Classes

    Looking for a class?  Wheel-thrown pottery, hand-built sculpture, slabs or whatever is tickling your fancy there is bound to be a studio that is teaching just what you want to learn.  The attached list is in no particular order......

Pottery Classes at the Ocean Springs Park and Recreation Department (228) 875-8460, Moving Arts Center on Middle St in Ocean Springs.  Pottery Classes are held at night on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.   Morning classes are held on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.  Instructors are Steve Burtt and Lisa Dickerson.  Program emphasis is on wheel thrown pottery, though hand-built and slab work is taught as well.  Classes are 10 weeks in length and slots are limited due to continuing student participation.  Classes are aimed at adults, though teenagers can be considered for admission to the program.  Photos of the well established program are published on the city website.

The Arts & Crafts Center at Keesler AFB (228) 377-3078, offers pottery and ceramic classes throughout the year.  Adult classes for active duty military, dependants and retires are held on Saturday and are designed around a single theme, such as casting molds or various painting techniques.  The Arts & Crafts Center also offers children ceramic classes one Saturday per month through the school year, and during summer months will always have a wide selection of classes for children.  The Arts & Crafts Center also offers handbuilding and wheel thrown pottery classes for adults the 3rd Saturday of every month, and for children at various times during the year.  The pottery classes are taught by one of the George Ohr Museum staff artists.

The George Ohr Museum offers pottery classes for everybody from the youngest beginner to adults and advanced students.  The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (228) 374-5547, is operating out of their temporary headquarters in the Swetman House at 1596 Glenn L. Swetman St in Biloxi (north one block on Miramar St from US Hwy 90).  The Ohr Museum offers the Mud Daubers Art Camp for children every summer as well as special weekend projects for children throughout the school year.  The Great Tile Project is an outreach program for school age children throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  And for the 2007-2008 school year the Ohr Museum has expanded their outreach programs for school age children by offering various clay projects, including choices of air-dried or fired clay.  Contact Sara Miller at the Ohr Museum for additional information on various children's classes.

For adults and advanced potters, the Ohr Museum offers a wide range of classes and special projects.  Basic and advanced pottery classes for wheel-thrown pottery are 10 weeks long and taught by either Sara Miller or Charles Comstock, both of whom hold Masters degrees in Art.  Additional specialty and intense pottery classes are taught by Brian Nettles as well as various guest artists.  Beyond the pottery classes, the Ohr Museum offers juried art competitions, retail sales of artist's wares and national exhibits of art in various medias.

Brian Nettles is offering various basic to advanced classes at his home studio (228) 452-3511 at 22291 Bells Ferry Rd, Pass Christian MS.  Class emphasis is on the potters wheel with wares fired in standard electric kilns as well as wood and gas fired kilns.  Day and evening classes are available, with class sizes limited in size so Brian can individually assist each student.  Brian is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a BFA in Ceramics and Sculpture.  Brian also offers private lessons for the student that needs one-on-one attention.

Yvonne Brown is offering instruction on the potter's wheel along side an exploration of different hand building techniques including slabs and extrusions.  Yvonne's class sizes are limited to 2-3 students per session and private lessons are available by appointment.  Basic class is 6 sessions for $125, with glazing and firing costs an additional charge.  Yvonne received a BFA from William Carey College (now University) and has been working as a studio pottery for the past 11 years.  Contact Yvonne at 868-7652 for additional information.

Ceramic classes are held at the Ocean Springs Park and Recreation Department (228) 875-8460, Moving Arts Center on Middle St in Ocean Springs.  The ceramic classes are conducted in molded (cast earthenware) ceramics every Wednesday morning.  The program is self sufficient and does not offer a full time instructor, however, the ladies in the program are always willing to assist a stranger and will welcome any new members with open arms.

In Covington, Louisiana Catherine (Kit) Davidson is offering children, teens and adult classes in her studio at 311 E. Gibson St in the Old Town district of Covington.  Classes are usually 1 month long and are conducted on Mon, Thurs or Sat mornings from 9-12, or Tuesday or Thursday evenings from 6-9.   Wheel thrown, handbuilding and slab techniques are taught.  You can reach Kit at (985) 264-0371.

Colleges and Universities

The University of Southern Mississippi does not offer a degreed clay program on the Gulf Coast Campus.  However the main Hattiesburg campus offers several degree programs in ceramics and sculpture.  In addition to the degree programs, the University offers adult education classes in pottery and sculpture, as well as provide various outreach art programs for children throughout the Hattiesburg area.  Contact USM for additional information.

Pearl River Community College has been offering continuing education classes for adults at their various campuses in Hancock and Pearl River Counties.  The current class schedule is full.  Contact PRCC for any information on their upcoming classes.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offers various classes for degree seeking and nondegree seeking artists.  The Jackson County Campus at Gautier being a particularly popular program among many potters.  Contact MGCCC-JC for additional information.

William Carey University has closed their clay programs due to financial restraints caused by Hurricane Katrina.  We continue to see Professor Jeff Schmuki as he returns to Mississippi Gulf Coast from his travels across the USA and hopefully one day we can keep him here...teaching pottery and sculpture.

If you know of any studio or recreation program that is conducting organized classes in pottery or ceramics and is seeking additional students, please inform Dogwood Ceramic Supply.  If the studio meets minimal standards and is serious about teaching Dogwood Ceramic Supply would be glad to consider the studios addition to our list of teaching studios.

Please be aware that there are number of small studios that DO NOT want their name added to this list.  We have already asked.  In most cases the studio has the capacity to teach only a limited number of students and their classes are FULL.