Common Ground

An ASM Exhibition of Ceramics, during

Claytopia: NCECA's 53rd conference

March 27th-30th

Opening Reception March 28th 5-9pm

The Future, 2223 E 35th St, Minneapolis, MN

Common Ground includes ceramic work by Margaret Coleman, Rhea Dykoski, Jane Gordon, Amy Joy Hosterman, Chris Malec, Jeanine Malec, Rebecca Meszler, Linsey Moe, and Jordan Olsen, and a Handmade Mug Exhibition and Fundraiser featuring the sale of donated mugs from the larger ASM community, Artists TBA!

How does a community become more than just a group of neighbors? What binds them together and keeps their relationships from eroding? Healthy, symbiotic environments, where everyone has an opportunity to thrive, take a lot of care and communication that often go unnoticed. As humble ground-cover plants quietly weave over the earth to protect soil from erosion, we as a community create an intangible yet vital, growing web of intertwined dreams and desires that connect us to each other.

Art Shape Mammoth is a living network of shared ideas, experiences, and connections. With our roots in Minnesota, we have branched out to states east and west, but every year we come together again in the Midwest, to the Visitor Center Artist Camp in the UP of Michigan, where we hand-process the local red clay, and work together in support of intentional, sustainable community. We are bound by our love of the material, passion for the creative process, reverence for nature, and a drive to connect. This exhibition serves as a testament to the magic and joy of shared experience, as we come full-circle to Minneapolis, MN, where we first met and grew together as a creative community.

Public Workshop: Charms for a Claytopia

Sigil-Making Workshop with Jeanine Malec

Wednesday, March 27th, 6-8pm

Raku-Firing Sigils with Amy Joy Hosteman

Thursday, March 28th, 5-9pm

A sigil is a symbol charged with intention, projected into the world to bring that idea into fruition. Join Art Shape Mammoth at The Future Minneapolis for a workshop on sigil design. Jeanine Malec of Nest & Tessellate will touch on the history of sigilcraft, noting examples of sigils from other geographies and where they are hidden in plain sight today. We will explore why we might want to make sigils of our own, how to design a sigil, and the energetic practice of charging and releasing these pictographs for positive change in our communities.

In a hands-on exercise, participants will apply their own sigil designs to ceramic medallions. The following evening, ASM’s Traveling Kiln master Amy Joy Hosterman will lead the raku-firing of the medallions during the opening reception of Common Ground.

Hot Cocoa in Handmade Mugs!

Fundraiser, Raku-Firing, and Common Ground Opening Reception

Thursday, March 28th, 5-9pm

Guests of this multi-faceted event will have several options for ceramic enjoyment!

Purchase a handmade mug to support the educational workshops we do as a non-profit arts organization, and stay warm with a fancy hot cocoa in your new favorite mug!

Enjoy the exhibition of ceramic work by Art Shape Mammoth artists from across the country, who have come together in the Midwest to get their hands dirty, time and time again.

Gather around the Traveling Kiln for live raku-firings of our Charms for a Claytopia! Operated by ASM Creative Director Amy Joy Hosterman, The Traveling Kiln is used to raku-fire small ceramic sculpture. Ceramic pieces are painted with a variety of glazes and are fired and finished on site. Raku firing involves pulling red-hot clay pieces from the kiln and smoldering them in barrels of combustible material, creating beautiful lusters and smoky, crackled glaze surfaces.

Amy will be leading the raku-firing of our Charms for a Claytopia, which will be created at the public workshop on Wednesday night. These sigils will be created and charged with positive intentions, conjured into being through fire, and released into the world with love from Art Shape Mammoth, for a small suggested donation.