Watershed’s summer residency sessions offer artists uninterrupted time to focus on their practices in our state-of-the-art ceramics studio. During a session, up to eighteen artists form a creative community while living and working on campus. Participants enjoy 24-hour studio access, comfortable accommodations, and delicious meals.
Organizing artists develop the themes for each session and invite a small group of artists to anchor the session with them. Additional artists with an interest in the session theme then apply to join them for two weeks at Watershed.
Find the 2025 summer session descriptions and the list of artists anchoring each session below. Access additional details on the summer residency, application process, scholarships, housing, food, and campus life via the sidebar links.
Applications for 2025 have closed. Applicants will hear of their status by mid-March.
Session I: Re-Mixed, June 2-13
Ashley Campbell
Organized by: Bianca MacPherson & Ashley Campbell
With: Joey Nuñez, Lily Gray, Erika Port, Shea Burke & Casey Burton
Mixed-race people span a range of shades and racialized experiences, and rarely have spaces where they can determine language that authentically reflects their multi-dimensional identities. “Re-Mixed” aims to foster a community where mixed-race individuals can openly explore, decide, and even debate their own terminology. In a world that often seeks to categorize and simplify identity, mixed-race artists face unique challenges and opportunities in defining and expressing their cultural heritage. This residency aims to create a nurturing and dynamic environment where artists can engage in meaningful dialogue, share their diverse cultural backgrounds, and create innovative works that reflect upon and celebrate their unique experiences and perspectives.
Session II: Pinch/Pull, June 16-27
Ming-Yue Oh
Organized by: Muriel Condon & Anela Ming-Yue Oh
With: Danqi Cai, Danielle O’Malley, Nicholas McDonald, Jade Hoyer, Shea Burke & Serena Caffrey
Pinch/Pull invites artists to investigate the relationship between the impressionable surfaces of clay and the soft pulp of handmade paper. At once complementary and contradictory, clay and paper’s qualities combine to create infinite opportunity for play and learning that will transform one’s approach to each material. In this session, artists can engage in discussions about materials, artist theories, histories, and techniques. Artists will bring dried pulp and papermaking supplies to Watershed to discover the unbound potential of these materials. Through knowledge exchange and optional group critiques, this group will push the boundaries of traditional craft media as they create pieces and installations in the shared space.
Session III: Cultural & Nostalgic Storytelling, June 30-July 11
Didem Mert
With Guest Artist: Didem Mert
Drawing inspiration from personal lives and cultural heritages, Session III will focus on the use of playful illustration and vibrant color to bring rich histories to the surface. This session provides space for studio artists to engage with surface design techniques while exploring and discussing work evolution, symbolism through patterns and personal narrative. Playful yet symbolic, Guest Artist Didem Mert’s highly sought after functional ware sets the tone for this imaginative and visually expansive residency.
Session IV: Foodways, July 21-August 1
Stephanie Rozene
Organized by: Stephanie Rozene
With: Sioux Bean, Ina Kaur, Naomi Clement & Lisa Donovan
Foodways is a term that refers to the eating habits and culinary practices of a culture, region, or historical period. This residency, inspired in part by Watershed’s long history of connecting clay with farm-to-table dining, invites participants to consider foodways through ceramic and cooking traditions. Both ceramic artists and chefs are welcomed in this session. They may choose to work individually or collaborate with each other, exploring the relationship between food, clay, and cooking.
Session V: Of Form and Function, August 4-15
Hannah Cameron
Organized by: Hannah Cameron
With: Carly Slade, Jennifer Arnold, Just Emerson, Jamie Bates & Jon Green
Of Form and Function will explore “the vessel” and its vast definitions, uses, and implicit meaning. Our bodies are vessels. Cups and mugs are vessels. Townhomes, pickup trucks, lobster claws and hot sauce bottles are all vessels; as are lampshades, mailboxes, gravy boats and bowls. While at Watershed, this session will delve into individual and collaborative definitions of what makes a vessel and why. The group’s goal is to come out of this experience with new appreciation for each other’s identities and inspirations, with the hope of broadening and bettering individual artistic practice.
Session VI: Women Who Woodfire, August 18-29
Jody Johnstone
Organized by: Jody Johstone
With: Eileen Sackman, Andrea Dove, Christine Owen, Louise Harter, Lindsay Oesterritter, JoAnne Sutkin & Miki Glasser
Women Who Woodfire aims to form a connected and cohesive group of women and femme nonbinary people centered around the collaborative process of woodfiring. While more common nowadays, all-women firings are still a rare occurrence that produce a unique and special dynamic. Artists can expect lively discussions about woodfiring materials, forms, and kilns, as well as conversations about the complexities women face at different points in their life and ceramic careers.
