Monthly Archives: November 2021

President’s Message

As the autumn approaches and the days grow shorter, I’d like to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. It’s been raining here in California and for that we must all be grateful. Please continue to take care and stay safe. I hope we all continue to be creative in these crazy times.

With gratitude,

Cheryl

Cheryl Costantini
707 823-0950 potters@sonic.net nichibeipotters.com
Nichibei Shop
@nichibeipotters

CERF+
A huge thank you to the more than 50 members who donated their work to CERF+ to be sold at the CERF+ Booth at the Festival. This was one of the best benefits we have ever had, and raised over $2500 for the CA fund of CERF+. Besides the sale of your donated work, the booth helped spread the word about the amazing work CERF+ is doing and encouraged some donations of money as well.

Thanks all. Keep CERF+ in mind and continue to support it in any way you can.
Jan Schachter and James Aarons – CERF+ booth coordinators

ACGA Exhibition News

SEISMIC STATE

We hope you’ll apply to this upcoming exhibition,”Seismic State: California Ceramics”, which will coincide with the NCECA 2022 conference in Sacramento. It’s open to all of you who live and work in California.

Application deadline: November 15, 2021.
Entry form at EntryThingy.com: https://www.entrythingy.com/d=acga.net#dashboard
Discount entry fee for ACGA members!

Description and Details:
California’s ceramics embody many cultures and traditions, but they also convey a certain freedom & edginess. ACGA is pleased to announce “Seismic State: Ceramics of California”, selected by NCECA as a Venue-Originated Exhibition during its 2022 conference in Sacramento. This show will celebrate sculptural & functional work by artists living & working in the state today. Juror Beth Ann Gerstein’s selections will join pieces by invited artists Ashwini Bhat, Keiko Fukazawa, Ben Medansky, Crystal Morey, Kristen Morgin, Adam Shiverdecker, Cheryl Ann Thomas, Kim Tucker, & Wanxin Zhang.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Association of Clay & Glass Artists of California (ACGA) and hosted by Sparrow Gallery in downtown Sacramento, within walking distance of the NCECA conference. As a Venue-Originated Exhibition, it will be promoted in conference materials as well as printed postcards, social media, and emails from ACGA and Sparrow Gallery.

Juror Beth Ann Gerstein joined AMOCA as Executive Director in 2014, following a twenty-year tenure as Executive Director for The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, Massachusetts. She currently serves on the board of Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine. Gerstein is a former member of the Collections Committee of the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, former board member of the Glass Art Society, and served on the Lifetime Achievement Committee for the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Gerstein holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from Edinboro University.

WEBSITE LIAISON

Remember that if you would like to have your information to appear in the newsletter, you MUST send it to Bonita Cohn at news@acga.net, (Please separate image and text.)

MEMBER NEWS

Jan Schachter and Mari Emori

Jan Schachter (Vases and Vessels Collection), and Mari Emori (Sculpture Collection, cover) are among the winners chosen for the 2022 ICAN Wall Calendars.

https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/ican-membership/contests/calendars

If you are an ICAN member, you can order calendar(s) through the Ceramic Arts Network Shop with a member discount (20% off). It would be a lovely holiday gift!

Katy Kuhn and Kris Marubayashi – ‘Chain of Events’

October 1 – November 9. Desta Gallery,
100 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley

Vicki Gunter

Vicki is in Skulls and Roses – Remembrance and Rebirth, at Artworks Downtown San Rafael.

Skulls and Roses is about remembrance, rebirth and transformation in correlation with San Rafael’s Día De Los Muertos celebration. To paraphrase juror Camilo Villa: “Remembering and honoring life is one of the most powerful tools art has offered since ancient communities imprinted beliefs and practices in their cave paintings. Art allows us to understand our ancestors in order to understand and honor where we come from. These exhibiting artworks will immerse the audience in the process of birth, life, and death. Drawing the audience in to question what it means to live and die in this world today.”

Garden Open Studio and Sale!

Forrest Lesch-Middelton – TILE SECONDS SALE!

It’s that time of year again and this time our 2nds Sale will be bigger than ever… I know we’ve said that before but we’re moving studios in the new year so we’re serious!

In person tile + pottery sale begins this Sunday, Nov. 7th from 10:00am-3:00pm. If you are looking for pottery seconds this will be your best day to come by. Sale continues Monday- Friday by appointment, email flmceramics@gmail.com to schedule a time to shop. More dates and times on our website.
Online sale begins Nov. 15th.

As always, prices drop as the sale goes on but for the best quality tile shop early!

Nancy Yturriaga Adams – HOLIDAY OPEN STUDIO

Morning Glory Bluebird Tea
10″H x 7″W x 5″D

6909 Thompson Creek Rd
Applegate, Oregon

December 3, 4, & 6, 2021
Friday Saturday Sunday
10am-4pm or by appointment
541-846-1777
www.nancyadams.net

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/nancyadamsclayartist
Instagram: nancy_y_adams

We are fully vaccinated here. Mask appropriately.

Berkeley Potters Guild Celebrates 50 Years

After Thousands of Pots and Tons of Clay, the Berkeley Potters Guild Celebrates 50 Years.

Authors: Diane Blacker (Former Guild and ACGA Member) and Pamela Zimmerman (Current, longtime Guild President)

Twenty-one years ago, in the Spring of 2000, a notice appeared on the bulletin board in the entrance to the Berkeley Potters Guild informing its eighteen members the building was for sale. We all knew this might happen someday. Nonetheless, when I walked into our building and read the sign, I stood there in shock. Eighteen potters might soon be scrambling for new places to work.

The owners, called Clayshares, consisted of the original potters who first rented the space in 1971 and others who bought shares along the way. Clayshares had kept rents affordable for nearly 30 years, a rarity for workspace in Berkeley. Now reaching retirement age, they were ready to cash out. They offered the Guild first option to buy, with a discounted asking price, but even that was beyond the means of most of us.
Moments after I had read our building was for sale, a friend rang the doorbell. Pivoting quickly, I welcomed him in and showed him the sign. “You won’t believe this!” Rich exclaimed. “I just had a conversation with a neighbor who wants to buy a building for artists in Berkeley!” His neighbor had recently adopted two children and wanted this purchase to be an investment for them. Rich’s neighbor came to see the building the next day, and as I watched her, wide-eyed while she toured the large space with its warren of working studios and multiple kilns, I knew I had met our new landlady. By the Fall, it was a done deal. We had a 25-year lease.

In buying the building, the new owner rescued the oldest continuously operating ceramic studio in Berkeley. And we got a dream landlady, her kindness and generosity cannot be overstated. She not only has given us a 25-year lease, but she has also taken good care of the building and has never interfered with our operation. During the pandemic, she gave everyone a month’s free rent. She enabled the Berkeley Potters Guild to reach its 50th Anniversary!

The Guild was born in the 1970’s, on the heels of a world-wide cultural revolution of which California, and Berkeley in particular, was a major center. It was a heady, creatively explosive time. Young people were coming together from all over the country to make art and make a living by selling their work. A few of these artists were potters in Berkeley who worked in a building that became condemned. They found a new home in an 8,000 square-foot barren warehouse in West Berkeley and signed a five-year lease. In their first year they built all of the inside walls, including three lofts, and carved out 18 individual studio spaces, all still standing today. They built six natural-gas kilns for high-temperature firing and managed to hold a very successful sale (even by today’s standards) at the end of the year. After renewing the lease for another five years, they bought the building, and went on to create one of the most successful working spaces for ceramic artists in the Bay Area.

Many people have worked at the Guild over the last 50 years. While potters have come and gone, the Guild has survived, mainly because of the structure of the organization. The Guild provides a place for ceramicists – both skilled professionals and developing artists – to work independently. Each member runs and owns their own business, and each owns their own equipment. They come together to hold two well-attended sales a year – a two-week Spring Sale and a four-week Holiday Sale. They also participate together in annual community events such as the East Bay Open Studios and Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios.

Another factor for the Guild’s longevity is that Guild members are all voting board members with equal say in Guild matters. Their excellent bylaws, which have not changed much, have been indispensable in resolving issues over the years. Also, the Guild never had to relocate, something that most certainly would have dispersed its members.

The Guild not only provides workspace for its members; it provides community. It is a place of acceptance and encouragement. Members are colleagues who support each other’s creative and professional development. Most members are professionals who make their living with clay; others are learning their craft. As one member said when she arrived, she was not a developed artist; the Guild provided a place where she could grow technically and artistically.

People come and go, but the Guild is stable both as a place to work and as a fixture of the Berkeley art community. It has enjoyed the wonderful support of loyal customers from the Bay Area and beyond. Its semi-annual sales are successful and well attended. Customers love to roam the building through the maze of studios, making b-lines to their favorite artists and also discovering new ones. During the rest of the year, guests visit the Guild’s beautiful gallery, open Saturdays, staffed by members. Their work has been highly regarded throughout the years and shown in fine galleries locally: the Asian Art Museum, the DeYoung Museum, and the Oakland Museum, as well as nationally and internationally.

Another feature of the Guild’s longevity is its ability to adapt to change. With changing membership, studios have been reconfigured, spaces have been combined or divided. Huge gas kilns have been moved around the building. Styles of work have changed as well. From the popular high-fire functional stoneware of the early days, members now also produce fine porcelain and brightly decorated mid-fired ceramics. This means a predominance of electric kilns over gas. There is a fabulous variety of styles and function: from traditional to contemporary, tableware to sculpture, large and small; functional vases and decorative wall pieces; whimsical figures and unique ceramic jewelry. Some work in mixed media, combining clay and fiber. In recent years, one member has branched into working with slumped glass, another has chosen to explore intricate textile work.

The Berkeley Potters Guild has been self-sustaining for 50 years. It has never received grants or subsidies. It has hosted workshops and a ceramic conference featuring renowned potters such as Gary Coleman, Robin Hopper, Chris Gustin, Lana Wilson and Sam Chung, with attendees from across the country.

The Guild has had a profound impact on the Berkeley art scene. Several founding members built private studios within blocks of the building. Our large sales draw art lovers to the area. Over the years, other art groups and private studios have gravitated to the neighborhood. Now, West Berkeley has officially been identified with colorful city banners as “West Berkeley Artisans District”.
The Berkeley Potters Guild survived the pandemic, with lines around the block waiting to enter the 2020 Holiday Show and Spring Seconds Sale. Rejoicing in the celebration of fifty years working in clay, providing a workspace that can accommodate 20 potters, hosting sales and workshops, a weekend Gallery, offering fine ceramics to the greater community.

Linda Mau

In October ACGA lost longtime member Linda Mau to pancreatic cancer. Linda was an emeritus member having joined ACGA in 1980. She was an artist of great skill and a beloved teacher, mentor and friend to many members of ACGA and Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild (OVCAG) as well as numerous ceramic artists in the greater Bay Area. She participated in Clay and Glass for many years and helped with exhibitions, including
ACGA at the Olive Hyde Gallery in Fremont, CA. She pioneered vessel and sculptural forms made of paper clay formed and fired on a metal mesh
armature. She also made beautiful, bold forms in clay using soft slabs supported by tar paper. Linda taught at De Anza College in Cupertino
and more recently at Higher Fire in San Jose. Over the years she was an active and frequent workshop presenter for OVCAG.

The following tribute from Bill Geisinger speaks to Linda’s gifts as a teacher and mentor.
.
“Linda Mau taught at De Anza College as an adjunct professor in ceramics for almost twenty years. She was generally scheduled to teach beginning
and intermediate wheel throwing. The fundamental skills that most students needed to learn. Linda was a gentle and encouraging master
potter. She required students to achieve one skill before moving on to the next level. She encouraged students to be individuals but at the
same time help and share with others. It is this precisely that made Linda a popular and loved teacher. Her students liked the challenges
they were assigned and the responsibility to share their own knowledge or skill.

Linda Mau we miss your energetic attitude and thank you for sharing with us at De Anza College.”

Linda leaves behind her spouse Rich whom she always referred to as her “best friend” and one brother. She also leaves behind a magnificent
body of work and the fond memories of the many potters whose lives she touched.

EXHIBITIONS

NOTE: Some of the dates/activities may no longer be correct, be sure to contact the organizer to confirm.

ALBANY

ABRAMS CLAGHORN GALLERY
“One Nest” investigates balancing what is good for human beings with what is beneficial for other species and the planet – our one nest, our only home, and a shared one. Recognizing that all life and ecosystems on our planet are deeply intertwined, we share these impressions in clay, ink and light. We believe in art as agency for change. Artists, historically, have been both witnesses and the raw material for envisioning the future in challenging and critical times. These ARE critical times. It is critical that we do our art. It is critical to make the peaceful revolutionary changes that allow the world to repair. Look closer with us.
Video Tour: https://abramsclaghornshop.com/collections/one-nest-earthworks

VIDEO TOUR: https://abramsclaghornshop.com/collections/one-nest-earthworks

1251 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706
Tuesday – Sunday | 10-6pm and by appointment

BERKELEY

TRAX GALLERY

Our next exhibition at TRAX gallery in Berkeley, CA is “TABLE COMPANIONS”

TRAX Gallery has five unique Peter Voulkos color lithos
32″ x 24″, 1979, $1000 each, signed, unframed, email for more info.

1812 5th Street, Berkeley, CA  94710
510.540.8729
info@traxgallery.com      www.traxgallery.com

 by appointment –  call: 510.540.8729 or text 510.914.1303

CALLS FOR ENTRY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abrams Claghorn Gallery in Albany Ca is looking for functional pottery to sell on consignment. This is for SF Bay Area artists only.

The shop at Abrams Claghorn would like simple, functional pottery to round out the selection of ceramics offered for sale.
Please send 10 or so images to Gallery@AbramsClaghorn.com. If your work fits with what we are looking for we can make an appointment to meet.

Abrams Claghorn Gallery pairs a curated gallery space with a museum-style store. Abrams Claghorn Gallery has exhibited fine art and functional artworks created by diverse Bay Area artists since April 2015. The Gallery hosts workshops that invite community members to learn about and work alongside the artists showcased in our exhibitions.

Abrams Claghorn Gallery is dedicated to being inclusive and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, military or veteran status, disability, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition, and immigration status.

Thanks
Robby
510-526-9558 (gallery)
Abrams Claghorn Gallery, 1251 Solano Ave
Albany, Ca 94706

Sell Your Work at Filoli

Filoli invites artists to sell their work at various artists’ markets throughout the year. This is not a call for exhibiting artwork in the House, but rather for selling artwork to the public, usually outdoors. See below for more information about our events. If you are not able to sell at any event listed, you may also fill out an application below to be on our list of vendors.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0JipA4esH_QzVG8q_s3IATMXHN9NqyqTSxkqcCG4G8K1QDQ/viewform

Please fill out the form completely. If we are unfamiliar with your work, we may request pictures of your art and/or your booth set-up.

Questions? Please email Hilary King at hking@filoli.org. Please do not call.
We strive to send out acceptance or rejection letters within two weeks of receiving applications, but may take longer. Booth fee of $100 and forms are due within one week of receiving an acceptance letter.
Booth locations will be sent within 2 weeks of the event.Entry Fee: $30 OHCA members, $40 non-members, for up to three pieces. Payable on drop off.

Special Offer: Become a new OHCA member at the time of art delivery and receive one free entry! Call (415) 388-4331 or visit ohanloncenter.org for more details

After the Gold Rush

From: Kim Patillo afterthegoldrush1@outlook.com

2021 Show Schedule
Hi Everyone, We were hoping we wouldn’t have to write this notice – AGAIN! – but we’ve just received word from the Pleasant Hill Chamber that they’ve had to cancel the 2021 Art, Wine & Music Festival. After meetings with the County re health protocols for summer events, the County wants vaccine cards, current negative covid test results, thermometer checks, etc., and controlling of the attendees with regards to numbers, distancing, etc. Even a fenced-in event (how DO you fence in an entire downtown area anyway??) would be prohibitive in cost let alone a nightmare to enforce. And no one wants to ‘enforce’ anything at what should be a fun, happy outing. Contra Costa County seems to be one of the most strict in CA when it comes to holding outside events (see the new CDC guidelines below.)

The Chamber has asked us to send their sincere apologies to all for any inconvenience, and hope to hold the 2022 show with no restrictions from the County (Covid!!!) Dates will be October 8 & 9, 2022.

We still have spaces available in the Sept. 4 & 5, 2021 Arnold shows now. Please send in your applications if you want to do the show, even if you have to post-date a check for the entry fee (up to August 1).

With regard to the ‘Gifts ‘n Tyme Holiday Faire’ in Napa on Nov. 19 – 21, 2021, We should be at ‘herd immunity’ by late summer and the show is still over 6 months away, and we would expect even more relaxed guidelines when that goal is reached. See www.cdc.gov for the latest updates. Please continue to send in your applications – without entry fees – if you’re interested in doing the show. As well as knowing that the public will be confident enough to attend inside gatherings by November, we need to know that there are enough confident vendors that wish to do it as well.

We’ll be issuing refunds this week to anyone that’s already been accepted into the Pleasant Hill show. Please visit our website: www.afterthegoldrushfestivals.com – or email us if you’d like applications for any show with us. FYI, Kathryn at www.brotherspromotion.com and Mike at www.professionalartistsandcrafters.com have a good line-up of shows scheduled for this year if you’re interested.

On the positive side, we think that ANY festivals that manage to happen this year are going to be great – the public is overdue and anxious to get out there and shop and have fun!

Hang in there, folks. it’s gotta get better from here

Kim & Mark, After the Gold Rush

You can download applications from the website: www.afterthegoldrushfestivals.com or email us & we’ll send you them. Call us at 925-372-8961 anytime.

DONATE

In conjunction with NCECA 2022 The Pence Gallery in Davis CA is mounting an exhibition honoring the Legacy of Viola Frey, the creativity she unleashed and the women artists she encouraged. This CCA(C) exhibition will include current faculty and grads with an emphasis on the inventiveness Viola fostered that thrives today in CCA’s ceramic program. I am asking you to make a contributions of $100 to the Pence Gallery to support this historic exhibition and accompanying catalog but any amount is invaluable. Your donation is tax deductible: Pence is a 501c3 Non Profit Organization. You will be acknowledged as a contributor in the catalog and in the exhibition.

Please leave a note when you donate that your gift is intended to support the CCA/NCECA exhibit.
https://pencegallery.z2systems.com/np/clients/pencegallery/donation.jsp
or mail your contribution to
Pence Gallery, 212 ‘D’ Street, Davis CA 95616
Thanks for your support,
Nancy Selvin

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS