First Annual Demo & Sale This Saturday: The Potters' Guild of Florida's Gulf Coast

Poster designed by Thom Gleason, Clearwater.

Almost as fascinating as watching a pot emerge from the clay is watching a new organization emerge from a group of disparate but like-minded people. In this case, it's The Potters' Guild of the Florida Gulf Coast that has been gathering and growing over the last several months, mostly at the invitation of clay artist Glenn Woods.

Woods' distinctive expanded pottery style has earned him a name here and in Illinois --as well as elsewhere, I'm sure -- and partner, Keith Herbrand, have opened their home/studio the first Wednesday evening of the last few months to "those who love and work with clay either as a profession or a hobby - all skill levels," as Glenn wrote in an email.

Expanded pottery by Glenn Woods, Palm Harbor

After the all-important snack-and-social time and a business meeting, someone demonstrates a skill or technique.

"So far," Glenn writes, "we have had demonstrations on carving in rubber blocks used to print patterns in slabs, measuring and calculating specific gravity for the purpose of mixing glazes that are consistent, and using sewer cloth with clay projects."

This Saturday the group presents their first showcase and sales event, also being held at Woods'/Herbrand's home. For some people, this will be their first attempt to market their work, and they can learn the art of displaying their work from the more experienced artists.

Poster designed by Glenn Woods, Palm Harbor  

"All kinds of clay works will be there at every skill level and at every price level," writes Woods. "It is my hope that all will do well and the Potters' Guild Annual Pottery Sale will become known for this very broad range of work, as inclusive as possible."

I'll be there, too.

I met Glenn through the Dunedin Fine Arts Center, where he is on the faculty as a clay instructor.

  

I've learned a lot --make that a LOT -- at DFAC, but the world of clay is bigger than any one teacher, studio, school, or location . The Potters' Guild isn't affiliated with any of the area studios, so it's a good place to meet other clay enthusiasts and to learn even more.

 Saturday's pottery market offers a lot of pottery styles and techniques in one place. Demos, too.

See you there!

Saggar-fired burnished ware by Lee Anderson, Safety Harbor

Note: Bogie Lane is on the north side of Curlew Rd. between Keene/County Road 1 and Bayshore Blvd.

Pot in the Park this Saturday? (GASP!)

Left: Muted Melodies, my entry in this year's Student & Member Show at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. Sagar fired.

Yup. I'll be doing pot-tery at Art-in-the-Park in Oldsmar this Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. No smoking, this time (as in RAKU, people!). Just throwing.

(Pity our daughter-in-law whose mother takes her Wii game when she travels out of town with her family. One friend misheard and thought she was taking weed with her. "Just what I need," our daughter-in-law said, "a mom who takes her weed with her wherever she goes and a father-in-law who's into pot.")

Finished groaning?

R.E. Olds Park, in Oldsmar, is on the water right at the top of Tampa Bay (directions to the park are below). Sounds as though there will be a great line-up of artists, crafters, and entertainers, including Comic Book artist Mark Pennington, a Paper Airplane artist Dean Mackey, dancers, musicians, spoken word performances, and more!

Look for me next to the concessions stand.

And look for the other half of we right next to me! Anne will be reading from her new book, Insiders' Guide® to the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

R.E. Olds Park is located at 107 Shore Drive West. Take SR580 from either Hillsborough or Pinellas County to St. Petersburg Dr. N. (there's a stoplight there). Turn LEFT if you are coming from Hillsborough County. Turn RIGHT if you are coming from Pinellas County. Either way, you are turning onto St. Petersburg Dr. N. toward Jack Willie's Tiki Bar & Grill. Follow St. Petersburg Dr. N. to Bayview Blvd. Turn RIGHT and go to Shore Drive W. Turn RIGHT and you should see the park. Warning: The Google Map marker shows the park southeast of where it really is.

Found Hiding in the Clay

 

Caught these two creatures hiding in my clay recently. Must have followed me home from North Carolina last November. Any ideas on what I should do with them?

And The Winner Is . . .

Anne here, with a note of thanks to Lee:

Left: Halide K. Smith, a Sarasota composer and artist, won the door prize--a Pegasus series burnished pot donated by Lee--at the Florida State Association, NLAPW, 2009 biennial conference. [Photo by Helene LeBrun, Gainesville branch artist -- thank you for sharing this, Helene!]

The National League of American Pen Women has provided professional women writers, artists, and composers with a national network and support system since 1897. Today, the group has branches in most states and counts many talented women among its members.

Our Florida State Association was very grateful to Lee for donating this piece. As our treasurer noted in her official, but very graciously written, receipt: "Trust me when I tell you that your pottery piece, given out as a door prize at one of our evening meals, was given to a Pen Woman, while an entire room of members sat in pure envy."

I'll second that.

Always Something New to Learn

People sometimes ask me what kind of clay I "do."
My answer?

All of it.

I want to learn how clay works -- what the different types of clay are, how each feels in the hand, and what it does on the wheel.

I want to learn how to form different shapes: How to throw an orb and then open it up into a platter. How to throw large pots that hold their shape. How to create different kinds of necks and bases.

I want to learn different finishing techniques: burnishing, burning, glazing, raku glazing, resist firing, crystalline glazes.

I want to know what happens in the kiln and why. Some people could care less, but I want to know what molecular change is taking place as the piece is heated and as it cools.

Sometimes I just want to see what happens if I try something different.

I could be at this for a very long time.

North Carolina Kiln Opening

What are all these people looking at? Why are they standing around shivering on the Saturday after Thanksgiving?

Under the green roof in the picture above sits a brick-domed wood kiln filled with pitchers and face jugs and other pottery by Traditions Pottery and Bolick Pottery.

Most of the year, these two businesses sell their pottery through a shop in Blowing Rock, online, or to those tourists and locals who take the time to drive out to their workshop. Twice a year, however, they invite the public to their enclave where they live and make their wares. One event in June features pottery throwing demonstrations, music, and other fun.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, however, people come from miles around to have first pick of the work coming out of the wood-fired kiln. Yellow caution tape rings the area around the kiln, keeping the crowd at bay while the kiln is unloaded.


First, however, there is a prayer asking the Lord's blessing on the day and on the work produced. A man with a guitar sings a song. Then the unloading begins.

The first few pieces are easily removed and handed out to the women waiting to give them a quick inspection for firing flaws or cracks. The women afix a price to the items and set the pieces on a large table in full view of the crowd.

The kiln extends back about 16 feet or more, so after the first row is removed a young man -- not too big -- crawls inside to hand out the bulk of the load, many of which have been glazed with Christmas red.

Dark blue is another common color.

People in the crowd huddle together for warmth and pull their hats down over their ears as they watch the table fill with lidded crocks and graceful ewers. You can see people nudge each other and nod as particular pieces emerge and are added to the table.

Once the kiln is emptied and all the items are priced and set on the table, the yellow tape comes down and the crowd rushes forward to claim their chosen items before someone else grabs them. There's some bantering about who had what first, but most seems good-natured and friendly.

Sometimes, after the customer has inspected the item more closely or after they realize they've snatched up six items and only need five, some are returned to the table for someone else to take.

Within twenty minutes or so, however, the table is empty.

Then the crowd works its way down to the building where hot chocolate and goodies are being sold. Some of the pieces need to be smoothed on the bottoms, so the potters turn on their grinders and sanders and provide the finishing touches.

The shops fill with people paying for their prizes and with others looking for items similar to those they wanted but didn't get.

The man with the guitar moves to another gathering area in front of a manger scene and pulls out a banjo.

A dog finds a sunny spot for a snooze and ignores the whole thing.

Life is good.

Highwater Clays: Asheville NC

Not much to look at is it?

Just a sign directing trucks where to turn in off of a road in an industrial warehouse area of Asheville, North Carolina. Cross the railroad tracks, dodge a pothole or two, and pull around back. Drive past the loading dock and park facing the French Broad River or facing the two-story white metal building. No further signs indicate that this is a shrine on at least one potter's pilgrimage.

Namely mine.

The St. Petersburg Clay Company, in St. Petersburg, Florida, has an on-site Highwater Clays store where I buy all my clay. Plus, I often run down there on my lunch hour to pick up clay for the Dunedin Fine Art Center and haul it up in the evening.

But the clay I buy in St. Pete is already mixed, pugged, and bagged. I've read about the mixing process, but reading and seeing are two different things.

So when we drove to North Carolina for Thanksgiving last month, a side trip to the Highwater Clays plant in Asheville was high on my list of want-to-do's. And the nondescript warehouse building exterior didn't diminish my anticipation in the least when we drove up.

Inside, we browsed among many of the same books, tools, and glazes as in St. Petersburg. There was a larger selection, to be sure, and a small gallery type display of area potters' works. But what I really wanted to see was behind the closed swinging doors leading to the main part of the warehouse where pallets of bags of dry clay were stacked pretty much floor to ceiling.

Thanks to Jennifer Hoolihan, ceramic technician at Highwater Clays, I got to do just that. Jennifer escorted the four of us -- my wife, my brother, and his wife -- through the swinging doors and answered our questions about how they put out as many as 32,000 to 35,000 pounds of clay a day using a gigantic, retrofitted, computer-controlled cement mixer to transform raw materials mined from Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia into clays ranging from fine porcelain to coarser raku.

It's always good to know where things come from--and to know that a plain, white warehouse can churn out a whole world of creative possibilities.

Back to the studio . . .