The Nicodemus Center for Ceramic Studies at Penn State Mont Alto will be offering an introduction to ceramics studio class for adults from September 8 through October 13 and from October 27 through December 1, 2010. The class meets on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 PM in the center’s pottery studio, room 008, General Studies building on the Mont Alto campus. The instructor is Tom McFarland, fine arts teacher at St. Maria Goretti High School, Hagerstown, assisted by the center’s executive director James Smith.

The class is designed to introduce students to the art of making pottery and sculptural objects in clay. Students receive instruction and produce their own projects using various clay working techniques that include slab building, coil construction, press molding and throwing on the potter’s wheel. More advance techniques are available for
intermediate students.

McFarland holds both Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the Maryland Institute’s College of Art, Baltimore. He has more than 45 years experience as an art instructor and free-lance artist and is internationally know for his ceramic and fiberglass sculptures of sea turtles. Smith holds both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary and has spent the last 30 years as an historic archaeologist and museum director working in the field of historic folk pottery. He began creating his own works in 2003 and is the founder of the Mont Alto Pottery Guild.

The ceramic studio class size is limited to eight and preregistration is required. The cost of the class is $100 for center members and Penn State Mont Alto faculty, staff and students and $125 for the general public with a $50 fee for materials for all registrants. Participants will have the opportunity to use the pottery studio outside class time. To preregister for the September 8 or October 27 sessions, contact the Nicodemus Center at (717)762-4670 or email jms48@psu.edu.