"Concepts in Clay" opens Friday

Gail Turner, of Mill Stone Pottery in Dennis, and I talked with a group of docents today at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, answering as many questions as we could about the work now on display there. "Concepts in Clay" is a show of work by members of Cape Cod Potters, a very loosely organized group of clay people here on the Cape. The show was juried by Ellen Shankin, of Floyd, Va.
The show was designed to challenge clayworkers to think about their process and their ideas, and then put those thoughts into words and into clay. That's the way I understood it, anyway.
The result is a fine show of work, from functional to sculptural. Each entrant's work is mounted separately on a pedestal or pedestals, allowing separation from the other pots or sculptures in the show.
And on one wall are eight large photographs, shot by this photographer, showing steps in the clayworking process. Images of Kim Medeiros, Dan Finnegan, Sarah Caruso, Tessa Morgan, and myself make up the wall display. Firing is represented by my loaded kiln and flame protruding from the noborigama of Robert Compton, in Bristol, VT. You can see the photos in one of the overall shots here.
The show opens this week, with a formal reception (that means free beer and wine, people) this Friday, from 5 to 7 p.m. Come one, come all.
Photos, top to bottom: bottles by Toni Levin, Oribe work by Linda Riehl, big serving bowls by Kevin Nolan, coil-built and wood-fired vases from Frances Johnson.