May@AMOCA, 2022

Pictured: an untitled work from the Blooop Series by Alina Hayes.

May@AMOCA

Last month flew by, starting with the opening reception and awards ceremony for the 2022 Annual High School Ceramics Exhibition and closing with a virtual artist talk by Elaine Henry (recording coming soon!). In between, we welcomed back members of AMOCA’s Teen Council for the first Teen Takeover of the Museum since 2019. It was lovely to see so many of you at the closing reception for the 77th Scripps College Ceramic Annual, curated by Ashwini Bhat, and I hope you got to see the exhibition of her work (IMPRINTED, Assembling California) in the Vault Gallery at AMOCA before it closed last month.

A week from Saturday on May 14, the Vault Gallery will reopen with an exhibition of work by artist Alina Hayes: Blooop by Alina Hayes, /blo͞op/ noun a clumsy mistake. Hayes is a Ukrainian-born Los Angeles-based artist with a BA and MA from California State University, Northridge; she is currently Adjunct Professor at Ventura Community College. Members can visit from 2 to 4 PM on Friday, May 13, for an early preview, and you are cordially invited to join the artist for a celebratory reception from 4 to 6 PM on Saturday, May 14. Light appetizers and refreshments will be served, and admission to the Museum and its galleries is free with advance registration.

If you’ve been inspired by Michael F. Rohde’s textiles in the Connected Spaces exhibition, don’t miss Fiber Arts Month at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. For three consecutive Saturdays starting May 7, take in demonstrations, artist presentations, and drop-in maker’s events. Hear from a Zapotec textile artist, engage in discussions with featured student artists, and learn from skilled practitioners as they demonstrate tools and techniques for weaving, spinning, mending and dying textiles.

And if you’re looking for something to do while traveling to the Museum (or the Huntington!), subscribe to AMOCA’s new podcast One Clay at a Time launching Monday, May 9. Cohosted by AMOCA’s very own Pam Aliaga and ceramic artist Claudia V. Solórzano, the podcast takes you inside the vibrant cultural fabric east of Los Angeles with personal, authentic, and intimate conversations between artists, curators, and creators (if you missed the premiere of the recent Inside the Studio video with Solórzano, a recording is now available).

Introductory sessions in the Ceramics Studio continue to sell out soon after they are posted, and two of the summer session classes (starting the week of July 10) have already sold out. The next event in the Artist Workshop Series, Working with Paper Clay with artist Shiyuan Xu visiting from Chicago in June, has sold out.  Architectural Incense Holders with Eunbi Cho from Los Angeles, the next event in the Skill Building Workshop series, will take place in July. It has just been posted and spaces are still available.

Members can now visit the Museum on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 AM to 4 PM for a quieter experience of the exhibition galleries. Visits can be booked online, by calling the Museum at (909) 865-3146 or by emailing membership@amoca.org.

Many thanks for being an able partner in AMOCA’s mission to champion the ceramic arts! We look forward to welcoming you to the Museum Friday through Sunday, from 11 AM through 4 PM by making reservations online, and remember, First Fridays are pay-what-you-want!

We hope to see you soon.

With gratitude,

Paul Roach
Director, Advancement and Communications


May Programs and Events

Pictured: an untitled work from the Blooop Series by Alina Hayes.

Blooop by Alina Hayes

On View May 14–August 28 in the Vault Gallery

Born in Ukraine, Alina Hayes grew up in New York City, New York. The daughter of a jeweler and a musician and the granddaughter of a potter and a surgeon, Hayes views hand-work as a part of her heritage. She began her studies at the School of Visual Arts before relocating to Los Angeles in 2005, where she completed both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (emphasis in Ceramics) degrees at California State University, Northridge. Hayes currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Ventura Community College.

Member Preview

Friday, May 13 • 2–4 PM • In-person

Members get early access to exhibitions! Book a regular members ticket to visit during preview hours and a staff member will provide preview access.

Book Your Visit

Artist Reception for Blooop by Alina Hayes

Saturday, May 14 • 4–6 PM • In-person

Join us for an artist reception celebrating Blooop by Alina Hayes, opening May 14 at AMOCA. The artist will be present and light refreshments will be served.

Admission to the event and Museum galleries is complimentary with advance registration.

Register

Pictured: Artists currently studying at Pomona College (Austin Kim, Fio Guy, Kali Tindell-Griffen and Mei Ge) participating Fiber Arts Month at the Huntington The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Fiber Arts Month at the Huntington

May 7, 14, and 21 • In-person

For three consecutive Saturdays starting May 7, take in demonstrations, artist presentations, and drop-in maker’s events. Hear from a Zapotec textile artist, engage in discussions with featured student artists, and learn from skilled practitioners as they demonstrate tools and techniques for weaving, spinning, mending and dying textiles.

Learn More

Pictured: Wheel throwing class at the AMOCA Ceramics Studio.

May Introductory Ceramics Session

Saturday, May 14 • 5:30 –7 PM • In-person

Learn the basics of throwing on the potters wheel! Complimentary access to the Museum galleries is included.

The perfect way to get your hands dirty, relax, and have fun! In this one-day introductory class, you’ll learn the basics of throwing on the potters wheel. If you successfully create a bowl, staff will glaze it with an oatmeal glaze and fire it after the class is completed – all included in the price. If you’d like to take the piece home with you, you can come back and pick it up.

Learn More

Summer Session Ceramics Classes Now Available

Six weeks, starting the week of July 10 • In-person • $295

If you’re looking to develop your skills further, consider taking a six-week course. Courses encourage development of ceramic skills and are limited to 10 participants. Courses meet once a week with an instructor for 2.5 hours (15 hours of total instructor time). Access to open studio hours are included for the duration of the class and the two weeks following.

Summer session classes are already selling out! Be sure to register early for Summer Session.

Learn More

Pictured: Peter Callas, coil jar (detail), 2004. Wood fired stoneware. Collection of the Artist.

Member Bonus Days

Wednesdays and Thursdays • 11 AM–4 PM • In-person

Members can now book tickets to visit Museum galleries on Wednesdays and Thursdays. A fun way to enjoy the galleries to yourself!

Book Your Visit

Foreground: Cheryl Ann Thomas, CARNIVAL, 2020. Porcelain, 28 x 20 x 20 inches. Background: Michael F. Rohde, re: CARNIVAL, 2021. Handwoven tapestry: wool, natural dyes. 45 x 32.5 inches.

First Fridays at AMOCA

Friday, June 3 • 11 AM–4 PM • In-person

Thanks to generous support from AMOCA’s Board of Directors, Museum admission for First Fridays at AMOCA is pay what you can (while tickets last). Each month, visit the Museum and choose your own ticket prices!

Book Your Visit


In Case You Missed It

Short Film: Inside the Studio with Claudia Solórzano

Watch on YouTube

Premiered Thursday, April 28

Join us for a peek inside the mind, practice, and studio of artist Claudia Solórzano. This short film introduces Solórzano ahead of a forthcoming podcast which she will cohost alongside AMOCA Exhibition Manager Pam Aliaga.

Virtual Exhibition & Awards Ceremony: 2022 Annual High School Ceramics Exhibition

View the Virtual Exhibition


Exhibitions on View

Visit Friday–Sunday, 11 AM–4 PM by purchasing tickets online.

Blooop by Alina Hayes

In my studio practice, the work moves between form and function as I think about fluidity of materials, process and time. Drawing on parallels between the unpredictability of the ceramic process and the shortcomings I often feel as an immigrant, woman, wife, mother and educator. Obsessed with succeeding, becoming something of value and the connectedness as I sit and shape intricate clay objects. . . . The Blooop series emerged as I regained control by making joyful objects full of childlike wonder. With feeling of play, without judgment, the work is loud, unapologetic; mine. 

-Alina Hayes

On view May 14 through August 8, 2022.

Learn More

Connected Spaces: Cheryl Ann Thomas + Michael F. Rohde

On view through August 21, 2022, Connected Spaces presents nearly 50 artworks by California-based artists Michael F. Rohde and Cheryl Ann Thomas. This assembly of ceramic sculptures and woven tapestries is focused on a recent series created by the artists through a year-long artistic exchange in 2020-2021. The exhibition also includes pieces by both artists beyond the series to provide context.

Connected Spaces: Cheryl Ann Thomas + Michael F. Rohde is curated by Jo Lauria, Adjunct Curator.

Learn More

The Artists of Mettlach

On view through July 31, 2022, this exhibition presents a selection of works from the Villeroy and Boch Mettlach Collection (donated by Robert D. And Colette D. Wilson). It features original research on notable artists involved in the production of this historic works.

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Peter Callas: An Enduring Legacy

Regarded as one of the preeminent ceramic artists in the American Studio Ceramics tradition to work with anagama kilns, Peter Callas (1951– ) influenced an entire generation of ceramic artists. Among the 50 works featured in An Enduring Legacy are Callas’s innovative expressionist sculptures and abstracted container forms that function as visual records of the transformative forces of fire. Other works on display include intimate tea bowls, selected works on paper, and the premier of an original film about the artist. On view through July 24, 2022.

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50 Bowls, 50 States, 50 Woodfires

A project of scholar and artist Elaine Olafson Henry, this exhibition presents 50 thrown porcelain bowls, each created by the artist using the same clay block, the same building and shaping process, and the same glaze coat. In order to explore how firing circumstances would inevitably influence the finished pieces, Henry then shipped each bowl to a different wood firing ceramist in each state. The end result is a snapshot in time of woodfire practices across the United States. On view through July 24, 2022.

Learn More