Ceramics artist Ellen Grenadier's leaf green plates show the patterns of fern fronds in her studio in Monterey. Press photo courtesy of the artist
Ceramics open studios
The 10th annual Berkshire Pottery Tour tour will run September 23 and 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Potters will open their studios in a free weekend with demonstrations and guest artists. The self guided tour can make a loop through the Southern Berkshires — you can find them all on the Berkshire Pottery Tour map.
Have you ever thrown clay on a wheel? The earth is smooth in your hands, cool to the touch. Thump it onto the wedging board, press down with the heels of your hands and turn it, shaping it like a cone, a nautilus shell.
As an art and a craft, working with clay is innately hands-on, before the fire and the glazes (mysteries in themselves). If you want a closer look, you can see ceramics artists in action this weekend, as the 10th annual Berkshire Pottery Tour opens studios across Stockbridge, Great Barrington, new Marlborough and Monterey.
They come from different directions. I’ve seen Paula Shalan open a kiln to lift out wood-fired vessels, not glazed but coated in slip clay to form a smooth, burnished surface like Colorado sandstone patterned with smoke. Ellen Grenadier’s leaf-green platters show the curve of sensitive fern.
Daniel Bellow’s individual cups hold earth tones and patinas from ochre to jade. Lorimer Burns has turned from modern dance to ceramics, woodfired stoneware shimmering and earth-toned. Linda Skipper works in contrasts of light and dark, and Ben Evans leans toward sleek, geometric, abstract color …
Ceramics artist Ellen Grenadier imprints a plate with fern fronds in her studio in Monterey. Press photo courtesy of the artist
Meeting the makers
Paula Shalan Ceramics in Stockbridge — guest artist Rie McCarthy
Berkshire Art Center in Stockbridge — Ben Evans and guest artists Mariana Vasquez-Crede and Hunter Cody
Lorimer Burns Ceramics in Housatonic — guest artist Sarah Hazelke
Dan Bellow Pottery in Great Barrington — guest artists Mark Rowntree, Ingrid Raab and Sidney Schatzky
Grenadier Pottery in Monterey — Ellen Grenadier and guest artists Connie Talbot and Michael McCarthy
Linda Skipper Pottery in New Marlborough
Imagine the feel of the clay under your palms. You’re kneading out any possible air holes and inconsistencies, so the finished vessel will fire. But now, when the spiral feels firm, you plonk it plumb down on the center of the wheel, and you scoop some water over.
You’ll keep slicking down the surface as you go. The texture can vary. Dry clay will rasp and stutter against your hands, but add too much water and it softens like butter. So you’ll keep adjusting gently and end up spattered and coated in slip to the elbows.
Start the wheel turning and let your hands rest against the clay. It has to sit balanced now, or the spin of the wheel will knock it off kilter. So you have to press gently, letting the clay rise between your hands and fall and rise until it’s centered.
When you feel it riding even between your cupped hands, then you can shape it. And this is the nuance, the dance — slight shifts in pressure now can change the shape widely. Press the center down and the dome inverts. Draw up the edges into a cup, draw them outward into a bowl or upward into a vessel — but keep even, keep centered, keep in touch.
Linda Skipper’s black and white patterns, Paula Shalan’s wood-fired vessels and Ben Evans’ bright cups will appear in the 10th annual Berkshire Pottery Tour. Press images courtesy of the artists.
