All skill levels are welcome. This five-day figurative workshop is for artists who work in ceramic and want to push their surfaces beyond typical techniques and into the next level. If you’ve ever felt limited or ‘stuck’ on how exactly to add color, depth and nuance to your work, this is the course for you.

From color theory to mark making, exploring both fired and unfired surface processes, each participant will leave with a library of tests and a deeper understanding of surface. Michelle will share her keys to conveying narrative, subtlety, emotion and concept. We will be surrounded by the colors and forms of the Côte d”Azur to inspire your creativity. In the beginning, we’ll create a series of figurative maquettes and a small bust study to explore emotion, pose and movement using an improvisational approach to clay construction. By day five, we’ll have glaze fired a series of surface tests to cone 5, along with the ceramic busts and hand studies. We’ll review our results, document and share them with the group.

Please note that the weekend is unscheduled. This is an opportunity to explore the small towns near Saint Raphaël (including Saint Tropez, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Vallauris, and Monte Carlo, Monaco, just to name a few).