state's best-know ceramic artist's works. Go to their website to see more details. http://www.frankisart.com/index.html

October 1, Friday 6pm-8pm

STARworks Ceramics support an exhibition "Clay and Blogs:Telling a Story" which will be hold between October 1-29, 2010 at Campbell House, 482 East Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines, NC. It is featuring 50 potters from all over the world who also blog. Takuro and Hitomi Shibata will join the show. 
More Information about the show, go to http://www.mooreart.org/

November 19th to 21st

STARworks will join the 3rd Celebration of Seagrove Potters between Nov 19th (Fri) and 21th (Sun). The new clays we start mixing this year are available for sale there. And we are planning to make new design T-shirt for sale too. See you at our booth. 
More information at http://www.celebrationofseagrovepotters.com/

STARworks Ceramics  Materials & Research

P.O. Box 159, 100 Russell St.

Star, NC 27356

Hours: Monday-Friday

10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Phone: (910) 428-9007

Fax: (910)428-1001

Email: info@starworksnc.org

Web site: www.starworksnc.org