It?s the best time you can have while covered in clay.
ClayFest 2007, the Baltimore Clayworks? annual fundraiser, will be held today to Sunday. More than 300 visitors are expected at the event. The proceeds will go toward the Clayworks? educational, artistic and collaborative programs.
“[ClayFest] will be a wild time and really good fun for the whole family,” said Ann Hazels, events coordinator and gallery manager at Baltimore Clayworks.
The Seconds Sale, which begins today, offers handmade pottery, sculpture and ceramic objects for sale from local and regional artists. The Clay Olympics takes place Saturday, where visitors can compete in different wacky events, like Blind Throwing and Tallest Cylinder. ClayFest will have several demonstrations and participatory activities throughout the
Three new exhibits will be on display for the event. Taiwanese artist and exchange student Quai Li will display her latest work in the Clayworks Artist Gallery.
“She has very whimsical pieces. There are flowers on the wall and some wall sculptures,” Hazels said. “It?s really fun work, very colorful, very Taiwanese. The Asian influence is screaming through the gallery.”
The exhibit Students and Their Teachers will feature more than 150 works from Clayworks? beginning and advanced students, plus creations from their respective teachers. The display will feature pottery and hand sculptures and span from functional to decorative art.
Exhibition director Forrest Snyder said that this year is the first that Clayworks? teachers will display work alongside their students. “A lot of the teachers have been teaching for a long time,” he said. “It?s a way to give some recognition to all the hard work that they put in.”
At the Raku firing table, guests may throw, glaze and fire their own pot to take home. “It?s a perfect way for people to be involved with the artistic community, and they can have a whole lot of fun with different materials,” Hazels said. “It?s a great way to start your ceramic collection.”
“Clay is a lot of fun,” Snyder said. “No one should be discouraged from trying it.”
IF YOU GO
ClayFest 2007
» Venue: Baltimore Clayworks
» Where: 5707 Smith Ave., Baltimore
» When: 6 to 9 tonight, noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
» More info: $5 to $30
www.baltimoreclayworks.org
