STARworks Ceramics Materials & Research

Girl Scouts made Face Jugs

2012-01-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

A Girl Scouts group came to STARworks Ceramics on Jan 7 (Sat) and they made very cute face jugs in our Clay Studio. Jugs were dried, bisqued, glazed and fired and they look very good.

Thank you for coming to STARworks Ceramics!

New Products arrived!

2012-01-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

We are very pleased STARworks Ceramics starts selling Shimpo USA pottery products!

Electric kiln, Pugmill Mixer(NVS-07) and Pumill(NRA-04)

Electric wheels for table and banding wheels

Electric wheels (VL-Light and VL Whisper)

Slab Roller (SR-3050)

Shimpo Industrial Company is the most well-known ceramic equipment company in Kyoto, Japan which established in 1952. Their pottery products are very reliable for pottery businesses and also schools all over the world.

Now we have Shimpo electric wheels, Slab roller, Pugmills, banding wheels, Bats, Coneart Electric kiln, stools for wheels, and lots of information of other Shimpo products in our supply shop.

Shimpo products information

If you need price info, please call/ email us.
STARwirks Ceramics office: 910-428-9007
Email: info at starworksnc.org

Shimpo USA website:
http://www.shimpoceramics.com/

Clay Houses went their own home

2012-01-11T19:11:00.002-05:00

40 clay houses were delivered to Westmoore Elementary School on Tuesday, Jan 10, and they were lined up in multiple purpose room and waited for the artists. When students showed up in the room, they were surprised and smiled! All houses were taken home safely and made the artists happy, I hope!

West Moore Elementary School visit

2012-01-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

STARworks hosted a group from Westmoore Elementary School on Dec 20th, and students (2nd graders) made Clay Houses in our clay studio. Hitomi and Anne taught how to make it, and students worked so hard and made beautiful clay houses.

Hitomi talked about clay house project at the biggining

students watched Hitomi's demo

Anne helped students

Parents sometimes worked harder than students

Working together!

Clay houses were dried, bisqued, glazed and fired. Now it's ready to go to Artists' home.

It was a great fun workshop with Westmoore school students!
Thank you so much for coming to STARworks.

Opening Reception at Moring Arts Center, Asheboro

2012-01-06T10:36:00.000-05:00

We set up STARworks Ceramics show in the end of Dec and the show began on Jan 3rd.
There was a reception in the evening on Jan 3rd and we had a lot of people.
Thank you so much for coming to see us!

More info of the show or gallery, please go to:
http://www.randolphartsguild.com/

STARworks Ceramics Show

2011-12-30T23:08:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics will hold an exhibition at Sara Smith Self Gallery, Moring Arts Center in Asheboro, NC from January 3 to 31. Reception is on January 3 (Tue) 5:30pm - 7:30pm. All pots are made of STARworks clays by STARworks Ceramics Artists. Please join us and enjoy the beauty of our local clays!

Holiday Information

2011-12-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics supply shop will be closed:

Dec 23 (Fri), 2011 - Jan 2 (Mon), 2012

Thank you very much for supporting us and hope you have a great holidays!

Christmas Tree Workshop

2011-12-15T13:04:00.000-05:00

Great Christmas trees!

Christmas Tree Making Workshop

2011-11-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tree Making Workshop
Dec 3 (Sat) 1pm-2pm, 2011

$10 for Child, $15 for Adult
Max 40 participants
To register:
910-428-9007
or
hitomi@starworksnc.org

Great Pumpkins

2011-10-26T16:46:00.001-04:00

STARworks Ceramics had firing for lots of clay pumpkins and they were taken home safely.
It was really successful and fun workshop.

Nice details by participants

Great Pumpkins!

Instructor's pumpkins

Hope to see you next workshop!

Clay Pumpkin Workshop

2011-09-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

STARworks Ceramics Presents

Clay Pumpkin Workshop

Oct 1st (Sat), 2011, 1pm

Make your own ceramic pumpkin!

This is a great family activity for all ages

The class fills up quickly - preregistration is required

Workshop fee: $15 for adults and $10 for children

To register call (910) 428-9001

Email hitomi@starworksnc.org

What a great night

2011-07-16T13:54:00.001-04:00

What a great night! We had 13 young artists and their families&friends for the exhibition, and people were impressed by students' beautiful works. Each students had a short "Gallery talk" time in front of people, and it should make them look more "artists". I proud of all students!

Avery Owen talked about her ladybug of her final project

Gracie talked about her violin

She worked on this really hard

Erin describes concepts of her works

Nice details! Erin

Chase already asked his parents to buy a potters wheel

Jessica really liked clay house project

Lily couldn't make the exhibition

Garner's next challenge would be a glass blowing!

Caley is from potters family and her works had really good details

Macenzi was always serious about all projects

Charlotte talked about the cup for her soccer team

I want to thank all students and families who joined this program. It was really successful and you are wonderful people. Also thank to Montgomery Fund for the financial support for this program. Thank to Jeff Dean from Dean and Martin Pottery for your generous time and effort for students, team STARworks for all your support, Santiago Ramirez for making clay and assisting class, Marla Coulthard for making this program possible from the scratch. Lastly, a big thanks to Takuro Shibata, the Director of STARworks Ceramics who did all unthankful tasks (dump trashes, clean up&set up studio, make glazes&under glazes, watch firing, take photos, paper works, send advertising, and even take&pick up our children to the daycare!). I couldn't have done anything without all your help and support.

Lastly, STARworks want to continue those educational programs as much as possible for area schools and students, and we need your support to make this more possible.

Hitomi Shibata

Clay Camp Exhibition will begin Tonight

2011-07-15T11:53:00.001-04:00

I finished up all firings for the show, and also gallery set up & installation have done yesterday.
All works look so good and they are just waiting for artists & people.
This exhibition is open to public and please come to see our young artists' beautiful works at STARworks gallery. It will start at 5:30 pm tonight.

Just a sneak peek

Clay Camp Student Exhibition

2011-07-11T17:04:00.000-04:00

STARworks will hold Clay Camp Student Exhibition at STARworks Gallery on July 15th (Fri), 5:30pm to 7:30. Come join us and see our young artists' beautiful work. Admission free, food and drinks will be served.

See more details here:
http://www.starworksnc.org/component/content/article/48-news/123-clay-camp-student-exhibition.html

Clay Camp was successful

2011-06-28T13:47:00.003-04:00

STARworks Ceramics had Clay Camp with 14 students from June 20 to June 24, and there are lots of great works in the studio. They learned many techniques and worked really hard.

Here is the class details.
6/20 (Mon) Orientation, clay factory tour, gallery tour, pinch pot (vase), coil building (jar)
6/21 (Tue) Wheel Throwing introduction (Guest Artist: Jeff Dean, Seagrove) and hand building (plate)
6/22 (Wed) Slab building (clay house), discussion of final project, homework
6/23 (Thur) Final project : Sculpture (combination of all technique learned)
6/24 (Fri) Painting for works, wrap-up, discussion for the clay camp show

Thank you for your participation and STARworks Ceramics are pleased everything went well. Pots are dried now, then will be fired in several weeks.

We also want to thank to:
Jeff Dean, Guest Artist
Wayne Shiver, Studio assistant
Team STARworks for all support
Montgomery Fund for financial support

Montgomery Herald

All photo rights are reserved by STARworks

Clay Camp at STARworks Ceramics

2011-06-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

STARworks launches Summer Clay Camp

Kids can get their summer off to a creative start at the Summer Clay Camp at STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise in Star. The pottery camp for youth, 8 to 11 years old, will take place June 20-24, from 1 to 4p.m. each day.

“We have had a lot of requests to conduct a camp like this because pottery is such a popular traditional art of this region,” said instructor Hitomi Shibata. “We have designed the camp to give kids a real hands-on potter’s experience.”

Shibata is a seasoned instructor of youth. She has a Masters Degree in Education, Fine Arts and Crafts and has recently completed the residency program at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove.

During the one-week session, she will instruct students on basic pottery making and everyone will create a variety of functional ceramic pots.

“We will also have two guest artists from the Seagrove come in to conduct demonstrations and talk about how they developed their individual styles,” Shibata explained.

Each day’s instruction will build their skills, culminating on Friday with the creation of their final project. Over the three weeks following the camp, the students' work will be fired and their work will be put on display at STARworks Ceramics, along with a photo display that will highlight activities at the camp.

Then on July 15, STARworks Ceramics will host an artist exhibition so the young potters can show off their work to family and friends.

The fee for the full week, including materials and snacks, is $75, payable at time of registration. Deadline for registration is June and spaces are limited. Children are asked to bring an apron, if they have one, and a hand towel. Snacks will be served during the afternoon break.

To register for the camp, visit STARworks at 100 Russell Drive in Star or download a registration form from the website: www.starworksnc.org. To learn more, call (910)428-9001. Space is limited and the deadline for registering is June 8.

STARworks received support from the Montgomery County Community Foundation for this program.

Open House was successful

2011-05-02T13:05:00.002-04:00

We had an Open House for Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief last Friday and many people came and purchase pottery. Thank you very much for your kindness and efforts.

We still open online and hope you can check it out.

http://web.mac.com/takurostar

Potters for Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief

2011-04-13T11:59:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

As you know, the recent huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan created massive devastation, and many people have expressed a desire to help. STARworks Ceramics is hosting a special sale of donated ceramic and other artwork to help raise funds for relief efforts beginning with a special Open House on Friday, April 29 ( Fri.), 2011. The sale will continue online until May 20th (Fri.).

Here is how it will work:
Artwork will be photographed and exhibited at STARworks Ceramics supply shop and also online at http://web.mac.com/takurostar

On Friday, April 29 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm STARworks will have a special Open House with refreshments for viewing and purchasing the artwork. Guests will be able to go online to select relief organization websites, including the Red Cross, to make donations for the purchase price of the artwork. Purchases may also be made to relief organizations by check made out directly to the relief organization. All proceeds go directly to the relief organization.

You may purchase pieces online by donating the purchase amount via credit card or check to the Red Cross or other organizations providing relief services to Japan. When you provide a copy of the receipt for your donation, you may pick up your piece at STARworks, or for an additional shipping charge, we will ship directly to you.

All the artwork has been donated. No commissions are being paid, and all the hard costs for the event are being provided by STARworks Ceramics.

You can help us in this effort by contributing artwork and helping to promote this event through Twitter, Facebook, your website or just telling your friends.

If you wish to help, please send or drop off your artwork to STARworks Ceramics by April 21st ( Thu. ) with info about your work (title, medium, value etc) and comment/statement to Japan.

Thank you,
-------------------------------------------------------------
Takuro and Hitomi Shibata
STARworks Ceramics
P.O. Box 159
Star, NC 27356
Direct Phone: (910) 428-9007
fax: (910) 428-1001
takuro@starworksnc.org
http://www.starworksnc.org
http://starworksceramics.blogspot.com/
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Holiday Info

2010-12-21T15:14:00.001-05:00

Here is STARworks Ceramics holiday information in the end of this year.

12/21(Tue) Open 10-4:30
12/22(Wed) Open 10-4:30 (the last day of service in 2010)　
12/23(Thur) - 1/3(Mon) Closed

We will be opened on 1/4(Tue) 10am as usual.

Thank you very very much for your business
and wish you have Happy Holidays!

STARworks Ceramics

Ornaments are ready!

2010-12-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics had a hands-on Xmas ornament workshop on Dec 3rd and participants made cute&beautiful ornaments. Thank you for joining and we hope those can make your Christmas tree look special than last year.

Holiday Ornament Workshop and sale

2010-11-30T11:37:00.000-05:00

"Holiday Ornament Sale" Friday, Dec. 3, from 5pm to 7:30pm.

We have hundreds of handmade ornaments and gifts created at STARworks.

There will be Glass Blowing demonstration at Glass Lab and also,

Hands-on workshop at STARworks Ceramics Clay studio.

It's a 1-hour hands-on clay ornament workshop during the STARworks Holiday Sale. Using local clay, participants will create a one of the kind handmade ornament. No reservation is needed, and sign-up begins at 4:30 p.m. at STARworks Ceramics and the workshop will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Space is limited to 50 participants The cost is $5 for Children and $7 for Adults. Your ornament will be fired by STARworks kiln and will be available for local pick up in 3 weeks.

Any questions about this class, send us email to: hitomi@starworksnc.org

STARworks Holiday Ornament Sale and Workshop

2010-11-22T10:58:00.001-05:00

STARworks will have "Holiday Ornament Sale" on Friday, Dec. 3, from 5pm to 7:30pm. We have hundreds of handmade ornaments and gifts created at STARworks. There will be Glass Blowing demonstration at Glass Lab and also hands-on workshop at STARworks Ceramics Clay studio.

It's a 1-hour hands-on clay ornament workshop during the STARworks Holiday Sale. Using local clay, participants will create a one of the kind handmade ornament. Sign-up begins at 4:30 p.m. at STARworks Ceramics and the workshop will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Space is limited to 50 participants The cost is $5 for Children and $7 for Adults.
email: hitomi@starworksnc.org

Come join STARworks holiday sale.

Celebration of Seagrove Potters

2010-11-22T10:42:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics had a booth at Celebration of Seagrove Potters this year, too. We sold many tools, clays, oxides and T-shirts. Also we donated STARworks NC local clay mix for throwing demonstration and kids clay class. Thank you for coming to see us.

Special thanks to:
Tim Ayers
Tony Inskeep (STARworks Biofuel)

Jack-O-Lanterns

2010-10-31T00:00:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Central Park NC Annual Gathering was successful!

2010-10-29T11:43:00.004-04:00

Dr. Jones gave a speech

It was a big night. There was Central Park NC Annual Gathering last night and lots of people came to join the party. This year, we had speakers talked about local farming and we learned how important to use local grown products. It same as using local clays which STARworks Ceramics produce in our clay factory since 2008.

Central Park/ STARworks want people to realize we had better buy local products because lots of e-good things (like economy, environment, employment and education) will come back to us later on. Might not to us right a way, but to our children and to our future.

a tour in the clay factory

Mac and Phil (Wet Dog Glass) try pouring casting iron

Great foods

STARworks Bio Fuel Oils and Oil Lamps

As a big surprising, director of STARworks Ceramics, Takuro Shibata received "cowboy award" as the most contributed worker of STARworks and he got a glass cowboy hat. Because he set up and made many good things and possibilities from zero since 2005. But he said, the award is not only for him but for all of us.

Takuro received a "cowboy award"

Heehaw!

Thank you for supporting us and please keep getting involved.
More exciting news? Go to:
Central Park NC
http://www.centralparknc.org/
STARworks
http://www.starworksnc.org/

Your support is our power.

Lamps

2010-10-26T12:45:00.001-04:00

STARworks Ceramics is making lots of Oil Lamps for Central Park NC Annual Gathering which will be hold on this Thursday. This year, STARworks Bio Fuel will sell Lamp oils made from waste oils.

There are lots of fun things at CPNC Annual party, so please go to http://www.centralparknc.org/ to see more details.
We appreciate your support.

Glazing

Lots of Clay-Jack-O-Lanterns

2010-10-18T12:09:00.001-04:00

Pumpkins just harvested

STARworks Ceramics Clay studio had a Clay Pumpkin Workshop on Saturday morning and we had lots of people who made Clay-Jack-O-Lanterns. Thank you for participating and hope we can do it again.

Lots of Clay-Jack-O-Lanterns

We reached maximum participants early and there were more people who wanted to sign up. If you want to receive workshop information in advance, please send us email to add your email address on our mailing list.
info@starworksnc.org

STARworks Ceramics made this new clay, red earthen ware for this workshop and it will be our newest clay body soon.

Clay Pumpkin Workshop

2010-09-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

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

STARworks Ceramcis 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. Your work will be dried, glazed and fired in 2 weeks.

Fee: $5 for child, $7 for adult.
Reservation is needed, maximum 30 people.
First come, first served.
Bring your apron and towel.
Contact: hitomi@starworksnc.org

Open House on 9/24

2010-09-27T12:19:00.000-04:00

STARworks Ceramics had an Open House last Friday and we thank you all for coming to see us! We gave away our new clay samples, Okeeweemee 10 and Groweemee 10. We hope you enjoy using our new clay bodies.

STARworks Ceramics Newsletter

2010-09-13T15:03:00.002-04:00

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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

Kiids Group

2010-08-16T11:20:00.000-04:00

STARworks Ceramics welcomed a kids group from Stanly county in the end of June. They made lots of nice face jugs by using STARworks local clay. They are 4-H group and making pots by local clay must be good experience for their hands-on project. Pots are bisqued, glazed and fired by STARworks Ceramics and it looks pretty good.

Thank you for coming to STARworks and hope come back making pots again!

New addition

2010-08-16T11:06:00.000-04:00

I am sorry I didn't update this blog for long time. I have got a new baby in the middle of May. He is now 3 months old and really healthy. He will be around STARworks Ceramics soon and you will see.

Star Elementary 5th graders

2010-03-10T13:53:00.009-05:00

The teacher, Ms. Linda Thompson brought her 5th grade students of Star Elementary School this morning, and they made "Clay house" in our clay studio. This clay house project was related to their year long research about their family roots and culture, and STARworks Ceramics prepared lots of clay slabs for this project.

Firstly, Santiago took them to STARworks clay factory and told where materials of our local clay mix come from, and also how we process clay. Then students watched demonstration how to make clay house by Okeeweemee clay and started building their house on a banding wheel. It was only one hour class but they did great job.

Those houses will be dried, bisqued and glaze fired in three weeks and return to them. Thank you for coming to clay studio and hope students had great time.

Thanks to:
Star Elementary School
Santiago Ramirez
Anne Partna

Coiled Large Jar Workshop 3/1

2010-03-01T16:23:00.012-05:00

We had a Coiled Large Jar workshop today and it was really successful class. Everyone did great job and made a large jar. Thank you for your participation.
And special thanks for your support to:
Wayne Shiver
Santiago Ramirez
Evan Morgan

Large Platter Workshop 2/26

2010-02-26T19:25:00.006-05:00

There was a large platter workshop in our clay studio today and it was very successful. Thank you for take part in this class!

Materials arrived 2/25

2010-02-25T15:36:00.005-05:00

We waited for the truck coming for long long time, and at last lots of materials arrived with full truck load this afternoon! We are sorry for making you wait, and now we have a lot. Please give us a call/email and come to pick up what you need.

Supply Shop:
phone: 910-428-9007
Email: info@starworksnc.org

Spring Workshop Information

2010-02-19T15:41:00.008-05:00

STARworks Ceramics clay studio will have several exciting workshops this spring.

1: Large Platter Workshop
Friday February 26th 10am-12pm, $35/person Max 4 participants,
Instructor: Hitomi Shibata --- Full on 2/19
Participants will learn throwing technique and make a minimum 16 inch platter. After the class, you can take your platter home with you. We will provide our original local NC clay and you can choose either cone10 or cone 6. Firing is not included. This workshop is geared to anyone wanting instruction in Japanese large platter throwing technique. There are basic tools in our studio, but you might need to bring your own pottery tools. Intermediate to Advanced.

2: Coiled Large Jar Workshop
March 1, 2010, $35/person Max 10 participants,
Instructor: Hitomi Shibata
Participants will learn coil building techniques and make a minimum 12 inch tall jar on a banding wheel. Instruction will include information about Japanese traditional jars and how to make one. After the class, you can take your jar home with you. We will provide our original local NC clay and you can choose either cone10 or cone 6. Firing is not included. This workshop is geared to anyone wanting instruction in Japanese coil building techniques. There are basic tools in our studio, but you might need to bring your own pottery tools. Beginner to Advanced.

3: Clay Box Workshop
Saturday March 13, 2010 10am- 11:30am, $30/person Max 10 participants,
Instructor: Hitomi Shibata
Participants will make a container clay containeres by molds. Decorating techniques will be taught including inlay, clay slip applied using a brush( Hakeme) and drawing. After the class, you can take your clay box home with you. We will provide our original local NC clay for your work and you can choose either cone10 or cone 6. Firing is not included. This workshop is geared to anyone interested in learning new forming and decoration techniques. There are basic tools in our studio, but you might need to bring your own pottery tools. Beginner to Intermediate.

4: Introduction of Clay Research
Saturday April 24, 2010 10am-12pm, $35/person Max 20 participants,
Instructor: Takuro Shibata
Participants will learn how to test clays and techniques developed by Takuro Shibata who does the STARworks Ceramics clay research. He will give a lecture and demonstration emphasizing use of local clays, and then participants will process local clays to prepare for testing. This workshop is geared to anyone interested in making and testing their own clay formulas using local materials. All levels.

Please sign up soon because space is limited. In case of a bad weather or without meeting minimum number of participants, classes might be canceled with full refund. Give us a call or email, if you are interested.
Email: hitomi@starworksnc.org

Kids Class in the office

2010-02-06T14:25:00.004-05:00

STARworks Ceramics had kids from Biscoe, NC and they made mugs and face jugs. Unfortunately our clay studio was too cold to work, so we set up table and bench in our office area. They saw the article of news paper and very interested in making pots. Pots will be ready for pick up in a month and hope they will like it.

Montgomery Herald Article

2010-01-19T15:17:00.004-05:00

Ms. Linda Beaulieu from Montgomery Herald (Troy, NC) came to STARworks and interviewed us and kids last summer, and she made a nice article about STARworks Ceramics on January 13 issue. Thanks Linda for supporting our educational program!

We would like to continue these kind of program for local kids. Your any support, donation, helpful information and suggestion are needed.

Visiting Artist

2010-01-13T14:51:00.005-05:00

We have a visiting artist in our clay studio. Asheboro resident, Wayne Shiver has been helping STARworks Ceramics as a volunteer, and now he is making Bonsai pots for his own project. He is also a very serious Japanese arts and crafts collector, certified master gardener, and certified chef.

In addition, he and a potter in Asheboro, Mike Durham will give a Bonsai workshop which will be organized by Randolph Arts Guild in March. Please click here, for more information about that class.

Holiday Information

2010-01-12T11:29:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics will be closed on January 18th (Monday).
Have a nice holiday!

A letter from parents

2009-12-22T17:29:00.004-05:00

A Happy New Year!

Thank you for supporting STARworks Ceramics and hope it's going to be a great year for everyone.

We received a nice letter from a person whose child took pottery making class at STARworks Ceramics last year, and we want to reference it because it's very good news.

-----------------------------------

My oldest son and I made a visit to STARworks this summer with Communities in School. While there he made this great Pirate Jug that he was very proud of. He then entered it in the NC State Fair under the 4-H Division and won 2nd place with it. Donny said that he saw our picture on one of the boards that were set for display when he was doing the tour during the Annual Meeting. I thought you could let them know how well he enjoyed it and also how successful he was. I wish I had thought to take him back and do Christmas presents for people. Tell them that can be an angle for next year for them.

Thanks,

Lynn

---------------------------

Congratulations! and we are so glad to hear it.

STARworks Ceramics want to continue these kind of hands-on pottery programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, suggestion and helpful opinion are needed.

Holiday Info

2009-12-21T14:18:00.001-05:00

STARworks Ceramics will be closed
from Dec 19th (Sat), 2009
to January 3rd (Sun), 2010.
We are sorry for inconvenience.

Have a great holidays and a happy new year!

STARworks Ceramics

Happy Birthday

2009-12-17T16:41:00.005-05:00

Today, Dec 17th is Takuro's Birthday. We had a pot luck lunch in our office and it was fun lunch with our colleagues. He became 37 years old.

Takuro Shibata started working for Yadkin Pee Dee Lakes Project in July, 2005 and set up STARworks Ceramics Materials & Research several months later.

STARworks Ceramics area, March 2005

We visited STARworks building with Nancy in March 2005, it's several months before he started working, and we were very surprised how big it was. In the airplane on the way to go back to Japan, Takuro was really worried how his ceramic business could grow. When he started, he had one bloom and swept up the huge floor day and day. If I were him, it might have been hopeless work, but he didn't gave up. It's been over four years so far, and we think he made it possible.

Happy birthday Takuro and let's grow more gray hair!

Demonstration and Lecture

2009-12-15T17:09:00.002-05:00

Clayworks Guild invited STARworks Ceramics to their Guest Artist Lecture/Visit event, and we went there on Wednesday, December 9th. Hitomi Shibata, Studio Manager of STARworks Ceramics gave Japanese Teapot making demonstration for potters, then Takuro Shibata gave a slide lecture about STARworks Ceramics programs. Santiago Ramirez talked about our NC local clays and gave clay samples for people. It was fun night and we enjoyed talking to people who want to know more about what STARworks Ceramics is doing. Thank you very much for inviting us and also we are looking forward to working with you in the future.

More about Clayworks Guild:
http://www.ncclayworks.org

In addition, Sasha Bakaric who is one of the guild member wrote an article about our demo and lecture, and we would like to reference it here. Thanks a lot, Emily and Sasha!

------------------------------------
On Wednesday, Dec 9th, Ronni Theeman hosted our meeting in her beautiful home in Governor's Club. Thank you Ronni!

There was no business meeting since we had a busy schedule. We enjoyed tasty dishes and gave a toast to a successful year. Many members participated in a gift exchange.

This year we had to rush a little to give our guest speakers enough time for their presentation. Japanesse natives Hitomi Akebi Shibata, Takuro Shibata gave us a very attractive and educational presentation. Hitomi showed us how she assembles beautiful Japanese style teapots. We all admired her steady hand and relaxed and very precise style of working.Takuro, director of Starworks Ceramics did a slide presentation on the couples' journey from Japan to Massacusests to Star, NC. Star is very close to us (1.5h from Durham) and it would make a nice day trip.

Thank you Starworks for clay samples. It will be nice to test our local clay. If you missed this meeting or if you would like to find out more about our guest or about Starworks please visit:
www.starworksnc.org

Happy holidays!

Sasha Bakaric
Durham, NC
www.SashaCeramics.com

---------------------------------

STARworks Ceramics can visit and give demo/ lecture for potters guild, group, and schools. Please contact us if you are interested.

Students Pots unloaded

2009-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics had a school group on Nov 18th and they made small dish with our NC local clay. It's dried, bisqued, glazed and fired. Today we open the kiln and everything looks good.

STARworks Ceramics wants to continue these kind of hands-on pottery programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, suggestion and helpful opinion are needed.

Materials arrived 12/7

2009-12-07T16:12:00.002-05:00

It's been low stock in our warehouse, but we finally got materials arrived this afternoon. We have lots of Highwater premix clays and dry materials. STARworks Ceramics Supply Shop will be closed form Dec 19th until after new year, so please email/call your order to us as soon as possible.

SW Ceramics Original T-shirts

2009-12-02T14:00:00.005-05:00

You might have seen our original T-shirts at Celebration of Seagrove Potters, and Takuro Shibata, the director of STARworks Ceramics designed it and Evan Morgan, Wet Dog Glass made them.

There is a phrase in front and it said "Kikuneri Sannen" in Japanese. It literally means " Spiral wedging clay takes three years to learn" and it implies "don't be too confident, but be patient and keep practice". It's common proverb of pottery villages in Japan because Japanese potters believe clay is the most important element for pottery making.

E-Yakimono net has an article of clay and also has nice photos.
http://www.e-yakimono.net/guide/html/clays.html

There are a little bit left over T-shirts in our supply shop and please let us know if you are interested in.

Holiday Information

2009-11-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

STARworks Ceramics will be closed
between Nov 25th (Wed) and 29th (Sun).
Have a great Thanksgiving!

Celebration of Seagrove Potters

2009-11-22T12:43:00.002-05:00

STARworks Ceramics join "Celebration of Seagrove Potters" this year and have a booth. We sell NC local clays, pottery tools and T-shirt. It's good to show people what we are doing at STARworks. We have fun and enjoy this event!

School Group Visit

2009-11-18T12:58:00.008-05:00

STARworks welcomed a school group from Badin, NC this morning, and students had tour in Clay Factory, then made pots in the clay studio. Because it was very short time, they made small plates for candle holder by STARworks NC Local Clays. We will do firing their pots and return pots in mid December. They also had STARworks Garden tour and demonstration in STARworks Glass Lab after pottery class. We hope students enjoyed STARworks today. STARworks Ceramics wants to continue these kind of hands-on pottery programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, suggestion and helpful opinion are needed.

Central Park NC Annual Gathering

2009-10-30T14:29:00.004-04:00

Central Park NC had an Annual Gathering last night and there were lots of crowds in our building. There were speeches by Dr. Jones who is Central Park NC board, Dr. Gottovi who is Central Park NC Executive Director, and Michael Shuman who is a guest speaker and also economist.

There were also art gallery space which is brand-new art space, and artists of STARworks exhibit their work. We had very good local food, local beer, and live Jazz band, and those all made people happy.

We are so glad many people are interested in what we do and toy to do for local communities and businesses. Thank you for supporting Central Park NC and STARworks, and we need your help.

Fall Carnival at Star Elementary School

2009-10-19T15:13:00.007-04:00

STARworks joined Fall Carnival at Star Elementary School on October 16th and had a booth to show what we do to parents and kids. It was good opportunity for us. STARworks Ceramics brought one wheel and did throwing demo by using our local clay mix, and many kids were very interested in it. We asked several kids if they had experiences to make pots before, and no one said yes. Personally, I thought, school children need good experiences of arts, so that it will give kids more wide-open eyes for future.STARworks Ceramics wants to make art programs for local children, especially for a school in town of Star. Your any support, donation, and helpful opinions are needed.

Wood firing

2009-09-20T13:34:00.004-04:00

We had a wood firing this weekend. Takuro, Santiago and Hitomi made a lot of pots made from STARworks clay and fired STARworks wood kiln for two days. We can't wait to see the results.

NC Local Cone 6 Clays

2009-09-15T17:16:00.000-04:00

Now STARworks Ceramics just started selling cone 6 white stoneware (STARwhite 6) and cone 6 brown stoneware (Okeewemee 6). Those clays are very local clay mix and it's very very plastic. Please try and let us know your opinion. If you want to know more about our slay, just give us a call or email.

Tools arrived

2009-09-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

We got many kinds of pottery tools in our supply shop.
If you need tools to make many pots for Fall season, just hurry!

Holiday Info

2009-09-06T12:35:00.001-04:00

STARworks Ceramics is closed on Sep 7th (Monday) for Labor day.
Have a nice weekend!

UNC TV

2009-08-31T23:22:00.005-04:00

UNC TV broadcasted about STARworks include ceramics.
Now you can watch on website and please check it out here:
http://www.unctv.org/ncnow/features/august_09_01.html

Open House went well

2009-08-28T21:28:00.004-04:00

We had Open House tonight and lots of people came to see us. Thank you so much for coming! There were many good foods include Sushi and lots of drinks. We hope you enjoyed this event tonight and you will love our new cone 6 local clays.

Now STARworks Ceramics start selling cone 6 white stoneware (STARwhite 6) and cone 6 brown stoneware (Okeewemee 6). Those clays are very local clay mix and it's very very plastic. Please try and let us know your opinion.

Open House, Aug 28, 2009

2009-08-26T15:41:00.002-04:00

We want to announce STARworks Ceramics will have an Open House on August 28th (Friday), 5-7pm. This time we will give out cone 6 Local clay mix samples for everyone at this event. Please save date and don't miss it!

Samples are ready!

Family Clay Class 8/14

2009-08-14T15:09:00.006-04:00

We had "Summer Holidays Family Clay Class" this morning. We had small group than we thought, but they are very exited about making pots and they did great job. They made bowls, cups, face jugs, and tried wheel throwing a little bit. Thank you for taking part in this special summer class for local families.

We also had Ms. Linda Beaulieu from Montgomery Herald Newspaper and she interviewed participants about pottery making. She will write about art program at STARworks on Montgomery Herald Newspaper sometime soon.

STARworks Ceramics want to continue these kind of educational programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, and helpful opinions are needed.

Art Alliance Group Visit

2009-08-11T14:44:00.006-04:00

STARworks Ceramics had a group of Art Alliance of Greensboro today. They had a building tour, wheel throwing demonstration and also everyone got small sample of NC local clay. We had great time. Thank you for coming to see us!
STARworks Ceramics offer group tour, clay demonstration, and clay experience workshop for public. A small fee might be occur. Please contact us in advance if you are interested.

phone: 910-428-9007
Email: info@starworksnc.org

Many Face Jugs

2009-08-03T16:15:00.007-04:00

We had Montgomery Summer School group in July and kids made nice Face Jugs in our clay studio. It's been dried out, bisqued, glazed, fired, and unloaded this morning. It came out pretty nice and now they are ready for pick up.

See Also:
Summer School Group Visit 1
Summer School Group Visit 2

STARworks Ceramics wants to continue these kind of programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, suggestion and helpful opinions are needed.

Materials arrived 7/30

2009-07-30T14:47:00.004-04:00

We have got lots of ceramic materials (premix clays and dry clays) in our warehouse today. Please give us a call or send email if you need. Also STARworks clay (Star White 10) is now in stock. Come and see us, and be ready for the busiest season!

Montgomery Herald

2009-07-29T15:01:00.007-04:00

Montgomery Herald Newspaper has a photo of Hitomi's demonstration in the newest issue. Please check it out the newspaper.

STARworks Ceramics offer group tour, school trip, clay demonstration, and clay experience workshop for public. A small fee might be occur. Please contact us in advance if you are interested.

phone: 910-428-9007
Email: info@starworksnc.org

Wood Deck is coming up

2009-07-28T15:27:00.003-04:00

STARworks Glass Lab will have nice own entrance soon. It's made by wood and has nice slope for wheel chair. Maybe good for music live and drinks with beautiful sunset.

Summer Holidays Family Clay Class

2009-07-22T00:25:00.001-04:00

STARworks Ceramics, a Non Profit Organization located in Star, will have a Family Clay Class for local families this summer. You can make clay objects with experienced instructors. Pots will be fired in several weeks and you can pick up later on. Please sign up in advance. First come, first served. 30 People/max (approx 12 families)

Date:
August 14th (Fri) 10am-11:30am

Age:
3 to 12 years old
Parents/Guardian need to attend together

Bring Your Own:
Apron and towel

Cost:
One Adult and One Child $12/pair
Additional One Child $5/each
This includes clay & firing fee.

Contact:
STARworks Ceramics
Phone: 910-428-9007
Email: info@starworksnc.org

Summer School Group Visit 2

2009-07-15T14:51:00.014-04:00

STARworks Ceramisc had another group visit today and they also made a lot of nice face jugs in our clay studio. We also invited Ms. Linda Beaulieu from Montgomery Herald Newspaper and she interviewed kids about pottery making. We hope they had great time and experience.

Thank you, Linda!

STARworks Ceramics wants to continue these kind of programs for local children for future. Your any support, donation, and helpful opinions are needed.

Summer School Group Visit 1

2009-07-14T15:21:00.013-04:00

STARworks host Montgomery County Summer School group visit today and tomorrow. They see Glass Blowing Demonstration, have Trail and Garden Tour, Biofuel plant tour, and pottery making class in our clay studio.

It's just short workshop, so we prepared small jug for everyone and they made "Face jug" which is this area tradition. Some kids had experiences of pottery making but mostly don't. They worked hard and enjoyed making small face jugs with STARworks Ceramics staff. Pots will be fired and returned in three weeks. We will have another group tomorrow. It's fun!

Lots of nice face jugs, and lots of smiles:)

Kids Art Class

2009-07-08T17:16:00.010-04:00

We had a kids art class conjunction with Star Library in our studio today, and Mary Alice McDermott who lives in Moore County gave kids paper craft workshop. They did many different projects and enjoyed a lot.

STARworks Ceramics Open House

2009-07-07T14:11:00.005-04:00

Work! Work!

Our State Magazine, July 2009

2009-07-01T15:13:00.003-04:00

Our State Magazine, July 2009 has an article about STARworks.
http://www.ourstate.com/

Closed on Friday, July 3rd

2009-06-30T15:57:00.004-04:00

STARworks Ceramics will be closed on July 3rd, this Friday because of the Independence day. Have a great holiday!

Kids Class

2009-06-29T23:55:00.004-04:00

STARworks Ceramics offered to have kids clay class which is organized Star Library today and there were lot of kids in the clay studio. They made critters by clay. It's always good to see children's smiles:)

Visit to Penland 3

2009-06-28T00:59:00.006-04:00

We visited to Bandana Pottery (Michael Hunt and Naomi Dalglish). They are our friends and it's been a while since we met them last time. They are making lot of pots and try to be ready for Kiln Opening on July 18-19, 2009.

We talked about latest news to catch up, and showed photos of STArworks Ceramics. As you know they make their own clay from local materials by themselves, but they will try to use STARworks clay. Also they will give some clay samples to his friends in Bakersville area. Thanks Michael and Naomi.

Visit to Penland 2

2009-06-28T00:42:00.008-04:00

The second day, we visited to Michael Kline's studio. He has a studio and kiln on top of the hill and it has very nice view. We should be very much familiar with mountains and hills in Japan, but somehow we forgot about it, so we were very surprised how high Penland area is located.
Michael was very exited about STARworks clay, and we hope he will have good results. He is going to give our clay samples to local potters around him. Very kind of you, Michael.

And this guy was really happy to get on Michael Kline's mower in front of his studio. He doesn't like long driving (by car), though.

Visit to Penland 1

2009-06-28T00:27:00.010-04:00

We just came back from Penland. STARworks Ceramics Clay Factoty made 8000 lb of clay mix for Daniel Johnston's workshop at Penland School of Crafts, and we wanted to see him and his students up there. When we arrived to Penland, Daniel and his students were working on kiln loading, it was just 5th day and lots of large jars were ready to fire. Studends said they really like Daniels workshop also clay. We are glad to hear that. We met Suzan who is a clay coordinator of Penland school and she was really nice to us. She works hard to help and support students, I am sure it must be really hard job. We took STARworks clay samples and some students will use and test it. We are very exited about it.

Clay Experience Workshop 6/23

2009-06-23T22:51:00.004-04:00

A group from West End came to take Clay Experience Workshop today. They worked very very hard and made nice bowls and vessels. Thank you very much for taking this class.

Clay Experience workshop is designed for people who don’t have any/much previous clay experience. It’s a two-hour class that will give an opportunity to make simple pots that will be a permanent souvenir of a visit to this area. Also it would be good tips for your customers to spend extra time during pottery shopping.

After the class, the pots will be glazed and fired by STARworks Ceramics, and then they’ll be returned by either mail or local pickup. We can accommodate large groups up to 20 for hand building class, and up to 4 for wheel throwing class. This workshop is a great way for visitors to experience the rich craft culture in this region. It is our hope that this program promotes interest in pottery and encourages
future visits to the area.

Workshops are scheduled Monday through Saturday.
Please make reservations by phone or email.

Cost:
4 to 10 participants: $35.00/ person for hand-building class
10 to 20 participants: $30.00/ person for hand-building class
4 participants: $35.00/ person for wheel-throwing class
Children (under 15) with adults: $20.00/ person

Cost includes studio fee, all project materials and firing cost. If you have any further question about the Clay Experience Workshop, please give us a call at 910-428-9007 or send email to info@starworksnc.org

Japanese Teapot Workshop 6/20

2009-06-20T22:35:00.007-04:00

We had Japanese Teapot Workshop in the clay studio and it was really successful. Not only making teapots but we talked about teapots in western and eastern, and we shared techniques which we each have. Thank you very much for participating this workshop!

Now STArworks Ceramics is making plan for Special Workshop Series in Fall 2009. We want to hear from you about what kind of workshop you would like to take. Please email us if you have any suggestions. We would like to make good educational programs for potters (from beginner to professional) and make use of studio space for good programs.

Left the nest

2009-06-19T15:42:00.006-04:00

There were birds in the clay factory and Santiago has been watching them. They made the nest and laid eggs, then eggs hatched, and today those baby birds left the nest and flew to outside after the parents.

See video to the below.

Santiago will miss you and come back to see us!

Flowers and Herbs

2009-06-17T14:51:00.004-04:00

Although you might have thought it's very bad (and sad) shape, but finally we planted flowers and herbs on two flower beds next to the front door of STARworks Ceramics. Now it looks much nicer than used to be. Most plants were given by STARworks Garden and a little bit plants and seeds came from my home garden. A lot of thanks to Anne!

It will take a time to be settled. The right side is herbs, the left side is flowers. When you come to our shop, please take a look.

Items arrived

2009-06-12T15:02:00.005-04:00

We got more tools in our shop recently. We have lots of Orton Cones and pottery batts. If you need some of them, just stop by or call us.

Large Bowl/ Platter Workshop 6/6

2009-06-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

We had Large Bowl/Platter Workshop on June 6th. It was small workshop because there was a sudden cancel, but very successful class.
Trish made beautiful large plate and bowl. She focused on making simple and basic large scale pots. The bowl is more than 20 inch width.

Julie made nice plate and very feminine beautiful bowl. Very good job.

Those two guys are talking about wheel throwing. It's fun, isn't it?

Star Heritage Day Festival 2

2009-06-09T11:21:00.010-04:00

STARworks joined the 11th Annual Star heritage Day Festival last Saturday and had booths in front of our building. Totally about 170 people came to see us and it was a good local community event.

STARworks Ceramics and STARworks Garden worked together and made a lot of Planter pots for sale, and many our friends who are Seagrove potters helped this fund raising in this spring. Thanks again!STARworks also cereblated our brand-new Walking Trail. It's made from recycled materials which is very soft and confortable for your foot, and 1/8 mile for one lap. Adam Landman (STARworks) worked on this progect. Come and try this eco-friendly walking trail.

Star Heritage Day Festival

2009-06-01T13:39:00.008-04:00

There will be an exciting event which is "Star Heritage Day Festival" on June 6th (Sat), starts from 9am (this weekend!) in Star town.

STARworks will have booth set up in front of the entrance and we will celebrate our New Senior Walking Trail. STARworks also have a Planter Pots and Plants Sale which is a fund raising for STARworks and all profits from the sale will be used for STARworks programs.

STARworks Ceramics has been firing lots of planter pots and it's all done, and STARworks Garden is planting flowers and herbs in those hand made planters. Bulldog Pottery will have a Kiln Opening from 9am-5am.
And many more things to see.

Please come and join the Star Heritage Day Festival with us.

We're making clay Continued

2009-05-27T15:38:00.007-04:00

We have got a problem for our Bobcat recently, but we are still making clay manually! We scoop tons of dry materials by hand and throw into the machine. The clay chunks the photo above are hand wedged by Santiago before putting in the pug mil because it was too wet. STARworks White 10 clay is very hand-made, high quality local clay mix with a lot of hard work, so please try it.

Variety of Mudtools arrived

2009-05-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

Variety of Mudtools have arrived in our shop. This time we have got cutting wires and throwing stick tool as new items. Please check it out when you come.

Keep firing of Planter pots

2009-05-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

We had Planter Pot workshops in February and STARworks Friends made many planter pots for our fund raising. After that, we have been keeping firing those pots and now more than 100 pots were done. They look very good. Thank you very much for your time and kindness.

Flower Pot Workshop (Feb 23, 2009)
Flower Pot Workshop was successful (Feb 28, 2009)

Special thanks to:
Bruce Gholson and Gloria (Bull Dog Pottery)
Meredith and Mark Heywood (Whynot Pottery)
David Stuempfle (David Stuempfle Pottery)
Mike Mahan (From the Ground Up)
Tim Ayers and Robin (Tim Ayers)
Evan Morgan (Wet Dog Glass)
Kacy Cook (NC Wild Life Resources Commission)
Mr. and Mrs. Cook (Kacy's Parents)
Crystal, Mike, Anne, Adam, Santiago, Takuro (STARworks)

STARworks Garden stated planting flower and herb seeds in those pots to be ready for the fund raising event. We will inform you about it in this blog shortly.

Plaster Mold Making Workshop

2009-05-18T23:18:00.010-04:00

We had Plaster Mold Making Workshop today and participants made very nice plaster molds.

If you work on making plaster mold by your self, you must make many molds at the same time and try to use all of plaster, otherwise plaster goes bad so quickly once you open up a bag. So, it's very good idea you have people to make plaster mold together and share the bag! Also, good plaster mold can make many many pots and last long.

Thank you so much for taking this class, we enjoyed working with you.

Materials have arrived 5/12

2009-05-13T13:58:00.002-04:00

We have got lots of ceramic materials in our warehouse recently. Please give us a call or send email if you need any materials. Also STARworks clay (Star White 10) is now in stock. Come and see us!

Test firing

2009-05-04T23:31:00.004-04:00

We had a test firing today and Santiago was taking care of it all day long. When we make new batch of clay, we do test firing just in case.

Business After Hours Event

2009-05-01T12:01:00.011-04:00

STARworks hosted the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Event on April 28th. Many people from Montgomery county visited us and we gave a building tour, glass blowing and pottery throwing demonstration.STARworks Ceramics showed our NC local clay and potteries made from that clay, and Hitomi did throwing demo with our clay. People were impressed a part of our local clay comes from Montgomery County. It was fun event. Thank you for take part in it.

Japanese Teapot Workshop

2009-04-27T23:22:00.010-04:00

We had a Japanese Teapot Workshop today and everybody made a Japanese style side handle teapot. Teapot is one of the hardest tableware, and today's class was really successful. The most fun part was we had tea break while waiting for drying out pots, and tasted nice green tea and sweets!

Instructor showed how to assemble parts

Thank you so much for participating workshop.

Additional Classes Information

2009-04-22T12:00:00.004-04:00

Thank you so much for signing up the Special Workshops. All classes got full, and we still have people who are interested in them, so we will offer additional classes in June.

June 6 (Sat) 1:30-4:30pm
Large Bowl/Platter Making, 4 people/max, 1 person available
Intermediate to Advanced
Participants will make large bowl/ platter at least 18 inch width by electric wheel. Instructor gives demonstration, instruction and useful technique for making large pots. Cost $50 includes studio fee and all materials. You may want to bring some of your personal tools for throwing. Pots will be taken home with participants after the class.

June 20 (Sat) 1:30-4:30pm
Japanese Tea Pot Making, 4 people/max, 1 person available
Intermediate to Advanced
Participants will learn how to make Japanese style teapot by throwing. Tea pot is one of the hardest table wares, and instructor will teach all process to make teapot. There will be a tea break during the class, and participants will taste Japanese green tea. Cost $50 includes studio fee and all materials. You may want to bring some of your personal tools for throwing. Pots will be taken home with participant after the class.Please sign up by phone (910-428-9007) or email
info@starworksnc.org in advance.

Instructor: Hitomi Shibata, STARworks Ceramics
See artist info here:
http://starworksceramics.blogspot.com/2009/02/special-workshop-series.html

We're making clay Continued

2009-04-21T08:05:00.001-04:00

Work Work Work!
(The folk lift wasn't on drive and made sure it's safe for baby)

We're making clay

2009-04-14T21:51:00.003-04:00

We have been out of stock our NC local clay (Star White 10), so we are making it now.

Wood Kiln Unloading at NCPC

2009-04-13T11:15:00.005-04:00

It's been for 10 days since the wood firing was ended at NCPC, and today is unloading day. People started unloading from 9am and it just took less than two hours to get work done. It's much faster than loading or firing, isn't it?

Results looked OK to me. It's always good and not so good because it's wood firing, but it was a group firing and everything was new experiment. STARworks clay is very high refractory clay, so that there shouldn't be cracking problem by wood firing process than any other commercial clays.

It was good event and STARworks Ceramics is pleased to join and support for it.

Clay Experience Workshop

2009-04-11T20:54:00.010-04:00

We had a group who wanted to take Clay Experience Workshop this morning. They are very good students and worked very hard. Thank you for joining and we hope you enjoyed making pots.

Clay Experience workshop is designed for people who don’t have any/much previous clay experience. It’s a two-hour class that will give an opportunity to make simple pots that will be a permanent souvenir of a visit to this area. Also it would be good tips for your customers to spend extra time during pottery shopping.

After the class, the pots will be glazed and fired by STARworks Ceramics, and then they’ll be returned by either mail or local pickup. We can accommodate large groups up to 20 for hand building class, and up to 4 for wheel throwing class. This workshop is a great way for visitors to experience the rich craft culture in this region. It is our hope that this program promotes interest in pottery and encourages
future visits to the area.

Workshops are scheduled Monday through Saturday.
Please make reservations by phone or email.

Cost:
4 to 10 participants: $35.00/ person for hand-building class
10 to 20 participants: $30.00/ person for hand-building class
4 participants: $35.00/ person for wheel-throwing class
Children with adults: $20.00/ person

Cost includes studio fee, all project materials and firing cost. If you have any further question about the Clay Experience Workshop, please give us a call at 910-428-9007 or send email to info@starworksnc.org

Test firing

2009-04-09T12:38:00.002-04:00

We had test firing and loaded a lot of test tiles of local clays.

An article about the wood firing at NCPC

2009-04-09T12:34:00.004-04:00

Uwharrie Mountains and Lakes Area Visitor Center sent out the latest newsletter and they picked up the wood firing event at NCPC on April 4th, and mentioned about STARworks local clay.
See an article to this link:
http://www.uwharrievisitorcenter.com/

Thanks to Bulldog Pottery for letting us know it!