(Summer25) Artist Demo: Testing the Limits of Porcelain Jennifer McCurdy
07/12/2025 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM ET
Description
Artist Demo: Testing the Limits of Porcelain in Thrown, Altered, and Carved Sculptures with Jennifer McCurdy
Date: Saturday, July 12
Time: 10:00AM - 5:00PM
Location: Art Barn Painting Studio
Fee: $75, open to all. This is a fundraiser, with all proceeds from this demonstration going towards the ceramics program at Featherstone.
Renowned porcelain ceramic artist Jennifer McCurdy, will visit Featherstone for a full day artist demonstration in conjunction with the Currents in Contemporary Ceramic Art exhibition. Jennifer will demonstrate basic wedging, centering, and throwing as well as the technique of “dry throwing”, using two metal ribs to create the shape of the piece. She will cover her technique of altering these pieces off the wheel to create soft shadow and movement.
Following a lunch break, Jennifer will present a slide show and discuss the transition of her work over the last forty years. In the afternoon, she will demonstrate carving techniques on leather hard porcelain , then briefly demonstrate sanding techniques, and discuss firing strategies for porcelain. She will discuss the concept of “strength vs. plasticity” in the porcelain as it moves through the working stages from wet to dry through vitrification.
​Jennifer McCurdy received a BFA from Michigan State University in 1979 and then learned how to formulate and throw porcelain at Florida Atlantic University under John McCoy in 1980. She has been selling her porcelain for the last forty years, and her work resides in personal collections, galleries and museums around the world, including the Smithsonian Museum’s Renwick Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Everson Museum of Art. She maintains a studio in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. Her focus on the reflective and bone-like quality of the bare porcelain has led her to explore the light and shadow of the clay forms, resulting in a unique melding of line and structure.
Thank you to Jennifer McCurdy for donating her time and expertise during this 7 hour demonstration, with 100% of proceeds benefitting Featherstone.
Date: Saturday, July 12
Time: 10:00AM - 5:00PM
Location: Art Barn Painting Studio
Fee: $75, open to all. This is a fundraiser, with all proceeds from this demonstration going towards the ceramics program at Featherstone.
Renowned porcelain ceramic artist Jennifer McCurdy, will visit Featherstone for a full day artist demonstration in conjunction with the Currents in Contemporary Ceramic Art exhibition. Jennifer will demonstrate basic wedging, centering, and throwing as well as the technique of “dry throwing”, using two metal ribs to create the shape of the piece. She will cover her technique of altering these pieces off the wheel to create soft shadow and movement.
Following a lunch break, Jennifer will present a slide show and discuss the transition of her work over the last forty years. In the afternoon, she will demonstrate carving techniques on leather hard porcelain , then briefly demonstrate sanding techniques, and discuss firing strategies for porcelain. She will discuss the concept of “strength vs. plasticity” in the porcelain as it moves through the working stages from wet to dry through vitrification.
​Jennifer McCurdy received a BFA from Michigan State University in 1979 and then learned how to formulate and throw porcelain at Florida Atlantic University under John McCoy in 1980. She has been selling her porcelain for the last forty years, and her work resides in personal collections, galleries and museums around the world, including the Smithsonian Museum’s Renwick Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Everson Museum of Art. She maintains a studio in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. Her focus on the reflective and bone-like quality of the bare porcelain has led her to explore the light and shadow of the clay forms, resulting in a unique melding of line and structure.
Thank you to Jennifer McCurdy for donating her time and expertise during this 7 hour demonstration, with 100% of proceeds benefitting Featherstone.