Canton Clay Works
150 Cherry Brook Rd, Canton, CT 06019
Guest Artists: Maddisen Fostyni, Elyse A. Cote, Stephanie Haines
The Canton Clay Works is a rustic wood firing studio and ceramics school nestled in the cozy Northwest Hills of CT, in the historic Canton Creamery building from the late 1800s. Established in 2000 by Tim Scull, owner and renowned potter, CCW began as a pottery school and has evolved into a first-rate ceramics facility offering classes, workshops, and firing services in various firing methods.
Tim Scull
I have spent many years fully committed to ceramic education as the managing director of the ceramics department at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon, CT. After 10 years, I moved forward and opened the Canton Clay Works LLC in April, 2000. After spending the last 25 years expanding the Canton Clay Works, I have developed an extraordinary studio and school with sophisticated kilns seldom found in a small privately owned facility.
Elyse A. Cote
@ElyseCotePottery
Connecticut native Elyse Cote began creating art in the ballet studio, co-founding and co-directing CONNetic Dance Company. She eventually found her way to painting and ceramics and completed a BFA at the University of Hartford. Since then she has been a Resident Artist at the Wellsville Creative Art Center and taught ceramics at several local studios as well as The University of Hartford. Elyse has shown her work in many juried shows as well as group exhibitions. Although she no longer dances she continues to bring that physicality to her delicate hand-built objects and the painted canvas, combining the aesthetic of her choreography with faceted vessels and gestural abstraction.
Stephanie Haines
https://www.instagram.com/stephanie.ceramics/
Stephanie’s passion for ceramics began while studying sculpture at Montserrat College of Art in 2002 where she enjoyed exploring the contrast of organic and architectural forms. Her work since has turned towards functional ceramics with a focus on texture and pattern. Current works incorporate the use of bright colored underglaze carved and scratched away to create texture and depth.
Stephanie currently divides her time between her small studio in Manchester, Connecticut and teaching at several community studios in the surrounding area. Her approach to teaching focuses on understanding the individual needs of each of her students and how they learn. Within this model she believes in developing a strong technical foundation that honors the history of the craft while also helping students to push their creative boundaries.
Maddisen Fostyni
@mfostyni
Though I've always tried to make art, I never meant to make clay my career. But when my original path fell through because of the pandemic, I had to do something! So, I worked the oh-so romantic work/study situation, hauling wood during the day, making pots at night. Eventually, I became a fixture at the Canton Clay Works.
My work's an exercise in finding the balance between control and letting go; having enough skill to articulate what I'm trying to say, while not overshadowing the glorious material that clay is. Wood firing is my love for the same reason: the delicate push and pull between potter and kiln.
