 Media Contact: Name: Honee A. Hess Title: Executive Director Phone: (508) 579 - 8564 Email address: [email protected]
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WORCESTER, MA - This April get up close and personal with some of the most impressive ceramic talent the Northeast has to offer at the Worcester Center for Crafts' Pottery Invitational 2014. From April 11-13, the WCC brings twenty-two artists and their pots right to your doorstep for a weekend featuring an unprecedented look into the region's ceramic creative community.
[SEE ATTACHED LIST OF ARTISTS]
 The 2014 Pottery Invitational starts with a Benefit Preview from 5:30-6:30 pm on Friday, April 11 where attendees get first dibs on buying, a chance to hear Worcester Art Museum Director Emeritus James A. Welu informally converse about collecting ceramics with local collectors, and refreshments. Admission to this Benefit Preview is a $20 donation per person; donations may be made online at worcestercraftcenter.org or by calling 508.753.8183, x 3001. The Invitational is open to the general public from 6:30-8:30 pm on Friday, on Saturday from 10am-5 pm and on Sunday from 11am-4pm. Admission is free except for during the Benefit. Parking is available free of charge.
Held over the course of one night and two days, the Invitational is organized by WCC staff and two  curators who invite a selection of artists to participate. This year's curators are studio potters Julie Crosby of Trumansburg, NY and Kristen Kieffer, of Baldwinville, MA. In addition to being an active potter, Crosby is a kiln-builder and former Studio Technician at WCC. Kieffer has been featured in Ceramics Monthly and is a faculty member at the Worcester Center for Craft.
The Invitational's primary mission is to celebrate handmade pottery, to bring great pots and their makers to central Massachusetts, and to provide an opportunity for those potters to share their work with the diverse population of greater New England. Part of what makes this show unique is the sheer number of pots available to purchase (over seventy by each artist), and that all twenty-two potters will be at the show from Friday evening through Sunday closing to meet the public and discuss their work.
 "The Pottery Invitational is an exceptional opportunity to see a large and diverse range of pottery available for carry-away purchasing," said curator Kieffer, "and if you come, you get to interact with so many full-time studio potters and get the 'behind-the-scenes' story."
[SEE ATTACHED LIST OF EVENTS]
This year's Invitational has a line-up of new presentations. On Saturday at 11 am and 1 pm, and on Sunday at 11:30 am, the Worcester Center for Crafts' current Artists-in-Residence will demonstrate different making techniques and decorating styles in the newly renovated WCC Ceramics Studio. Also new this year is Pop-up Artist Talks, which are casual talks by a team six potters (2 at each time) in the gallery scheduled for 11:45 am and 3:30 pm, Saturday, and 2:45 pm Sunday. Each artist will speak briefly about a technique or process for one their pots, or chose to discuss a favorite pot by another.
Another new feature is called "Show-Off!!," which are two demonstrations designed to show how handmade pottery can be used in the home. At 2:30 pm on Saturday, Virginia Orlando and Candace Atchue from Seed to Stem on Shrewsbury Street will demonstrate the ease and beauty of arranging flowers and succulents in handmade pots and vases. On Sunday, at 2 pm Elaine Pusateri-Cowan of "Elaine's Life" and "Healthy at Home" column in FOODIES OF NEW ENGLAND magazine will show how handmade ceramics can complete the presentation of food. All events are free. The Invitational is accompanied by a small catalog of the show that highlights the artists' biographies and includes a statement from the artists on their work and working methods.
The curators' first criteria for choosing artists is the quality of their work. Next they look for diversity both in terms of style, use of media, philosophy of working, and approach: whether it's a tendency toward wheel-throwing, hand-building, firing, or other decorative techniques. In program planning, the Worcester Center for Crafts and the curators strive to create an accessible program. This year's Invitational is sponsored in part by a grant from the Worcester Arts Council. Print media sponsor is the Worcester Telegram & Gazette; radio media sponsor is WSRS, 96.1 FM. The Pottery Invitational traditionally has attracted collectors as well, a testament to its quality and accessibility.
 "The Pottery Invitational cultivates a small creative economy. It markets the work of artists. Artists sell their work," says WCC Executive Director Honee Hess. "People come from far and wide, staying in hotels and eating in local restaurants, and the WCC moves closer to its mission -- sustaining crafts as an important part of our community and society. An appreciation of all things hand-made is good for artist, business, and the community."
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The Worcester Center for Crafts is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States.  Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 158 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and a partner with WSU in its community outreach.
The WCC's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, youth education and outreach programs, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and its WOO card program, and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
For more information or to arrange a photo opportunity, please contact Honee A. Hess, executive director of the Worcester Crafts Center at [email protected] or 508.753.8183, x. 3002.
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| 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. | Show opens with short Collector's Talk by Worcester Art Museum Director Emeritus James A. Welu and Benefit Preview, $20/ticket | | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Show opens, free to the public | | 8:30 p.m. | Show closes |
| 10 a.m. | Show opens, free to the public | | 11 a.m. | Artists-in-Residence Steve Belz and Dan Roe demo building abstract objects using coils and slump molds and throwing and altering to mimic flesh in the Clay Studio | | 11:45 a.m. | Pop-Up Talk by Holly Walker and Bryan Hopkins in the Gallery | | 1 p.m. | Artists-in-Residence Steve Belz and Ariana Kolins demo building abstract objects using coils and slump molds in the Clay Studio | | 2:30 p.m. | Flower styling demo by Virginia Orlando and Candace Atchue from Seed to Stem, illustrating the use of handmade pots in the home for flower arranging and succulent planting, in the Library | | 3:30 p.m. | Pop-Up Talk by Nicole Acquillano and Richard Aerni in the Gallery | | 5 p.m. | Show closes |
 | 11 a.m. | Show opens, free to the public | |
11:30 a.m.
| Artists-in-Residence Ariana Kolins and Dan Roe demo trimming imperfect pots and sculpting feet | | 2 p.m. | Food styling demo by Elaine Pusateri-Cowan of "Elaine's Life" and Foodies of New England magazine, illustrating the use of handmade pots for serving and entertaining, in the Library | | 2:45 p.m. | Pop-Up Talks by two more ceramic artists | |
4 p.m.
| Show closes |
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� 2014 Worcester Center for Crafts. All rights reserved.
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