Keepsake Ceramics

Class image: Ceramics created by Jane Ellen Freund

Unleash your creativity in this hands-on ceramics class where everyday items meet art. We’ll explore versatile ways to create ceramic pieces that not only hold your treasured keepsakes but can also incorporate them directly.

Learn basic hand-built clay techniques and discover how to glue or embed personal mementos—jewelry, broken dishes, or special keepsakes—into your creations. Your ceramic work can even be designed to hold portable elements like jewelry or kitchen utensils, turning everyday objects into unique and functional art pieces.

Hand building may be used to make just about any shape, but we will focus on the box. Easy-to-use templates will be provided in different shapes and sizes. The instructor has inserted china, glass, metal, stones, and seashells into her pieces. You are only limited by your imagination, so start collecting on your trips to flea markets, Goodwill, the beach, or your own cabinets.

Whether you’re designing for display or utility, this class encourages you to think outside the box and make something truly meaningful.

In all its events, Artists for Climate Awareness provides thematic environmental education, offering practical ways to get involved locally. As part of this commitment, a representative from a local nonprofit sustainability organization will be giving a short presentation on how their organization contributes to community-driven environmental initiatives.

Supplies: Clay, glaze, and clay tools will be provided. Participants may bring keepsakes or “found items”  to attach. In addition, in the first class, the instructor will collect $25 for supplies she contributes.

About Jane Ellen Freund:

Jane Ellen Freund has been working with clay and mosaics for more than 30 years, first as a potter making wheel-thrown pieces and, in the past several years, creating pinch pots and other hand-built forms. She combines clay with materials such as broken china shards, glass from the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, handmade beads, metal, bolts, rusty nails and other recycled parts. She has a BFA from B.A. Carnegie Mellon University and has displayed her works and taught ceramics and art in Pittsburgh, PA, and Sarasota, FL. Since the fall of 2024, she lives in Bloomington, Indiana. See her resume here.

"Jane is a terrific teacher. She is organized, creative, and enthusiastic. She creates a warm and welcoming environment, and the students all love her classes. I’ve also seen her hand-built clay works. They are innovative and show real skill with the medium." –Past student, Pittsburgh, PA

See examples of her work at: https://www.facebook.com/jane.freund.102/

In all its events, Artists for Climate Awareness provides thematic environmental education, offering practical ways to get involved locally. As part of this commitment, a representative from a Bloomington, Indiana area nonprofit will be giving a short presentation on how their organization contributes to community-driven environmental initiatives.

CURRENT ARTISTS FOR CLIMATE AWARENESS CONTRIBUTING/REGULAR MEMBERS RECEIVE A $35 DISCOUNT on the workshop. Not a member? The nonmember workshop fee includes a new annual membership. Already a member? Contact Carol Rhodes at info@artists4earth.org to register or for questions.

IVY TECH EMPLOYEE NOTE: This class is not eligible for fee remission for Ivy Tech employees.