Whidbey Island, WA
"Borrowing from centuries of tradition and adding modern design elements, I make pots to elevate the pleasures of cooking and dining."
MAKING UTILITARIAN POTS – EXPLORING QUESTIONS OF FUNCTION & AESTHETICS
Making pots is both personal and universal and asks us, as makers, to consider decisions based on function andaesthetics. This workshop gives participants five full days to explore a variety of wheel-formed functional pots. Altering from the round, handles that work both functionally and aesthetically, lids that fit, feet that lift, and more will be demonstrated and explored according to each student’s level of interest and skill. Conversation about the function and aesthetics of utilitarian pots will be ongoing. This workshop is about the process of making and stretching our ideas for functional pots. Glazing and firing techniques will be discussed. Previous wheel-forming experience recommended.
Robbie Lobell is a full-time studio potter living and working on Whidbey Island in the Pacific Northwest, USA. She is co-founder and co-owner of Cook on Clay. She is the designer and primary maker of the flameproof clay cookware produced in her studios. Lobell has been a fulltime self-supporting studio artist for over 30 years. Primarily self-taught, Robbie received continuing education through intensive study with Mikhail Zakin, a 6- week residency with Karen Karnes (where Karen gifted Robbie with the flameware clay and glazes recipes), and several other residencies and assistantships. She is a mentor and teacher in her Zakin Apprenticeship Program and demonstrates, lectures, and teaches throughout the country and beyond. For the past 25 years, Robbie has focused her work on designing and producing high-fire flameproof clay cookware. Lobell's pots reside in kitchens and on tables around the world. Her tableware and flameproof cookware are employed by home cooks and award-winning chefs. Lobell’s pots are featured in galleries, gourmet food shops, and at culinary events. Her work has been exhibited nationwide and written about in several ceramics books and ceramic and food publications. She is a member of NCECA, Slow Food International, American Ceramic Society, Washington Ceramic Association, Whidbey Island Grown, and is a vice-president of the Studio Potter Board of Directors.
