BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Clayworks, 532 Putney Rd., is a collectively-run studio and gallery, regularly exhibiting the work of seven clay artists: Annie Lauterbach, Alan Steinberg, Billie Stark, Gosia Mosiej, Jennifer Henske, Judith Thomas, and Andrea Matthews.
For holiday shopping in December, Clayworks will additionally be showing the recent ceramic creations of four renters: Bill Copeland, Arlene Distler, Karen Horton, and Mucuy Bolles.
Copeland, whose work is composed of non-functional sculptural forms, said in a news release that he is “interested in evolution, biodiversity, and the human form,” and that “my ideas for sculpture usually come out of this.” Recent figures and attractive abstract forms will be on display.
With a background in painting, Distler brings her love of color and form into the bowls, cups, and other functional ware she produces. Her website is earthandskypottery.com.
Horton says of her lidded jars, plates, and bowls, “I am a functional potter with a love for cooking. I often make forms with a particular purpose in mind and include a copy of my favorite recipe.”
Bolles, who co-owns and runs Three Stones Restaurant (where her work is also on display) describes her pottery as “a mix of Western techniques and Mayan Indian hieroglyphs and motifs.” The name of her pottery enterprise is Mystiza Pottery, “because I am one, a mix of European and Indigenous blood, as my pottery is also a blend of two cultures.”
In addition to the teapots, casserole dishes, plates, mugs, and other functional ware, sculpture, whistles, and playful ceramic creatures are showcased in the gallery. Also featured are the popular “birch tree” mugs of Shari Zabriskie, who now is co-owner and manager of Wheelhouse Pottery.