Bill Jones to teach pottery
Aug 14, 2019Rockingham Community College welcomes Bill Jones, a new pottery instructor in RCC’s Continuing Education program.
Jones makes utilitarian slipware pottery and sculpture decorated with wild, abstract drawings. Operating from his disorganized studio in Greensboro, he travels far and wide selling his wares and teaching others.
Jones grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and studied architecture and design at Lehigh University and the University of Michigan. After an extended stretch at Penland School of Crafts, he moved to North Carolina to begin a two-year apprenticeship with woodfire potter, Daniel Johnston in Seagrove.
Since then, Jones has balanced his own studio practice with design/production work, teaching and artist residencies.
In addition to the Seagrove apprenticeship from 2013-2015, Jones’ was an Artist in Residence in 2015 at STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise, south of Seagrove, where he continues to be a production artist. He was also an Artist in Residence at The Bright Angle in Asheville during the summer of 2018. He spent January 2019 as a Winter Resident at Penland School of Craft, southwest of Blowing Rock.
This fall, Jones is teaching two courses.
Wheel Throwing and Hand Building Pottery will be held from 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays, Aug. 19-Dec. 9. Students will learn how to design and make pottery during the potter’s wheel and hand-building techniques. The 48-hour course is designed for all skill levels. A focus on individual instruction will allow each student to explore working with clay as a hobby or a profession. The course will introduce students to the skills to design and make ceramic objects, apply glazes, load kilns, and operate within a cooperative studio. In-class demonstrations, handouts, videos, and images will be used to enrich the learning environment. New students are encouraged to purchase a basic pottery toolkit. The cost of the course is $175.
Exploring Clay and Ceramics will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Aug. 22-Dec. 12. Students will learn how to design and make pottery during the potter’s wheel and hand-building techniques. The course is designed for all skill levels, and will provide the skills to design and make ceramic objects, apply glazes, load kilns, and operate within a cooperative studio. The cost of the course is $280.
To register for one of these courses, call 336-342-4261 ext. 2011, or visit www.rockinghamcc.edu/non-credit.
For more information on his work, visit www.billjonespottery.com
