Black Mountain Center for the Arts Clay Studio Annual Show and Sale Starts December 3

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts, located at 225 W. State Street, presents the Third Annual Pottery Show and Holly Jolly Christmas Pottery Market, beginning Friday, December 3 from 6-8 pm in the Upper Gallery at the Center. While pieces from the pottery market will be for sale until the Center closes for the holidays December 23 – January 2, the Pottery Show will be in the Gallery through January 21, 2011.

The BMCA Clay Studio, which is housed in the renovated old City Garage adjacent to the Center, is a teaching studio for beginning and intermediate students to learn a variety of techniques in working with clay. Classes are offered in six-week increments in the areas of Beginning or Intermediate Wheel and Beginning or Intermediate Hand Building, along with specialty classes such as Decorative Tile Making, Exploring the Sacred Object, specialty workshops such as Raku, Pit-Firing, Glazing, or Extruder, and classes for teens, kids or families. Classes are purposely kept small in order to allow a better learning process for students, and Open Studio time is included in adult classes to allow students time for practice. Independent Study time is available for experienced potters who need some studio time, but have no plans for production.

Pottery teachers who have offered clay classes in the past year include Judi Ashe, Geoff Bird, Maureen Joyce, Gwen Ottinger, AJ Reisman, Holly de Saillan, Atcha Turner, and Annie Singletary. Under the leadership of the Center’s Executive Director, Gale Jackson, the studio’s everyday operations are under the management of Sarah Meyer.

Classes for the Winter Session will begin the middle of January. A class is an excellent holiday gift for someone who wants to experiment with clay. For more information about the Pottery Show and Market, or about registering for a class or giving a gift certificate, call 828/669-0930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org.