The word was out about one of the area’s largest all-pottery shows featuring works by more than fifty area potters. There were yard signs, save-the-date picture post cards, an ad in the Star-Sentinel and word-of-mouth buzz to entice the congenial crowd that showed up Friday night, October 9 at still-new-to-many Patrick Henry High School.
Knowledgeable pottery lovers quickly filled up shopping baskets lent by local businesses for the weekend event, understanding that each piece, even though desired for its functional or decorative value, is a one-of-a-kind work of art. In short, if you hesitate, that perfect indigo blue and cream sauce bowl by Martha Legg of Mud Puddle Pottery may not be there five minutes later. Potters browsed, admiring each other’s offerings as well as explaining their own techniques and inspirations to friends and to people there just to see what all the excitement was about. Prices ranged from $5 to more than $100 per piece.
The purpose of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild is to promote the craft of pottery to their members and the public through programs, exhibits, educational outreach and shows such as this one. Nan Fooks, Guild membership chairman, takes classes at the Brambleton Center in Roanoke County, the largest public pottery studio in the area, she was enthusiastically sharing her love for the potter’s craft with people of all ages and interests that were drawn to her booth stocked with her lovely signature moss green pieces.
Guild member Mary Tousman, a talented artist and writer as well as a potter, invited visitors to express their own artistic response to her imaginative works of clay sculpture, including decorative clay masks, hand-painted herb bowls and candle holders in the form of bee hives with bee-body handles.
The sale of pottery continued on Saturday and Sunday and featured demos that let the public see pottery techniques including hand-thrown, hand-built, sculpted clay art. For children there were many more “hands-on” activities.
The smiling new owners of Guild member pottery items showcase the success of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild motto: “To Share Knowledge and Appreciation of Ceramics.” To be sure, pottery is a craft that is gaining attention and a devoted following among the arts in the Roanoke area.
By Gail Tansill Lambert [email protected]
