Grant County, New Mexico has a long history of its residents making art and building structures with clay, starting hundreds of years ago with the Mimbres people. This passion for creating with clay is still alive and well in the present community, making Silver City a natural home to the Silver City CLAY Festival.
The 2019 Silver City CLAY Festival will run July 15-21, 2019 in Silver City and the surrounding areas, and will include a great selection of workshops, demonstrations, presentations, lectures, and events. CLAY has attracted a steady flow of artists and visitors over the years, and has been edified by community participation in its happenings.
CLAY 2019 is digging deeper into the pool of local talent this year by offering two multi-day Natural Building Workshops, taught by gifted clay artists who are part of the local community. Students ages 18 and up are welcome to attend these workshops and registration is now open, with more details below.
Natural builder Jeff LeBlanc is offering a three-day class called Building with Cobb and Finishing with Earth Plaster on July 15-17 from 9am-2pm each day, taking place in Arenas Valley, NM. Participating students will learn cobbing techniques, build a cobb wall by hand, tour local cobb buildings with undulating and mica-speckled walls and natural plasters, and learn how to mix and apply earthen plasters. Jeff has a passion for natural building, loves to play in the mud, and over the course of two decades has built multiple cobb houses, adobe and straw bale structures, as well as earthen floors, mud ovens and fireplaces. Details, photos, and registration are available at https://clayfestival.com/building-with-cobb-and-finishing-with-earth-plaster-with-jeff-leblanc
Potter and builder Mary Giardina is offering Adobe Building / Mud Immersion, a five-day workshop on July 15-19 from 9am-2pm each day, taking place at the Wild Crafted Clay Pottery Studio in Cliff, NM. Students will learn the fundamentals of Southwest adobe traditions and techniques, using indigenous materials. Students will also experience poured mud, adobe mixing, and making wild-crafted adobe bricks. Mary has decades of experience working with clay, mud, and adobe, which has led to her deep understanding of the many aspects of this medium. Details, photos, and registration are available at https://clayfestival.com/adobe-buildingmud-immersion-with-mary-giardina
The Silver City CLAY Festival will include many opportunities for both the local community and visitors to get their hands into clay and celebrate the mud that connects us all. Visit www.ClayFestival.com for a complete schedule.
Details:
www.ClayFestival.com will be continually updated with details on all CLAY events.
Natural Building Workshops
July 15-17: Building with Cobb and Finishing with Earth Plaster with Jeff Le Blanc
Register at https://clayfestival.com/building-with-cobb-and-finishing-with-earth-plaster-with-jeff-leblanc
July 15-19: Adobe Building / Mud Immersion with Mary Giardina
Register at https://clayfestival.com/adobe-buildingmud-immersion-with-mary-giardina