Celebrating talented artists from around the country! The next Iowa Clay Conference will take place in October, 2026 at a new location in Des Moines Iowa, Mainframe Studios. Stay tuned for more information.
During this 3-day bi-annual Conference, ICCGS welcomes artists from around the midwest to take part in a weekend to connect, share ideas and learn new techniques amongst fellow artists and makers.
In 2024, ICCGS invited the following Ceramic Artists to be part of the 2024 Conference: Pattie Chalmers (Keynote and Demonstrator), Jonathan Christensen Caballero (demonstrator and River 2 River Juror), Chris Singewald (Demonstrator and Panelist), Kate Schroeder (River 2 River Juror and Panelist), Schumpei Yamaki (Panelist), and Clary Illian (Panel Moderator). The event was sponsored by: Schimpo, Artifacts and the Cherry Building.
Over the years, the Iowa Clay Conference also facilitated the ‘River 2 River National Juried Exhibition’. In 2024 the exhibition was hosted by Gilded Pear Gallery, located in Cedar Rapids and the winner for the exhibition was Javier Espinosa Momox
5:30-8:00 PM – Welcome Reception & Opening of ‘Making Connections: Ceramic Invitational’
6:00-6:45 – Keynote Address by Pattie Chalmers at Mount Mercy University
8:30-9:00 AM – Coffee & Donuts – Conference Check In (Main Stage)
8:30-9:00 – Print your own Iowa Clay Conference T Shirt (ICCGS Classroom)
9:00-11:15 – Artist Demonstrations (Main Stage)
-9:00 – 9:30 – Focus on Pattie Chalmers
-9:30 – 10:00 – Focus on Chris Singewald
-10:00 – 10:30 – Focus on Jonathan Christensen Caballero
-10:30-11:15 – Wrap Up
10:30-10:50 – “Making Connections: Mount Mercy Ceramics Invitational” – John Thomas Richard – (ICCGS Classroom)
10:55-11:30 – “Your Mark Matters: Identification and its Significance”- Lauren Tucci – (ICCGS Classroom)
11:30-12:15 – Print your own Iowa Clay Conference T Shirt (ICCGS Classroom)
11:30-12:15 – Lunch (NewBo City Market)
12:15-1:15 – Artist Talk (Main Stage)
-11:30 – 11:50 Jonathan Christensen Caballero
-11:50 – 12:10 Chris Singewald
-12:10 – 12:30 Kate Schroeder
1:15-3:15 – Demonstrations (Main Stage)
1:30 – 2:00 – Focus on Chris Singewald
2:00 – 2:30 – Focus on Jonathan Christensen Caballero
2:30 – 3:00 – Focus on Pattie Chalmers
3:00 – 3:15 – Wrap Up
3:30-4:30 – Panel Discussion – “The Economics of your Hearts Work’ (Main Stage) Chris Singewald, Kate Schroeder, Clary Ilian (Moderator)
5:00-7:00 PM @ Gilded Pear Gallery– River 2 River National Juried Exhibition Reception at Gilded Pear Gallery
6:00 – Awards with Juror Remarks with Kate Schroeder & Jonathan Christensen Caballero
9:30-10:00 – Print your own Iowa Clay Conference T Shirt (ICCGS Classroom)
10:00-10:30 – Coffee & Donuts
10:30-1:00 – Demonstrations (Main Stage)
-10:30-11:00 – Focus on Jonathan Christensen Caballero
-11:00-11:30 – Focus on Pattie Chalmers
-11:30-12:00 – Focus on Chris Singewald
-12:00-1:00 – Wrap up
11:30 -12:00 – “Understanding Terra Sigillata: Colors & Application” – Veronica Watkins (ICCGS Classroom)
12:00-12:30 – ICCGS Resident Artist Talks (ICCGS Classroom)
Pattie Chalmers grew up and went to art school in Winnipeg, Canada. She received her BFA in printmaking from the University of Manitoba in 1994, and her MFA in ceramics from the University of Minnesota in 2001. Since graduating she has exhibited in group exhibitions on five continents, in six countries and in thirty-four states and she has had seven solo exhibitions in the past five years, most recently the exhibitions The Mudmaid Museum at the Sheldon Art Center in St. Louis and Manitoba Sugar at Arkansas State University Gallery in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Chalmers has taught at the University of Minnesota, Ohio University and at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she is currently a Professor and Head of Graduate Studies. (Chalmers might be a little compulsive, and she definitely likes to laugh at her own jokes).
Jonathan Christensen Caballero is an multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Utah. He received his A.S. in art from Snow College, B.F.A in ceramics and sculpture from Utah State University and M.F.A. in ceramics from Indiana University Bloomington. He has exhibited nationally in shows such as The Regional at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, NCECA Annual: Social Recession at the Weston Art Gallery, Figuring Space at The Clay Studio Philadelphia.
Christensen Caballero has been the ceramic Artist in Residence at the Interdisciplinary Ceramic Research Center at the University of Kansas, the Lawrence Arts Center, and Belger Crane Yard. As of August 2023, he is working full time as the Sculpture Shop Technician and Lecturer at the Kansas City Art Institute. Christensen Caballero’s work focuses on the human figure and advocates for the Latin American labor community by highlighting our histories.
Chris has been making pots since graduating from the University of Northern Iowa in 2006 and is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Currently, he utilizes woodfiring and soda firing to complete his pottery.
Chris says, “I create functional vessels with active surfaces that are achieved through layering clay, glazes, and overglazes. through atmospheric firing processes, these materials mature and bond with the vessels to bring depth and balance. Edges are highlighted, form is enhanced, microcrystals grow, and materials blend. It is through layers of surface that compliment the form that I encourage touch, interaction, and use of my wares.
I create vessels that are meant for daily use. Through investigations of form and layered surface treatment, I achieve elegance and stability within my pottery.”
Kate Schroeder is a ceramicist and full time professional artist residing in Kansas City, Missouri. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Ceramics from the University of Central Missouri and a Masters of Fine Arts also emphasizing Sculpture and Ceramics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Kate’s main career focus is direct to collector relationships.
Her work can be found in over 3000 collections around the globe. In fact, it can be found on all 7 continents! Kate has exhibited and taught workshops coast to coast, digitally and in person. She was also a long term career resident at Belger Crane Yard Studios.
Before transitioning to a full time artist, Kate also spent nearly a decade as an educator. She has worked for universities, art institutes, and community colleges. She also spent several years dedicated to the nonprofit sector. During this time she managed EPIC Clay Studio a 501-C3 ceramics studio and Accessible Arts, a Not-For-Profit arts organization, which specialized in teaching art to people with disabilities. She also lived in Tanzania for a summer, where she started a small ceramics program for Walk In Love International.
Clary Illian is a potter who lives in Ely, Iowa. Illian apprenticed at Leach Pottery in England from 1964-65.
Hewing to the Leach philosophy, her subsequent work concentrated on the purity of the pot’s form and the potter’s life – one lived with strong convictions and a pure heart. She continues to produce useful daily pottery for local customers at a reasonable price. Clary Illian: A Potter’s Potter, a retrospective at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, exhibited from August 2012 to February 2013.
Shumpei Yamaki was born and raised in Kamakura, Japan. He moved to Philadelphia in 1996 to study dance. He went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in archaeology at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.
In 1999, Shumpei was injured in an automobile accident and enrolled in a ceramics class as physical therapy for his arm. He discovered his passion for ceramics, and in 2001 began an apprenticeship under Richard Bresnahan. He learned traditional Japanese pottery techniques, wood-firing, and ways to rely on local resources and
resource conservation.
Shumpei went on to graduate studies at the University of Iowa, in 2002, taking full advantage of their strong wood-fire program.
In 2005, Shumpei moved to Brooklyn and participated in wood-firings in upstate New York with Tim Rowan and Roger Baumann. He returned to Iowa in 2009, where he is mainly working on functional ceramics and has been experimenting with local clay in his personal endeavors as a wood-fire potter.
Artist Bio: I view clay on the pottery wheel as a sort of stage for myself as a dancer. When water flows on the surface of clay on a pottery wheel, my hands dance to rhythm and my mind stretches into meditation. Imagination and feelings about clay and water take me to a state of mind as “second nature”. As street dance and clay combine through me, the true primitive concepts of these two art forms communicate themselves to the audience; one is ephemeral, the other is permanent.
329 10th Ave SE, Suite 117
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Located on the 1st Floor of the Cherry Building
Studio Hours
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday-Thursday 10am – 8pm
Friday-Sunday 10am – 4pm
Gallery/Office Hours
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday-Thursday 10am – 5pm
Friday-Sunday 10am – 4pm
Stay up to date with classes, events, and news from the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio by signing up for our newsletter.