MORNING CLASSES 10am-12:30pm – Fundamentals of Functional Pottery
EVENING CLASSES 7-9:30pm – All levels are welcome
Monday evening classes will be geared for all levels; beginners to advanced.
*Your 1st bag of clay is $38, with all firing, labour, and glazing included.
This 1st bag is typically enough for 8 weeks for beginners. Additional bags are $38, with all firing, labour, and glazing included.
*No clay from outside the studio is allowed. Please understand that each bag of clay bought from our studio includes firing, labour, and glazing. We cannot offer these services for free, please respect the costs/time/utilities of the work our technicians are doing for you.
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*It is recommended that first time students purchase a Tool Kit if you do not already have your own tools.
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*Classes run 10 weeks, 2.5 hours per class:
Fall 2023
Start/end week: Oct 2 – Dec 11
10 weeks
(no classes Oct 9)
Winter 2024
Start/end week: Jan 8 – Mar 25
10 weeks
(no classes Feb 19 & March Break)
Spring 2024
Start/end week: Apr 8 – Jun 17
10 weeks
(no classes May 20)
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Meet Our Instructors:
Unha Hill
Ever since my childhood in South Korea, I have been passionately attracted to objects of beauty, especially in nature. I followed this passion and achieved a Master’s degree of Floral Arts. I immigrated to Canada in 1991 and operated “Floral Creation’s By Unha” successfully for over 10 years in Hamilton. However the time commitments of raising 2 children and giving attention to my husband became too much. I retired the flower shop to close friends and picked up pottery as a hobby. Almost 20 years later pottery has become my profession and livelihood. In 2015 I started fostering a “Cultural Exchange Program” with North American Potters, taking them to Korea and China to learn ancient pottery techniques. Now my art has come full circle, in it you will see many elements of nature combined with both my Korean and Canadian heritage. I love to experiment and expand my skills, so look closely at my work, it is never static but like nature itself, full of changes.
https://www.potterybyunha.com/
https://www.instagram.com/unhahill
Alisa Greve
Alisa began exploring her love of pottery as a ceramics student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario in 1992. She returned there in 2011 after a nine year hiatus and set up a studio in her home 5 years ago. Since retiring from a 33 year career in elementary teaching, she has become a “small batch” potter.
Nature inspires Alisa’s work and is notable in the varied leaf motifs in the exterior surface decoration as well as in the sky blue, pale green and rose pink interior of her pots. Her pottery is both unique and functional. It is simple in form and design but intricate in its decoration and is made to be used and enjoyed every day. Her pots reflect her love of nature and of simple beautiful things and her belief that everyday objects should bring joy and happiness to one’s life.
https://www.instagram.com/alisagrevepottery/
Karla Rivera
I am a ceramic artist born and raised in Mexico City. After some traveling, I moved to Hamilton Ontario. At this point I started to listen to my artistic voice and got involved in the world of ceramics. In 2021 I obtained a Bachelor degree of Craft and Design in Ceramics from Sheridan College.
My work consists of functional and sculptural ceramics.
With the help of clay, the use of different materials, and composition, I am building a bridge between beliefs, thoughts and experiences.
I like to play with the forms and functions of objects that can serve more than one purpose.
https://www.instagram.com/karlarivera_studio/
https://karlarivera.com/
Nina Lalla
I’ve been drawn to the dirt since I was a child. Always outside digging holes and building mud castles. I didn’t know what clay was until 11 years old when it was introduced as part of my art class at school. We made sculptural cups. The idea of taking a ball of clay and forming it into something out of nothing enticed me in ways I didn’t understand at the time. From that point I began walking towards the path of Clay. Throughout my journey with clay I sought out a higher education in ceramics through Sheridan College – Craft and Design Ceramics program from 2012 to 2015. Upon graduating from school I was fortunate enough to start my teaching career at Creative Insight Pottery in the summer of 2015 where I have been teaching and creating my own works since.
I focus on functional wares within my own making. I like the idea of having a purpose and a use. Being able to invite someone to interact and use an object that I’ve introduced to the world, is such a neat experience as an artist, it is the same excitement a chef feels when serving a meal to their guests and then awaiting the feedback. Whether it’s good or bad you learn something from that experience.
Elsa Brittin
Elsa Brittin is an emerging ceramic artist working out of her studio in Hamilton, Ontario. She has been passionate about visual aesthetics from a young age, where she began by assembling collected items into pieces of art. She followed this passion through secondary and post secondary visual art programs in the form of sculptural ceramics, and has now been teaching professionally for the past 6 years in both private studios and non-profit institutions. Through dynamic surface design and form, Elsa aims to explore the relationship between function and sculpture. A graduate of NSCAD University with a BFA in Ceramics, Elsa currently works as an instructor at Creative Insight Pottery. Her previously role as Public Programs Manager at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery helped to strengthen her bonds and understanding to the rich history of ceramics and helped her teaching practice grow as a whole. Having been featured in exhibitions nationally, Elsa aims to incorporate dynamic lines and form, exploring the relationship between function and sculpture. Her work often features playful sculptures as well as more traditional functional forms.
Katia Liberato Lemos
Katia Liberato Lemos is the owner/creator of Creative Insight Pottery. Originally from Brazil, Katia came to Canada at 19 and soon became a graduate of Sheridan College’s ceramics program at Sheridan College. She has been featured on ‘CityLine’ TV in Toronto, ‘Hamilton Life’ TV, ‘West of the City’, and in ‘Our Homes’ magazine. She is the winner of a scholarship to the Metchosin Summer School for the Arts, a Betty Kantor award winner, and has been invited for ‘A Sale of the Best of the Regions’ exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton as well as the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics.
Katia has been teaching children & adult ceramics classes throughout the Waterdown/Burlington/Oakville area for over 10 years, and is committed to continue growing a positive community space for those who understand the value of arts and creativity for the health and well-being of people of all ages.
