Check Out Today's Kennebec Journal!

A nice story about the Central Maine Leg of the Tour:

Central Maine potters throw open studio doors to offer sampling of their wares | The Kennebec...

Nine studios in central Maine welcome guests Saturday and Sunday along with studios in southern and coastal areas.

kjonline.com

Rob Sieminski

Rob is getting his Phillips studio ready for the tour. Want to check it out? Click here for map.

A Lakeside Studio Pottery

Some new work from Martha at A Lakeside Studio Pottery. See lots more here.

Martha's is a beautiful studio in the woods on Androscoggin Lake in Wayne.The view from her windows is incredible! Don't miss this stop on your tour.

Pottery Tour Update

Here's how the Tour is shaping up so far:

This year we've got 17 studios participating, and if they all post flyers, send out postcards, and share on social media, everyone in Central, Southern, and Mid-coast Maine who has any interest in ceramics should have heard of the Maine Pottery Tour.

The map above is the Central Maine wing of the tour:

1. Fine Mess Pottery – 131 Cony St, Augusta, ME  info@finemesspottery.com
2. Malley Weber – 6 Orchard Lane, Hallowell, ME 
3. The Potter's House – 82 Stevenstown Road, Litchfield, ME
4. A Lakeside Studio Pottery – 12 Cedar Point Road, Wayne, ME
5. Maple Lane Pottery – 36 Greeley Road, Windsor, ME 
6. Loken Pottery -26 Bowman St, Farmingdale, ME 
7. Mudgirl Pottery – 846 Memorial Drive, Winthrop, ME 
8. Whitefield Pottery – 442 Howe Road, Whitefield, ME 
9. Rob Sieminksi – 63 Bog Pond Road, Philips, ME 
   To download a .pdf of the map, click here.  To use an interactive online map, click here.
   
   
   The Tour has two more wings, as well! Here's the Southern wing:
   
   1. Gallery on the Green, 11 Oak St, Alfred
   2.  HomePort Pottery, 131 Beechwood Ave, Kennebunkport
   3. Heather Abt, 30 Everett St, Portland
   4. Peg's Pots, 51 Woods Rd, Peaks Island
      
      To use an interactive online map, click here. Still working on the .pdf
   
   And, finally, a mid-coast leg:
   
   
   
   1. Liz Proffetty, 118 W Old County Rd, Newcastle, 
   2. Ash Cove Pottery 75 Ash Cove Rd, Harpswell
   3. Alexsondra Tomasulo, Clark's Cove Rd, Walpole
   4. Tyler Gulden, Clark's Cove Rd, Walpole
   5. Fireside Pottery, 1478 Camden Rd, Warren
   
   To use an interactive online map, click here. Still working on the .pdf.
   
   

New to the Tour: Fireside Pottery

Nancy Button of Fireside Pottery is new to the tour this year! Nancy will be opening her studio in Warren to visitors May 3rd & 4th. Here's the address:

1478 Camden Road
Warren, Maine 04864

You can see more of Nancy's lovely work at her website:

Alexsondra Tomasulo

We're delighted that Alexsondra Tomasulo of Mud of the Ages will again be opening her studio for the Maine Pottery Tour, May 3rd & 4th! Mud of the Ages is on Clark's Cove Road, 1/2 a mile off Rte. 129 in Walpole.

A New Map! The Southern Wing

This is just a slice of a screenshot, but it's the beginning of the official map of the southern wing of the tour! The studios are as follows:

1. Kathleen King, Gallery on the Green, in Alfred
2. Cathie Cantara, of Homeport Studio in Kennebunkport
3. Heather Abt, in Bayside, Portland
4. Peg Astarita, on Peak's Island, 

Things are coming together!

The Southern Leg of the Tour

This year will be the biggest yet! In addition to eight studios in Central Maine, and four (or five! Still waiting for one) mid-coast, at least three studios in Southern Maine will be participating in the Pottery Tour.

• Kathleen King will be welcoming the public the the Gallery on the Green, 11 Oak st., in Alfred, Maine. We'll have new images of Kathleen's work soon. 

• Cathie Cantara of Homeport Pottery is opening her studio as well. Cathie Cantara is a full time studio potter, specializing in high-fired functional stoneware, as well as raku and smoke-fired art pottery. Here's and example of her horsehair raku:

• Peg Astarita of Peg's Pots will be opening her Peak's Island studio to visitor's this year! A trip to Peak's Island is an adventure in itself; a ferry boat takes you to the island, where you can walk or rent a bike to see the sights.Here's one of Peg's Pots:

• 

 Stay Tuned! More to come.

New to the Tour: Ash Cove Pottery

We're delighted to welcome Susan Horowitz and Gail Kass to the Maine Pottery Tour! Susan and Gail are partners in Ash Cove Pottery, a studio in Harpswell producing beautiful stoneware pottery.You can see lots more of their amazing ware here.

Ash Cove Pottery is located at 75 Ash Cove Road in Harpswell. In addition to welcoming visitors for the Tour, the studio is open most days from 10-6.

Fine Mess Pottery

Lori Watts of Fine Mess Pottery in Augusta is working hard to get ready for the tour! Lori fires a sprung-arch, soda-vapor kiln in her backyard, which she built herself. "The kiln is my pride and joy," she says. "Well, after my garden. Please ask to see it!"

Soda-firing creates durable stoneware with distinctive markings and glaze patterns left by the path of the flame on the ware. The kiln is fired with propane; when it reaches nearly its hottest point, Lori tosses wet wood curls mixed with baking soda and soda ash into the flames. The soda promptly vaporizes, then interacts with the silica in clay and glaze to form a layer of soda glass (glaze) on everything it touches in the kiln. After the firing temperature is reached, Lori shuts down the kiln, carefully blocking all the ports so no cool air can rush into the kiln and crack the ware: slow cooling is essential! The kiln takes two days to reach the point where it can be unloaded.

Here are some examples of Fine Mess Pottery soda-fired stoneware

Fine Mess Pottery is glad to welcome guest artist Karen Dyer Discenso for the weekend. Karen makes beautiful functional stoneware inspired by the Maine coast.

Whitefield Pottery

As we posted earlier, the Maine Pottery Tour is growing this year! Fourteen studios have signed on.

We are very excited to have several new faces. Among them is Libbey Seigars, who puts the "potter" in Whitefield Pottery. Libbey makes wheel-thrown earthenware decorated with images inspired by the flora and fauna of Maine. Have a look!

 

 

 

 

Whitefield Pottery is located at 442 Howe Road, Whitefield, Maine. 

Who's on the Tour?

As of today, we have 8 studios in Central Maine participating in the Maine Pottery Tour, and 3 more in Mid-Coast. Haven't heard yet about studios in Southern Maine but we feel certain there will be some!
The list so far:

Central Maine:

• Fine Mess Pottery, Augusta
• Hallowell Clayworks, Hallowell
• The Potter's House, Litchfield
• Maple Lane Pottery, Windsor
• Loken Pottery, Farmingdale
• Libby Seigars, Whitefield Pottery
• Diane Harwood, Mudgirl Pottery
• Martha Hoddinott, A Lakeside Studio Pottery, Wayne

Mid-coast:

• Tyler Gulden, Walpole
• Alexsondra Tomasulo, Walpole
• Ingrid Bathe & Lari Washburn, Edgecomb
• Liz Proffetty Ceramics, Newcastle, ME 
• Ash Cove Pottery, Harpswell

I do expect these lists to grow!  Still hoping for Saltbox Pottery, and Brandon Lutterman. Stay tuned for more details!

Looking forward to May 3rd & 4th.

Save the Date!

The 2014 Maine Pottery Tour will be happening Saturday May 3rd, 10-5,  & Sunday May 4th, 10 - 4. It looks like we will have several new faces as well as old friends opening their studios this year.  Watch this space for news, a list of participants around Maine, and a printable version of the map of the Central Maine leg of the tour. (Central Maine potters interested in opening their studios for the tour should shoot me an email at info at finemesspottery dot com)

PS!!  Fine Mess Pottery, in Augusta, will be incorporating a giant studio clearance sale this year.  See a small handful of available bargains here.