Thirteen Clay Artists, also called Ceramic Artists, will exhibit hundreds of pieces of clay art at Artisans on the Square in Greenville from August 3 – September 14, opening with a reception on Saturday August 3 from 2-5pm.
The artists, from 6 Georgia counties, all present different styles of clay art. There are bowls, pots, pitchers, plates, mugs, vases, urns and more in all sizes made on potter’s wheels and sculpted by hand. Other hand molded creations include humans, animals, birds, whimsical creatures, wall hangings, Christmas tree ornaments, and jewelry. Finishes on clay are called glazes and are baked onto the clay in ovens, called kilns, at very high temperatures. High temperatures in the kiln challenge the artists and sometimes result in surprising colors, changes in shape and disastrous breakage. This exhibit includes a wide variety of finishes – smooth, textured, hand painted images, and raku. Raku is a Japanese technique where the fire creates the designs and colors. Foreign objects such as horsehair, features, metal or paper, are thrown into
the kiln to create designs as they burn onto the clay.
The artists represent six Georgia counties: Fayette (Andrea Faye Boswell, Charles Tryon, Cheryl Krebs, Janet McGregor Dunn and Jennifer Stott), Coweta (Audry Stamps, Suzanne Kleese-Stamps and Bobby Vaillancourt), Troup (Jeanine Bradfield), Meriwether (Allen Gee and Gwen Rhine), Harris (Nellie Ralat) and Talbot (Marilyn Austin).
(The names on the text do not correspond to the order they appear on the photo, not all artists are present on the photo)