42nd
Annual Spring Pottery & Glass Festival
Friday Night Gala,
April 2, 6pm – 10pm
Saturday & Sunday, April 3 & 4, 10am – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday, April 10 & 11, 10am – 6pm
Dear Friends of Cedar Creek,
We invite you to join us at the 42nd Annual Spring Pottery and Glass Festival the first two weekends of April. This celebration of craft begins Friday, April 2nd with the gallery staying open until 10pm and continues Saturday and Sunday, April 3rd and 4th and Saturday and Sunday, April 10th and 11th from 10am to 6pm, with glass blowing, pottery, and wood turning demonstrations as well as live music each day. Both weekends are packed full of demonstrations and exciting happenings so check the schedule of events for specific days and times.
Friday, April 2nd offers the first chance to see and purchase all the new work in the gallery. Come early for the best selection. Starting at 6pm Larry Hutcherson will be playing eclectic jazz guitar and we will have light refreshments and beverages. You will be able to watch glass blowing in the Four Winds studio and Alan Bennett will open his studio for people to watch as he magically transforms cubes of clay into fish. When it begins to get dark he will pull glowing hot fish from the raku kiln, a fascinating process in broad daylight, even more enchanting at twilight.
John Martin has been working harder than ever, both in the nursery and clay studio. The crystalline pieces he has been making in collaboration with Geoff Lloyd (see him throwing pots the second Sunday) have been exceptionally beautiful and we will have a large selection at the festival. Also, John and Jennifer Stas have been collaborating on some small, footed dishes in crystalline glaze that we expect will be finished just in time for the Friday Night Gala. He and Jeff Bottoms will be on hand both weekends in the nursery to assist with your plant selections and to answer questions about your garden. Click this link to see Grassroots Gardening, written by John Martin and Jeff Bottoms.
Jennifer Stas and Brad Tucker will be doing a joint demonstration making figurative sculptures in clay. They have been collaborating on these with Brad throwing cylinders and other shapes and passing them over to Jennifer who then pushes and pulls, pokes and paddles the clay, transforming them into figures. The figures range in size from eight inches to three feet tall. Watching them work together on these creations has been magical, the parts slowly coming together to make the whole. Make sure you plan enough time to stay and watch their demo for a while. Click here to visit our Facebook page where you can scroll down and see pictures of the figures in progress.
Tim Turner and Jennifer Stas just fired the wood kiln together. The results were stupendous and those pots will be available at the festival. The wood kiln is fueled entirely by burning wood, usually close to a twelve hour firing with constant stoking of the fire. Jennifer and Tim will both be demonstrating at various times during the festival.
Visiting artist Alan Bennett, actually from New York, but spending more and more time in the studios at Cedar Creek in anticipation of his show here this summer, will be here for the entire festival. He will open his studio to show the processes he uses to sculpt clay into lifelike fish as well as share the thrill of the raku firing process. Alan will fire the wood kiln the week before the festival and after letting it cool for a few days will have a kiln opening on Sunday the 4th, just after the Adult Egg Scramble.
Harrison Harper and I (Lisa Oakley) will be in the studio blowing glass both Saturdays and Sundays. We will alternate between making vases and bowls and pulling glass beads. Seeing beads made this way is really amazing as a large amount of hot, molten glass is pulled into a long cane, almost like pulling taffy (but much hotter). We will also show the finishing process of flame polishing the beads. And for the first time ever, you can own a piece of the bead you watch being made. Jewelry I create from the beads made during demos the first weekend will be available for sale in the gallery the second weekend.
Bill Wallace will be turning wood at the lathe both weekends. Bill likes to talk as he demonstrates and this is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about the art of wood turning.
In addition to all the exciting recent creations of the resident artists, Jennifer Dolan has selected lots of wonderful new work for the gallery from artists both regional and national. The gallery will be filled with a stunning array of unique items to delight you.
Because it’s not fair for the kids to have all the fun, at 2pm Easter Sunday we have our illustrious Adult Egg Scramble – an egg hunt for adults. Sorry though, no candy here – only beautiful craft. Our gallery manager, Jennifer Dolan has selected items from the gallery and our resident artists have contributed beautiful pottery and glass to be the “eggs”. Several of my granddaddy ornaments, jewelry and one of my footed glass bowls are included too. At least 35 eggs will be hidden with numbers inside corresponding to the prizes.
All in all, this is the most fired up (so to speak) I’ve seen our resident artists in a while. There is definitely an air of excitement about the studios and gallery as everyone prepares. We look forward to seeing you and sharing this excitement!
- Lisa Oakley
