The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in ceramics is an invitation to focus on your art, working in the studio to build your artistic practice, and engaging with faculty and visiting artists to develop your creative potential. Whether you are an independent artist, a production potter, or plan to apply to M.F.A. programs, this certificate is designed to be an accessible steppingstone to the future. You will be given the time, resources, and the studio space to meet your creative goals.
Visiting Artist Component
Work one-on-one with visiting artists through individual and group critiques, artist-led workshops, and presentations. Build professional connections and experience a wide variety of viewpoints on a singular medium.
Courses
- One-year duration with concentrated study in ceramics and a capstone exhibition with the Wetherill Visual Arts Center at Hollins
- Three student positions available annually (coed)
- Work in an active ceramic studio
- 24/7 access to studio, kilns, and semi-private studio space
- 14 credits including: Two credits each semester, Post-Baccalaureate Seminar course with an emphasis on critique of individual body of work and portfolio development, mentorship, critiques with two visiting artists per semester, professional development, and networking with regional ceramic artists
- Four credits each semester, Advanced Ceramics
- Two-credit January Short Term independent study focusing on developing a personal body of work, with access to the ceramics’ studio spaces
- One-on-one guidance from ceramic faculty and advanced level critiques
- Designated semi-private studio space and pottery wheel available for each student
- Capstone exhibition
- Scholarships available annually
Costs
Early Bird Deadline: April 15
Regular Deadline: June 15
Fall 2023 and Spring 2024: Tuition will be $715 per credit hour.
The technology fee will be $150 per term.
- Complete and return application form (PDF) along with your $40 nonrefundable processing fee. Please also submit the following:
- Letter of intent – 300-500 words
- Artist statement – 300 words
- 10-15 images of work (no more than five detail images)
- Image caption sheet- Title, HxWxD, material, firing, date
- Resume
- Three professional references with contact information
- Official transcripts
Studio Space and Facilities
- Designated semi-private studio space for Post Baccalaureates in the Wetherill Visual Arts Center
- Highfire, lowfire, and raku kilns available
- Materials lab for clay and glaze making
- De-airing pugmills and mixers
Meet Your Faculty
Josh Manning
Manning works within the continuum that is functional ceramics and its historical precedents. Formal decisions and discoveries within his work, as well as aesthetical choices, have developed over many years of dedicated studio practice. The work has evolved in many parallel paths—some more dominate than others at times; routed in process/material, food/culture, function/utility, and always with the aim of thoughtful design. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally via traveling exhibitions, juried shows, and invitationals.
Inside the classroom, Manning exploits the vast history and breadth of ceramic art to show students the immense potential clay has had for the past and has for the future visual and physical communication.
Hona Knudsen
Knudsen was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. She attended West Virginia University for studio art with a focus in ceramics. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from WVU, Knudsen moved to Floyd, Virginia, where she did a three-year apprenticeship with renowned ceramic artists Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley.
Knudsen now lives in Copper Hill where she shares a ceramic studio with her husband Josh Manning. Her current work is wheel thrown porcelain pottery that is fired in a gas reduction kiln. Her influences are both traditional and contemporary, with a strong inspiration from Asian pottery in her forms as well as her glazes.