WORKSHOP | Characters in Clay | Lee Nelms

Image | Pinch Pots | Photo by Lee Nelms

Join ceramic artist Lee Nelms for a playful pinch pot workshop. In this relaxed and welcoming session, you will start by forming a simple pinch pot from air-dray clay before shaping and adding facial features to create a unique character.

Guided by Lee's character-driven approach, you will experiment with form, texture and personality as your clay face takes shape. Drawing on her fascination with the human face and sculptural expression, Lee will demonstrate how subtle gestures in clay can bring a character to life.

Perfect for beginners, this workshop offers a supportive environment where curiosity and experimentation are encouraged.

This workshop is presented as part of UPSTAGEING Canberra, Australia's first large-scale Creative Ageing Arts Festival celebrating the bold and diverse creative expression of older Canberrans.

What you will be doing

Learn to create an expressive clay face using simple pinch pot techniques
Create your own pinch pot to take home at the end of the session

What you will need to bring
All materials are provided.

This workshop is best suited for

All ages
Beginners welcome

About the artist

Lee Nelms creates ceramic works that are quirky, character-driven and often subtly distorted, sitting at the intersection of past and present. Each form emerges from personal experiences and the emotions attached to them, allowing her hands to speak where words cannot. Fascinated by the human face and sculptural expression, she continues to refine a practice that blends emotional resonance with playful physicality.

Lee works across hand-building and altered wheel-throwing techniques, using a range of clays in electric, oil and wood kilns. Her work has been exhibited in a group exhibition and recognised through an Emerging Makers Award and exhibition. She has been stocked at Feldmark Winter Gallery in Cooma, contributing to the growing public presence of her work.

About UPSTAGEING Canberra

UPSTAGEING Canberra is Australia’s first large-scale Creative Ageing Arts Festival, celebrating the bold, brilliant and diverse creative expression of older Canberrans. Launching in March 2026, the festival will feature performances, exhibitions, arts workshops, and plenty of opportunities to get involved in arts activities – all created by, for, and with older people.

Spanning visual arts, theatre, music, dance, film and beyond, UPSTAGEING Canberra champions artistic excellence, inclusive practice, and the health and wellbeing benefits of creativity later in life.

Accessibility at the Venue
This workshop is hosted at Craft + Design Canberra. Please note there is a lift from the ground-floor foyer if you are not able to use the stairs. 

We are an LGBTIAQ+ friendly venue. 

If you have any specific requests, please email programs@craftanddesigncanberra.org.

Support Artists and Learn from the Best  

Craft + Design Canberra workshops provide an opportunity for audiences to learn from the unique skillsets of our members: individuals who are highly regarded in their fields as artists, designers, and craftspeople.

Craft + Design Canberra prides itself on paying fair rates of pay to our artists as recommended by NAVA (the National Association for the Visual Artists). Our artists are the best in their fields and deserve fair remuneration. Audiences attending our activities learn from the best.

Craft + Design Canberra is a not-for-profit membership-based organisation supporting artists, craft practitioners, designers and makers at every stage of their careers.  Craft + Design Canberra workshops are designed to create opportunities for our members to showcase their skills, engage with community and earn incomes.

Find our full program here.

Cancellation Policy

15 days prior: Customers are entitled to a full refund on request. 

Less than 14 days: Customers are not entitled to a refund. Customers are entitled to a ticket transfer to a friend or family member. 

Donations

Support Craft + Design Canberra to create greater opportunities for our community of craftspeople and designers, and for the growing audience who admire and appreciate the beauty, skill and excellence of their work.

Your generosity supports our organisation as an advocate for contemporary craft and design in Canberra and beyond. Help us to shape a handmade and creative future through exhibitions, events, residencies, professional development and commissions, as well as the biennial Craft + Design Canberra Festival.

Craft + Design Canberra has been endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) and is registered as a charity (as Craft + Design Canberra) with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission ABN: 33314092587. All donations of $2 or more will be tax deductible if you live in Australia.

Thank you for your generous support, even a small amount can make a big difference to those who MAKE.