SEPTEMBER 8–1O, 2O23
FROM DEEP-FRIED FOOD TO FIREWORKS, FROM PRIZE HOGS TO PICKLE DOGS, AND FROM THE RING TOSS TO ROLLER COASTERS, THE FAIR BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN VIBRANT AND SATURATED CELEBRATION. WHAT BETTER VIBE FOR THE 25TH ANNUAL
IT’S
Fundraiser: APF is Northern Clay Center’s annual fundraiser. All contributions, and NCC’s portion of the purchased work created by ribbon-worthy 2023 APF artists, support NCC’s mission of advancing the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and grant programs. NCC is a non-profit ceramic art center with a regional, national, and international presence. Whether you are a beginning student in our education studios or a maker with years of experience, a new visitor and shopper in our galleries or a seasoned collector, we hope you join us for APF 2023. Come to learn, explore, splurge, and connect with the playful side of clay.
Exhibition and Sale: This year’s APF offers the work of 25 invited guest artists and opened the gates with the APF Preview Show in May. Annually, NCC extends invitations to artists representing rich, lived experiences and varying artistic perspectives whose pots display a vast array of techniques, aesthetics, and materials. They range from familiar forms intended for everyday utility, to boundary-challenging technical mastery and storytelling, to works centered in the communication of identity. The sale is a three-day event offering over 1400 ceramic works to support NCC and our parade of APF guest artists with every purchase made online or in the galleries in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The sale will commence with our Opening Night “Party of the Year” on Friday, September 8, from 6 – 9 pm CT (5 pm for members), in the galleries. We offer our free Personal Shopping Service for
those not able to attend in person for any reason. We also offer VIP Weekend Packages that include entrance to all of the weekend’s festival celebrations and workshops and provide us with additional support.
Education Conference: 2023 APF workshops and artist demonstrations are offered in person in our NCC studios. In addition, there will be virtual options available for each workshop and demonstration. Daily artist talks will be available at no cost, both in person and virtually, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
APF artists will offer Thursday and Friday hands-on workshops and a weekend filled with demonstrations, presentations, and conversation in the teaching studios with the invitation to pose questions, learn from a shared or new perspective, and enjoy being in the funhouse of palpable creativity. Select APF artists will also visit several local schools for demonstrations and educational enrichment.
In-person workshops and demonstrations will have limited spots available, so early registration is highly encouraged. There is special pricing for NCC members, as well as students and educators. In addition, we offer scholarships for BIPOC individuals and those in financial-need for the weekend’s workshops and demonstrations.
For APF details and pricing, please refer to pages 14 - 17.
Olivia Tani Minneapolis, MN Vase OT159
$260
“Leon Theramin” crop art. Special thanks to Liz Schreiber, cropartcreations.com
Minneapolis, MN
Ewer
OT247
$295
Seagrove, NC
Pouring Vessels
TSH015 / TSH016
$200 each
Helena, MT
Bowl
MB008
$50
Olivia Tani Michaela Bromberek Takuro Shibata
CAL004
$94
Mugs
MC003 / MC005
$90 each
DM019
$157
Mike Cerv Kansas City, KS Chris Alveshere Missoula, MT Bowl Didem Mert Sebastopol, CA Cup
Darcy
Sunkoo Yuh
Athens, GA
Cups
SY017 / SY015
$200 / $250
Darcy Delgado
Richmond, CA
Para Mi Gente
DD069
$500
Hitomi Shibata
Seagrove, NC
Plate
HS007
$80
Too Short, Too Fat, Too Thin
Kristina Batiste Tacoma, WA Too Tall,
Athens, GA Vase MY055 $450
Santa Fe, NM
Bud Vase
BGR242
$225
Flower Brick BB015
$205
Minsoo Yuh Bekah Bliss Kansas City, MO Bianka GrovesRide the Giant Slide into this year’s FUNdraiser!
American Pottery Festival is NCC’s annual fundraiser. There are many ways to contribute throughout our APF weekend:
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION.
Support NCC with a monetary gift, and double it with your company’s matching contributions. Encourage a group of colleagues or friends to create a larger donation.
Just $2000 can accomplish the following:
• Support a studio fellowship for one emerging artist for an entire year,
• Fund a 10-week ClayToGo after-school program for a local school,
• Create up to 10 lecture or workshop opportunities for artists visiting from around the world.
BECOME A MEMBER.
Purchase or renew your NCC membership before APF to take advantage of special workshop pricing and early access to Opening Night.
PURCHASE AN ALL-ACCESS VIP PACKAGE. Available in three levels of patronage:
• CYCLONE at $500
• SCRAMBLER at $250
• CAROUSEL at $125
ROUND UP IN THE GALLERY.
During check out, let our staff know you’d like to round up to the nearest dollar or add a donation amount to your purchase.
PURCHASE ARTWORK IN THE GALLERIES AND ONLINE. NCC’s portion of each sale supports our mission- and valuesdriven work. In addition, APF artists have each graciously donated a piece to NCC—100% of the sale of these special works adds to the success of the event.
You may make a donation—or purchase a membership, tickets, and artwork—online, in the gallery, or by telephone.
Pottery, pageantry, and possibilities!
Step right up!
OPENING NIGHT!
Friday, September 8
6 – 9 pm (Member Preview Hour 5 – 6 pm): $25
Saturday, September 9 10 am – 5 pm: FREE
Sunday, September 10 10 am – 3 pm: FREE
SHOP IN PERSON.
Visit the Coliseum of Clay—aka our exhibition galleries—and your favorite pottery entertainers starting on Opening Night!
SHOP ONLINE.
Packed with more glitz than the Midway, hundreds of pieces by this year’s APF guest artists, as well as the artists represented full time in the sales gallery, will be available online starting on Saturday, September 9 at 10 am CT.
SHOP WITH OUR PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICE.
For those who cannot attend APF in person, and would like access to all of the work in the galleries at NCC (not just those offered online), we offer our Personal Shopping Service. Registration deadline for this service is Wednesday, August 30, but we highly encourage early registration. This service is free, but a $25 ticket fee will accompany work purchased on Friday. There is no ticket fee for artworks purchased on Saturday or Sunday should they still be available at that time.
NCC provides the opportunity to enhance your support of our annual fundraiser and ensure you’ll feel as special as Princess Kay of the Milky Way as you enjoy all that our event has to offer at various levels of patronage.
CYCLONE $500
• One-year Individual or Dual Membership
• Two invitations to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 7, 6 – 8 pm CT
• Two Opening Night tickets for early entry on Friday, September 8, 5 – 9 pm CT
• One registration for each Pre-festival Workshop with Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata of Studio Touya on Thursday, and Didem Mert & Kim Murton on Friday
• Two invitations to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 9, 5 – 7 pm CT
• All-day Demonstration Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
SCRAMBLER $250
• One-year Individual Membership
• One invitation to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 7, 6 – 8 pm CT
• One Opening Night ticket for early entry on Friday, September 8, 5 – 9 pm CT
• One invitation to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 9, 5 – 7 pm CT
• All-day Demonstration Passes for both Saturday and Sunday
CAROUSEL $125
• One-year Individual Membership
• One invitation to the private Welcome Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 7, 6 – 8 pm CT
• One Opening Night ticket for early entry on Friday, September 8, 5 – 9 pm CT
• One invitation to the Saturday Night Thank You Party with wood-fired pizza on Saturday, September 9, 5 – 7 pm CT
All I need is a good workshop and fried butter.
The gates are now open!
The tradition of offering dynamic, pre-festival educational opportunities with a dizzying cast of artists continues in 2023. We offer all of our workshops with either in-person or virtual options.
Studio Touya: Hitomi Shibata & Takuro Shibata
CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS AND DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
• 100% scholarship available to BIPOC attendees
• 50% scholarship available to any who identify as experiencing financial need
• NCC Members receive $10 discount
• K-12 through post-secondary students and educators receive a 50% discount (reflected in the pricing below).
FREE like a grandstand giveaway!
Each day, we’ll set aside time to listen to some of this year’s dazzling APF guest artists. All talks will take place in NCC’s library and via Zoom and are listed in Central Time.
Saturday, September 9
11:30 am Chris Alveshere
1:30 pm Shikha Joshi
2:30 pm Studio Touya
3:30 pm Michaela Bromberek
4:30 pm S.C. Rolf
Sunday, September 10
11:30 am Bianka Groves
12:30 pm Lee Love
1:30 pm Kristina Batiste
Trolley Rides: Guided Tours in Slab Plates and Brushwork
Why walk when you can take the state fair trolley to the front gates? The same can be said for learning new and exciting construction and decorating techniques for your pottery! Take a ride with the dynamic duo, Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata, of Studio Touya in this hands-on workshop where you’ll be using natural and locally-sourced clay as slips to explore the art of slab work. Ride along with guided examples on preparing slabs and creating plates as big as funnel cakes. By the end of this trip, you’ll receive directions on selecting and testing the local materials for your project, develop skilled brushwork techniques, and be safely delivered to the main gates and ready for what a weekend at APF has to offer! All levels welcome!
Thursday, September 7, 12 – 4 pm CT
Fees: $80 In-person workshop
$40 In-person for students and educators
$40 Virtual content only
Didem Mert & Kim Murton
The Mighty Midway: A Form, Illustration, and Color Cacophony
Witness the cooler-than-a-snowcone pottery from the minds of Mert and Murton. Step right up, and test your skill and technique as you create a cup and planter under the direction of these two fabulous makers. Mert will demonstrate the slab-built drinking vessels using their veneering technique that employs multiple-colored clay bodies to create a terrazzo-like surface effect. Murton will guide your creations to include facial features sure to put a grin on your own face! Participants will use AMACO underglazes, Mert’s stencils, and Murton’s “house” slips to create beautiful visual noise!
Friday, September 8, 12 – 4 pm CT
Fees: $80 In-person workshop
$40 In-person for students and educators
$40 Virtual content only
You can’t spell STATE FAIR without A-R-T-I-S-T!
Saturday, September 9, 10 am – 4 pm CT
Fees: $60 In-person demonstrations
$30 In-person for students and educators
$30 Virtual content only
Kristina Batiste, Darcy Delgado, & S.C. Rolf 10 – 11 am
On the Mainstage at the Grandstand
Come to a listening party—a fun new panel format for this year’s APF—and discover where clay and music meet. As entertaining as the Grandstand, but with even better seats! Join Batiste, Delgado, and Rolf as they discuss a curated selection of songs chosen in response to their own studio practices and work styles. Experience the work of these artists through this multimedia experience (without the crowds or risk of rain).
Kristina Batiste & Donna de Soto
11:15 am – 12:30 pm
The tasty treats at the fair require more than magic, and the same goes for tasty pots. Creating wares springs from understanding the core principles of design. Join seasoned pot slingers Batiste and de Soto as they dole out nuggets of wisdom about their wheel-thrown work’s relationship to ideas of surface, line, form, and color and share thoughts on embracing good design to create their work. This demonstration is sure to leave you feeling full!
Darcy Delgado & Tricia Schmidt
Talent Show
Sunday, September 10, 10 am – 2 pm CT
Fees: $45 In-person demonstrations
$25 In-person for students and educators
$25 Virtual content only
Bekah Bliss & S.C. Rolf
FFA: (Functional Forms of APF)
10 – 11 am
How can you choose between agriculture and livestock at the state fair when there is so much to see? Well, we guarantee that you won’t have to choose between handbuilder, Bliss, and wheel thrower, Rolf. Experience the best of both worlds as the artists create their blue-ribbon bowl forms. See where techniques intersect and diverge as Bliss handbuilds using bisque molds to emphasize the development of surface texture, while Rolf alters wheel-thrown pots to find new formal possibilities. You are sure to leave this exciting demonstration feeling like you won first prize, and the future is bright.
Michaela Bromberek & Shikha Joshi
People Watching
11:45 am – 12:45 pm
1:30 – 2:45 pm
How does an artist find their voice? Be wowed as talented potters and sculptors Delgado and Schmidt step into the spotlight to share the evolution of their winning aesthetics. They’ll showcase their signature styles while regaling the crowd with stories about the development of their inimitable artistic visions and how they’ve nurtured their stage-worthy careers.
Chris Alveshere & Mike Cerv
Mirrors
3 – 4 pm
Discover how Alveshere and Cerv embrace the idea of nearly identical in the creation of their work. While Alveshere prefers to use the potter’s wheel and Cerv slab builds using tar paper templates, both artists reproduce their forms with a remarkable accuracy. But, they also encourage the different nuances that emerge during the process of making. Look closely, as small variations to a pot can mean the difference between mirror image and nearly identical
Yeah, we love the food, fun, and games at the fair, but a “must do” is people watching, and this tag-team artist extravaganza is sure to provide some entertaining education. Bromberek and Joshi place a premium on the wood-fired aesthetic, but each gets there with precise individuality. Bromberek will prepare her work for the wood kiln with slips, wax resists, and glazes; Joshi will demonstrate her clay and glaze combinations that emulate the subtle beauty of the wood-fired pot while employing an electric kiln. So, grab a seat and watch!
pm
Machinery Hill
Tools are a marvelous necessity in the field of clay. Artists Green and Yuh employ an array of tools (hands included) to develop their recognizable, decorated ceramic surfaces. See what crops up as similarities and differences emerge between both artists’ pottery while their shared materials influence their individual artistic outcomes. Green and Yuh will demonstrate tool-based techniques including faceting, stamping, inlay, and the careful use of slip to create their thoughtful work. Nothing runs like these peers!
Nancy Green & Minsoo Yuh 1 – 2612.339.8007
www.northernclaycenter.org
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 and composites on cover, pages 2, and 12: vetodesign.com
Art Direction: Tippy Maurant
Photography of pots: Peter Lee
Composites on pages 4, 6, and 10: Karl Herber
Original “Crop Art” background on page 2: Liz Schreiber
2O23
SEPTEMBER 8–1O
Shikha Joshi
Round Rock, TX
Gravy Boat with Saucer
SJ023
$140