NEWSLETTER July – August 2021

Important Message: Sept. 11-12, 2021: Clay & Glass Sale!

More information here –

President’s Message

It is an exciting time for ACGA. Once again, we will be able to gather in Palo Alto for the 28th annual Clay and Class Show, this year, happening in September. The relative isolation many artists feel was compounded this past 17 months for many of us, and it will be great to be together again. I have heard so many tales of these Covid times offering artists an opportunity to dig deep and explore. I know that here at Nichibei, my husband and I have discovered new glazes, shapes and even new ways to run our business; a silver lining for sure.

Another jury for artists to become festival eligible will happen before the Show, and the deadline for submissions is July 10. Please encourage other Clay and glass artists you might know whose work you think is of quality to apply. Growing the clay and glass community here in California is a goal of ACGA as we strive to become an organization that is more accessible and relevant. Especially younger artists who may be at the beginning of their artist journey, we want ACGA to be a partner in your growth. So as summer settles in and the days grow warmer, I can’t help but look back as well as forward. I’m reminded to be grateful for so much, and to send healing compassion to those who are hurting. I will miss those who have passed on and yet am comforted in knowing that their artistic creations, and hence spirits, endure.

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

ACGA Clay and Glass Festival Update

Yes! We can call it a Festival!

Annie from Giant Creative is preparing to email confirmations to Festival Artists as I write this. We will continue to keep an eye on COVID-19 safety rules for Santa Clara county as well as any additional guidelines the Palo Alto Art Center may set.

We would like to have an attractive, interactive artist list for the Festival so please update your profile page on the ACGA website – see the For Members menu – if you haven’t already done so. Need help resizing your profile images for the ACGA website? Ask James Aarons for help: james@jamesaarons.com. If you forgot your password, you can request a password reset from the login page: https://acga.net/login/ It might take a few minutes to receive a password reset link at your profile’s email address.

Financial questions? Ask April Zilber at zilberglass@gmail.com

Other festival questions? Ask Annie at annie@giantcreative.com

See you in September!

April, for the Festival Committee
The Festival Committee (Jan, Lee, Joe, April, Mari, Sally, Miki, Diane)

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

Mari Emori

Mari’s “Verdant” has been accepted into Clay International, the Workhouse Arts Center 11th annual Juried Exhibition.

Juror: Kevin Snipes

Exhibition: August 7 – October 10

Location: Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, Virginia

“My Water Drop Series emerged as a metaphor for life and environment. It symbolizes the importance water plays in our lives and our environment. California, where I live, has been suffering from severe drought for the past several years. I was inspired by the striking blue sky and breathtaking clouds that I saw after a rainstorm in early spring. Without water, the environment depicted in “Verdant” could not exist.”

Jane B Grimm

Jane gave an Artist Talk , June 5th, at Epperson Gallery, “Flow”.

In positive psychology, a flow state, also know colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

“Creativity always has been part of my like. I was born into a family of architects and artists. However, I did not seriously focus on making art until I was in college where one third of my course load was sculpture. I have been experimenting with materials, styles, and content ever since. I began by having a jewelry business in NYC in the 60’s making jewelry that could be considered small scale sculptures. In the 80’s, having tired of running a business, I decided to use clay as my material of choice. There are few limitations in creating sculptures in clay. Texture and color and surface treatment options are limitless. Most of my work is organic, reminiscent of things in nature, the sea, plant life, microscopic forms. Other sculptures are very structural, architectural, focusing on form.

As I am making one piece, I start questioning how it would look if I just made this one change, or maybe that one change. What if I change the dimensions, the form, the color, the finish…My artistic journey continues.”

Liza Riddle

Liza is one of the featured artists at DZINE Gallery, located in San Francisco. In this new exhibit, One of Many, Liza joins stellar artists Karyn Gabriel and Tanya Hollis, who use similar media and materials, and present art that replicates patterns and natural processes.
As curator Philip Bewley writes: “Material becomes metaphor for time and transformation, for our human identity, our place within a larger community, and for being a witness to the dramatic changes in the world around us.”

The exhibit will be on view from June 18 -August 20, 2021.
For more information, please visit DZINE Gallery’s website:
https://www.dzinegallery.com/

Vince Montague

Vince gave an Artist Talk at Epperson gallery, on June 6th.
“The work I make is subjective and personal, based on feeling rather than thought. My earlier ceramics showed my interest with Japanese folk pottery and atmospheric firing, but recently I have wanted to make pots that feel closer to the place where I live and work in Northern California. Before the revolution in technology, people moved to the west coast to pursue their dreams “to find themselves” or to build the type of world they wanted to see. “Back to the Land” wasn’t just a slogan but an actual choice. I feel a
great debt to the many artists, designers, architects, composers, farmers, utopians, iconoclasts and spiritual seekers who settled out here in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, to manifest their own ideals of living peacefully and equitably either alone or in communities. That burst of energy surrounds me every day, and my new work strives to be part of that dream.”

Kris Marubayashi

Kris is in the following shows:
Solo show, Graci Gallery, Marquette, Michigan. June 1 – 30 and “Slice”, Pence Gallery, Davis, California.

Reception July 9 6-9 pm. Show dates – July 6 – August 15.

Kim Webster – Member Profile

Kim Webster, a new member, is a glass artist and avid gardener whose subtly lit sculptures tempt people into the garden at night. A graduate of Canada’s Sheridan College School of Craft and Design, Kim has studied glass in many of its forms: blowing, casting, kilnworking and enameling. After a move to California with her filmmaker
husband in 1999, Kim established her glass career with sculptures inspired by the Mediterranean landscape. She has
been commissioned to make installations for Kaiser and John Muir hospitals as well as private homes and gardens
throughout the USA. Her work has twice been selected for the Corning Museum of Glass New Glass Review and in 2019 won the Mayor’s Award for her installation at Oakland’s Autumn Lights Festival, an event she looks forward to every autumn!

Kim in Fairy Wings (left) Pyro Plant (right)

Sad News About Bob Poole

Bob Pool, forty years an amazing potter, longtime ACGA member and past ACGA president, died suddenly in his Berkeley home on May 31, 2021. He had been battling cancer for the last three years but was doing extremely well, Bob had started back working in the studio. His death was a shock as he was feeling well, looking very fit, and in very good humor. He had just spent a day working with his grandkids in the studio. Bob was planning to visit Korea in November to meet with the international group of potters he had been working with for the last 15 years.

Bob was of the fifth generation of Pools born in San Francisco (1946) and was raised in Marin County, mainly in Fairfax. He graduated from Drake High School in San Anselmo. His original career was in Marine Biology (A.B. from University of California, Berkeley, PHD. from University of California Los Angeles.) In 1982 he took a pottery class. Bob fell in love with making pots and left his work in science to become a studio potter.

His love and knowledge of the natural world, particularly the ocean, was reflected in his forms and glazes. He also took inspiration from Asian and African fabrics. In his last years of work, he was deeply influenced by working with his dear friends in Asia, and with potters from around the world. He was a founding member of the International Ceramic Artist Association, Zibo, China. Bob was studying Korean so he could better communicate with his Korean colleagues. Bob was an expert potter and his wares were light and masterfully decorated. He was most well-known for his glaze on glaze decoration applied with pattern carved sponges and his stamped and inlayed vessels inspired from the Korean tradition. He immersed himself in Asian culture, tradition and art. Bob especially loved the ceramics and cuisine of Korea. He also had a passion for good high quality coffee and would scour the streets of Asian cities for a great (cappuccino) espresso!

Bob was most generous and giving. He was always sharing his knowledge and passions with those who had the privilege of meeting him. Bob is survived by his wife, Cathy Valdez Pool, his step-sons, Adam and Matthew Valdez, his daughters-inlaw, Julie Valdez and Audrey Ferrara. His six grandchildren were the delight of his life: Hailey, Tobin, Quinn, Utah, Wyatt and Eloise. His brother Michael Pool and his sisters: Mary Lou Webster and Sally Pool all survive him.

His family hopes to have an event in his honor in the near future. Condolences can be sent to Bob’s studio:
Cathy Pool
c/o Bob Pool Pottery
2547 Eighth ST. #25
Berkeley CA 94710
ps
I know that this is a small thing but if at all possible Cathy would like to change one word in the ACGA
statement about Bob. The word cappuccino should be espresso. How he loved his coffee.

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

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

BERKELEY

TRAX GALLERY
We will again go to our summer cabin in MN in late May. TRAX shopping is available online and by appointment – but you are used to that now! Robert Brady has an exhibition opening May 20th in Reno, NV at the Stremmel Gallery. Last day for walk in foot traffic at TRAX is Saturday, May 10. Thank you for your continued patronage!

Trax is currently open by appointment and walkin Friday and Saturday 11-2 until May 10th. Then we are online only for the next months until October.

Online shopping is available and you can text or call TRAX if you want to pay a masked visit: 510.914.1303 info@traxgallery.com The St. Croix Pottery Tour is Virtual again this year ! Please find us (Robert and Sandy) exhibition! minnesotapotters.com AND Ron Meyers sent a few stunning new pots! online soon. November exhibition is Mark Pharis, Candice Methe and Noah Riedel

SAN FRANCISCO

CROCKETT

EPPERSON GALLERY OF CERAMIC ART

Vince Montague May 14th – July 11th
Friday – Sunday: 11:00am 5:00pm – Anytime by Appointment – 510-787-2925.
Epperson Gallery of Ceramic

www.eppersongallery.com

DAVIS

DAVIS ARTS CENTER
If you have not linked on it lately – www.ACGA.net – there have been many changes and updates. The most recent:  https://acga.net/2020-davis-center/    addition of a virtual showing of the Davis Arts Center ACGA show “Ceramics in Focus :2020”, that for obvious reasons is not live.

JOHN NATSOULAS GALLERY
New small ceramics!

Esther Shimazu, Kevin Snipes, Deborah G. Rogers & Yeonsoo Kim

John Natsoulas Gallery
521 First Street
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 756-3938

also:

Pop Meets Funk Exhibition

Join us for an exciting crossover between Pop Art and Funk!
Dates: June 9th to August 1st, 2021
FEATURED ARTISTS: Banksy, Christo, Richard Pettibone, Claes Odenberg, Mel Ramos, Patrick Siler, James Albertson, Robert Arneson, William T. Wiley, Peter Saul, David Gilhooly, Wayne Thiebaud, Alex Gross, Shalene Valenzuela (l), Peter Vandenberg, Bill Maul, Gladys Nilsson, Roy De Forest, Lisa Clague, Robert Ransom, Kevin Snipes, Beth Lo, Glenn Takai, Patti Warashina, Tom Rippon, Robert Brady, Robert Haemmerling, Melissa Chandon, Richard Shaw, Mark
Buwinkle, and more.

Funk was a Northern California art movement based mainly in Davis and Berkeley throughout the 60s and 70s. This movement exaggerated and elevated the medium of ceramics, often using political or autobiographical subjects. In response to the cool, detached minimalism in New York, Funk art made use use of bright colors, lewd humor, and bizarre narratives. This zany new approach to art brought a group of people together in the early 1960s that would become well-known funk artists in the coming years. The early days at UC Davis where funk art flourished were made possible by pioneers like Robert Arneson, Roy De Forest, William T. Wiley as well as like-minded individuals in the Bay Area like Peter Saul and Clayton Bailey. Starting in the mid 1950s, Pop art also challenged traditions of fine art by including imagery from pop culture such as ads, comics, and mundane mass-produced objects. One of the aims of Pop art is to use images of popular (as opposed to elitist) culture in art, emphasizing the banal or kitschy elements of any culture, most often through the use of irony. Some of the pioneers and leaders in this movement were Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns. Although some Funk artists continued to make art for many decades, the movement itself ended in the late 70s. Meanwhile, Pop art became a much larger movement that
continues to this day.
John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First Street, Davis, CA 95616, (530) 756-3938

PENCE GALLERY

“Slice”
Reception July 9 6-9 pm.
Show dates – July 6 – August 15.
212 D Street, Davis, CA 95616 | phone 530.758.3370
| fax 530.758.4670 |
Open Hours Tue-Sun 11:30 AM – 5 PM

OAKLAND

APPLIED CONTEMPORARY CRAFT GALLERY
FRAGILE FAILING FOUND

OJAI

BEATRICE WOOD CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts is open to the public again – after a year of being closed! Come and check out our current exhibitions, upgrades to the Permanent Collection, relax on the back patio and let Happy Valley do its magic!

LOS ANGELES

CRAFT IN AMERICA

Making Waves: Ocean Ecology & Craft
1/16/2021 – 8/21/2021
Craft in America Center is pleased to present a dynamic virtual exhibition of more than fifty mixed media works
made by eleven artists from across the U.S. who depict the beauty of our seas and confront various ecological
and human-generated threats.
https://www.craftinamerica.org/exhibition/making-waves

“The way creativity works with me, is that I can’t write about it, I can just
do it and experiment in an abstract way.” – Po Shun Leong

POMONA

Amy Santoferraro:
Two on a Lot, Three on the Tree

May 8–26 • Online
Join artist Amy Santoferraro for a documentary exploration of the installation of Two on a Lot, Three on the Tree. Santoferraro will document two trips from her studio in Pomona to the Vault Gallery at AMOCA on May 8 (6 PM) and May 12 (12:30 PM). The site-specific installation will also be documented in four separate “Bird’s Nest” virtual experiences on May 17, 19, 24, and 26 (11 AM–1 PM).

ROSEVILLE

Blue Line Arts

Off Center

Since the first ceramics were created, like Venus of Dolní Věstonice, before 25,000 BCE and pottery vessels that were discovered in Jiangxi, China, which date back to 18,000 BCE, people have been fascinated with clay. Today, artists continue to astound us as they push the boundaries of our preconceived ideas of what ceramics represent. From playful pieces disguised as everyday objects, to finely detailed vessels, ceramics delights and surprises us in its evolution.
Whether you work in a more traditional style, or prefer completely outlandish creations, we showcase your vision and techniques from around the world during this annual show.
https://www.bluelinearts.org/shop-coker-family-gallery

www.BlueLineArts.org

info@bluelinearts.org

405 VERNON ST STE 100
ROSEVILLE, CA 95678-2636
(916) 783-4117

SACRAMENTO

THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM

Welcome back! The Crocker is now open Thursday – Sunday, 10 AM – 5 PM.
thru September 12, 2021
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Treasures from the Driehaus Collection

Cool Clay
Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics
July 21, 2019 — July 21, 2021

Zemer Peled (Israeli, born 1983), Untitled 1, 2016. Ceramic, 22 x 19 x 19 in. Crocker
Art Museum purchase, Becky B. Krisik Fund and Marcy and Mort Friedman Acquisition
Fund, 2018.47.

https://www.crockerart.org/
216 O Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

SFO AIRPORT

International Terminal
Departures – Level 3
May 28, 2021 – Jan 23, 2022

Stoneware Stories- Folk Pottery of Edgefield, South Carolina

The Deep South has a unique place in the history of American ceramics. In the Northeast, potters commonly used salt to glaze stoneware in the European tradition. But in the southern United States, where salt was a more precious commodity, potters often applied alkaline glazes on high-fired stoneware. Pottery ranges in color from pale green to dark brown with glazed surfaces that vary from smooth and glassy, to drippy and textured. The technique originated in Han
Dynasty, China (206BCE–220CE) and was pioneered in the United States by South Carolina physician and newspaper editor Dr. Abner Landrum (1785–1859), who most likely studied published accounts of Chinese alkaline glaze formulas. Landrum established the Pottersville Stoneware Manufactory around 1815 in the
Edgefield District, the west-central area of the state that is rich in kaolin clay deposits and the alkaline ingredients—wood ashes or lime—required to melt the additional glaze elements.
……more….
Traditionally, Southern potteries were small, family-owned seasonal operations, consisting of farmers who sold their wares locally to supplement their incomes. In contrast, Edgefield’s potteries were ambitious enterprises. By 1850, numerous entrepreneurs and investors had opened factories to fulfill the demand for stoneware required for food storage and preservation in the agriculturally rich region. Manufacturers shipped pottery via railway to planters and merchants throughout the state. They placed newspaper advertisements, hired journeymen potters, and applied makers’ marks. Enslaved laborers and, later, freed African Americans, engaged in all aspects of Edgefield stoneware production, from digging and mixing clay to loading wood-fueled kilns, and peddling wares. Others served as “turners” or potters, producing exceptional examples of Edgefield stoneware.
https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/stoneware-stories

RESIDENCIES

2020-2021 Fall Residency, Sonoma Ceramics

https://sonomacommunitycenter.org/ceramics/ceramics-residency-program/
We offer two, 6-month, all-inclusive residencies per year for potters or ceramic sculptors. Applications are open for this 6-month, all inclusive residency. Open to potters and sculptors on a professional trajectory. The Ceramic Artist in Residence program offers a self- directed emerging or established ceramic artist a supportive work environment to explore ideas and create a cohesive body of work.
https://sonomacc.wpengine.com/category/ceramics/

360xochiquetzal
YOUR PERSONAL RESIDENCY IN MEXICO

Superb live/work studio space for artists & writers. This summer and fall you can prepare for a show, finish a manuscript, collect your thoughts, or plan your next body of work. Located on Lake Chapala, nestled in a ring of mountains with colorful fishing villages strung like pearls along the north shore, a slower pace of life awaits you.

When it gets hot and muggy where you live, you can be here painting or writing to your heart’s content where the weather is fresh and delightful. We still have several private studio apartments available You can focus on your creative work and enjoy our gorgeous scenery and perfect year-round climate.

Rates, descriptions & pictures: https://360xochiquetzal.com/personal-residency-program/
For more info write: 20360xochiquetzal@gmail.com
Join our group Facebook page: %360-Xochi-Quetzal –
Follow us on Twitter: @360XochiQuetzal
and Instagram: @360xochiquetzal

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