Open Studio Hours
Exclusive Workshops
Artist Lectures
SCG ART Program Events
Blue Line Arts offers the following activities as a special opportunity for our community to meet with the artist and learn about her craft first hand
SCG Workshop l with Ray Gonzales | Ceramics Workshop
Through engaging, hands-on activities, you’ll learn versatile clay-building techniques such as slab, coil, pinch, and paddling. You will build your own unique ceramic piece of your choice of a beautifully…
SCG Workshop ll with Ray Gonzales | Raku Firing Techniques
Experience the excitement of Raku pottery in this immersive, one-day workshop! Designed for ceramic enthusiasts, this class focuses on the dynamic and fast-paced firing technique rooted in 16th-century the Japanese…
SCG Artist Lecture with Ray Gonzales
Ray Gonzales is a ceramic artist whose work is deeply rooted in storytelling, history, and cultural tradition. Drawn to clay for its tactile and narrative qualities, he sees the material…
SCG Open Studio Hours with Ray Gonzales
“I work in clay. It has always, always been clay for me. The tactile, visual and narrative qualities are what drew me in and have kept me focused since my…
Ray Gonzales2025 Local SCG Resident & Teaching Artist
I work in clay. It has always, always been clay for me. The tactile, visual and narrative qualities are what drew me in and have kept me focused since my beginnings on this humble and incredible material. The endless possibilities keep me riveted. The contemporary, the historic, the ancient and the cultural works in clay provide endless inspiration for me. I see myself in it.
My sculptures are narratives. Stories of my experiences as well as reflections of world events- both past and present, historical and personal. My ancestry and cultural traditions are paramount to me and oftentimes included in the works.
My wheelworks include both traditional and contemporary directions. Color, form, surface and scale are included in my process when creating these works. I am constantly exploring variations with clays, glazes, raw surfaces and multiple firing techniques using electric and gas fired kilns as well as Raku and primitive firings. Life is good.
~Ray Gonzales
Need Financial Assistance? Attend an SCG ART Workshop for FREE
Stipends for free workshop registrations are available for Local Artists (residing in Placer and surrounding counties: Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado, Nevada County ) and are generously provided by the Placer Community Foundation.
Applications are due by 11:59pm on Friday, April 4th, 2025
How It All Started
The Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist in Residence and Teaching (SCG ART) Program is a lasting gift to the many artists, arts educators and students, and arts enthusiasts we are fortunate to have in our community. The program represents a significant part of Susan’s lasting legacy–as a beloved local artist and environmental advocate.
The ART program works to develop and enhance the visual arts through short-term residencies and workshops taught by nationally-established and highly reputable artists who create in a range of media.
Since 2023, this program has been expanded as a twice annual opportunity for artists to apply. One for Local Artists (residing in Placer and surrounding counties) and the other for a National Artist residing anywhere in the United States. To apply, please check out our upcoming Calls to Artists.
Past visiting artists include:
- 2025 Ray Gonzales
- 2024 Ruth Ellen Hoag
- 2024 Marsha Godoy Schindler
- 2023 Kevin Snipes
- 2023 Jennifer Rugge
- 2022: Mark Abildgaard
- 2021: Jason Walker
- 2019: Ana Lisa Hedstrom
- 2018: Michelle Gregor
- 2017: Karen Willenbrink-Johnson
- 2016: Phoebe Toland
- 2015: Sergei Isupov
- 2014: Tip Toland
- 2013: Laura Ross Paul
- 2012: Katherine Ace
- 2011: Richard Notkin
To learn more about Susan Cooley-Gilliom and this lasting gift to the community, visit The Placer Community Foundation.
In 2010 the Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist in Residence and Teaching (ART)
Program was established at Placer Community Foundation through an
endowed gift made in memory of Susan by her family and the Sky View
Foundation. The ART program represents a lasting legacy to the beloved
local artist and environmental advocate. Short-term residencies and
workshops taught by established and highly-reputable artists are offered to
develop and enhance the visual arts in Placer County. To learn more about
Susan and this lasting gift to community, visit placercf.org.