By Amber Paz-Csibi
Thank you, Artists, for being part of the milestone celebration of 50 years of creativity and craftsmanship at the Celebration of Clay exhibition, showcasing the outstanding works of NMPCA members. What an amazing evening! I don't even know where to begin.
It was October 5th, the day of the COC 50th Year Exhibition opening event. We arrived at the Taos Ceramics Center and were greeted by friendly folks. The event was well-attended. We were truly in awe of all 65 exceptional pieces of ceramic art on display.
Foreground left to right: Aurelia Gomez, Charlotte Ownby, Vincent Morales, Janeen Maas, Diane MacInnes, Gail Goodwin. Midground left to right: Brian Pottorff, Joey Serim, Leonard Baca, Cate McClain. Photo by Stephanie Levy.
Left to right: Stephanie Levy (wall), Sheryl Zacharia, Nicole Merkens, James Marshall, Lee Akins. Photo by Stephanie Levy.
Left to right: Lee Akins, Cathy App, Hebé Garcia, Betsy Williams (wall). Photo by Stephanie Levy.
See online gallery for artist names. Photo by Stephanie Levy.
Above: Amber Paz-Csibi's "Santa Fe Peace." Below: Serit Kotowski's "Full Moon over Mora Spring 2022." Photo by Stephanie Levy.
It was wonderful to see and have an inspiring conversation with a friend, colleague, and featured artist, Elaine Kidd. Both Elaine and I are art teachers and new members. We felt truly honored to be part of this event. I enjoyed seeing and admiring Elaine's ceramic mask (Mask 1) that was showcased in the COC exhibition as well as the invitation flier and brochure. The mask was created using the Naked Raku process and is part of a mask series exploring the effects of various firing processes and the masking tradition.
Jules Epstein, Gallery Director, begins the talks, with Cirrelda Snider-Bryan, CoC 2024 Chair, behind. Elaine Kidd's "Mask 1" is above right. Photo by Stephanie Levy.
James Marshall, Juror, speaks ahead of awards presentation. Photo by Stephanie Levy.
Around 5 PM, Jules Epstein, Taos Ceramics Center’s Gallery Director, welcomed everyone to the event, then turned it over to Cirrelda Snider-Bryan, Celebration of Clay Chairperson and artist, who shared a heartfelt speech with the crowd. The next speakers continued to welcome and thank us for our participation and celebrating the special event together. One of the speakers, Georgia Epstein (General Manager at Taos Ceramics Center), shared details and encouraged everyone to donate towards providing much needed support, a fundraiser for Asheville flood/hurricane victims, via a fundraiser sponsored by the gallery. She was joined by Andrea Pichaida, former NMPCA board president, and Gill Bosonetto, clay artist who moved to NM from Asheville last year. Finally, James Marshall, one of the three jurors for the show, spoke about the creative process. James shared with the audience about behind-the-scenes decision making and reasoning for the awards process. He described the selected ceramic works and how the artists broke the rules, jumping off the cliff, meaning they were willing to take great risks, and try something totally different in the world of ceramic art. It was inspiring for me to think about the artworks in this way, because sometimes I see pottery and think of it as a simple and decorative form that can also be functional. All the artworks in this show communicated or inspired someone to think about ceramics in a new way. The works in this show took ceramic art to a new level and into the realm of high quality fine art.
James, along with other jurors Jules Epstein and Betsy Williams, had met the day before to choose the artists who showcased groundbreaking techniques. Artists were given six awards in the following categories (drum roll…):
Merit Awards, left to right: Luisa Baldinger's "Covered Jar" Hebé Garcia's "Earth" Janeen Maas's "Sing a Song" Photos by the artists.
Awards CoC 2024:
Merit Award was given to Luisa Baldinger for her piece "Covered Jar."
Luisa's creative journey is a lifelong dedication to working with clay, where she expresses her art through hand building and alternative firing methods. Luisa describes her process: “A maker of containers all of my life in clay, I am intrigued by volume, negative/positive space, and complex surface, and work to have these elements orchestrate into a satisfying three-dimensional “vessel” idea.” Her chosen medium and method are hand-built pieces and aluminum foil Saggar firing. Santa Fe,NM luisabaldinger.com
Merit Award was given to Hebé García for her piece "Earth."
Hebé García, a ceramic sculpture artist, finds inspiration and materials from the Earth. She lives and works atop a mesa in Abiquiu, NM, with a breathtaking 360-degree view that includes the legendary Cerro Pedernal, a favorite of Georgia O'Keeffe. Her sculpture is a respectful tribute to our planet, crafted using Max Paper Clay, engobe, oxide, and glaze, fired to cone 3. Facebook: Hebé García Benitez Instagram: hebe_garcia_finearts #figurativesculptor #figurativeart #figurativeartist #contemporarysculptor
Merit Award was given to Janeen Maas for her piece "Sing a Song."
Janeen describes her work as “My current work explores childhood poems as inspiration to create a story piece that conjures a sense of whimsy, one can’t take life too seriously. In my current work I like to play with the idea of perception and therefore reality, by taking something common such as an image from nature or a childhood poem and twist it a little, adding fantasy or something quirky or ridiculous, to make that thing just a little uncommon It may turn out just plain weird but the intent is to question what is common reality.” Medium/Method: handbuilt stoneware.
From left to right: Rebecca Browning-Yager's "Wood Fired Woo Blue Vessel" Erik Gellert's "Vistige Cate McClain's "Windswept" Photos by the artists.
Arita Porcelain Award for Beauty, Quality, and Functionality was given to Rebecca Browning-Yager for her piece "Wood Fired Woo Blue Vessel."
Rebecca's creative process: "I am a Taos clay artist who collaborates with other artists in wood-fired kilns. My medium/method involves throwing and wood-firing in a soda-salt kiln." Currently showing at Rottenstone Pottery, Arroyo Seco, NM; Taos Ceramic Center and Magpie Gallery, Taos, NM
Coyote Color in Clay Award was given to Erik Gellert for "Vistige."
Erik H. Gellert is an artist who has been creating with clay since 2006. Erik lives and works in Lamy, NM. This piece symbolizes change, capturing the essence of transition from one form of being to another. The artwork was crafted using slab and coil building techniques and fired to cone 6 with underglazes, stains, and glazes, resulting in a stunning representation of metamorphosis. You can explore more of Erik Gellert's work on Instagram under the username @erik_h_gellert.
Cate McClain's "Windswept" earned the "Best of Show" award.
Explore the creative process of Cate McClain. "My hand-built creations are influenced by the shapes, forms, textures, and colors found in nature, both in New Mexico and throughout my travels. My hand-built pieces are created in my home studio in Los Ranchos, NM using a variety of different techniques, stains and glazes. Medium/Method: Slab construction, silver-black terra sigillata with masked resist, saggar fired."
After the awards ceremony, I enjoyed a glass of crisp, chilled white wine and a sweet treat. It was an honor for everyone, including myself to be part of a unique ceramics community, New Mexico Potters and Clay Artists.. One of the main reasons I wanted to become a member of NMPCA, because it is a gift that we are able to come together to share our artworks and meet friends that share the love of ceramics. I took my time and explored the entire studio space. When I went outside, I was curious about the area where the kilns were and could see all the artworks in progress, and ceramic pieces waiting to be fired. I was grateful to have a moment to appreciate all the creativity, care and process that goes into creating ceramic art. The celebration of ceramic artists and their masterpieces is a must-see! The CoC show will be on display until November 16th. I am already wondering who will break the rules at next year's Celebration of Clay?
--By Amber Paz-Csibi
Photographs by Stephanie Levy
Author bio ---Amber Paz-Csibi is an art teacher for children in grades K-8. She enjoys throwing on the wheel and creating functional pottery. She also loves to work with raku firing technique. The piece she has in the show is entitled, "Santa Fe Peace."
Photographer bio ---Stephanie Levy is a Santa Fe ceramic artist who creates porcelain jewelry and small sculptures. Her piece in the show is entitled, "Cat and Tube Bead Necklace."
