Join Artist-in-residence Chloe Bischoff for a Ceramic workshop at the St. Mane Theatre Second Floor Studio at 6 pm on Friday, April 1oth or at the Driftless Fiber Arts Collective at 2 pm on Sunday, April 12th. Contribute soil from a meaningful place to their residency project, and learn fundamentals of ceramic hand building by creating pinch pots to hold them!

In this workshop, participants are invited to bring a small soil sample from a place in or around Lanesboro that holds personal meaning—your backyard, a favorite walking path, a family farm, the riverbank. Together, we will begin the process of transforming this earth into a ceramic material. Participants will hand build small pinch pots that will be used to fire and stabilize their soil samples, beginning the transformation into grog, a traditional ceramic additive made from fired earth.

Folks who bring soil samples to these sessions are invited to transform their samples into totems in workshops the following week (learn more here).

As we work, participants will share stories about the places their soil comes from and reflect on their relationship to the land beneath our feet. This session serves as both a hands-on introduction to ceramic processing and a space for conversation, inviting participants to consider soil not as an inert material, but as an active presence shaped by geology, ecology, labor, and memory.

No prior clay experience is necessary, just curiosity and a willingness to engage with place in a new way! 

Please bring a small soil sample (about 1 cup) from a meaningful location in or around Lanesboro. Transport your soil in a sealed container such as a Tupperware, glass jar, or zip-top bag. For best results, collect soil from a few inches below the surface rather than just the top layer. Surface soil often contains leaves, decomposing debris, and other organic matter. While small amounts are completely fine, soil with less organic material will process more smoothly,because any organic matter will burn away in the kiln, leaving behind only the mineral components of soil that give it its unique color and character.

A small hand shovel, garden trowel, or even a sturdy spoon works well for digging. If your location has visible clay deposits, those make especially strong samples—but all soils are welcome. Keep an eye out for distinctive colors such as red, yellow, gray, or deep brown, as these mineral variations can subtly influence the texture and tone of your finished piece. If you’re unsure whether your soil will work, bring it anyway: we will explore its qualities together!

This workshop will be offered twice, once at the St. Mane Theatre Studio on Friday, April 10th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm and once again at the Driftless Fiber Arts Collective on April 12 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm. The content of the workshop will be the same each time.

About Chloe Bischoff

Chloe Bischoff is a sculptor and ceramicist whose work investigates the millennia-old relationship between humans and clay. Their work investigates this relationship, beholding clay as an emissary of matter through which to explore themes of animism, selfhood, and queer ecology—concepts that dissolve boundaries between living and nonliving entities and reimagine nature as an non-hierarchical, entangled network of vibrant matter. Chloe sees their process as reciprocal interaction between themself and the clay, a series of ritual encounters between two entities rather than as a utilization of an inert medium.

About the Residency

Chloe’s residency project examines the relationship between the inhabitants of a place and the physical materials of that place.  Everything from Lanesboro’s geography to its built environment have been shaped by the people and materials which exist there, from the steep bluffscapes that shape the river valley to the rich historical brick facades downtown. To explore this entanglement, Chloe will invite community members to collect soil samples from significant places in their lives, and incorporate them into clay to create a series of ceramic totems. The resulting collection of sculptures will tell a story about Lanesboro’s human and material community. Learn more about Chloe’s residency here.

All residency events are free and open to the public. The Lanesboro Early Career Artist Residency Program is supported by the Jerome Foundation.