UPCOMING EVENTS + CLASSES
HOLIDAY ORNAMENT-MAKING CLASSES - DEC 6
Join Mudslingers during the Main Street Christmas event for a hands-on clay ornament workshop!
Choose from four one-hour sessions — 10:00 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:00 PM, or 2:15 PM — where you’ll create 4–5 custom Christmas ornaments using slab-cut techniques and hand-painting.
Classes are $35 per person and taught by rotating instructors Mary Glenys and Hannah. Spots are limited!
6-WEEK HANDBUILDING COURSE
Tuesdays, Feb 3rd - March 10th | 10A-12P & 6-8P
Our 6 week class is a great way to get a more full picture of the process of making pottery. Start with a lump of clay and practice all of the steps from slab-building, coil-building and sculpture to surface alteration and decoration.
While you will leave this class with a number of unique pieces, also bear in mind that we can only cover so much in 12 hours. Most students leave this course with a good understanding of their basic and essential pottery skills, but still lack the hours of practice needed to master this craft. For this reason, we strongly encourage students who still wish to further their understanding of pottery to explore our studio membership program!
While 12 hours worth of studio time and instruction may seem like a lot, it will go by very quickly! For this reason, we strongly encourage you to do some research on the front end and figure out what is most important to you. While the first half of this class focuses more on basic and essential skills, the second half is much more self-guided. We want to teach you the skills, and cover the projects that mean the most to you.
This is a great option for beginners who want to practice the entire process or intermediate potters who want to refine their skills.
No experience is required for this class. Minimum Age - 16 years old.
Sold out? If the class you are wanting to sign up for is sold out, just email hkyle@dixiepac.net to join the waitlist!
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Course Outline (Subject to Change)
· Feb 3rd - Session 1 - Studio Tour, Intro to Clay & Technique
· Feb 10th - Session 2 - Coild-building
· Feb 17th - Session 3 - Slab building with templates
· Feb 24th - Session 4 - Surface alteration & Finishing pieces
6-WEEK WHEEL THROWING COURSE
Thursdays, Feb 5th - March 12 | 10A-1P & 6-9P
Our 6 week class is a great way to get a more full picture of the process of making pottery. Start with a lump of clay and practice all of the steps from throwing, trimming, handling, and glazing.
While you will leave this class with a number of unique pieces, also bear in mind that we can only cover so much in 18 hours. Most students leave this course with a good understanding of their basic and essential pottery skills, but still lack the hours of practice needed to master this craft. For this reason, we strongly encourage students who still wish to further their understanding of pottery to explore our studio membership program!
While 18 hours worth of studio time and instruction may seem like a lot, it will go by very quickly! For this reason, we strongly encourage you to do some research on the front end and figure out what is most important to you. While the first half of this class focuses more on basic and essential skills, the second half is much more self-guided. We want to teach you the skills, and cover the projects that mean the most to you.
This is a great option for beginners who want to practice the entire process or intermediate potters who want to refine their skills.
No experience is required for this class. Minimum Age - 16 years old.
Sold out? If the class you are wanting to sign up for is sold out, just email mespey@dixiepac.net to join the waitlist!
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Course Outline (Subject to Change)
· Feb 5th - Session 1 - Studio Tour, Prepping and Centering Clay
· Feb 12th - Session 2 - Centering and Pulling walls
· Feb 19th - Session 3 - Throwing Cylinders
· Feb 26th - Session 4 - Trimming and Handles
· March 5th - Session 5 - Free Throw
· March 12th - Session 6 - Glazing
ABOUT OUR 2-HOUR COURSES
Our 2-hour courses are a one-time class that cap at 14 people (6 for wheel throwing). You will get to make your own piece from a ball of clay. It's a great way to spend time with friends or family while creating memories and pottery to last a lifetime.
No experience is required for these classes. Minimum Age 13 years old without a parent or guardian, 5 years old with a parent or guardian
After your class our staff will dry, bisque fire, glaze (with your color of choice) and glaze fire your piece. It will be ready to pick up 3-4 weeks after your class. Please note, no painting or glazing occurs during this class.
ABOUT OUR 6-WEEK COURSES
Our 6 week class is a great way to get a more full picture of the process of making pottery. Start with a lump of clay and practice all of the steps from throwing, trimming, handling, and glazing. (from slab-building, coil-building and surface alteration for handbuilding class)
While you will leave this class with a number of unique pieces, also bear in mind that we can only cover so much in 12-18 hours. Most students leave this course with a good understanding of their basic and essential pottery skills, but still lack the hours of practice needed to master this craft. For this reason, we strongly encourage students who still wish to further their understanding of pottery to explore our studio membership program!
While 12-18 hours worth of studio time and instruction may seem like a lot, it will go by very quickly! For this reason, we strongly encourage you to do some research on the front end and figure out what is most important to you. While the first half of this class focuses more on basic and essential skills, the second half is much more self-guided. We want to teach you the skills, and cover the projects that mean the most to you.
This is a great option for beginners who want to practice the entire process or intermediate potters who want to refine their skills.(Beginners who want an introduction to clay and to practice the many ways to handbuild and sculpt a piece or intermediate potters who want to refine their skills).
No experience is required for this class. Minimum Age - 16 years old.
Sold out? If the class you are wanting to sign up for is sold out, just email hkyle@dixiepac.net to join the waitlist!
Have questions? Call The Dixie’s Box Office at 731.986.2100, M-F, 10-4p.
Preparations for Your Class
Clay washes out of your clothes but we suggest wearing clothes and shoes you don’t mind getting a little messy.
Please trim your fingernails before class. Uncut nails will make the entire process of shaping your pieces difficult, if not impossible
Cancellation Policy
Life happens, we get that! If you won’t be able to attend the class you signed up for, you can reschedule by sending us an email or giving us a call. Unfortunately, we cannot provide credit for a no call no show, and all changes must be submitted 48 hours prior to the class date.
By signing up for this class, I agree to Mudslingers Waiver of Liability and Assumption of Risk Agreement for all I am signing up for.
Tardiness Policy
There are a lot of steps involved in the process of creating pottery; for that reason, we are unable to catch up students who arrive more than 15 minutes late to their class. Tardy students are not eligible to move their class to a later date.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Scholarships are available for students in K-12th Grade. These are provided in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Solomon Lee DeVille Memorial Art Scholarship.
SOLOMON LEE DEVILLE MEMORIAL ART SCHOLARSHIP
The mission of the Solomon Lee DeVille Memorial Art Scholarship is to give financial assistance to school-age children and youth from Carroll County for educational opportunities in the two and three dimensional visual arts programs offered by The Dixie Carter Performing Arts & Academic Enrichment Center. These would include, but are not limited to: drawing, painting, photography, pottery, etc. The scholarship can be used for class fees, student materials, and classroom supplies. The intent is to enable children to participate in the visual studio arts who would otherwise not be able to based on financial need.
For more information on scholarship applications or donations, please contact Laura at Ldeville@dixiepac.net
HANNAH KYLE, INSTRUCTOR
Hannah Kyle was born and raised in Huntingdon, TN and a graduate of Union University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design in 2015. She is married to her middle school sweetheart and has two children. They live on a little homestead where she currently creates. She fell in love with ceramics when she realized graphic design wasn’t fulfilling. She bought a wheel after her first class and hasn’t looked back since. She is largely self-taught, but has been working with clay since 2018. She is excited to share her passion for clay and the versatility of it with anyone who is interested.
In addition to instructing at Mudslingers she also runs her own small business in our local Huntingdon area, creating and selling her own pottery through Hk.Studios
LORI NEAL NOLEN, FOUNDER
Lori is a native of Paris, TN, and a graduate of Union University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ceramics having studied in France, England, and Italy. She received her Master of Fine Arts at The University of Georgia. Lori was Artist in Residence at Alfred University in Alfred, NY, a Teaching Assistant at UGA Studies Abroad Art Program in Cortona, Italy, and Assistant Professor of Ceramic Art and Art History at Union University in Jackson, TN. Lori is a former Executive Director at The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center and continues to create and instruct at Mudslingers. Lori resides here in Huntingdon.
Mudslingers Pottery Studio provides visual arts education programs that empower students of all ages to embrace their artistic abilities, grow and gain confidence in those abilities, and open doors to a life of creative excellence.
Mudslingers teaches introduction to basic pottery skills of pinching, coil-building, slab construction, and throwing on the potter’s wheel, as well as, an introduction to various glazing and firing processes.
Mudslingers is truly grateful for our clay sponsor, Imerys - Gleason, who has generously donated thousands of pounds of clay and glazing materials to our classes.
Imerys - Gleason is a supplier of ball clay to Laguna Clay Company, which also produces the low fire glazes used in classes at Mudslingers.
Participant Rules
Participants are expected to arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before class is scheduled to begin. The teacher needs time in between classes to clean and prepare for the next class.
Parents must be prompt in the pickup of their participants.
No food, gum, or drink is allowed in the studio.
Please notify the instructor if you will be missing a class. Projects that take place during your absence can not be made up.
The Dixie reserves the right to dismiss and not enroll participants for the following reasons:
Disruptive behavior
Disregard to instructions
Possession of tobacco, alcohol, drugs or weapons.
Disrespect to instructor
Financial account not current
Mudslingers Studio is sponsored in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. When the Tennessee Arts Commission was created in 1967, it was given a special mandate by the General Assembly to stimulate and encourage the presentation of performing, visual and literary arts throughout the state and to encourage public interest in the cultural heritage of Tennessee. Through a variety of programs, the Commission has encouraged excellence in artistic expression through the state’s artists and arts organizations. That commitment has continued to expand through the years to ensure that the citizens of Tennessee have access to, and the opportunity to participate in the arts.