County-Wide Clay Celebration Kicks Off in Larchmont - Sept 27

by Barbara Rittenberg

(September 25, 2008) On Saturday, September 27, look for a potter in her apron working with mounds of clay. She'll be setting up shop for the day amid the purveyors of greens and fruits and jams and other good things at the Larchmont Farmers Market.

Autumn Fantasy (detail) by Barara Rittenberg

The arrival of Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild’s Robin Henschel at the market signals the start of ALL FIRED UP, a county-wide celebration of clay coordinated by the Westchester Arts Council and the Clay Art Center. September 27 is Clay Day, and potters will be hard at work all over Westchester.

And Clay Day is only the beginning. Events in over seventy venues will extend into late November.

In Larchmont, Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild is one of four venues participating. The others are Anelle Gandelman Fine Art, Kenise Barnes Fine Art, and Larchmont Public Library. All will be exhibiting work from artists who use clay as their primary material.

"The Dining Room"

At Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild, “The Dining Room” will feature twenty artist members, some of whom make everyday objects like plates, cups and bowls. For these artists, a simple bowl carries with it the makers intention to enhance the daily life of others with an object of beauty. Many other functional and artistic pieces will be on display. Other clay artists will be exhibiting sculptural works, some to be displayed on the wall, some on pedestals.

This is the first time Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild is presenting an exhibition devoted to the ceramic works of its members. In addition, to underline how “The Dining Room” might be furnished with handmade objects, MAG has invited some artists working in fiber and metal to participate.

MAG will also be exhibiting work from artists outside of Westchester. One important feature of ALL FIRED UP, which is essentially a cultural collaboration, was a call from the Westchester Arts Council to artists all over the country to submit proposals for their own exhibitions. These proposals formed the basis for most of the shows which are on view at venues that did not have their own ceramic artists to display. So many artists responded that local galleries, such as MAG offered to sponsor a visiting exhibition.

On view at MAG will be "The Painted Surface: Decorated Earthenware. This is an exhibition of eight nationally recognized potters, curated by Posey Bacopolous, a potter and well known ceramic teacher who has a studio in Long Island City. The eight have distinctly different styles but share an interest in highly colored, decorated surfaces. Each has carefully considered the relationship between the simple form and the complicated possibilities involved in glazing it.

A Little History: Where Did the Clay Collaboration Idea Come From?

For those curious about how this collaboration got started, the story is interesting.
The director of the Clay Art Center in Port Chester returned from a national clay conference in Baltimore where hundreds of clay shows blanketed the city and suburban towns. She thought, why not here? She brought the idea to Janet Langsam, director of Westchester Arts Council, who had been interested in developing stronger relationships between the arts institutions in the county and in fostering tourism. Thus was born an effort spearheaded by eight of the largest art institutions, and embraced by sixty-eight at the end of the day. All the organizing came out of the Clay Art Center, with Leigh Taylor Michelson, as the chief, and her boss, Reena Kashyap as the driving force.

A Little Guidance: Brochures & Websites

The ALL FIRED UP cultural collaboration, considered the biggest Westchester County has ever seen, includes over 600 artists, special events such as artist talks, workshops, films and master classes. Brochures are available all over town to help organize travels to the many venues and schedule visits to the numerous special events. Or you can get an online tour at ALL FIRED UP!

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