BRATTLEBORO — During the month of November, Brattleboro Clayworks on Putney Road will be featuring pottery creations to enhance upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday meals. Join them for an opening reception for one of the Clayworks' newest members, Karen Horton, and her “Pottery With a Purpose” on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. All are welcome.
Karen Horton has returned to making pottery after a long career teaching music in public school and performing classical music on the French horn (She is a longtime member of the Windham Philharmonic). She says her specialty is pottery with a purpose because she is driven by its function.
Horton loves to grow vegetables and cook, so she often has a recipe in mind when creating a new form. “I find it pleasing to cook a meal with my homegrown food then serve it in a pot that I have made,” she said in a news release. “I often include the recipe in the gift or sale of my pots.”
She says she is also passionate about reducing the use of plastic, so she makes crocks for making yogurt using milk from local cows, and dispensers for olive oil for storing oil bought in bulk at the Brattleboro Food Co-op. She uses brown stoneware clay and loves to explore earthy-colored glazes and decoration techniques, inspired by the natural beauty of the mountains and lake near her home in Wilmington.
Brattleboro Clayworks welcomed Horton as a student, then renter, now member and teacher.
“It has been an incredible opportunity for me to learn from, and collaborate with, others who are passionate about working with clay,” she said. “I now teach classes with the hope of inspiring others to find the same pleasure and fulfillment.”