sophia street throwdown

5th annual event returns june 11th....save the date!

On Saturday, June 11th the annual Sophia Street Pottery Throwdown will be happening in front of the Sophia Street Studios at 1104 Sophia Street in downtown Fredericksburg. More than 20 exhibitors will be set up in the street to display and sell their ceramic art.

Lisa Zolandz

New to the Throwdown this year is artist Lisa Zolandz from Manassas, Virginia. Lisa's handmade iridescent ceramics shine in an array of metallic hues. "My work begins in the glaze lab, where I systematically approach experimentation with glaze chemistry to develop crystalline and iridescent glazes. The combination of small changes in the chemical makeup of my glazes and minor variations in the firing process drives my process. While the research will never be complete, I have a palette of glazes that I developed through thousands of considered tests. With the glazes in mind, I sit down at the potter's wheel to create porcelain vessels with a simple elegance. Round, fluid forms are my favorite canvas to showcase glaze and vessel."

In addition to her cosmic ceramics, Lisa is also a kitten rescuer. She publishes an annual "Cats and Cups" calendar and donates the profits to animal rescue charities. You can see samples of Lisa's ceramic work, as well as her whimsical "Cats and Cups" photographs at lisazolandzpottery.com/ or instagram.com/lisazolandz.

Norfolk-based ceramic artist Barbara Mann (right) will be joining the Throwdown again this year with her popular, colorful botanical work. "I am in awe of the beauty and singularity of flowers and inspired by images from botanical illustrations, to garden photographs, to O'Keeffe macro paintings and primitives by Rousseau. My forms are simple and quiet so that I can use surfaces as a canvas for both stylized nods to nature and happy doodles. My pieces are wheel-thrown clay. I paint colorful, matte slips onto greenware and once-fire in an electric kiln. Lampshades are made from mulberry-type papers highly fibrous papers add interest when the light shines through."

In addition to her colorful work, Barbara also does pit-fired pieces with an earthier feel."I am getting some interesting pieces with primitive firing, introducing soluble iron, copper, cobalt, and silver to produce the elusive main element - the ghost of a leaf. These pieces are first bisqued, then the only fuel I use for the pit-firing comes from downed sticks in my backyard."

See more of Barbara's colorful and pit-fired work on her website: bmann8.wixsite.com/mann-made-designs

Fredericksburg favorite Ana Brugos will also be at the Throwdown this year. Ana has a studio at Libertytown and does functional work with handpainted local themes. "I enjoy drawing images on my pots. Eventually I discovered the Mishima technique and it gave me the ability to play with colors and have painterly images on the pots. I find inspiration in our surroundings, flowers and animals from the back yard, the landscape, experiences. I specially like to celebrate our town by drawing the skyline of Fredericksburg, the Chatham bridge, and so on." Ana Brugos

The Sophia Street Pottery Throwdown was started by longtime local ceramic artist and Fredericksburg resident Trista Chapman of the Sophia Street Studios. Trista has been making pottery for over 30 years and is known for her crazy colorful "Tristaware." You can see Trista's work and other fun furniture, jewelry and more at the Sophia Street Studios, 1104 Sophia Street, open Thursday through Saturday from 10-5.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 11th and join the Sophia Street Studios celebration of local ceramic art!