Saturday, October 9, 2010

Canadian potter Tony Clennell workshop is on Cape Cod Oct. 22-24





Tony Clennell, who makes pots in Beamsville, Ont., with his wife Sheila, will be in Chatham and Hyannis Oct. 22-24 for a workshop sponsored by the Cape Cod Potters. Anyone who has read Tony's blog - smokieclennell.blogspot.com - has a sense of the fine craft, humor and occasional outrageousness of the man. The workshop is likely to be great fun as well as extremely useful for potters who want to think outside their own particular box.
Tony's work includes two videos - "How to Make Handmade Cane Handles" and "Taking the Macho Out of Bigware." He's traveled across Canada and the U.S., to Japan, China and Italy to give workshops, to teach and the learn. His work is in collections in Europe, Asia and North America. I'm sorry I have to miss this one (our son is visiting from Seattle that weekend), because it sounds like a lot of fun.
Tony opens Friday evening, Oct. 22, with a PowerPoint presentation at Chatham's Creative Arts Center, then follows the next two days with the main workshop in the big clay studios of Barnstable High School in Hyannis. The Friday presentation is open to the public.
Saturday's workshop focuses on "larger-than-life" utilitarian pottery. "We will pay attention to the details on ... casseroles, pitchers, bowls and plates so that they may be used for celebration and presentation," he writes in the workshop promotional material. "Students that normally cannot throw more than a few pounds of clay often throw with ease three to five times as much after the session."
Gail Turner of Brewster, co-President of the Cape Cod Potters, tells me there's plenty of room for late additions to the workshop, because there is so much space available in the Barnstable High School studio. Go to http://www.capecodpotters.org/workshops.htm for details and directions.
I'll post a few of Tony's pots, stolen from the Sour Cherry website and blog.
Come on down to the Cape.

5 comments:

cookingwithgas said...

gosh this would be a great reason to visit the Cape- I enjoy his blog and his pots are so spot on.
Enjoy!

Hollis Engley said...

Thanks, Meredith. Come on up. We'll find room for you.

Hannah said...

Hey Hollis, Is this the quality of potters you generally get demonstrating round yuor neck of the woods? If so are you sure you want us? Scary but very much looking forward to meeting you.

Hollis Engley said...

Tony's going to be your warm-up act, Hannah. He'll get the crowd excited to see you and Doug next spring. This whole thing in April should be fun. Wish I could tag along to Virginia and North Carolina with you.

Muhammad Zeeshan said...
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