Plate surface design by Jason Burnett
A week and a half ago, Watershed was brimming with the energy and excitement of Jason Burnett’s surface design workshop. Fourteen artists arrived from many corners of Maine, as well as many corners of the country, to join Jason as he shared a wide range of techniques and tricks for ceramic surface design.
Jason demonstrates slip transfers on tiles
A participant experiments with applying slips using newsprint
During the three-day workshop, Jason filled the factory with his southern warmth and charm, and kept the group laughing as they learned everything from making and applying decals to inlaying with slips, burning screens to applying screen printed images with under glaze inks, repeat pattern design to simple Photoshop techniques, and much more. The group walked away from the warm fall weekend at Watershed excited to try many of these methods in their own practice.
Jason shows how to apply and layer decals
Jason’s work has been shown and published extensively, in a number of publications including Pottery Making Illustrated, Ceramics Monthly and American Craft. In 2015 he wrote and published a book: Graphic Clay: Ceramic Surfaces & Printed Image Transfer Techniques. He is known for his functional ceramic pieces which layer slips, stamps, screen printed images, decals and lusters to create bright and fantastical objects that tell stories through their surfaces.
Jason’s enthusiastic teaching style kept everyone engaged and excited throughout the weekend.