Bloomington’s Local Clay Potters’ Guild and the Vault Gallery have partnered to present the “25th Anniversary Show: Local Clay Gets Better with Age”. This exhibit will highlight the history of the guild, featuring works by both current and former members, and boasts colorful functional wares, creative wall pieces, and free-standing sculptures. The exhibition will run April 7 – May 30 at the Vault Gallery, 121 E 6th St. in Bloomington. The opening reception will be held Friday April 7th from 5:00pm - 8:00pm in conjunction with Gallery Walk. The Local Clay Potter’s Guild began in 1997 when potters Barb Bihler, Susan Snyder, Tena Wenta and Karen Green Stone met to discuss the first ever pottery exhibition at the John Waldron Art Center, and were met with the question, “where are all the local potters?”.
he organizing team split up, visiting, and photographing 28 potters working in their studios across Monroe, Brown, Owen and Greene counties to form their first exhibit, “Local Clay: Pottery by Bloomington Area Artists”. The show was a success and dubbed a people’s favorite of 1997. This ignited the organizers’ drive to support and connect local potters with the community, officially forming the Guild and announcing their first annual show and sale at Harmony School in November of 1998. In the years since, popularity and attendance continue to grow, moving the annual show and sale from Harmony School to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, and now the Monroe Convention Center, where it continues each Fall on the first weekend of November.
Come join us for our 25th anniversary exhibition as we highlight the creative diversity in working with clay and within our community and get a sneak peek of what’s in store for the 26th annual show and sale this November!
