Ceramics: Sculpted Forms with Pigmented Porcelain

Explore the vibrant possibilities of color and form with Linda Lopez, the current Crystal Bridges Teaching Artist in Residence and an artist represented in the museum’s collection. In this hands-on workshop, learners ages 14 and up will create imaginative abstract sculptures using pre‑pigmented porcelain clay, diving directly into shaping bold, expressive forms without the need to mix their own colors.

Through guided practice, students will experiment with texture, repetition, movement, and form while developing a personal abstract visual vocabulary inspired by everyday objects and observations. Demonstrations introduce approachable hand building techniques and simple methods for blending, layering, and arranging colored porcelain. Participants will create a small catalog of color samples and a series of playful, small sculptural forms that reflect their own creative discoveries.

Alongside studio time, the class will look at how contemporary and historical ceramic artists, including Lopez herself, use color, line, and abstraction to transform familiar moments into sculptural expression.

Designed for artists of all skill levels, this workshop encourages curiosity, experimentation, and a sense of creative play.

Tickets are $249 ($207.50/members and adults 25 and under). Reserve your spot online or with Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 today. 

All materials included. Enrolled students will have access to Sunday open studio hours for independent practice. Class runs August 6 – September 10.

Linda Nguyen Lopez (b. Visalia, California) is a first generation American artist of Vietnamese and Mexican descent. Her abstract works explore the poetic potential of the everyday by imagining and articulating a vast emotional range embedded in the mundane objects that surround us. Her works have been exhibited in Italy, New Zealand, England and throughout United States including the Craft Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Art and Design, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach; Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington DC; Red Arrow, Nashville, TN; Albertz Benda, Los Angeles; The Hole Gallery, New York; R & Company, New York; David B. Smith Gallery, Denver and Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami. Lopez was awarded the 2024 United States Artist Fellowship. She lives and works in Fayetteville, Arkansas where she is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Arkansas.

Sign up before June 1st and get $10 off !