Workshops with Deb

In-Person | Sweetwater Art Center: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Hands-On Hand-building Workshop & Show: October 23rd-26th, 2025 -

Workshops often include the ideas and techniques shared below:

Pitchers in process

General workshop description: Led by Seattle-based studio potter, instructor, and inspiring artist Deb Schwartzkopf, this exploratory workshop is for everyone working in clay with an interest in blending wheel throwing and handbuilding techniques. Let the process lead you to new inventions and ways of piecing together functional forms.
These immersive studio days will set in motion your ability to build complex forms with simple parts. We will discuss how expressive shapes spring from sketches, patterns, our environment, and the process of making itself. You will be able to bring home lots of notes captured in photos and sketches, maybe some greenware, and a host of new techniques that will enliven your studio practice! Come ready to experiment and have fun!

Join into an exchange of ideas as you foray into throwing, altering, cutting templates, molding slabs, deriving and defining inspiration, and then assembling. Contemplate the presentation of clay inspirations while browsing local markets, nearby villages, or historic sights. Build memories and share fabulous meal-time experiences with fellow participants. In addition, enjoy all the opportunities the area has to offer! 

Nitty Gritty

Small Serving bowls in Process

Learn new ways to move clay with skill-building exercises. Conversations may roam from surface design solutions to managing small businesses and from art/ life balance to mealtimes as inspiration for form, and much more!

Demonstrations will offer techniques for

·      Working with slabs & wheel thrown parts

·      Combining wheel-thrown and slab-built sections

·      Altering simple wheel-thrown parts

·      Basic template making

·      Creating bisque molds to shape slabs 

·      Making handles

·      Inspiration gathering

Workshop Hunters Information List

I have some adventures in the pipeline for 2026 and 2027!

I'll be teaching internationally in Mexico and Italy.  Details are still be shaped.  If you are interested, go ahead and add your name to my growing list of workshop hunters!

Sessional Classes at Rain City Clay

11 weeks - Continuing Wheel
Stored & Poured
(Learn More)

With: Deb Schwartzkopf
Tues. 5:00-7:00pm
Sept 9th-Nov 18th
(Register)

Get ready to immerse yourself in a fall of creativity while boosting your wheel-throwing skills.

Craft pieces for the table that invite gathering and delight. Learn to throw plates/platters, salt & pepper shakers, bountiful bowls, and more based on student interests. We’ll focus on refining wheel skills while exploring form, function, and thoughtful design—perfect for the season of sharing.

11-weeks Continuing Wheel
Harvest Home
(Learn More)

With: Deb Schwartzkopf
Tues. 7:30-9:30pm
Sept 9th-Nov 18th
(Register)

Craft planters for indoor or outdoor plants. We can design the planters for sitting in a window or to hang from the ceiling! Explore a basket or colander for your fruitful harvest! There will be time to choose from several other projects like garden markers, ornamental critters, or a bird bath. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned potter, Deb will guide you through each step.

About the Artist

Deb Schwartzkopf (she/her) has worked in clay for over 20 years. After receiving an MFA from Penn State in 2005, Deb Schwartzkopf taught at Ohio University, Mass. College of Art & Design, University of Washington, as well as for the University of Georgia’s study abroad program in Cortona, Italy.  She participated in residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation (MT), Mudflat Studios (MA), the Clay Studio (PA), Watershed (ME), Red Lodge Clay Studio (MT), the Ceramics Workcenter in Berlin, Germany, and San Boa in Jingdezhen China! Deb teaches and exhibits nationally and internationally. Deb established Rat City Studios (2013) and Rain City Clay (2022) with a mission to engage and build community through clay. She maintains a lively career in the ceramic arts, loves to garden, tends honey bees, and also works with stained glass! Ceramics Monthly Magazine awarded Deborah Schwartzkopf Ceramic Artist of the Year for 2019. Deb wrote Creative Pottery in June of 2020 which features 192 pages of clay working techniques.