A book launch reception was held at Chinese Clay Art in San Jose, California the afternoon of September 23rd to celebrate the launch of this exciting reference volume by Zhou Guangzhen. It started with a lecture by the author and was attended by a number of Silicon Valley ceramic artists . The event was hosted by TV anchor Ms. Diana Ding. Starting with Stan Welsh, Professor Emeritus at San Jose State University, the seven artists in attendance spoke. During the presentation, Jan Schachter gave a short history of ACGA. The volunteer-based ACGA is one of the most successful organizations in the U.S. and attracts thousands of visitors to the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival each July.

The wall of the exhibit hall, “World Ceramic Cultures in Pictures” features 104 images selected from photographs taken by Zhou Guangzhen during his travels around the world and from his collection of black-and-white postcards from the early 20th century. The images show the changes in ceramic culture around the world over the past hundred years in the form of contrasts between the old and the new. The images include a variety of drawing and molding processes, ceramic firing, kilns, village fairs, potters and vendors in various costumes, and more.

On the purple round table is the “Forest of World Ceramic Art,” a landscape of dozens of pots, vases, and plates representing cultures from around the world. Regardless of the ceramic materials, molding techniques, decorative patterns, and firing temperatures used, each ethnic culture is a member of the forest of ceramic art. The curators believe that every visitor will be able to feel their own familiar cultural atmosphere in this exhibition.

Joe Battiato

Barbara Brown

Monica Van den Dool

Tom Decker

Bill Geisinger

Hsin-Chuen Lin

Lee Middleman

Jan Schachter

Guangzhen Zhou

This book looks at the world’s ceramic cultural heritage as a whole, exploring the interrelationship between ceramic technology and the development of human history, as well as the inheritance and influence of various regions and groups. Over the past decade, the author, Guangzhen Zhou, has visited hundreds of ceramic towns, villages, historical sites, and related museums around the world, combining recent archaeological discoveries with information from across different languages.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, many Californian ceramic artists one after another laid a foundation for the development of modern and contemporary ceramics in the US with their unwavering pioneering spirit. California’s ceramic art community and tradition hold an important historical position in the United States, and we proudly carry on the torch.

The artists participating in this exhibition are mainly members of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California (ACGA), and professors and alumni of San Jose State University. The artworks in the exhibition include both ceramic sculptures and vessel forms; showcasing the spirit and drive of the innovative Silicon Valley and the rich diversity of California.

The artists participating in the exhibition are: Joseph Battiato, Barbara Brown, Tom Decker, Bill Geisinger, Matt Hoogland, Hsin-Chuen Lin, Lee Middleman, Jan Schachter, Stan Welsh, Fred Yokel, Monica Van den Dool, and Guangzhen Zhou.

Over 100 images in this show depict various types of ceramic shaping techniques, kiln firing methods, pottery vendors and markets, and so on. These photographs showcase the richness of world ceramic culture and historical heritage across a hundred years. Images were selected from photos taken by the author on his global travels, as well as black and white early 20th century postcards from his collection, illuminating the changes in world ceramic culture over the past century by juxtaposing old and new. The pictures include various types of pottery wheels, building techniques, fuel materials, kiln firing methods, rural markets, potters and vendors of many kinds and styles, and more.

Whenever I arrived in a new area, I would contact relevant peers, experts, friends, or friends of friends. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the support and assistance of countless people from the ceramic culture and art industry around the world during my journey! Thank you to many colleagues and friends for arranging the reception, giving recommendations and introductions, translating and explaining, driving together, and warmly welcoming me and seeing me off. This book could not have been published without the support and assistance of countless colleagues, scholars, and friends in the ceramic art field everywhere.

Participating artists

Clay Planet

Thanks to the teams of Art Center

My co-workers at Clay Ground – Chinese Clay Art US

Submitted by Guangzhen Zhou

Miki Shim, October 2023

When I look at the photo above, I cannot help but to be little emotional looking back at the time spent with this group of people who put their trust in me to guide them on a 12 day tour of Korean ceramics in South Korea. I have never produced one of these before. And for some reason, they met me in Seoul for this clay journey.

My husband, Lance, named this tour “Miki’s Spectacular Korean Ceramics Tour!” A build-up to which I didn’t know I could deliver when I launched the registration in May. Looking back, we had many hurdles and detours, negotiating the twists and turns of coordinating many moving parts, some expected and some completely blind-sided. But, through it all, it was spectacular!

Back Story:

At the end of summer 2022, Lance and I traveled to Korea to visit family and friends. Lance’s first trip and, while this is a return trip for me, first time with a ceramics focus. With a little help from friends, I was able to see, visit and experience the heart and soul of Korean Ceramics firsthand, see their work, processes, the life and the business of pottery. When I returned home, I wanted to find a way to share this with others. Instagram photos and posts only skim the surface of the real experience. Setting up a tour was not the first thing that came to mind. The logistics of moving with a group more than 4 seemed a bit crazy! After brewing the thought for a few months, I decided to gamble with crazy and started the planning process by floating the idea with Lance, recruited an assistant and lined up a few artists in Korea. First registration arrived within day of launching the announcement on Instagram in April, and sold out 15 seats by May. By June, 16 people plus me and my irreplaceable assistant and friend, Kyungle Han, were confirmed to hang with me in Korea for 12 days, starting on the last day of August.

The numbers:

3 hotels for 12 nights in 6 cities on 6 tour buses for 18 people eating 36 meals taking 12 local city bus and transit rides to see 2 demos and 3 workshops by 8 local artists and topped it off with a 10 artist group exhibition in Yeoju. Not counting the taxi rides, there were thousands of steps logged and cups of coffee at Cafe Galapium in Ulsan.

The people:

Some were 20 year veterans of ceramics, some just had 6 months of experience. A Raku artist,3 woodfire artists, a writer, a sculptor, a ceramics tool manufacturer, architect, software engineer, moms, in-the-middle-of-a-career-change professional, a mechanical engineer, studio owner, doctor, tea master, a National Intangible Cultural Asset or 3, product engineer, x-ray technician, ER nurse, a business coach and a few ceramics instructors. All now connected by clay.

Behind the scenes:

Negotiating the ever changing landscape of last minute location changes, transportation logistics and meal planning were the hardest to navigate. Luckily, I had a fluent speaker to help me make the phone calls for reservations, argue the charges and figure out how to pay the large sums of money the bus company wanted…in cash. But I had the good fortune of an amazing group of people who were ready to move with the changing current of waters that, to me, seemed like the rapids. The full itinerary has been posted on my website: mikisr.com, so I will not go into the details of our tour, except to mention that we changed the venue of the woodfire workshop at the last minute due to a family  emergency.

Cultural exchange:

Since moving to the SF Bay Area in 2012, I have broadened my network of ceramic artists around the world though personal experiences. This has allowed me the opportunity to create a cultural exchange program connecting the local ceramics community to the ceramics around the world to inspire, provoke thought and to make friendships. I have found that clay language is universal. Our tour group met for time in Seoul, at the hotel’s lounge for a breakfast buffet of Korean and western style foods. It’s always interesting what ends up on the plates and how the flavors get mixed intentionally, or not. We sat 4 to a table, getting to know each other a little, trying to memorize the names and faces with whom we will be spending the next 12 days.

Fast forward the end of the trip, to 18 Californians and one Michiganian standing on the steps at Seoul Station, trying to hold back tears, arms flying to make sure everyone gets a hug, and promise of a reunion event of Miki’s Spectacular Korean Ceramics Tour 2023 very soon. This is a rerun activity of when we parted from MoonDoBang, DoBan artists of the Yeoju exhibition, and woodfire team of artistis: Kim JaeBum, Kim InTae, Kim YoungSoo and Shin YoungTaek.

In a brief amount of time, we have made life long friendships.

I’m looking forward to the next one… June 2024

Korean Artist Studio Visit, Demo and Workshop

Kim Yikyoung Ceramics, Porcelain, Seoul
MoonDoBang, Porcelain, Bundang @moondobang
Ohbuja Pottery, Onggi, Yeoju @heejunonggi
Kwak Kyungtae, Onggi, Icheon @kwakkyungtae
Shin YoungTaek, Buncheong, GeoChang @youngtaek_shinKim
YoungSoo, Naked Raku, Yeoju @young.soo.kim
Kim InTae, Educator, Woodfired Stoneware, Ulsan
Kim JaeBeom, Woodfired Stoneware, Ulsan @firewood_gama.jaun

Cities Visited

Seoul, Icheon, Yeoju, Bundang, Ulsan, Busanki

Internationally known ceramic artist, Miki Shim-Rutter, works from her home studio in San Carlos, CA. She also works from the Palo Alto Arts Center adult studios where she teaches ceramics, coordinates Private Events and Workshops—and conceived and coordinates the Art Center’s annual International Ceramics Exchange. Shim-Rutter is an active member and past Board Member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California (ACGA).

The ACGA welcomes your application to sell your work at the Association of Clay & Glass Artists of California’s annual Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival on the beautiful grounds of the Palo Alto Art Center. Festival Eligibility is a lifetime status as long as your membership is current and you participate regularly in our event.

The ACGA Clay & Glass Festival is a great opportunity to develop relationships with customers, send your work to new homes, and strengthen your network of fellow clay and glass artists. Joining ACGA brings you into a strong community of clay and glass artists.

I have been an ACGA member since 2006 and have been on the Board for most of those years.  I joined ACGA when my husband and I moved to San Francisco after 16 years of living on the East Coast.  This was a “return home” for me since I had grown up in the Bay Area.  Shortly after arriving in SF, I reached out to ACGA and was pleased to find a group of kindred spirits.

I was raised in Los Altos, CA, and discovered ceramics when I was an undergraduate art major at the University of California Santa Barbara. Clay has been my passion and pursuit ever since. After graduating from UCSB I stayed in Santa Barbara for a number of years working as a functional potter and part-time ceramics teacher.  I also organized workshops for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, directed the Santa Barbara County Arts Festival, and founded and ran the Palm Park Craft Center.

Eight years after receiving my BFA, I returned to school and earned a Masters Degree in Art Education from San Francisco State University. While in graduate school I met my husband, Jim Chiddix, an East Coast transplant living in Hawaii.  After my graduation I joined him there to begin our life together.

Over the years we have lived in several interesting locations due to Jim’s career in the telecommunications industry.  I treasure the friendships and experiences gained while living in Hawaii, Connecticut, New York, Colorado and San Francisco, as well as traveling the world, including places with deep ceramics traditions such as Japan.  In each place we have lived, I established an art studio and exhibited and sold my work.  Since 2005 we have split our time between San Francisco and Evergreen, Colorado. In San Francisco I work in a converted warehouse that has studio space for 100 artists, while my Evergreen studio is located on our property surrounded by pine trees.

I have continued to develop my artistic skills by attending workshops at institutions including Watershed, Haystack, Penland, Anderson Ranch, Honolulu Academy of Art, Pilchuck, Urban Glass, and the Art Students League of New York.  While living in Manhattan I spent endless hours in museums and galleries, and studied glass as an artistic medium. For the last 20 years much of my work has combined glass with clay.

My art is often inspired by traditional crafts and folk art found while traveling in foreign lands or wandering through museums.  These discoveries inform my vessels, wall pieces and abstract figures. My ceramics practice has evolved over the decades and has included exploration of a wide range of fabrication and firing techniques. For many years I have favored hand-building with slabs and coils which enable me to create expressive surfaces and distinctive forms.

My arts community participation currently includes serving on the board at AMOCA, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, in Pomona, CA.  I’m pleased to have a piece in their permanent collection.  I have attended more than 30 annual conferences of NCECA, the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts.  In 2022 I was selected to co-lead a residency at Watershed Ceramics Center in Maine.   Also in 2022, at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, I was inducted into the International Academy of Ceramics, a branch of UNESCO.  I was not only honored by this recognition but was also thrilled to meet fascinating ceramic artists from around the world.

Sept 30, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024

The de Young Open 2023 is now on view! Explore a captivating collection featuring 883 pieces from artists selected from a pool of more than 7,700 submissions. These artworks span various mediums and styles, showcasing the rich diversity of the Bay Area’s artistic talent. We’re thrilled to announce that ACGA members Scott Jennings and Mari Emori‘s works are included in this prestigious exhibition.

Following the resounding success of the inaugural presentation of The de Young Open in 2020, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco present this triennial juried community art exhibition. The exhibition draws submissions from artists residing in the nine counties surrounding the bay— Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. The displayed artworks are arranged in a “salon style,” filling the space from edge to edge and floor to ceiling, showcasing a maximum number of works.

This exhibition celebrates and supports local arts communities in the Bay Area. Artists have the opportunity to sell their works and keep the proceeds. To purchase any artwork, you can directly contact the artists. In the Web Gallery, click “Detail View” beneath an artwork image to access pricing and the artist’s contact details.

The de Young Open 2023 at the de Young Museum is free every Saturday and requires a timed ticket to enter the exhibition.

Oct 14 – 15,  11am – 5pm

ALTADENA, CA – ALTA Arts Collective is thrilled to announce the ALTA Art Tour 2023.  A captivating two-day event showcasing the vibrant and diverse artistic talents of Altadena and neighboring communities. This unique art tour will take place on October 14th and 15th, offering art enthusiasts and the local community a chance to visit the creative spaces of local artists, witnessing their artistic processes and gain insight into their inspirations.

An array of talented artists will open their studios to the public, most studios will host 1 or more artists, however, there will also be solo artist studios participating in the tour.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view and purchase original artwork in various mediums including painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and more. The art tour is free, making it accessible to all. Visitors are encouraged to click below for a complete list of participating artists and studio locations; interactive maps with turn-by-turn directions available each day of the tour.

Oct 7 – 8, 14 -15, 21 – 22

South County studios kick off the tour on October 7-8. Get the free online artist directory at the link below – and look for the guide out wherever you find @goodtimessc on Sept 11.

This annual three weekend event is presented by Arts Council Santa Cruz County and features over 300 local artists! This is a great opportunity to purchase original work direct from the artist and experience their creative process first-hand.

➡️ Oct 7 – 8 – South County
➡️ Oct 14 – 15 – North County
➡️ Oct 21 – 22 – All County

ACGA members participating include Cristy Aloysi & Scott Graham, Yumiko Aso, Drake Bialecki, Jeannine Calcagno, Christine Charter Moorhead, Chris Johnson, Elaine Pinkernell, Randie Silverstien, and Peter Vizzusi

Nov 10 – 12 & 17 – 19

The Placer Artists Tour celebrates 30 years this year. It is the largest studio tour in the Sierra foothills region, featuring a diversity of art, artist demos and special events. The Tour  happens every November in artist studios, galleries and art schools throughout Placer County. This year’s Tour includes 136 artists, galleries and schools at 82 unique locations.

Glass and clay artists will be represented including ACGA members Emilie Righetti, and Nicholson van Altena Glass.

We hope you will join us for this free tour, which takes place on Veterans Day weekend, Friday, Nov. 10, through Sunday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Many artists will also offer an “Encore” weekend Friday, Nov. 17, through Sunday, Nov. 19, to give patrons more time to visit artists. You can pick up a Guide at Blue Line Arts in Roseville and preview one artwork from each participating artist during the Taste of the Tour exhibit October 21 through November 19. The reception is November 4 from 5 to 8pm.

Visit PlacerArtistsTour.org, for profiles of all the participants, an interactive Tour map and a robust events calendar of all Tour events. It is a year-round resource for the arts in Placer County.

RUBY’S CLAY STUDIO – CERAMIC EXPRESSIONS

Jane Grimm has a one person show at Ruby’s Clay Studio Gallery of her recent ceramic sculptures.

552A Noe Street, San Francisco

Oct 27 – Nov 22

Monday, Wednesday – Friday 9am – 1pm
Tuesday, Saturday – Sunday 1 – 4pm
and by appointment

SFWA ANNUAL BAY AREA ARTISTS’ CHOICE 2023

One of Jane Grimm’s sculptures is included in the SFWA Annual Bay Area Artists’ Choice 2023 show at the San Francisco Women Artist Gallery in San Francisco.

647 Irving Street, San Francisco

Oct 3 – Nov 10
Tuesday – Saturday 10:30am – 5:30pm

THE AVENUES

One of Jane Grimm’s sculptures has been included in the group show “The Avenues” at The Drawing Room Gallery in San Francisco.

The Drawing Room

210 Clement Street

Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 7pm

Sept 16 – Oct 21

ARTSPAN SF OPEN STUDIOS

Jane Grimm will be having a Artspan SF Open Studio at Ruby’s Clay Studio and Gallery.

552A Noe in the Castro

San Francisco

Oct 28 – 29, 11am – 6pm

Glenn Evans will have two pieces of his fused glass on display at the 57th National Mother Lode Art Exhibition. Sponsored by the Placerville Arts Association, the Exhibition is a national, juried, open show held at the Mills Station Arts and Culture Center (MACC) in Rancho Cordova. The show will open November 3 and run through November 18. The Artists’ Reception and presentation of awards will be held on November 3, 5pm – 7pm. For gallery information and hours, see the MACC website.

ARE YOU BUMMED YOU DON’T LIVE NEAR OR CAN’T JOIN US ON THE MOUNTAIN?

You can still shop great pots AND give to our growth from the comfort of your own couch!

THE RECIPROCITY PROJECT

An online fundraising exhibition for the Resident Artist Program.

Online Gallery

Oct 30 – Nov 3

Our current artists will donate 5 cups for this online feature exhibition and all proceeds go to the continued growth of the Resident Artist Program.

Open Studios
Oct 27 – 29

Please join Trudy Chiddix for her Open Studio the last weekend in October.  100 artists will also be exhibiting in the same building at 1890 Bryant Street in San Francisco.

Preview Party:

Fri. Oct 27, 6 – 9pm

Oct 28 – 29, 11am – 5pm

Trudy’s work combines clay with fused glass.  She shares kilns and workspace with 8 clay artists, while art of various mediums is created by other artists in the building. Lots to see on 3 floors of studios! Look for Trudy in Studios 201 and 210.

New Work by Ren Lee

Ren Lee works with the notion that clay has consciousness, like an owl or a lizard, and that when you observe a work of handmade ceramic art, it observes you back, possibly changing its behavior and  adjusting its attitude.

Two years in development, this show is about exploring that concept. Pieces range from observant pots to scrutinizing humanoids to disembodied eyeballs. It will be fun. Opening November 2 which happens to be the second Day of the Dead, at Clay Hand Studios Gallery, 660 Van Ness, Fresno.

Glass Artist Randie Silverstein

Please mark your calendars for this two month show at Santa Cruz’s Oswald Restaurant at 121 Soquel Ave in Santa Cruz, opening November 4 until the end of the year. I will be showing my kiln fused glass art, both on the wall and in the air! This is a colorful body of work, with some very new pieces, you won’t see elsewhere! My work has been hanging there for the last few years and now it’s time to refresh. Plus a dozen or so other pieces. Plus the food is terrific. Reservations advised. Open Wed-Saturday for lunch and dinner. If you’d like a preview of My new glasswork, please come to Open Studios in Santa Cruz, October 14 and 15 and again October 21 and 22.

Marinwood Community Center

Please join Melissa Woodburn for this one-day event.
Oct 21, 3 – 7pm
Marinwood Community Center

775 Miller Creek Road

San Rafael, 94903

Submitted by Melissa Woodburn

Terra Linda Ceramic Artists

Oct 13 – Nov 17,

Opening Reception Oct 12, 5 – 8pm

Falkirk Cultural Center,

San Rafael, CA 949901

This unique and imaginative member show includes an interactive component to the exhibit.  Over 30 TLCA Members will be showing at least one ceramic piece of art that you will be able to interact with!  Follow the little green hand stickers throughout the exhibit, gently activate the piece and see what happens!

Marin Society of Artists

Oct 6 – 28, 2023

Please join ACGA Member, Geraldine GaNun, at DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES, where two of her mixed media ceramic pieces were juried into the show.

Hosted by Marin Society of Artists

1515 Third Street, San Rafael, 94901 October 6-October 28, 2023.

Opening reception Oct 13, 5 – 8pm

Linda S. Fitz Gibbon’s ceramic sculpture will be featured alongside work by Katie Applebaum and Brian McNamara in an exhibition at Butte College, October 2 through November 2.

Closing reception with Linda S. Fitz Gibbon is Thursday, Nov. 2, 2 – 4 pm.

Gallery hours are M–Th, 9 am – 3 pm.

Submitted by Linda Fitz Gibbon

Portola Valley

Open studio with Jan Schachter, Sally Jackson, Lindsay Marx, Jane Peterman, Nina Else, and Peggy Forman in Jan Schachter’s courtyard.

Nov 4 – 5, 10am – 4pm

190 Golden Hills Drive Portola Valley

Come visit!!!!

Nov 26, 11am – 4pm

Don’t miss my one day big sale where everything will be 15% off.

Hand made and intricately hand painted menorahs, platters, candelabras, trees of life, candle sticks, pedestal cake plates, wine bottle stoppers, goblets, seder plates, and much more.

180 Montezuma Ave. Forest Knolls, Ca. 94933

A Woodfire Workshop with Miki Shim

An introduction to wood firing with Miki Shim will cover the basics of creating work, firing a wood burning kiln and learning the etiquette of being part of a wood fire community.  This workshop is recommended for those with intermediate level experience, wheel work and hand-building.

Fee: $1100

Includes one 25# bag of clay and 2 cu.ft. of kiln space.

Only workshop clay will be accepted for firing.

Additional clay available for purchase.

Dates: 

Make work: December 1, 2, 3  at Southbay Ceramics, Mountain View, CA

FIre work: December 8, 9, 10  at Springvalley Anagama, San Jose, CA

Unload: December 16  at Springvalley Anagama, San Jose, CA

Location: 

South Bay Ceramics, Mountainview, CA

www.southbayceramics

Contact: carla@southbayceramics.com

Our communications tools now allow members to post their news items directly to the ACGA News Blog, for daily publication. Posts must be admin-approved and may take up to 48 hours to appear in the blog. Incomplete submissions may take longer. The web-based news blog is a living document and posts items in the order they are published. You can scroll through the entire history of the ACGA News here: https://acga.net/acga-news/.

In addition, our monthly ACGA newsletter is emailed to approximately 5500 subscribers. This news is less time-sensitive than more immediate forms of communication such as the news blog and our social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

Social media is the most effective and most instantaneous way to reach your audience, provide a platform that can be posted to repeatedly and often. We encourage members to cultivate their own social media accounts on facebook and instagram, to build your own audience and market your wares. We are happy to amplify your message to our followers from time to time when the following conditions are met:

• Captions must include who, what, where, when details.
• Posts must relate to something a collector or student can engage with such as a gallery event, an open studio, or an upcoming sale. Posts that lack context will not be reposted.
• We will not repost items projecting more than 2 weeks in the future.
• Posts should be tagged @theacga to ensure we can find them

ACGA social media accounts have more than 17,000 followers, so following these guidelines could be valuable to you. News items must be written in grammatically correct form, include all details including names (first and last) of members involved, links to artist websites or social media, studio or gallery locations and hours of operation.

Be aware that we have over 350 members and will strive to be fair and equitable, and to showcase the wide variety of accomplished artists who comprise our group. Publication is not guaranteed, and is not a perquisite of membership. If you have an event with frequent updates or an extended window of time, we expect you to manage your news on your end and we may or may not repost at our discretion.

CLICK HERE FOR SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS