Saturday August 1, 2026 | 2:00 – 4:00pm
Location: RU House at Colonels Row, Building #404B on Governors Island (map)
Ferry information | Video directions
Free Workshop, Limited to 12 participants. If you require any accessibility accommodations, please let us know at info@residencyunlimited.org when you RSVP and we will be happy to assist.
RSVP required.
In this family-friendly workshop led by Elisa Bertaglia (2023 RU Alum), participants are invited to explore the tactile possibilities of clay through traditional hand-building techniques. Drawing inspiration from the natural environment of Governors Island, participants will have the opportunity to observe, collect, and incorporate natural elements into their creative process. Using clay as a medium for observation, imagination, and play, participants will create a small tea cup by hand using either the pinching or the coiling techniques, drawing inspiration from natural forms, textures, colors and suggestions of the island.
The workshop encourages participants to engage with clay through touch and experimentation, fostering a creative dialogue between nature and art through a hands-on making experience. Colored slips and ceramic pigments will be provided to decorate and personalize each piece before firing. Finished works will be glazed and fired after the workshop.
Participants may collect their completed pieces approximately four weeks later at PowerHouse Arts, 322 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215, by coordinating a pickup date and time with Elisa Bertaglia (info@elisabertaglia.com).
No prior experience is necessary, and all materials are provided.
About
Elisa Bertaglia is an Italian visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her artistic practice is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, through which she explores multiple layers of experimentation across a range of media and techniques. Bertaglia has exhibited internationally at museums, institutions, and galleries, including Art and Science at the Guggenheim Museum, Venice, Italy (2010); the 54th Venice Biennale, Academy Pavilion, Arsenale, Venice, Italy (2011); CAF – Nebula at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan (2019); Hic Sunt Leones at Palazzo Madama, Turin, Italy (2020); and the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA), New York (2025).
Recently, Bertaglia was awarded an artist residency at the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art in New York City. She has also been selected to participate in a three-month artist residency at Officine Saffi Foundation in 2027.
Her work has been recognized through numerous awards and selections, including the Exibart Prize (Rome, Italy), Arte Laguna Prize (Venice, Italy), Sunny Art Prize (London, United Kingdom), OTTN (Milan, Italy), and the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation (Venice, Italy). Bertaglia has previously participated in artist residencies at the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (New York), the ESKFF Residency Program at MANA Contemporary (Jersey City), Kunstraum (Brooklyn), and Dolomiti Contemporanee and Progetto Borca (Italy). One of her paintings has been acquired by the Bronx Museum. Her work is also included in several permanent collections, including the Collection of the City of Milan, Banca Sistema, and the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation.
Bertaglia is represented by SARAHCROWN (New York, USA), Officine Saffi Foundation and Galleria Martina Corbetta (Italy), and MZ Gallery (Germany).
In-kind support is provided by Materials for the Arts.
RU is grateful for the partnership with Governors Island Arts.
