Join us for the 27th Annual American Pottery Festival (APF), September 5 – 7, 2025! Our annual fundraiser brings together ceramic artists from across the United States, showcasing the best in the field. Experience a stunning variety of creative processes, techniques, forms, and surfaces. The event kicks off with our Opening Night Party on Friday, September 5, 2025!

Schedule of Events

Thursday September 4, 2025

Prefest Workshop: Sam Taylor and Mark Shapiro

10 am – 4:30 pm

Join ceramic artists Sam Taylor and Mark Shapiro for a hands-on workshop focused on conversations in clay between two friends, colleagues, and collaborators. Join Shapiro on the wheel for half the workshop, and explore some of the core ideas and philosophies that drive the creation of his pottery. For the second half of class, join Taylor to investigate how he uses handbuilding to create his notable vessels. This workshop will be filled with lively conversations about the artists’ lives and journeys together and how that has shaped their creative practices. Explore shared beliefs along with contrasting styles and tools. There might even be plenty of joyful shouting between Shapiro and Taylor about their deeply-felt love for clay and community.

APF 2025 Thursday Prefest Workshop

Friday September 5, 2025

Prefest Workshop: Milo Berezin

12 pm – 3 pm

Learn the ins and outs of adding character and characters to your pottery. Join APF artist Milo Berezin for this 3-hour, hands on workshop where you will learn a variety of the illustrative techniques Berezin employs to blend image and form in his own work. Berezin will provide strategies for developing a versatile image library and transferring drawings to greenware. He will explore techniques for layering translucent slip and underglaze to create dynamic, multi-layered surfaces. Additionally, Berezin will teach you to customize simple and affordable sgraffito tools, allowing you to carve expressive linework and text. With a focus on combining the pragmatic ways he uses painting and carving to create images of wildlife layered with playful, humorous, and emotional text, you’ll conclude this workshop with some new skills, friends, and a piece of pottery that has character of its own.

APF 2025 Friday Prefest Workshop

Opening Night

6 - 9 pm

Join us for NCC's "Party of the Year" to meet the artists, get first look at their incredible creations, and enjoy delicious appetizers.

Opening Night Ticket

Saturday September 6, 2025

All-day Demonstration

Mike Cinelli & Stephen Heywood

10 – 11 AM

…& the Chocolate Factory

Watch as APF artists Mike Cinelli and Stephen Heywood demonstrate their individual approaches to making their precisely-thrown industrial-themed pottery. Learn how each artist builds up traditional pottery forms with mechanical, architectural, and science-fiction based embellishments. Watch as both artists demonstrate how they employ a variety of materials and techniques specifically for the type of firing they use to create their pots.

Lars Voltz, Yoshi Fuji, & Kate Waltman

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Good Texture & Plenty of Carving

The acts of carving and making impressions in pottery are two of ceramics most storied and long-standing decorative traditions. Join APF artists Yoshi Fuji, Lars Voltz, and Kate Waltman to see how each artist uses their preferred tools and methods to create their deliciously-distinct wares. Witness Voltz’s energetic carving to create geologically-inspired works, or Fuji’s delicate and repetitive style that echoes the patterns of fabric and traditional wood cuts. Perhaps Waltman’s combination of slips and carved layers to create beautiful floral patterns is what you are looking for. No matter your interest, this demonstration provides something for anyone interested in learning how changing the surface of the clay can elevate an already tasty vessel.

Sam Briegel & Marissa Childers

1:30 – 2:30 PM

The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Imprints

There is an unmistakable delicacy and grace that goes into the creation of Sam Briegel’s and Marissa Childers’ handbuilt pottery. Come and learn the ways that both artists use the textures and patterns commonly found in working with fabric, from knitwear to lace, to decorate and construct their work. Whether you are interested in new ways of introducing texture to your own work or expanding your understanding of slab-building techniques, this demonstration offers layers of sweet, sweet intrigue.

Ariana Heinzman & Kristy Moreno

3 – 4 pm

Glaze the Rainbow!

Ariana Heinzman and Kristy Moreno create boldly illustrative pottery that celebrates the combination of color, form, and identity. Both artists’ work features rich colors, lines, and design delivered with the expert use of a brush. Attend this demonstration to learn how each artist uses their pots as blank canvases to communicate their distinct artistic voices. Whether you are interested in how Heinzman uses underglazes and glazes to decorate her bright, pattern-driven floral pottery, or how Moreno uses slips and glazes to create the imagery of the future ancestors that adorn her pots, there will be plenty of painting and storytelling to appreciate in this demonstration.

Saturday All-day Demonstration Pass

Sunday September 7, 2025

All-day Demonstration

Adrienne Eliades & Delvin M. Goode

10 – 11 AM

Stencil Smarties

Surface development is the name of the game in this technical demonstration from Adrienne Eliades and Delvin M. Goode. Learn how they each utilize stencils to create the incredibly precise and graphic surface decorations that make their pottery so distinct and eye catching. See how each artist employs similar Reese-ist techniques and materials at different stages of the making process to create their delicious wares. If you are looking to demystify the details of exacting decoration, this one’s for you.

Ernest Miller, Sang Joon Park, and Josh Scott

11:45 AM – 12:45 PM

Hands in the Candy Jar

Join APF artists Ernest Miller, Sang Joon Park, and Josh Scott as they demonstrate creating their favorite jar forms. Follow along as both artists walk through the important considerations of creating highly functional, wheel-thrown jars. You’ll devour valuable tips and tricks for creating your own jars and lidded forms on the potter’s wheel from these great makers. Not a maker? You’ll have a whole new appreciation for your favorite candy jar and never look at it the same way again.

Clarice Allgood and Colleen Riley

1 – 2 PM

Cover it in Glaze and a Miracle or Two…

Developing an interesting and functional glaze surface can be one of the most challenging aspects of creating pottery. Join APF artists Clarice Allgood and Colleen Riley as they demonstrate the considerations and techniques that they use to glaze with intention. Both artists develop a highly-decorated, layered, and engaging surface through the use of glaze as their primary decorating medium. If you find yourself frustrated with the glazing process or just wanting to build appreciation for it, you will not want to miss this demonstration.

Sunday All-day Demonstration Pass

Dates: September 5- 7, 2025

Location: Northern Clay Center

2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406

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