Newcastle, Maine
Ever wonder what they do at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle? This blog post provides you with information on the mid-coast facility. Watershed was established in 1986 with a dual purpose: to provide time and space for clay artists and to promote education and awareness regarding ceramic arts among the general public.
Twenty-six years later, over 1,200 artists from across the nation and abroad have experienced residencies at Watershed. During their 2-week residencies, artists live on our 32-acre facility in rural, mid-coast Maine, with room, board and 24/7 access to studio space provided. Without the distractions of day-to-day living, they are able to focus on their art and allow their creative energies to explore the medium anew.
Traveling clay program
Maine art teachers in Maine may know about Watershed through our “Mudmobile” programs. The “Mudmobile” is a traveling ceramics resource center in a van that provides engaging experiences working in clay to schools, community centers and senior citizen facilities. Thousands of young people and adults around the state have experienced clay through Mudmobile programs, including public events such as the Common Ground Fair, for over 15 years!
Mudmobile instructors are professional artists who share their joy of working in clay with students and community members. Watershed instructors partner with the host site to create a lesson plan that ties into the needs of each program. The focus is on process not just product, with clay lessons that connect to science, math, history or cultural studies.
Our fun and educational ceramic projects are designed to introduce children and adults to historical uses of clay, current art making in clay, Maine’s geology and environmental stewardship. The materials used in Mudmobile classes make use of Maine’s natural resources. Students use glacial marine clay with food-safe, nontoxic glazes.
If you are interested in having the Mudmobile visit your school contact Watershed to reserve a program by contacting Fran Rudoff, Executive Director of Watershed by emailing her at director@watershedceramics.org.
Community Presentations: Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Watershed also strives to provide opportunities for Maine residents and visitors to experience and appreciate ceramic art in all its forms. Resident artists share and demonstrate their work in public venues during the summer and fall months. Our annual “signature” summer event, Salad Days, gives local residents the chance to enjoy a variety of pottery, incredible local food, lively music, conversations with neighbors and resident artists, and a lot of good fun.
Salad Days: July 13 – Visit Watershed and learn about programs first-hand. Join us for Salad Days 2013! Relax to live music while eating lunch under a shady tent at flower-laden tables. A $35 donation to Watershed (which supports our programming!) entitles you to a handmade salad plate created by ceramic artist Tess Stilwell and the chance to enjoy a buffet of salads (locally grown produce, prepared by Watershed artists and local restaurants). After eating, visit resident artists’ studios and explore Watershed’s thirty-two acres of art-filled meadows, woods, gardens, and the neighboring sheep farm. Potters and ceramic artists will be on-site performing demos and visitors of all ages may try working with clay.
Concurrent with Salad Days, Watershed will also be hosting our annual Invitational Pottery Sale, along with a Serving Bowl Exhibit. Shop for unusual and lively works of art made by ceramic artists from around the country.
Finally, appraiser Jane Prentiss, of Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers, will be at Watershed providing appraisals for consignment. Find out what your antiques, art, and collectables are worth. For details, visit our appraisal event page. Please note that advance sign up is necessary.
Artist Presentations: June 19 and July 30 – Watershed is partnering with the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell (and the Kennebec Valley Arts Association) to host public presentations and receptions for ceramic artists who are in residence at Watershed this summer!
June 19 features Patti Warashina, Carol Guthro and Peter Olsen from Seattle, who will be sharing their distinct styles and aesthetic perspectives.
July 30 features Eva Campagne from Montana and Amanda Small from North Carolina. Their session is entitled, “N.E.W.” Nature. Eight. Ways. While at Watershed, they will be investigating repetition and patterns in the natural world and how it inspires, influences and forms the way they work with clay.
Fall Workshop: September 27-29 – Join Thaddeus J (TJ) Erdahl for a beautiful weekend at Watershed! You can explore creating figurative sculptures that imply a sense of personal history. The technical focus will be on developing rich surface layers. Demonstrations will deal with the entire surface process from leather-hard slip and engobe application techniques to post bisque water erosion, sanding procedures, and wash application. Pieces will be finished with post firing heat set encaustic and wax procedures. Test tiles and pinched mini test “heads” will be used for further surface experimentation. Participants need to bring a small leather hard sculpture. Work will be fired to 04. All levels are welcome!!
To learn more about registration and details please go to: http://watershedceramics.org/artists/workshops/.
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