Professional Mentorship for Emerging and
Mid-Career Artists with Julie Moon
Form & Surface Decoration
8-Session Program + Professional Documentation + Group Exhibition
Join Toronto-based ceramic artist Julie Moon for a unique mentorship designed for emerging and mid-career artists ready to deepen their relationship with clay. Open to both functional and sculptural makers using handbuilding and surface design techniques, this program offers a supportive space to refine your creative voice, strengthen technical skills, and explore new professional directions in clay.
Drawing on her international experience in teaching, residencies, and exhibitions, Julie brings a generous, thoughtful approach to mentorship - rooted in her belief that ceramics is both a deeply personal practice and a powerful means of cultural connection.
Through one-on-one dialogue, group discussions, hands-on feedback, and shared reflections on process and inspiration, participants will be encouraged to push creative boundaries while embracing the joyful, tactile nature of clay.
The mentorship will culminate in a group exhibition at The Lost & Found in Toronto, with professional photos taken of the exhibited work.
Program Overview
Location: Julie Moon’s Studio, downtown Toronto
Schedule: 3rd Saturday of each month, starting October 18, 2025
Time: 10 - 4 p.m.
Bring lunch or visit a nearby restaurant.
Artists will be encouraged to bring in-progress work, research, sketches, plans, tests and samples to each session for feedback and development. Participants are expected to supply their own clay, materials, tools, and firings.
Cost: $1000 plus HST for FUSION members. This fee includes professional photography and the exhibition. A payment plan can be arranged.
One bursary is available. Please review the application form to apply. Applicants are also invited to apply for a FUSION Scholarship to request funding for this mentorship.
What you’ll gain from this mentorship:
Clarifying Creative Direction
Participants will define personal goals and artistic intentions, identifying specific areas of focus such as form, surface, or conceptual development.
Exploration & Experimentation
The program encourages testing new techniques and materials, with an emphasis on pushing boundaries in form, surface treatment, and process.
Concept & Body of Work Development
Artists will deepen their thematic or narrative focus, working toward a cohesive body of work through sketches, mock-ups, or prototypes.
Technical Growth
Participants will refine their skills in handbuilding and surface design, address individual technical challenges, and enhance both structure and function in their work.
Surface & Finishing Techniques
The program offers opportunities to experiment with glazing, decoration, and other surface treatments, with guidance on creating visual cohesion and refining studio practices.
Professional Development
Artists will receive support in writing artist statements and bios, preparing work for exhibitions or open calls, and learning how to present their work professionally.
Individualized Feedback
Each participant will benefit from one-on-one mentoring, with focused feedback on both creative direction and technical execution.
Exhibition Preparation
The program concludes with a group critique, final refinements, and collaborative planning for a public exhibition, celebrating participants’ progress and achievements.
Who Should Apply?
This mentorship is ideal for emerging and mid-career artists looking to grow in community, take creative risks, and gain practical experience preparing for exhibition. Whether you work sculpturally or functionally, handbuild or throw, this program welcomes all ceramic voices.
Let clay be your voice. Let this be your next step.
Application deadline: September 9, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
This mentorship is open to all members of FUSION. Not a member? Join today and become part of an amazing community.
Julie Moon
Julie Moon is a Toronto based ceramic artist. Her dedication to her practice is motivated by material and process. The universality and tactile qualities of working with clay offers a refreshing contrast to our screen-dominated lives. The surface of her sculpture and vessel works is a canvas for expressing individualism and diversity. Julie often draws from popular culture, using an accessible visual language that resonates with broad audiences. Her work pays homage to the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 70’s and 80’s, while embracing the inclusive spirit of the 1960’s and 70’s counterculture movement. Simultaneously, Julie’s admiration for the bold and clear aesthetics of modernism and post-modernism, is also very apparent.
