Posts in Session 3
Making Maruko Tools Glassblowing Jacks
Making Maruko Tools Glassblowing Jacks

This workshop will be focused on making jacks—one of the most essential tools in glassblowing. Primarily focusing on the manufacturing process of the jack blades, the workshop will walk through step-by-step on how Maruko Tools jacks are made with demonstrations followed by lots of hands-on practice. Techniques such as forging, low gas brass welding, bending, and more will be covered. The handles of the jacks will be provided, and participants will weld on the blades they create and learn to adjust the springs of the handles. Three years of blacksmith experience required; workshop not intended for beginners. Previous experience in forging and gas welding is required; both glassblowers and those who have never been involved with glassare welcome.

Shin Nagai (he/him) is a blacksmith specializing in making glassblowing tools, working solo at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, and is the Founder and sole artisan of Maruko Tools.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganBlacksmithing, Shin Nagai
Teachers' Teachers
Teachers' Teachers

In this workshop, participants are expected to be teaching artists and will be invited to exchange and generate new approaches to ceramic education that underscore the metaphoric and conceptual potential of clay. Studio time will include making work, inventing exercises, critiquing existing structures, plotting new courses, and becoming students of our own curriculum. We will experiment with the productive potential of entwining making and teaching. Participants should be teaching artists (at any level, for a minimum of one year) who are invested in non-traditional approaches to ceramics.

Nicole Seisler (she/her) is a maker/teacher/curator who creates dialogue and perspectives around ceramics that exist in the same conditions as the material: malleable, shifting, adaptable, and enduring; existing within, between, and beyond conventional definitions.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganCeramics, Nicole Seisler
Weaving Beyond the Binary
Weaving Beyond the Binary

This workshop will engage methodologies for open-ended improvisational weaving. Fostering a cooperative understanding that our tools and materials have agency, improvisational loom-thinking opens pathways of possibility that respond to the tectonic grid of the loom. Participants will be encouraged to follow their curiosities and ask questions that lead to unexpected places. Possibilities for this open inquiry may include yarn dye processes, warp painting, multi-cloth, drafting, and tapestry, among others. Rather than presenting a singular way of working, participants will develop intimacy with the loom, and in so doing, find their own means of weaving beyond the binary. Some floor loom weaving experience is recommended. All levels welcome.

Transdisciplinary weaver John Paul Morabito (they/them) is an artist and educator who engages the expanded field of tapestry as a medium to embody an ecstatic queer visuality.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganFiber, John Paul Morabito
Breaking Down the Blank Page: Pop Art + Creative Systems
Breaking Down the Blank Page: Pop Art + Creative Systems

In this workshop, we will explore a variety of tools, surfaces, and mediums, each with its own set of baked in creative constraints. By using (and combining) analog and digital tools, participants will develop a practice in scaling and stretching and iterating on their ideas. All levels welcome.

Dr. Curtis Bullock (he/him) is always searching for joy and spontaneity within systems and constraints. Painting and printing on functional objects is a central focus of his work as he aims to bring people into more personal, longer lasting relationships with the things they consume.

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2025, Session 3Molly FlaniganGraphics, Dr. Curtis Bullock
Set in Stone
Set in Stone

Intaglio carving is the process of cutting into the surface of a stone to create an image. This ancient art is a testament to craft and requires a steady hand and a keen eye. In this workshop, participants will hone their skills as they explore the basics of intaglio carving. Starting with glass cabochons, participants will experiment with simple mark-making as they learn to create their own images. The workshop will conclude with setting techniques to turn your gemstone into jewelry. Previous metalsmithing experience required. Workshop includes considerable precision work expected, and participants should be comfortable sawing, soldering, and using a flex shaft.

Erica Bello (she/they) explores traditional metalsmithing techniques alongside modern jewelry design. The result is in her own immediately recognizable work that falls somewhere between classic and contemporary.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganMetals, Erica Bello
Wood Fiction / Nonfiction: Sculpting Narrative
Wood Fiction / Nonfiction: Sculpting Narrative

In this workshop, students will learn techniques for sculpting with wood and how to talk about their work poetically and effectively. Through experiential exercises, students will learn how to imbue narratives into their work while expanding their spoken and visual vocabulary. This hands-on workshop will introduce students to sculpting techniques using hand tools, power tools, and woodworking machinery. The class is designed to help students get rid of any fear or tension in the woodshop, and develop a safe expressive relationship to woodworking.

Raul De Lara (he/him) is a sculptor based in New York City. His work explores the emotive and storytelling qualities of materials.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganWood, Raul De Lara
Learning from LAND: Art, Ecology + Environmental Activism
Learning from LAND: Art, Ecology + Environmental Activism

Throughout this residency, Jen de los Reyes will focus on LAND, a project merging history and environmental conservation. She will engage with session participants, discussing the intersection of art, ecology, and contemporary education while creating an outline for a newly developed course that addresses environmental activism’s role in art education, urging participants to rethink their practices.

Jen de los Reyes (she/her) is an artist, educator, and community arts organizer.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganVisiting Artist, Jen de los Reyes
Crafting Intelligence
Crafting Intelligence

Every day we are increasingly surrounded by algorithms, chatbots, and language models that alienate us from the art, craft, and materiality of intelligence. But does digital intelligence have to be behind screens, trapped inside tiny chips, or tucked in faraway data centers? Throughout this residency, Orkan Telhan and Dietmar Offenhuber will work on reservoir computing and autographic systems, exploring unconventional methods of computing to create physical systems that grow, live, learn, and think with us. They will share their work with the session community and invite individuals to explore algorithms with plants and microorganisms, build mycelium computers, and bring analog, digital, and biological ideas together to explore a new craft of intelligence.

Orkan Telhan (he/him) investigates art and craft of unconventional intelligence, including critical issues in cultural, environmental, and social responsibility.

Dietmar Offenhuber (he/him) is an Information Designer and researcher interested in Material Information.

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Session 3Molly FlaniganFab Lab Resident, Orkan Telhan + Dietmar Offenhuber