Junkyards, music, engineering: Potters find inspiration everywhere. At the Colorado Potters Guild, members also inspire each other and improving skills.
You can view the abundance of their fruitful collaboration at the 32nd Annual Fall Pottery Show and Sale, where more than 2,000 pieces by 30 artists will be on display.
The show’s special focus is the life and art of Dorothy Steidley, 88, an award-winning guild member whose pottery has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and who now lives near Grand Junction.
Although Steidley won’t be at opening night, many well- known ceramic artists will be there, including Trudy Fowler, who joined the Colorado Potters Guild 25 years ago, mixing the joy of pottery-making with her pioneering career at Rocky Mountain PBS.
Here, Fowler gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Colorado Potters Guild.
How are people selected to join?
They submit their work and show an interest in expanding their skills. We hold workshops and bring expert potters in from different parts of the country so we can learn from them. We’re a true cooperative, one of the oldest west of the Mississippi, about 43 years old.
What kind of art and objects will we find at the show?
Some will be hand-built, some thrown on a wheel. Some sculptural, and some functional. It’s a wide range. Everyone has a different style and way of working, with different glazes. The nice thing is that you can obtain an original piece of art for very low cost. You can get great holiday gifts for a low as $10, like mugs or bowls.
What’s the most unusual object you ever saw?
Some of Dorothy Steidley’s things. She was always pushing the envelope, pushing the clay to its limits. She’s an artist, and her pieces were functional, as well as sculptural. Her pieces had height that thrust upward, and she did almost like fresco work on sides of her pots. Very impressionistic. She always led the way that way.
Where do potters find their inspiration?
I remember one woman was really into snorkeling and diving in the Caribbean, and you could really see the results in her forms. You can see hieroglyphics in people’s work. Some also feel nature in their pots. What’s so exciting is that people take a hunk of clay and give it a life of its own. I feel that way. When I’m throwing a set of dishes for someone, I think about how many happy times the dishes will see, all the family celebrations. It’s giving a life to this hunk of nothing.
What sort of people join your potter’s collective?
Our group is full of professionals, from a surgeon to some engineers. I think it’s a way for them to get away from the high stress. Not that this isn’t stressful, when you pull out a pot and it’s a mess after firing. But it’s getting back to basics, and you concentrate on something different. You just let go and concentrate on something you really enjoy doing. When you’re throwing on a wheel, you’re not thinking of anything else. It envelops you, and an hour goes by like 15 minutes.
POTTER’S PLEASURES
The 32nd annual Fall Pottery Show and Sale of the Colorado Potter’s Guild opens Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The show continues Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 2,000 pieces by 30 artists will be on display at the First Plymouth Congregational Church, 3501 S. Colorado Blvd., Englewood. For more information, call 303-733-3003 or go to coloradopotters.org.
