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Visiting Artist Tab Link; Mid Range Soda Firing Workshop
Learn soda firing with visiting artist Tab Link: load, fire & maintain a crossdraft kiln. Covers glazing, chemistry & atmospheric techniques. 3-day workshop.
About the Class
Join Resident Alumni and Visiting Artist, Tab Link as they teach the process of mid-range soda firing alongside our kiln facilitator, Dan Clauson. Throughout the 3 day workshop, students will receive an introduction to mid-range soda firing, with hands-on training in the process of loading, firing, and maintaining our crossdraft kiln named “Julia”. Participants in this workshop will learn the fundamentals of atmospheric soda firing. The class will be instructed in the safety and care of the equipment as well as guided through the firing process. This workshop includes instruction on glazing, wadding the ceramic pieces, loading the kiln, firing the kiln, and kiln maintenance, with special instruction in Tab Link’s processes and firing techniques.
- An artist talk about their studio practice and history with firing
- Presentation on the History of Sodium based firing practices
- Presentation on the Basic Chemistry of Sodium Glazing
Presentations will cover information on both salt and soda firings, their similarities/differences, and shared histories.
Participants will bring bisque-ware to be fired as bare clay or with slipped surfaces. There will be an assortment of flashing slips and glazes to apply to the bisqueware on loading day for those who choose to use them. Each participant gets 1 cubic foot of firing space.(Tip; Make sure all your pots fit approximately into a milk crate which is 1 cubic foot of space).
About your Instructors
Tab Link
Tab Link (They/Them) is a midwestern artist who investigates control, self-presentation, and outward perception through functional ceramic objects and atmospheric firing. They have been firing atmospheric kilns—salt, soda, and wood—since 2011. Tab apprenticed with Gary Carstens at Mississippi Mud Studios and received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018. They are currently based in Madison, WI, where they maintain their personal studio practice and serve as an instructor and studio technician at both the Madison School and Community Recreation Pottery Studio and The Kiln Shed.
While Tab’s home base has always been the Midwest, their passion has led them to pursue atmospheric firing opportunities and residencies nationwide. They have been a long-term resident at Sonoma Ceramics in California, a short-term resident at Township10 in North Carolina, and have led or participated in atmospheric firings across 6 states and in 14 different kilns. Through firing various styles of kilns, Tab not only develops their own practice but also explores the dynamics around firing teams, knowledge sharing, and influence. They strive to document and share findings on materials and processes, and to encourage and expand access in the ceramics community.
https://tablinkhandworks.com/
Podcast Recording about Tab Link
Interview with Tab Link in the Sonoma Index Tribune
Daniel Clauson
Daniel is a Queer and Trans Artist focusing mostly in ceramics. Dan utilizes their past experiences of gender dysphoria, relationships, and ‘home’ to influence their work. Connecting contradicting ideas of love and pain, trauma and acceptance, intimacy and ambiguity. From the University of Washington, Daniel received a Bachelors in Art in the 3D4M department, as well as a minor in Art History. Daniel has attended both the University of Colorado (Boulder) and the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) as a Post Baccalaureate in ceramics. This past Fall, they were one of the 2022 artists in residences at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.
Membership has its benefits
All Silver Memberships and above receive 10% off the registration cost for any class purchase over $40.
Materials fees are not discounted.
Become a member today and find community, connection, and creativity.
Class FAQ
We ask that you notify us at least 10 days in advance of a class if you need to cancel your registration. You may cancel by phone or email and we will gladly offer you a refund or credit toward a future class. If you cancel with less than 10 days’ notice, we will not be able to provide refunds, due to our contractual obligations and material purchases for each class.
Sometimes, the Sonoma Community Center has to cancel a class due to low enrollment or unforeseen circumstances, such as a natural disaster or health emergency. If this happens and we do not offer a reschedule date, you will be refunded 100% of your registration fee (minus the payment processing and services fee), or credit towards a future class. If we are able to offer a reschedule date but you are unable to make the new date, we will gladly offer credit towards a future class.
All credits must be used within 1 year.
You can view our full class policies and guidelines here.
The Sonoma Community Center is committed to creating an accessible learning environment. If you require any special considerations(medical, physical, learning) please share them with Sean Baskin, Program Associate, by emailing him at [email protected] so that he can forward them to the relevant Program Director and Instructor.
Late additions to any program, class, or workshop that has already begun will be allowed on a per-case basis depending upon the Program Director & instructors approval. Late additions will have to pay the full registration cost of the class, along with any materials fees, and will not be prorated for the time missed. You may reach out to the program directors directly, or the Program Associate Sean Baskin at [email protected] to request a late addition.
We are always looking for new instructors. You can fill out the form directly here.
Visiting Artist Tab Link; Mid Range Soda Firing Workshop
Learn soda firing with visiting artist Tab Link: load, fire & maintain a crossdraft kiln. Covers glazing, chemistry & atmospheric techniques. 3-day workshop.
Schedule
Saturday, June 20: 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday, June 21: 10 Am – 6 PM
Tuesday, June 23: 4 PM – 7 PM
This Session
Saturday, June 20, 2026 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location
Experience Level
Intermediate and AdvancedAge(s)
17 and 18-overRegistration
Registration Cost:
$295
Materials Fee:
Included
Total Registration Cost:
$295
