Guardians Embodied Through Sculpture with George Rodriguez

How can we celebrate those we love, or manifest strength for the future? How do rituals inform the way we interact with the world? In this workshop, we will use our hands and clay to create a personal guardian. Will this guardian be a protector, a memory, or a wish? Working from personal photographs, writings or drawings which guide us, we will use traditional slab and modeling techniques to make and assemble a 16-20in free standing sculpture. We will learn how to work hollow, and apply unique texture and detail to our forms. Each participant’s project will be personalized, so we will discuss individual plans to achieve construction. Concurrently, we will make one-part plaster press molds to embellish our sculptures and bring ornamentation to the surface.
This workshop will be four full days of learning through demonstration, hands on instruction and lecture. There will be a break for lunch at 1PM each day, and light refreshments will be provided in the morning. At the end of Part 4 participants will walk away with a completed greenware sculpture. Participants will have the option to opt into bisque firing their work at Easthampton Clay for no additional cost. Once work is fired, students will have the option to pick up their sculptures at Easthampton Clay, or to have their piece professionally packed and shipped. Easthampton Clay will not offer glaze firing for non-Easthampton Clay members or students.
Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 | 10AM-5PM
Thursday, October 15th, 2026 | 10AM-5PM
Friday, October 16th, 2026 | 10AM-5PM
Saturday, October 17th, 2026 | 10AM-5PM
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Born and raised in the border city of El Paso, TX, George Rodriguez creates highly ornamented, ceramic sculptures, often underlined by a connection to sociopolitical themes. His guardian figures, tomb sculptures, and installations, commemorate and build community. His most recent projects include a permanent installation at the new Kansas City International Airport, a community tile mural at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, and an outdoor public sculpture at CASA of Maryland, an immigration advocacy organization in Baltimore. His sculptures are part of the collections of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL; Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., and the NationalMuseum in Stockholm, Sweden amongst others. Rodriguez holds a BFA from the University of Texas El Paso and an MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is an Assistant Professor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia.