Summer Art Workshop Registration
July 11 – 15, 2022
Fast Fire Pottree
Back by popular demand, Randy and Don will share every aspect of fast-fired pottery they have developed over sixty combined years of experience. This will be an action packed, humorous, and intensively informative workshop. Each artist will share their philosophies and lifestyles, while demonstrating a wide variety of throwing, decorating, and firing techniques.
Randy will transform huge amounts of clay into amazing lightweight pots, all the while telling stories about his experiences in the swamp! His narrative ultimately appears on the vessel he is creating. At the same time, Don will be creating and altering forms and demonstrating several surface decoration techniques. The interaction between these two characters has been described as “the best comedy act in town”.
Firings will include Raku, copper matte luster, alcohol reduction, fuming with chlorides, lichen glazes, and brief introductions to many more firings using smoke and vapors.



RANDY BRODNAX is one of the best-known potters in Texas. He has specialized in Raku for many years, expanding on natural imagery with a wild fantasy world of creatures of the mind. He is a very inventive and intuitive technician, and is a master in the art of kiln building. Born near Alexandria, Louisiana, Randy attended Northwestern State University as an all-American collegiate football player and graduated with degrees in art education and special education. He has participated in many exhibitions throughout the U.S. and is a dedicated and humorous teacher.



DON ELLIS, from Farmington, New Mexico, has been striving to perfect his innovative approach as a functional potter and glazing expert for over 30 years. He is a technician at firing, controlling every aspect of his approach. Don attended McMurry University and the University of North Texas, and graduated with degrees in education and ceramics. He returned to McMurry University to chair the art department for 8 years. He and his wife, Donna, and son, Dalton, owned Cloudcroft Pottery for 20 years. He has participated in many exhibits and workshops throughout the United States. Don now teaches at San Juan College in Farmington, NM and is the Fine Arts Division Chair.



Workshop participants please bring:
- 12 bisque fired pieces not to exceed 8×8”. At least 8 of them should be suitable for quick cooling, (not necessarily heavily grogged), and 4 of them should be made out of a smooth bodied clay. You’ll get more work fired if the work you bring is smaller.
- Pottery tools
- Raku gloves if you have them
- Clothing suitable for Raku i.e. long pants, closed shoes, long sleeved shirt or jacket, bandana, etc. (Shorts and sandals are not recommended when Rakuing).
- Any other things you normally need in the studio: apron, towel, a notebook, etc.
Your tuition covers one bag of clay, glazes, materials, and firings. Additional clay may be purchased for $10 a bag.