Ceramics Volunteer Program

This volunteer program is an opportunity for those looking to gain hands-on experience working in a ceramics studio. Based on the success of our one-on-one apprenticeship program, we are moving toward a cohort-based, volunteer model that will allow us to share skills and create learning opportunities where more artists can participate, thereby benefitting the community more broadly.

Program participants will be selected by application, with the first application cycle open now through Friday, February 6 and volunteer shifts beginning in April 2026. Applicants will be selected based on their overall connectivity to ASLD, as well as current enrollment (or significant prior enrollment) in ASLD ceramics classes. Participants will spend time volunteering in the studios each month and will be invited to monthly private trainings with Ceramics Studio Manager Griffin Callahan. These trainings will allow participants to gain valuable knowledge and grow their skills as volunteers. Topics will include, but are not limited to: kiln maintenance, firing the gas kiln, glaze mixing, running the pug mill, etc.

Other notes:

• Current staff members are not eligible for participation
• Length of program is still TBD but will likely consist of 6-month-long cohorts (frequency per year TBD)
• Participants are not given additional open studio time, access to firing work, space to store work, or any other quid pro quo benefits in exchange for their hours spent volunteering
•  ASLD membership is not required in order to apply, but selected participants are required to become members of ASLD.