The Ultimate Guide to NCECA: Tips for Navigating the National Ceramic Arts Conference (From an Introvert's Perspective)

If you aren't familiar with it, NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) is an annual clay conference in the US—basically 6,000+ clay artists descend on a city for four days to talk about all things clay and pottery.

It's pretty rad, but it can also be overwhelming. So here is my short guide to navigating NCECA.

If you're heading to NCECA this year, read on for my tips on how to navigate this big ceramic arts event so that you don't lose your mind.

Planning Your NCECA Experience

Here are some of my strategies (gleaned from a couple of NCECA melt-downs):

1. You can't do it all – even when you are at NCECA you will have NCECA FOMO (fear of missing out). Make peace with the fact that you will miss stuff, and instead focus on the pottery events you really want to see.
2. Read the Program Guide & Download the NCECA app – see what catches your eye, and then save the sessions and clay artist demonstrations that you want to get to in the app so you can find them later. This will help you with #3:
3. Pick 3-5 priorities – things you don't want to miss, then build the rest of your time around them.
4. Leave time for the unexpected – inevitably you'll hear about an exhibition/talk/event that you shouldn't miss, so don't be afraid to change course. Oh, and if the ceramic workshop you thought was going to be amazing kinda sucks? Just leave and go do something else.
5. Get out of the convention centre – see some shows!!! One of my favourite things about NCECA now is seeing all the incredible work and exploring the city's unique clay scene.
6. Wear comfortable shoes & bring snacks – there will be lots of walking between pottery events, be comfortable! And food in the convention centre is usually expensive, not to mention long lines and not that healthy.
7. The Keynote Lecture and Emerging Artist Lectures are often the highlight for me so these are definitely worth checking out for any serious clay artist.

Navigating the Conference Spaces

Here are some other tips for making the most of the ceramic conference:

Resource Hall Strategies

The Resource Hall is a great place to stock up on new pottery tools and check out what's new in the field of ceramics. I like going on Wednesday before it is too hectic and picked over. Booths often give out free samples or have deals on new products! Here's a list of some of my all-time favourite tools for hand-building pottery. 

Exhibition Spaces

Same goes for the Expo Hall Gallery (usually in the same room as the Resource Hall). This is where galleries from across the country have pop-up gallery shows of ceramic artwork. And there is always an exhibit by the Emerging Artists too. This all usually opens on the Tuesday evening, so that's a fun way to kick off the conference (and buy some pots!). 

Supporting the Clay Community

The NCECA Cup Sale is a great way to support this awesome organization (you can donate a cup which will be sold to support ceramic arts scholarships), and also a great way to see what other potters are making.

Connect with others

Say hi to people! If you recognize a maker you admire, don't be afraid to say hi. So many of us work alone in our pottery studios much of the year, so it's nice to connect with others at ceramic events like NCECA. 

Self-Care Tips for Potters at NCECA

AKA: An Introvert's Survival Guide to NCECA 🤓

1. Know your limits: my rule is I generally don't sit down to dinner with more than three other people. It's just too stressful to find a place to eat, or to have a meaningful conversation about ceramic techniques. Oh, and if you're a foodie, making reservations in advance is a good idea. Local hot-spots fill up fast during the conference as so many potters are also foodies. 
2. Take some time for yourself: maybe it's in the morning, or a mid-day break from the ceramic demonstrations, but prioritise recharging your own battery.
3. Consider focusing on depth rather than breadth – maybe this means camping out in the demonstrating artist rooms and hanging out for the afternoon – sure you'll "miss" out on other pottery workshops, but you'll also get a rich experience watching a couple of incredible clay artists.
4. Sometimes a good cry and a snack is all you need to reset from the overwhelm. Or is that just me? 😅

If you love geeking out over clay and are looking to expand your creative connections, NCECA is a ceramic conference you'll definitely want to add to your clay bucket-list.

Here's a photo from NCECA 2023 when I presented my Handle It workshop as part of the process room. It was a ton of fun seeing so many passionate clay artists in one place!