HUTCHINSON, MN — Twenty-eight potters from across country will be on display at the fifth annual Minnesota Pottery Festival in Hutchinson, MN the weekend of July 23rd and 24th.
Ernest Miller of Minneapolis and Tony Clennell of Aylmer Ontario are this year’s featured potters. Miller’s personal goal is, “to bridge the creative space between “urban” and “rural” with inspired designs and reliable functional ceramics for the home.” Clennell has more than four decades of professional pottery, teaching, and writing. His 2014 book, Stuck in the Mud: A Book of Irreverent Tales, BS and Nonsense to the Wonderful Clay Community, is a series of short stories that connect potters across the globe.
Also at this year’s Festival are seventeen other Minnesota potters and ceramic artists from as far away as North Carolina and Texas.
The Festival provides an excellent day trip for clay-lovers, families, and collectors. Entrance and parking are free. The two days are filled with pottery demonstrations from wheel throwing to on-site raku firing. There is a kids tent where children of all ages can get their hands dirty. Food and beverages available for purchase provided by the Hutchinson Photography Club and Crow River Winery.
The Minnesota Pottery Festival takes place on the grounds of the Clay Coyote Gallery & Pottery, just one hour West of the Twin Cities. The backdrop includes thirty acres of conservation prairie land, two ponds, trails, and beautiful Todd Lake in the distance.
The Minnesota Pottery Festival is a nonprofit organization, it’s mission is to provide a venue for quality clay artists to educate and engage with an increasingly knowledgeable public by raising the appreciation and understanding of pottery to help broaden the depth and breadth of ceramic arts in Minnesota.
Board-member Kerry Brooks of Dock 6 Pottery in Minneapolis says, “The Minnesota Pottery Festival is such a fun event! The setting is beautiful, the pottery is of the highest quality and great variety, and the customers are a delight because they’re knowledgeable and love pottery as much as we do. Not only is it a first-rate festival, but it’s also so much fun for the potters! We love to hang out after hours and talk shop, play music, eat good food, and have a great time with kindred spirits. The pottery olympics and the kid’s tent make it fun and interesting for all ages and an outing everyone enjoys.”
This activity is made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council (SMAC) thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The Minnesota Pottery Festival Board would also like thank our generous supporters: Continental Clay Company, Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, and Shimpo Ceramics.
More information and full list of artists available at www.mnpotteryfestival.com.
