COMMUNITY CERAMICS PROGRAM
As part of one of the leading graduate schools of education in the world, the Ceramics Studio within the Art and Art Education Program has a long, vibrant history, hosting a wide variety of students and artists with diverse backgrounds.
The Community Ceramics Program at Teachers College is a community arts program that offers only non-credit classes, meaning students do not receive any form of academic credit upon finishing a class. Students enrolled in a degree program at Teachers College are ineligible to register for classes in the Community Ceramics Program. There are no exceptions. Students who are interested in learning about credit classes in TC's Ceramics Studio can learn more at this link.
Open studio hours, course enrollment numbers and studio capacity are determined by the Ceramics Studio Team and administrative staff in the Art & Art Education Program.
General Course Offerings
Advanced Community Ceramics
This advanced and independent level course explores personal expression in clay through creative thought and discussion on the historic and contemporary aspects of the medium. Museum visits and consideration of the architectural heritage of New York will be included. Prior experience with clay is required. **Does not include access to casting slip or plaster.
Instructor: Tom Lollar
Dates: Tuesdays, January 27th to April 28th
Time: 6-830pm
Cost: $975
Enrollment Capacity: 14
*No class Spring Break Tuesday, March 17th
Community Ceramics: Hand Building
This open level course focuses on an in-depth exploration of hand building techniques, covering construction of coil, pinch, slab-building and other sculptural methods as well as surface and glazing techniques. Beginning students will learn the fundamentals while intermediate and advanced students will fine tune skills and push individual creative compositions. No Experience is necessary. **Does not include access to casting slip or plaster.
Instructor: Derek Weisberg
Dates: Wednesdays, January 28th to April 29th
Time: 6-830pm
Cost: $975
Enrollment Capacity: 14
*No class Spring Break Wednesday, March 18th
Community Ceramics: Mold-Making and Slip-Casting
This course will focus on an in-depth exploration of mold-making and slip-casting. Students will learn how to create and prepare forms for mold-making. Single and multi-part plaster molds will be explored. Students will learn how to cast their molds, as well as explore various conceptual, utilitarian, and decorative aspects of working with cast forms. Intro level experience with clay preferred. Tuition includes casting slip and plaster as well as access to studio stoneware, porcelain, or sculpture clay bodies and other ceramic materials available for studio use.
*Please note classes will run 3.5 hours, with instruction concentrated during the first 9 weeks of the term only. Students will then continue to have access for casting and glazing for the remainder of the session.
Instructor: Aimee Ehrman
Dates: Tuesdays, January 27th to April 28th (Instruction ends March 31st)
Time: 10am - 130pm
Cost: $1020
Enrollment Capacity: 9
*No class Spring Break Tuesday, March 17th
Community Ceramics: Figurative Portrait Workshop
The goal of this open level workshop is to give students the experience of sculpting a portrait working with a live model. Students will work for 2 consecutive sessions with the model, working directly from observation, guided by proportion, anatomy, and gesture to convey a person’s likeness. Demonstrations will cover roughing out simplified forms of the head and their relationships, building an overarching roadmap with key coordinates and measurements. Each student will work on an armature, providing the ability to fluidly change, add and subtract while working. Individualized attention will be given throughout the sculpting sessions so that each student is able to realize a portrait. During the 3rd session, students will work with the forms firm enough to remove from the armature without disrupting the sculpted form. The goal will be to slice open, hollow out, reattached components to prepare the portraits for slow drying and future unglazed firing at cone 6 oxidation or cone 10 reduction.
Please note: This workshop does not include studio access. Access to the TC Ceramic studio and materials is limited to the workshop times only. Students wishing to utilize the studio outside of workshop hours must be registered for one of the full Spring term courses and pay associated tuition.
Instructor: Montserrat Daubon
Dates: Saturday, Feb. 14th, Sunday, Feb. 15th, and Sunday, Feb. 22nd
Time: 9am - 1pm
Cost: $375 for workshop only/$200 for students also taking a full term course
Enrollment Capacity: 8
*Dates for fired work pick up will approximately 4 - 5 weeks after the workshop to provide for ample time drying and taking the portraits through the firing process. Students will be emailed when the work is available for pick up.
Registration Information and Requirements
The Art & Art Education Program Office initiates and coordinates registration and payment for ALL Community Ceramics Program sessions. This includes, when applicable, the summer, fall, and spring semesters at TC. The Ceramic Studio Fellow, instructors, and studio monitors do not oversee the registration and payment process. Questions regarding registration and payment
can be sent to ceramics@tc.columbia.edu.
Registration for the Spring 2026 Community Ceramics Program opens on Thursday, December 4th at 9am EST.
The registration link is:
https://tccolumbia.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3fKavzaAqVEvx8W
If you are interested in learning more and joining the Listserv, please email: ceramics@tc.columbia.edu
- Once the online registration form goes live, it is on a first come, first serve basis.
- Registrants are limited to selecting only ONE hands-on making course.
- If you cannot register for a course, we strongly encourage you to sign up for the waitlist, which can also be done through the online registration form.
- The cost for each course may vary and additional fees may apply. Please check the information above on course costs and associated fees.
- Instructions for payment submission will be sent after registration ends and once your registration is confirmed.
- Please note that completing the online registration form does not guarantee you a spot in a Spring 2026 course. You must submit your payment (by the deadline) to the Art & Art Education Program in order to keep your spot. If you fail to submit your payment by the deadline given, you will be automatically dropped from the Community Ceramics Program.
Tuition costs for Full Term Community Ceramics courses only cover the following:
- Course instruction
- Additional time for final glazing
- Firing at no additional cost
- Reasonable (and moderate) use of clay and glaze
- 50-60 hours per week of open studio
Additional fees may apply for usage of specialty ceramic materials.
Students registered for Advanced Community or Community Handbuilding, with previous mold-making and slip-casting experience, wishing to access plaster and studio casting slip are required to pay an additional $45 fee.
Instructions for payment submission will be sent after registration ends and once your registration is confirmed.
Requests for refunds must be made in writing to ceramics@tc.columbia.edu. Refund requests must be received one day prior to the first day of class. Refund requests received after the first day of class will not be approved and processed.
Please carefully review the information below. Once all requirements have been met, students will be granted access to attend classes and open studio hours in the Ceramics Studio. These requirements may shift as deemed necessary by the Art and Art Education Program and Teachers College.
There are currently no requirements students need to complete prior to entering campus. If you feel sick at any point during the semester, DO NOT COME TO CAMPUS. Please remain home until you are feeling well.
If you develop symptoms of COVID-19 at any point during the semester, DO NOT COME TO CAMPUS. Seek a rapid or PCR test 3-5 days after symptoms onset. If you test negative, you can return to campus once your symptoms resolve.
If you test positive for COVID-19 at a future date or are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, please email us at ceramics@tc.columbia.edu immediately and DO NOT COME TO CAMPUS.
Ceramics Studio Requirements
All students will be required to complete and abide by all TC Ceramics Studio requirements.
- All students working in the Ceramics Studio will be required to complete and acknowledge an online Shared Commitments Agreement Form every semester.
- All new students working in the Ceramics Studio will be required to complete and acknowledge an online Studio Health, Safety, and Procedures Agreement Form. Returning students will only be required to complete this form when new equipment is implemented or the health and safety policies have shifted within the Ceramics Studio.
- Additionally, all new students will be required to complete a short, in-person studio orientation with the Ceramic Studio Fellow before or during the first week of classes.
Links to the forms and information regarding open studio hours will be sent to students after registration closes.
Your Temporary Visitor ID will be available for pickup when you come to campus for your first day of class. There is no access to the Ceramics Studio prior to the first day. You will need to present a government-issued ID to the Public Safety Officer on duty when picking up your Temporary Visitor ID at TC's main entrance (located at 525 W 120th St, New York, NY 10027).
If you are a current TC (or Columbia University) staff or faculty member, you do not need a temporary ID (Visitor Pass).
Community safety and effective communication are core values at the heart of the Teachers College Public Safety Team’s mission. At various times, the College may need to alert the community to incidents or issues of concern, including by sending safety messages.
A safety resource available to all Community Students is the TC Safe App. Furthermore, Community Students can choose to create a TC Alert account at this link. This emergency notification system provides folks with critical information in various situations, such as active threats on campus, campus closures due to severe weather, missing persons, building evacuations, and other safety-related warnings. Community Students will receive time-sensitive messages in the manner you specify. TC Alert is only initiated for safety-related messaging and is not used to disseminate general campus information. You may opt-out at any time.