The link to this virtual; talk will be posted here by April 27th, 2026 for the “Premiere” on April 29th. You will hear my stories about the concepts and design process behind a number of the pieces in the Dialogue: Lindenfeld + Lindenfeld exhibition currently on view at the Black Mountain College Museum & Art Center in Asheville, NC until May 9th 2026.
Explore hand building and slip techniques with clay
This workshop is designed for those new or experienced with clay-working.
We will use pinch and slab construction to make pieces that will then be decorated with a variety of slip techniques. Slip is liquid clay that can be stained with different pigments. Creating surfaces with layered, colored slips such as combing, texturing, stenciling, printing, painting and more will be explored, producing a sense of depth and intrigue.
We will make paper templates as a useful tool for envisioning how a flat slab of clay can be folded into a three-dimensional form. A clay slab is rolled out and cut into the shape of the template. Before or after the folding and construction takes place, the pigmented slips will be applied to the surface. Tips and tricks will be shown for folding, wrapping, attaching and treating seams, edges and corners.
Pieces made during the first few days will get bisque fired towards the end of the week. All pieces made will be fired after the workshop which is included in the workshop fee.
About the Instructor:
Since 1998 Naomi Lindenfeld has been the ceramics teacher at The Putney School, teaching a variety of hand-building and wheel-throwing methods. Naomi has also taught a number of colored clay, and more recently, colored slip workshops at craft centers around the northeast and beyond. She has enjoyed the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for these unusual and exciting techniques.
Natural objects with patterned imagery surround us in the environment. These will provide inspiration for making pieces from layered, colored clay. Two forming methods will be presented using a layered block: Wrapped slab cups, vases and trays and pinched and carved bowls. Prior experience with clay is helpful but not necessary.
March 14 and 15
Saturday and Sunday, 9am – 12pm
For ages 16 and up. Clay experience is helpful but not necessary.
$235 fee includes materials, use of the studio until 6pm on both days of the workshop, glazing session and firing.
For more information and to register email: naomilindenfeld@gmail.com
Colored Clay–Layers Revealed
July 6 – July 11, 2025
Pull inspiration from patterned imagery in our natural environment to make pieces with colored clay. Express the beauty of fluid movement reminiscent of shells, rock and wood. Wedge stains into porcelain and layer different colors into a block. By slicing, carving, rolling, and pinching multi-dimensional effects can be revealed. Gain an appreciation for the ways colored clay integrates designs for both functional and sculptural forms. All levels welcome. Bisque firing as time allows.
Platter with Shaped Edge
Natural objects with patterned imagery surround us in the environment. These will provide inspiration for making pieces from colored clay to express the beauty of fluid movement reminiscent of shells, rock and wood. Mason stains will be wedged into high-fire porcelain and different colors will be layered into a block. By slicing, carving, rolling and pinching, multi-dimensional effects are revealed.
This workshop will explore hand-building as well as throwing techniques with colored clay. The focus can be according to the participant’s interest. It is a wonderfully organic process that integrates the patterned designs with the piece. The weekend will include demonstrations and hands-on instruction.
I am in my 27th year of teaching ceramics at The Putney School, a boarding high school in Putney, Vermont. I have two of my colored clay pieces and two pieces done with a medium that is newer to me of creating 2-D artwork with tea bags.
We are celebrating The Putney School Faculty Art Show. The show focuses on the inclusive nature of the second Putney School Fundamental Belief: “To learn to appreciate and participate in the creative arts where we give expression to our struggle for communication of our inner lives and for beauty, and to grant these arts great prestige.” This show features the work of 21 faculty members. It celebrates our faculty’s joy in making and willingness to share.
There is a large selection of my seconds and clearance colored clay pottery at this sale at deeply discounted prices.
November 15, 16, 17
November 22, 23, 24
November 29, 30, & December 1
10 am to 4 pm
$8/person admission (goes directly to Snow Farm scholarship funds)
200+ artists represented in 5 galleries. New work every weekend!
Glass, pottery, clothing, jewelry, cards, ornaments, wooden bowls & cutting boards – the list goes on and on! The artist may think it’s a second, but you will never know the difference, except when it comes to the price. One-of-a-kind gifts for yourself, family, and friends. Don’t miss this the Seconds Sale! MORE DETAILS HERE
New work arrives every weekend! Your entry ticket can be used on the day you reserve and any other later day. Come once, twice, or all three weekends! No additional reservation is necessary.
The shopping time reservation system keeps the crowds small. Moving between the five galleries requires walking outdoors on unpaved ground.
The Seconds Sale is a fundraiser – all proceeds benefit both Snow Farm and the artists. The $6/person entrance fee supports the Snow Farm scholarship fund.
Dialogue: Lindenfeld + Lindenfeld
Lore Kadden Lindenfeld (1921 – 2010) emigrated from Germany to the US as a Jewish refugee in the late 1930s. She attended Black Mountain College from 1945-48 already equipped with sewing and embroidery skills. She was a student of both Josef and Anni Albers as well as Trude Guermonprez and Franziska Mayer, all of whom like her, fled Europe. Inspired by the Alberses and the Bauhaus tradition, she worked as a designer for the New York textile industry. While there she met her husband-to-be, physicist Peter Lindenfeld at a John Cage “Happening” at the 8th Street Club. She went on to have a career as a weaver, fiber collage artist and as a college level weaving and art history teacher.
This exhibition presents the clay and mixed media work of Naomi Lindenfeld as she responded to a selection of her mother, Lore’s innovative textiles. The opportunity allowed her to grow creatively and to honor her mother and her life’s work. The pieces created by mother and daughter function independently as well as in dynamic conversation with each other.
Naomi Lindenfeld reflects: I grew up with my mother’s loom in our family’s living room, hearing riveting stories of Black Mountain College its avant-garde, experimental environment and brilliant, unique personalities. As well, I was exposed to many artists and craftspeople during my childhood. Not many years later I ended up with clay carving tools and a rolling pin in my own ceramics studio. I responded to the immediacy of clay and pursued it in college, earning a degree in ceramics. While there I discovered the Japanese technique, Nerikomi, of layering colored clays to create patterns. I have been captivated by exploring many ways of working with colored clay ever since. More recently I have been working with mixed media featuring the patterns of tea stains. Both my method of working with clay and the tea art have a sense of movement, abstract graphic quality, nature-themed imagery and vivid color that echo my mother’s textiles.
Dialogue: Lindenfeld + Lindenfeld exemplifies the generational impact of Black Mountain College’s remarkable legacy as a cultural melting pot and rigorous laboratory for creative experimentation. The College’s approach to education mixed freedom and responsibility with self-reliance and community. These ingredients co-mingled to create a spirit of exploration that can be shared, taught, and passed down from parent to child forever.
— Naomi Lindenfeld
Opening Reception Friday January 30th, 2026 5:30-8pm
Artist Talk Saturday January 31st, 2026 11am
Explore hand building and slip techniques with clay
This workshop is designed for those new or experienced with clay-working.
We will use pinch and slab construction to make pieces that will then be decorated with a variety of slip techniques. Slip is liquid clay that can be stained with different pigments. Creating surfaces with layered, colored slips such as combing, texturing, stenciling, printing, painting and more will be explored, producing a sense of depth and intrigue.
We will make paper templates as a useful tool for envisioning how a flat slab of clay can be folded into a three-dimensional form. A clay slab is rolled out and cut into the shape of the template. Before or after the folding and construction takes place, the pigmented slips will be applied to the surface. Tips and tricks will be shown for folding, wrapping, attaching and treating seams, edges and corners.
Pieces made during the first few days will get bisque fired towards the end of the week. All pieces made will be fired after the workshop which is included in the workshop fee.
About the Instructor:
Since 1998 Naomi Lindenfeld has been the ceramics teacher at The Putney School, teaching a variety of hand-building and wheel-throwing methods. Naomi has also taught a number of colored clay, and more recently, colored slip workshops at craft centers around the northeast and beyond. She has enjoyed the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for these unusual and exciting techniques.
with Naomi Lindenfeld
Saturday and Sunday February 3rd and 4th, 2024 9am – Noon each day
Natural objects with patterned imagery surround us in the environment. These will provide inspiration for making pieces from layered, colored clay. It is an exceptional medium for expressing the beauty of fluid movement, the effects of water and wind that transform shells, rock and wood. We will wedge stains into porcelain and layer the different colors into a block. By slicing, rolling, pinching and carving, multi-dimensional effects are revealed. The colored clay integrates the designs with functional or sculptural forms, connecting hand with water and earth.
Two forming methods will be presented using layered block: wrapped slab cups, vases and trays and pinched and carved bowls. Prior experience with clay is helpful but not essential.
$235 includes materials, use of the studio until 6pm on the days of the workshop, glazing session and firing.
email naomilin@sover.net to register!
