The Morgan Arts Council in Berkeley Springs will present its next gallery show, “It’s Just the Clay Talking” now through Sunday July 23 at the Ice House Gallery. There was an opening reception for the show on Saturday, June 3 at 3 p.m. The show is curated by Lisa Swanson.
This show presents the work of eight artists from Morgan County, as well as Hancock, Frederick and North Beach, Maryland. Curator Swanson of Berkeley Springs has pulled together ceramic artists who display a range of pieces showing what clay can do. Swanson says, “Often its beauty comes from the fact that the combination of clay, glaze, and fire is unpredictable. As potters, we often love the surprise at opening the kiln.”
The pots in the show include wheel-thrown and hand-built, gas- and wood- fired pieces. Many are for practical daily use, for which pottery was created; all are visually splendid works to admire and behold.
Returning to the Ice House are local artists David Flohr whose large altered vessels ask to be touched and whose purpose is to hold and Swanson, with her no-frills functional pottery.
New artists include Christy Schmidt, who will be donating the proceeds of her sales to the Ovarian & Gynecological Cancer Coalition; Jennifer Hamilton from Frederick County, Md., whose work is influenced by the natural environment; and Susie Cora, a gallery owner from Hancock, who has contributed several unique hanging ceramic pieces to the show.
In addition to the main gallery show, the Carr-Kelly Gallery and Hall of Dreams will be filled with the art of Stevens City, Va. artist Brad Rice who presents his show “The Wonder of Crop Circles and Sacred Geometry” featuring work using mosaic, glass and mirror and Susana Alva from Great Cacapon, exhibiting her paintings in her “Hispanic Art Show: Art with a Heart.”
Ice House Gallery hours are Thursday through Sun- day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The curated gallery shows are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, and local hotel/motel taxes.
The Ice House is at the corner of Independence and Mercer in downtown Berkeley Springs.
For more information on this and other MAC activities go to www.macicehouse.org.
