Ashton Keen Artist In Residence Workshop

In this hands-on workshop, Ashton Keen will demonstrate wheel-thrown and altered vessels with a focus on multipart forms such as teapots and oil pourers. Through these demonstrations, participants will explore how historical works can inform and guide formal decision-making. Looking closely at examples such as Greek amphoras and Yayoi vessels, we will consider how volume, proportion, and line influence structure and composition in your own work.

Using rolling tools and stretching techniques to create texture, the workshop will also emphasize how surface design can be developed directly on the wheel, allowing each piece to evolve with its own distinct character and sense of form.

On the first day, participants will throw the bodies and lids of their pouring vessels in the afternoon. On the second day, they will make and attach spouts and complete final handle attachments.

For those not registered with the Ceramics Program, work can be bisque-fired for an additional cost.

This workshop is appropriate for makers with intermediate – advanced wheel experience.

Cost: Free for Harvard College Undergraduates, $225 for Adult Community and Harvard Graduate students. Registration will open on April 27 at 10am.

Artist Bio

Ashton Keen is the 2024-26 Artist In Residence at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard. Ashton Keen received her BFA from the University of Mississippi. Following graduation, she went on to become an intern at STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise. Most recently, she completed an MFA from Utah State University. Her work has been displayed in several national exhibitions and has received various awards, as well as being selected as one of Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artists 2024. Prior to her time at the Ceramics Program, she completed a residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park where she focused on pouring pots and atmospheric firing.