Brianna Rashbaum

Brianna is a ceramicist who discovered clay in 2014 while attending community college. She quickly became consumed! She and her wonderful husband Maxfield own a public pottery studio called Spinning Silica in the mountain town of Nederland, CO. Beyond their clay and glass creations, they offer wheel throwing workshops, Kids Clay programs, nature printing in clay, open studio Sunday, studio memberships, and kiln services.
Brianna grew up on an organic farm and has a passion in gardening and using food and herbs as medicine.
OFFERINGS
Nature Printing with Clay: 3 hour intensive, Adults, All Levels
In this workshop we will take plants and herbs and press them into wet slabs of clay. After the grasses, clover, flowers, and any other plants have been pressed into the clay we will remove them, use templates to create cups, bowls, and press plates. After our projects are shaped we use minerals from the earth such as red iron oxide, to highlight the textures imprinted into the wild clay. The clay will later be fired for you.
Firing Wild Clay in a Camp Fire: 1.5 hour class, Adults, All Levels
In this class we will take our projects from our nature walks and fire the clay in our camp fire. Collecting combustibles from the local area we will see what different materials do to the colors in our wild clay. This will transform the clay from clay to ceramics in a process called quartz inversion. What once was clay that could be infinitely recycled has changed chemically to be stone. Hence the name stoneware. The ceramics is now a hard quartz material that will remain in a solid state.
Safety precautions required for this firing will take place. This will include 21” tongs to remove the pottery from the fire pit. Reduction chambers to place the ceramics inside of to cool. Leather gloves and protective eyewear. Instructor Bri Rashbaum will be the one handling the firing process wile other watch and help in preparation and after firing needs.
Kids Nature Printing: 30 minutes, Kids
In this class we will give kiddos plants and herbs to press into wet slabs of clay. After the grasses, clover, flowers, and any other plants have been pressed into the clay we will remove them, use templates to create cups, bowls, and press plates. All kids clay will be glazed and fired for them and returned to the students by the end of the gathering.