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Sculpting the Expressive Face with Andréa Keys Connell: May 29th-31st, 2026

from $550.00

Description: This hands-on workshop is all about the expressive potential of the human face! Participants will dive into the essential features such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, skin, and the head as a whole with a focus on gesture, emotion, and form. Through demos and in-depth conversations, we’ll explore the subtle shifts that bring a face to life and practice problem solving strategies for tackling complex shapes.

Participants will leave with a series of small studies and a finished head sculpture that puts their new skills to use. Andrea will demonstrate both solid and hollow building techniques. While this isn’t an anatomy class, it is a workshop about learning to see more clearly and sculpt with intention. Some clay experience is helpful, but not required. Curiosity and a willingness to play are most important.

Fee: $550. Fee includes the workshop, materials provided by the instructor, and a $20 non-refundable registration fee.

Location: 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC 28740

Date & Time: May 29th-31st. 10am -5pm

Level: Some clay experience is helpful, but not required. Curiosity and a willingness to play are most important.

Format: Demonstration and Hands-On

Firing: Bisque firing is available for an additional $30. See options below. Participants are encouraged to pick up fired works. Shipping is available for an extra fee.

Accommodations: Our “not so tiny” tiny home, The Casita, is located just steps from the teaching studio. This newly constructed home can accommodate 2 adults and has a full kitchen and bath. Additional accommodations can be found in the workshop guide here.

Cancellation policy: 100% refund if we can fill your spot. 50% refund if we cannot fill your spot. No refund will be provided for cancellations received less than 2 weeks prior to the workshop date. We kindly ask that you refrain from participating if you are sick or have been in close contact with others who are sick. Our goal is to keep everyone healthy!

Workshop Guide: Thisguide includes important information specific to this workshop such as tools, materials, and more.

Waitlist: If a workshop is sold out, add the workshop to your cart, enter your email address and you will be notified when a spot opens.

Option:

Description: This hands-on workshop is all about the expressive potential of the human face! Participants will dive into the essential features such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, skin, and the head as a whole with a focus on gesture, emotion, and form. Through demos and in-depth conversations, we’ll explore the subtle shifts that bring a face to life and practice problem solving strategies for tackling complex shapes.

Participants will leave with a series of small studies and a finished head sculpture that puts their new skills to use. Andrea will demonstrate both solid and hollow building techniques. While this isn’t an anatomy class, it is a workshop about learning to see more clearly and sculpt with intention. Some clay experience is helpful, but not required. Curiosity and a willingness to play are most important.

Fee: $550. Fee includes the workshop, materials provided by the instructor, and a $20 non-refundable registration fee.

Location: 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC 28740

Date & Time: May 29th-31st. 10am -5pm

Level: Some clay experience is helpful, but not required. Curiosity and a willingness to play are most important.

Format: Demonstration and Hands-On

Firing: Bisque firing is available for an additional $30. See options below. Participants are encouraged to pick up fired works. Shipping is available for an extra fee.

Accommodations: Our “not so tiny” tiny home, The Casita, is located just steps from the teaching studio. This newly constructed home can accommodate 2 adults and has a full kitchen and bath. Additional accommodations can be found in the workshop guide here.

Cancellation policy: 100% refund if we can fill your spot. 50% refund if we cannot fill your spot. No refund will be provided for cancellations received less than 2 weeks prior to the workshop date. We kindly ask that you refrain from participating if you are sick or have been in close contact with others who are sick. Our goal is to keep everyone healthy!

Workshop Guide: Thisguide includes important information specific to this workshop such as tools, materials, and more.

Waitlist: If a workshop is sold out, add the workshop to your cart, enter your email address and you will be notified when a spot opens.

Andréa Keys Connell (b. 1980) is an Associate Professor of Ceramics at Appalachian State University. Her sculptural work has been featured in The New York Times, Colossal, and exhibited internationally, including the Jane Hartsook Gallery (NYC) and the Gaya Culture and Art Center (Korea). With over 20 solo exhibitions since 2009, she is represented by Blue Spiral 1 (Asheville, NC) and J Mackey Gallery (East Hamptons, NY). In addition to her studio practice, Andréa engages in public art and collaborative projects—most recently with Susan Alexandra, featured in Wirecutter. A passionate educator, she has taught workshops at Penland, Haystack, Arrowmont, and The Met, and has presented as a demonstrating artist at NCECA, Women Working in Clay, and The Bascom. Her work is rooted in storytelling, community, and the transformative power of craft.

“My sculptures emerge from the deep presence of love, longing, humor, and grief that have shaped my life since becoming a mother. Each piece seeks to express the universal, nonverbal experience of motherhood—that intimate space where joy and sorrow coexist, transforming how I see and move through the world. Figures and natural forms lean, support, and embrace—sometimes in harmony, sometimes on the verge of collapse. In my studio, a sculpture about holding sits beside one about breaking. These ideas are inseparable: we hold to avoid breaking, and we break because we understand the weight of holding. I work with a gritty, earthen clay body rich in sand, grog, and fiber. Its raw, vulnerable surface mirrors the emotional terrain I navigate. My process is fast, responsive, and urgent—reflecting the interrupted, chaotic beauty of life as a working mother. I reject the notion that solitude is required for meaningful art. My life is my practice. The mess, the interruptions, the care—they’re all part of it. Motherhood has given me a language to explore what I value most: the ways we care for each other, and how that care reshapes us.”

Follow Along: @andreakconnell

Learn More: andreakeys.com