Celebration of Clay 2026
Clay Speaks of Home
hosted by
New Mexico Potters & Clay Artists
and
Santa Fe Community College Visual Arts Gallery,
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Exhibit Open from March 5 to April 8, 2026
Registration starts December 15, 2025. Read this Call for Entries carefully, finish your ceramic work(s), prepare the image, and then
click "Register" at left to submit your entries.
As a member of New Mexico Potters & Clay Artists, you are invited to participate in our annual Celebration of Clay exhibit. Consider sharing a creation with your clay community. May you be inspired by this year’s theme: Clay Speaks of Home.
Entries into the annual Celebration of Clay are accepted in order submitted by members, up to the maximum number of entries that can be accepted into the show. This year we will be accepting up to 70 entries. Each member can submit up to two pieces. Not a member of NMPCA? It is easy to join on Click here.
Registration will be open from December 15 for the first submission; January 6 through January 23 for first and second submissions. Last day of submissions is January 23, 2026. Good quality digital image is required at the time of registration.
AWARDS
Awards will be selected by an award jury. Awards will be announced at the reception on March 5th.
- Best of Show: $250
- UNM Arita Porcelain Award for Beauty, Quality and Functionality: $100
- Coyote Color in Clay Award: $100
- Three $100 Merit Awards
Entries are also displayed on our website, www.nmpotters.org where we will again feature our interactive People’s Choice Vote.
SHOW TIMELINE
| Registration opens |
December 15, 2025 |
| Registration ends |
January 23, 2026 |
| First piece |
December 15 - January 5 |
|
First or second piece Entry finalized and image submitted
|
January 6 - January 23 at time of registration
|
Deliver work to collection points or gallery
|
February 16-20 to collection sites / Feb 20 & 23 (9-2pm) to gallery.
|
| Show setup |
February 24 - March 4 by gallery staff |
| Show Duration |
March 5 – April 8 (M-F 8-5) Closed March 28-April 6 Spring Break
|
| Opening Reception and Awards Presentation |
March 5, 4-6 pm |
| People's Choice Voting (0nline & gallery) |
March 5-27 |
| People's Choice winner announcement |
March 31 |
| Take down exhibit, repacking work |
April 9 between 9 and 3 pm |
SIZE OF WORK and LIMITATIONS
Works in this show must not have been shown in any previous NMPCA exhibition. All work must have an accurate digital image representation. No works may be substituted.
Size of work must fit within an 18 inch square base and under 36 inches in height. The weight should not exceed 35 pounds.
Wall pieces are invited and must be submitted with secure hanging method and accompanied by hardware. Weight not to exceed 25 pounds. If you should have any questions regarding eligibility, contact the COC committee.
It may be possible to install larger work providing space is available but artist will be required to install and remove the work themselves. Advance approval by the committee is required. We will not accept work we deem unsafe or damaged.
SALES
SFCC Visual Arts Gallery does not require the work to be for sale. The buyer works directly with the artist, using the contact information supplied to the buyer by the gallery. The artist must arrange any necessary shipping to the buyer. The work must remain in the gallery until the end of the exhibition. The SFCC Visual Arts Gallery asks that the artist contribute 30% of their sales to “Friends of the Arts”, a foundation account for student prizes and supplies. Cash or check made out to “Friends of the Arts” is requested from the artist after payment is received, deliverable to the SFCC Visual Arts Gallery office. The artist is responsible for paying any taxes due on their sale. SFCC Visual Arts Gallery will communicate with both artist and NMPCA committee chair with buyer contact information.
ENTRIES
Submit your entry by clicking "register" at left. Non-refundable entry fee is $26 per piece or $10 per piece if you are a full-time student. Payment can be made online through our easy and secure online payment system.
Enter the first entry by selecting Registration type "Member Entry” or “Student Entry.” Register again by selecting "Second Entry" for a 2nd piece, starting January 6. Be sure to follow-through the payment online. Do this starting December 15th. Registration closes February 23 OR whenever we receive enough registrations to fill the show. NOTE: You must have your image ready when you register and it must meet the specifications described below.
On the registration page, enter the following:
1. the title of the piece,
2. a description: clay, treatment, firing
3. outside dimensions expressed as h x w x d (in inches)
4. price as whole dollars, no cents, no dollar sign
5. click “choose file” to select the image.
6. answers to other questions and 35-word description for publicity
IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS
A digital image of each entry is required. These will be used for publicity, show setup planning, and People's Choice voting. Images received early (first two weeks) in the registration will be considered for use in publicity. Image must be uploaded at the time of registration. If the image we receive is not acceptable you will be contacted and given an opportunity to submit a better-quality image. And, if an acceptable image is not ultimately received, the work will not be shown and entry fee is forfeited.
Instructions for preparation of image: This year your image needs to be a square. Your image must be a jpg file, 1000 px high to maximum 1000 px wide, not to exceed 1MB in size. Important: The name of the file should be yourname_title.jpg. No spaces, no punctuation in the file name except the underline used as a separator. If you do not name the file properly, your image may be lost. Be aware that it is extremely difficult to control the name of an uploaded file from a phone or iPad, so please upload the image from your pc or mac computer after you have renamed the file. If you are not familiar with how to prepare images, please read our help page for information on using a free tool to prepare the image.
A photograph that shows your piece at its best is the goal. Image requirements: absence of photoshop marks, no “cut-outs,” a neutral background or backdrop without lines. The light should be flat and even and the item should sit near the center of the frame. Questions may be directed to committee via email: coc@nmpotters.org.
USE OF IMAGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLICITY
Because of the prevalence of social media in today's event publicity, we are planning to publish the image that you have uploaded as well as your name on Instagram and Facebook over the weeks before and during the show. This is important publicity for the benefit of the show as a whole and for advancing your own work. You are also requested to post announcements of the show on your own Facebook and Instagram accounts. Artists are encouraged to promote the exhibition through their social media adding the hashtags: #sfccvisualartsgallery, #sfcc, #santafenm, #nmpca, #newmexicopottersandclayartists, #celebrationofclay #newmexicoceramics #newmexicoclaycommunity
ARTISTS TO FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM
We will use FB Meta Business Suite page for creating posts to the NMPCA Facebook and Instagram pages simultaneously. This work will be done by a team of participating artists for their volunteer job.
35-WORD STATEMENT FOR PUBLICITY
On the registration form you will be asked for a 35-word statement. Its purpose is to use on social media posts, or in other publicity, such as reviews. It is meant to reflect on the particular piece you are submitting, or on your general clay process. If you can speak to the title of the exhibition, Clay Speaks of Home, please do so.
BIO / ARTIST STATEMENT FOR GALLERY BINDER
A one-page bio / artist statement is requested from each artist. This should include anything you want the public to know about your process for this particular piece – both conceptual and technical aspects. If possible, speak to the exhibition title, Clay Speaks of Home, and how it relates to or inspires your piece. A brief bio, as well as a photo of yourself or your piece is also recommended. Please include this printed copy inside the box with your piece. It will be inserted in a binder to be displayed at gallery.
INSURANCE and LIABILITY
The School of the Arts, Design and Media Arts will provide due diligence for insurance while artwork is on display. Availability of insurance depends on artist providing fair and reasonable price/evaluation of the artwork, in the form of proof of sales history.
VOLUNTEERS
In order to make this exhibit possible, it is required that everyone sign up for a volunteer task. See the confirmation email for special instructions about volunteer jobs, see the details on the task event registration and “register” for the task of your choice now. Your registration will be complete when you sign up for a task. If you absolutely cannot help, we understand and as an alternative to signing up for a task we ask that you contribute an extra $40 to help with the exhibition costs.
DROP OFF & PICKUP OF WORK
We will have these collection points to deliver and pick up your work, see Show Timeline above. All work must be boxed and labeled as described in the confirmation email and described in this help article. Please call drop off contact in advance.
Albuquerque: Leonard Baca: February 16-20, 9-4pm
Business Printing Service
4316 Silver Ave. SE Albuquerque
505-480-8292
leonard@bpsabq.com
Santa Fe: SFCC Visual Arts Gallery: Friday, 2/20 & Monday 2/23, 9-2 pm
6401 Richards Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87508
(505) 660-1857 Linda Cassel
Extra time: Sunday 2/22 drop off with Patty Martin, call ahead (512) 507-1916
Taos: Serit Kotowski
575-758-7029
serit@cybermesa.com
Please make arrangements for after 4:30PM any day between February 16-20
Silver City: Karen Hymer, Light Art Space
209 West Broadway
Silver City, NM 88061
Mailing: 2340 Hwy 180E #203 Silver City, NM 88061
Drop Off: Thursday, February 19 11-4pm or Friday, February 20 11-5 pm
Pick Up: to be determined.
Contact Karen for more info: 520-240-7075 karen@lightartspace.com
You must deliver work to one of these locations or deliver work directly to the SFCC Visual Arts Gallery to arrive on February 24 by 2 pm.
All work, whether delivered in person or to the drop-off points, must be boxed and labeled according to instructions you will receive in confirmation email. Read this article for advice on packing your work: https://www.nmpotters.org/TheSlipTrail/13529990
You will be required to take your packing materials home with you.
In order to clarify the basic provisions of the show, we have prepared this agreement page. Please read before you submit your entry.
Questions? Contact the Celebration of Clay 2026 committee at email coc@nmpotters.org.
