American Pottery Festival 2021

N O R T H E R N C L AY C E N T E R

American Pottery Festival 2 3 RD A N N U A L : S E P T E M B E R 1 – 5 : 2 O 2 1

Welcome to Northern Clay Center’s 23rd annual fundraising benefit and celebration of notable clay makers.

American Pottery Festival guest ceramic artists from across the country will illuminate and celebrate the honor in, and value of, the infinite ways to be and live and create in the U.S. This year’s catalog focuses on the power of making and its role in healing, story-telling, and community building through collaboration.

Please make it yours by adding your own marks and colors, and share with us.

We’re thrilled to see what you create!

Thank you for your visible support as we continue to listen and learn with intent and relentlessly evolve our organization to ensure meaningful diversity, impactful equity, and genuine inclusivity.

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Jeff Oestreich Taylors Falls, MN Salt Cradle JO885 $175

What is American Pottery Festival (APF)?

Fundraiser: First and foremost, APF is Northern Clay Center’s annual fundraiser. All contributions, and NCC’s portion of the purchased work created by 2021 APF artists, support NCC’s programs in advancement of the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. This year, as our organization rebuilds and reinvents, our annual fundraiser is more valued and necessary than ever.

Community: APF is a moment to come together to explore and to celebrate studio pottery and its diverse community of artists in the United States. Over the last 23 years, APF has evolved into a revered tradition, one that is steeped in depth of talent, breadth of knowledge, and the generosity of artists, buyers, educators, students, volunteers, sponsors, staff, neighbors, and our board of directors. NCC is a non-profit ceramic arts center with a regional, national, and international presence. Thousands of people connect with NCC annually through outreach, education, studio programs, and through the sales and exhibition galleries. This year, we continue to work relentlessly to keep those connections whole and meaningful and ensure NCC is a welcome and safe place for all. Whether you are an up-and-coming or long-time student, an emerging studio artist or maker on the road to mastery, a new shopper visiting our online gallery or experienced collector, we invite and encourage you to engage with this year’s APF. Come to learn, explore, splurge, and connect with our welcoming clay community.

Exhibition and Sale: APF launched this year with a Preview Show in May introducing participating artists and featuring their work in our gallery and online. Annually, NCC invites a group of artists whose wares represent an array of aesthetics, voices, and materials—from humble wares rooted

in historic processes, to audacious explorations of form and surface, to technical mastery of new technologies—all established in balanced composition and service to utility.

Every September, APF presents over 1500 wares from the hands of the most accomplished ceramic artists in the country alongside makers who carry the promise of tomorrow. All are remarkable. This year, the festival is a five-day opportunity to choose from a selection of finelycrafted objects from engaging artists in support of NCC programming. Your APF purchases underscore the impact makers have on our world.

Conference: This year, we determined the safest way for us all to come together for the education component of APF weekend is through virtual or hybrid platforms.

Local workshop participants will have the opportunity to either come to NCC to pick up the clay and supplies needed to participate, and return their work to be bisque fired as part of their workshop fee, or join us from anywhere in the world with their own supplies to participate and learn.

APF artists will offer weekday interactive virtual workshops and a full weekend of demonstrations, panels, and lectures, all with the opportunity to immerse yourself in their worlds and pose questions. In addition, everyone is welcome to join us nightly, Wednesday through Saturday, for evening social hours and artist lectures. Rather than our hallmark Friday Opening Night Party, we will open the sale on the morning of Wednesday, September 1 and will offer time-specific tickets throughout the week so you can safely come into the gallery to shop in person. Our free Personal Shopping Service is also available for those who are not able to attend in person for any reason.

For conference details and pricing, please refer to page 17.

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Matthew Dercole Hartford, CT Mug DER020 $150

Doug Casebeer Carbondale, CO Matte Blue Vase DC028 $650

Bill Jones Greensboro, NC Pitcher BJ005 $120

Pattie Chalmers Carbondale, IL Small Vase with Pigeons PC027 $100

Coloring page sketches by Doug Casebeer, Pattie Chalmers, Matthew Dercole, and Bill Jones

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Sandra Torres Ojai, CA Set of Three Egg Cups SAT024 $75

Sanam Emami Fort Collins, CO 2 Large Bowls SE003 / SE004 $380 / $360

Coloring page sketches by Sanam Emami, Ronan Peterson, Tricia Schmidt, Sandra Torres, and Daniel Velasquez

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Kurt Brian Webb Palatine, IL Three-Legged Mythological Crows and Coronaviruses KBW053 $650

Ronan Peterson Chapel Hill, NC Facets Vase RP049 $120

Tricia Schmidt St. Paul, MN Jar with Bunnies TS1146 $125

Coloring page sketches by Ronan Peterson, Tricia Schmidt, Daniel Velasquez, and Kurt Brian Webb

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Jordan McDonald Philadelphia, PA Vase MCD015 $100 Forrest Lesch-Middelton Petaluma, CA Pitcher FLM079 $185

Sue Tirrell Livingston, MT Dish for Butter ST019 $90

Coloring page sketches and design by Forrest Lesch-Middelton and Sue Tirrell

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Mike Helke Stillwater, MN Salt Dish MH047 $248

Stuart Gair Glenwood Springs, CO Serving Bowl SG025 $125

Lars Voltz Cedar Rapids, IA Columnar Bowl LV067 $285

Mike Tavares Springfield, IL Pitcher MT022 $65

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Bianka Groves Santa Fe, NM Serving Bowl BGR181 $300

Daniel Velasquez San Francisco, CA Skulls Amphora DV002 $3200

Randy Johnston River Falls, WI Teapot RJ008 $700

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Ashley Bevington Lakeville, OH Poodle Liquor Bottle BV013 $160

Kurt Anderson Helena, MT Sauce and Flavor Vase KA004 $240

Justin Donofrio Alfred, NY Black and White Gradient Vase JDO055 $220

Coloring page sketches by Kurt Anderson, Ashley Bevington, Randy Johnston, Bill Jones, and Lars Voltz

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Joyce St. Clair Voltz Cedar Rapids, IA Sprigged Pitcher JSV001 $280

Kathy King Belmont, MA In Bed KK025 $185

Peter Jadoonath Shafer, MN Bowl with Birds PJ729 $120

Coloring page sketches by Kurt Anderson, Sanam Emami, Peter Jadoonath, Kathy King, Sandra Torres, and Joyce St. Clair Voltz

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Guillermo Guardia St. Paul, MN Croissant Warrior GUG002 $400

Amanda Dobbratz Minneapolis, MN Oval Vase AD350 $600

Brett Freund Minneapolis, MN Crust Pot BF014 $75

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APF: Exhibition & Sale*

APF: VIP Packages

View, enjoy, and purchase the work of this year’s APF artists in person at NCC. (Online sale will also be available with the same start time: Wednesday, September 1, 10 am CT.)

NCC provides the opportunity to enhance your support of our annual fundraiser and ensure you’ll enjoy all that our event has to offer at various levels of patronage.

Between Wednesday morning and Sunday afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy over 1500 pots and purchase your favorites for your growing collection. Tickets are available for 1.5 hour-long gallery appointments with a maximum of 10 guests in the gallery at a time. Gather nine of your friends and make it a private party! Please watch for our Members Only Ticket Pre-Sale!

OPENING DAY: Wednesday, September 1 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $35

10 am – 7 pm

Thursday, September 2 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $25

10 am – 7 pm

Friday, September 3 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $15

10 am – 7 pm

Saturday, September 4 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $5

10 am – 7 pm

Sunday, September 5 1.5 hour gallery appointment: $5

10 am – 7 pm

* We will continue to make decisions based on the health and safety of our community and will communicate any changes to our event as soon as they occur.

Includes: • One-year Individual or Dual Membership • First tier access to schedule two 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments • Registration for two pre-festival workshops with Jeff Oestreich, Sue Tirrell, Tricia Schmidt & Kurt Brian Webb, or Lars Voltz & Joyce St. Clair Voltz.

• All-day Virtual Workshop Passes for both Saturday and Sunday

Includes: • One-year Individual Membership • Second tier access to schedule two 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointments • All-day Virtual Workshop Passes for both Saturday and Sunday

Includes: • One-year Individual Membership • Third tier access to schedule one 1.5 hour-long gallery (or Personal Shopping) appointment • All-day Virtual Workshop Passes for both Saturday and Sunday

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APF: Conference Pre-Festival Workshops

Artist Lecture Social Hours Each evening, we’ll end the day with time to listen to some of this year’s APF guest artists. Attendance is free and priceless.

Wednesday, September 1 Kurt Anderson Ashley Bevington Thursday, September 2 Ronan Peterson Brett Freund

6 pm 6:30 pm

6 pm 6:30 pm

Friday, September 3 Friends in Clay Places Panel – all APF artists and YOU Saturday, September 4 Daniel Velasquez Justin Donofrio

6 pm

6 pm 6:30 pm

Clay-Along Virtual Workshops The tradition of offering dynamic, pre-festival educational opportunities with select artists continues in 2021.

We offer our pre-festival virtual workshops with either Materials Kits or Content-Only options.

Pre-Festival Workshop Scholarships Available 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

NCC Members receive 5% discount Jeff Oestreich Wheels & Heels This 2021 American Pottery Festival weekend kick-off workshop with Jeff Oestreich will have several in-studio student spots available and take place in the virtual realm as well.

An internationally-recognized artist, Oestreich has one foot in tradition and one paving the trail of contemporary ceramics.

During his workshop, Oestreich will demonstrate a few of his favorite forms on the wheel amidst stories and sentiments from his career experiences. He will share techniques that contribute to the simplicity and directness of his approach. Much like the fond stories he will share, and the process of creativity, the workshop will unfold and build in an organic manner. Your time together will also feature a high-profile surprise!

Thursday, September 2, 10 am – 1 pm Fees: $80 in-person workshop (Limited tickets available)

$60 Virtual Workshop – Content Only

$30 Students Virtual Workshop – Content Only

Tricia Schmidt & Kurt Brian Webb Concatenation of Art & Education Join artists and educators, Tricia Schmidt and Kurt Brian Webb, for a workshop on figurative storytelling in contemporary ceramics, their relevant work as educators, and where these paths intersect. Schmidt and Webb will demonstrate their illustrating and figurative decoration techniques and discuss the role of symbolism and social commentary in their work.

With a combined 50+ years of experience teaching in public schools, Webb and Schmidt will also share insights on guiding students in their expression of story and how their role as educators weaves with their artistic practice. As you absorb their teaching and techniques, practice surface decoration methods on tiles and forms of your own.

Thursday, September 2, 2 – 5 pm Fees: $80 Virtual Workshop with Materials Kit

$60 Virtual Workshop – Content Only

$45 Students with Materials Kit

$30 Students – Content Only

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Weekend Workshops Sue Tirrell Unforgettable: Commemorative Plates and Tiles What images, feelings, and situations will you remember most about this tumultuous past year? How would you translate complicated feelings into an object of beauty and contemplation? Join Sue Tirrell for an exploration of plate making and narrative surface design. She will discuss examples of historic and contemporary commemorative ceramics and why they are important. Demonstrations will include handbuilt plate construction techniques as well as how Tirrell approaches narrative composition using pattern, symbols, and expressive color. With a Materials Kit option, participants will design their own plate and have the opportunity to paint, draw, and carve their own narrative designs with underglazes on a leather-hard tile.

Friday, September 3, 10 am – 1 pm Fees: $80 Virtual Workshop with Materials Kit

$60 Virtual Workshop – Content Only

$45 Students with Materials Kit

$30 Students – Content Only

Joyce St. Clair Voltz & Lars Voltz Make it Thicker!

This dynamic couple strikes a compelling balance with the distinct, juxtaposed personalities of their work. Their unique processes of creating involve practically contrary ways of building—Voltz makes objects that exude visual weight through methods of reduction, and St. Clair Voltz creates robustly feminine forms with a light evocation through amassing and layering clay components. During this workshop, Voltz will demonstrate tactics for using mass advantageously through the process of throwing and building thick, then aggressively subtracting material.

St. Clair Voltz will demonstrate throwing forms as base structures for sprig adornment and for accumulating decorative mass. Join in with a Materials Kit and practice reductive and additive methods along with the artists.

Friday, September 3, 2 – 5 pm Fees: $80 Virtual Workshop with Materials Kit

$60 Virtual Workshop – Content Only

$45 Students with Materials Kit

$30 Students – Content Only

Weekend Workshop Scholarships Available 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need.

Saturday All-day Virtual Workshops Saturday, September 4, 10 am – 5 pm CT Fees: $45

NCC Members and Educators: $35

Students: $30

Tippy Maurant prepares breakfast with 10 – 11 am Guillermo Guardia, Forrest Lesch-Middelton, Jeff Oestreich, & Sue Tirrell Maker-To-Table Get energized for your Saturday APF experience by sharing a cup of coffee with clever makers from across the land. Tippy Maurant, Guillermo Guardia, Forrest Lesch-Middelton, Jeff Oestreich, and Sue Tirrell will create their favorite breakfast specialty, whether in the oven, on the stove, or by the campfire, and engage in lively discussion about the parallels between clay and kitchen practices and the Maker-To-Table movement.

Kathy King & Pattie Chalmers 11:15 am – 12:30 pm Time Keepers Illustration experts Kathy King and Pattie Chalmers are sure to capture your attention and spark your imagination with their respective illustrative techniques. Both King and Chalmers admire the ability of the ceramic material to survive for eons, and take that quality as an opportunity to create time capsules of current perceptions of cultural themes and personal experiences. Learn how they utilize line, form, and material as a vehicle for storytelling.

Guillermo Guardia & Matthew Dercole 1 – 2 pm Interplay In their studio practices, Guillermo Guardia and Matthew Dercole migrate seamlessly back and forth between functional and sculptural work. Watch as they demonstrate their distinctive building techniques, and listen as they discuss the importance of interplay between sculpture and function in their artwork and how one way of making informs the other.

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Sanam Emami & Forrest Lesch-Middelton 2:15 – 3:30 pm The Clay Artists’ Book Club This captivating duo reunites for this year’s APF to explore new avenues of inspiration. Sanam Emami and Forrest LeschMiddelton will offer each other passages from their favorite books, then use them as prompts for their demonstrations.

Tune in to witness these artists give physical form to their ideas, discussion, and inspiration.

Amanda Dobbratz & Mike Tavares 3:45 – 5 pm Modular Molds There’s no limit to form when you have molds on your side!

Amanda Dobbratz and Mike Tavares will demonstrate how they employ molds in their studios to create one-of-a-kind works. They will discuss their preferences for mold-making mediums, tips and troubleshooting, and how the process adds to the versatility of their practices.

Sunday All-day Virtual Workshops Sunday, September 5, 10 am – 4 pm CT Fees: $40

NCC Members and Educators: $30

Students: $25

Sandra Torres 10 – 11 am Fine Lines & Form Redefined Sandra Torres’ precise lines and illustration motifs will hypnotize you. In this demonstration, Torres will illuminate the intent behind her pottery; the carefully considered color, the deliberate line work, the subtle forms, and the delicate aesthetic. She will open your eyes to the beauty of detail, highlighting the significance of small variations and repetition of patterns.

Mike Helke, Jordan McDonald, 11:15 am – 12:30 pm & Peter Jadoonath Favorite Pots Let’s take the activity ‘Show and Tell’ one step further. Mike Helke, Jordan McDonald, and Peter Jadoonath will each offer one of their favorite pieces of pottery, discuss the qualities of each piece, then reinterpret the pots through a demonstration of their own. Watch as these talented and entertaining makers identify aspects of their favorite pieces and elaborate on them to make something entirely theirs.

Randy Johnston & Doug Casebeer 1 – 4 pm Between the Idea and Making: Round Two This APF workshop is a rare opportunity to spend time with internationally-recognized ceramic artists Randy Johnston and Doug Casebeer. In this workshop, Johnston and Casebeer will focus on the exchange of ideas involved in making pots related to form and function with sculptural intention. These short demonstrations will cover some use of the wheel as well as handbuilding construction of forms by altering and combining pieces using slabs and paper patterns. In addition, they will share their thought processes through conversation with each other and the participants about why we make the objects we choose to make and what experiences in our lives have brought us to this place in our journey as artists. This will be a quick, exciting, and fun workshop with personal discussions about traditional and new ways of making, surface decoration, wood firing, soda firing, gas firing, and their relationships to contemporary ceramics. Both artists have studied, traveled, and taught extensively in Chile, Japan, Europe, and the US, and will share their ideas about these experiences and influences.

Casebeer was the Associate Director at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado and is currently a Resident Artist at University of Oklahoma. Johnston studied in Japan with living national treasure Tatsuzo Shimaoka and was privileged to teach as a professor at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

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APF: Fundraiser How you can help us achieve this year’s fundraising goals Fundraiser The American Pottery Festival is NCC’s most impactful annual fundraiser. Money raised during these few important days goes to support the advancement of the ceramic arts through our education, exhibitions, outreach, and artist services programming. There are many ways you can engage in our fundraising efforts throughout our APF weekend: • Purchase an all-access VIP Package and enjoy everything APF has to offer. Available in three levels of patronage: Luster at $500, Porcelain at $250, and Celadon at $125.

• Purchase a piece of donated work. Every year, each of our generous APF artists donates one hand-selected piece to our fundraiser, so 100% of the selling price funds programming. (Thank you, kind artists!)

• Attend our on-site gallery with a few of your fellow clay fans. (Ticket prices vary, depending on the day.)

• Become an NCC member and enjoy the benefits that come with supporting your favorite local ceramic organization.

• Round up your ticket price throughout the week for an added contribution.

• Be inspired by the exhibition and artist lectures, and then buy your new favorite pot (or several) online to ship as a gift to introduce someone new to clay.

• Support NCC’s fundraising efforts with a larger gift, and double it with your company’s matching contributions. $2000 can accomplish the following: support a studio fellowship for one emerging artist for an entire year; fund a ClayToGo virtual residency for 100 school children; or create up to 10 lecture or workshop opportunities for artists visiting from around the world.

Membership Purchase or renew your NCC membership before APF to take advantage of special workshop pricing and access to the onsite event ticket pre-sale. Members are invited to be the first to purchase tickets to see the American Pottery Festival exhibition in person and purchase pots. NCC members are included in a rare community of artists and supporters working to advance the ceramic arts. In addition to supporting a unique, medium-specific organization and its programming, your membership will provide you with discounts to classes, workshops, and pottery by sales gallery artists year-round.

You may purchase your membership online, in the gallery, or by telephone.

Ceramic Purchases Here are a few tips to help with purchase choices for the festival week whether you engage from the comfort of your home or purchase a ticket to visit the gallery: • Shop online for hundreds of pieces by this year’s APF artists as well as the artists represented full-time in the sales gallery.

This year, because the event is once again nearly entirely virtual, the online selection is more robust than ever before.

• We offer a Personal Shopping Service for those of you who choose not to attend the festival in person, but would still like to see all of the artwork whether available only in the galleries, or listed online. Please register as soon as possible so we are able to send images and to work with you to choose your favorite pieces. Sales of APF work open on Wednesday, September 1, at 10 am CT with a Wednesday ticket purchase of $35. It’s advisable to partner with our staff in the days leading up to the event so we can set aside exactly what you’d like as soon as the exhibition opens. Personal shopping sales after September 1 do not require the purchase of a gallery ticket.

We are also happy to assist you in the purchase of work by our year-round gallery artists and exhibition artists. Please submit our online form or send a request for a personal shopper to salesgallery@northernclaycenter.org.

• Shop in person in the gallery by purchasing a ticket for your preferred appointment time. A limited number of tickets will be available for each appointment time frame, and members will have access to the ticket presale in mid-August. There is no limit on purchases, and, as in years past, we will assist you by storing pieces near the register.

The gallery will be designed to ensure social distancing, and masks are required while inside NCC. This in-person opportunity is subject to change to protect everyone’s safety and NCC’s compliance with all government requirements and science-based protocols.

• Shipping to the US and Canada is available for all purchases. Arrange for shipping online during checkout, or simply allow us to offer personal service by contacting us via phone at 612.339.8007, email, or during your shopping appointment in the gallery.

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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 28375

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 612.339.8007 www.northernclaycenter.org

Enjoy our APF 2021 Color-Along Catalog!

Please share your creations with us on Instagram! @northernclaycenter #americanpotteryfestival

Special Thanks This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

Design: Veto Design (vetodesign.com) Art Direction: Tippy Maurant Photography: Peter Lee Except where noted, all coloring pages designed by Amanda Dobbratz