Putnam Arts Council
521 Kennicut Hill Road, Mahopac, NY
June 24 - 25, 2023
Saturday: 11am - 4:30pm
Sunday: 11am - 4:30pm
It's coming on June 24! The Putnam Arts Council welcomes Hudson River Potters for a FOAK pottery show at their gallery featuring 14 local artisans. In addition, PAC will host a series of demonstrations by their instructors in their pottery studios to show how pottery is crafted.
Spend an afternoon with us to learn about the craft of pottery-making, explore and purchase the many forms of expression in clay (bowls, pots, plates, candlesticks, objets d'art, and more). Celebrate summer weddings and other gift-giving occasions with unique one-of-a-kind ceramics.
Come back to see further details!
I have been an artist/craftsman since my teenage years and have always had a love for sculpture, ceramics and jewelry. I made a kick wheel when I was 15 and made wheel thrown pottery through high school and college. I ended up gravitating towards jewelry and sculpting in wax which ended up being my career path for the last 45 years. I started making pottery again around 2016 in my home studio. I fell in love with Horse Hair Raku Pottery while on a trip to Arizona in early 2020. My family loves dogs and have been blessed and touched by the ones we have had in our lives. I experimented with using some of our dog's hair and that is how I started Hair of the Dog Ceramics. The logo is a likeness of our Dakota that passed a couple of years ago. I can make customized pieces of pottery or ceramic and silver jewelry using the hair from customers' dogs or other pets. I feel this can give a new level of connection that someone can have with my artwork.
Michael is happiest creating ceramics that can elevate daily routines like having that cup of coffee in the morning or serving a beautiful home cooked meal. His work is made of porcelain on the potter’s wheel, with glazes that he mixes and sprays in his home studio in Mahopac, NY.
Instagram: mastercraft_ceramics
Orit has been making pottery for over twenty years. Her work reflects the mountains where she and her family go often as well as her garden and nearby trails in northern Westchester County, New York. Orit works mainly in white stoneware as well as red clay as to avoid the delicate and create sturdy, functional pieces.
Instagram: little_light_pottery
I have been consistently throwing on the wheel since 1998, taking classes at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY, Snowfarm in Williamsburg, MA and Castle Hill in Truro, MA, where I have been influenced by Georgia Tenore, James Pastore, Tom White, Bob Green and a myriad of other teachers, students and residents who have all contributed to my craft. I focus on functional pottery for everyday use. Most of my work is high fire cone 10 reduction with some decorative pottery in Raku and saggar pit firings. I am drawn to earth-toned glazes. I get joy out of the learning process (creating different forms and trying new glaze combinations) and then seeing others enjoy using what I have made.
I have been selling my work at craft shows in NY and NJ since 2005. The experience of meeting attendees and discussing pottery brings me joy. My philosophy of life is that one should never stop learning. I strived for that in my job as an Occupational Therapist (I retired in 2012.) and as a functional potter.
Harris returned to the arts after 30 years as a psychologist in education and eventually inbusiness as VP of Executive Leadership and Talent Development at Pfizer, IBM, ADP, Chase and Colgate Palmolive. Harris explored silk-screening, needlepoint and pottery before rediscovering his passion for clay when he left business.
Inspired by the colors and textures in Tuscany and Provence, he reproduces the colors of the Mediterranean in wheel thrown bowls and dishes. His one-of-a-kind hand-built shells capture the feel of sand and sea from New England summers. Molten sea glass collected at the Connecticut shore complements some shells. Plates and trays capture the feel of the dunes, the sky, the water and sea grass found at Race Point and Nauset beaches on Cape Cod.
Instagram: harrisginsberg
Website: pottery-by-harris.square.site
Keith is a second-generation potter with over 50 years experience with clay. His home studio is in Ossining, and he also manages the ceramics program at Cedar Lane Arts Center where he teaches adult clay classes.
Instagram: cagey_creations
Website: CageyCreations.Weebly.com
Annette’s work focuses on colorful functional ceramics, typically made from porcelain. Her pieces are often textural and use color schemes to reflect the seasons. She is a member of the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY.
Instagram: Dungeon_Pottery
David Rosen is a career fundraiser for progressive not-for-profit organizations and has worked at Environmental Defense Fund, New York University, and is now semi-retired and working for a bunch of great folks at the Michigan Center for Youth Justice. He lives with his wife, Sophie Hayden and son, Theo Winters. His daughter Hallie is a social worker living (where else) in Brooklyn. David took up ceramics at 14, he helped get the Chelsea Ceramics Guild off the ground in the 1980s, took a long break from clay, and then returned 4 years ago. He works out of his (very messy) garage.
Ellen Z. Salov is an artist and a high school art teacher who lives and works in southern Westchester. She draws her inspiration from her students, the people in her life and those absent from it, the ideas surrounding ‘home,’ the beauty of her parents’ Croatian homeland, and the exciting, ever-changing, always humbling nature of clay.
Instagram: ellenzsalov
Judyth Stavans (Winter Tree Pottery) makes porcelain vessels full of pattern and detail inspired by sources from stained glass windows to simple leaves. Her work is created primarily on the potter’s wheel. Many of the pieces are translucent, allowing light to filter through the ornamentation. She enjoys a variety of firing processes, including electric, gas reduction, and wood firing. Originally from Connecticut, she received a BFA in Ceramics from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She lives and has her studio in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her work has been featured in shows across the country and close to home.
Instagram: wintertreepottery
Ariella Toeman is a maker at heart, creating through food, crafts and now pottery. Her background started in Pastry Arts working in 4 star kitchens in NYC and Paris and building food starts-ups in Montreal and San Francisco. She is now lives in Irvington NY, with her husband, 3 children, 1 dog and 5 chickens. Ariella Ceramics started in 2022, at the tail end of the Pandemic and after of years with playing clay. Her loves of nature, texture, food and travel, fuels her work. She is excited to have her first showing with Hudson River Potters. You can find more online, ariellaceramics.com.
I attended art college in the 1970s and a few years later I earned my masters degree in education. I combined my love of teaching and the arts into a phonics-based reading curriculum that I developed and taught. These days I love to work with clay. I am an animal sculptor, hand builder and potter. I incorporate my love of this planet into my clay designs. I create whimsical, clay animals, and place them I’m environments that are fun as well as functional. I hand build mugs, jars and trays which are pieces of art and can be used to hold beverages and food. I use clay as a canvas for paintings of animals, flowers and trees. I have participated in group and juried shows in White Plains, Mamaroneck, Yonkers, the Hamptons and Toledo, Ohio.
Instagram: geraldinewiles
Vicky Youngman has a Master of Professional Studies in Creative Arts Therapy from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and worked as an Art Therapist and administrator in health care settings for 23 years. She taught art therapy for seven of those years at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and for a short time at College of New Rochelle.
Her second career as a ceramic artist has enable her to exhibit and sell her work and continue her love of teaching. Youngman is an Adjunct Professor at Pace University, Pleasantville campus, where she has taught ceramics since 2011. She has also been a Professional Teaching Artist through ArtsWestchester since 2008 and has conducted ceramic arts residencies in schools and community sites and and facilitated workshops for Teen Tuesdays, Family Arts Bash and Arts Mobile. Most recently she has made Visual Art Workshop YouTube videos for children using clay and other materials.
Instagram: vickyyoungman
