Hosting a Stop on the Michiana Pottery Tour 2022
This year has been full to the brim with exciting progress. We looked forward to the end of September and hosting a stop on the Michiana Pottery Tour for the first time. In order to host well, we had to convert our two car garage into a clay studio. The project included acquiring approval from the Historical Preservation Commission, finding a 40”+ door at an architectural salvage, navigating material shortages and the systemic failures within Home Depot, updating the electrical capacity of our house, finding a good contractor (Tom Raines in South Bend, IN), and helping dig the trench from our house to the garage so our extremely generous friend could install the electrical and save us thousands of dollars that we had no way of acquiring. Finally, the day before Pottery Tour, we hung the last pieces of trim and set out the pots.
This project was sponsored in part by the Indiana Arts Commission On-Ramp program. Their program is pen to artists in all stages of their career, if you are an artist living in Indiana, you cannot miss out on this incredible resource! On-Ramp helps identify goals and strategies to move towards them, expands your community of allies, and provides financial aid to help achieve your next goal. They are truly invested in each artist’s success, checking in on everyone throughout the program and making sure we attain every bit of value that the workshop offers.
We shared the weekend with:
Cristal Sabbagh: a ceramicist, dancer, and educator from Chicago. @cristalsabbagh on Instagram
James Ostrander: painter and graduate of the MFA program at Notre Dame. @jamsorstranger
Jenn Kaplan: lecturer of Ceramics at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, graduate of the MFA program at Notre Dame, and potter extraordinaire. @jennifersuekaplan
Jesse Woodworth: potter and operator of Riverwood Pottery in Shipshewana, IN. @riverwoodpottery
Julia Whitney Brown: potter, farmer, mother and MFA candidate at Western Michigan University and owner of Tiny Giant Farm. @tinygiant_pottery
and Mark Nafziger: potter and math whiz, find him at Brush Creek Pottery at Sauder Village in Archbold, OH. @marknafziger
and Mama Hilda Bolivian Snacks @mamahilda_snacks provided mouthwatering empanadas and salteñas all weekend long!
We had a host of lovely guests and visitors that made the weekend so special and made us feel so loved.
We even had a surprise live music performance by Jesse’s Grandpa Ed Roth (of the band Easy Ed and the Country Pals)
We can’t wait to do it all again! Come Join us if you can:) find information about the tour at www.michianapotterytour.com
From left to right: Julia Whitney Brown, Jesse Woodworth, Mark Nafziger, Jenn Kaplan, Norah Amstutz, Jesse Amstutz, Cristal Sabbagh