Clay guild show returns to center
Her intimate connection and sensitivity to the beauty of nature, the intricate design of a flower, and the human body, led Merrilyn Reeves to see the incredible evidence of a master designer.
“The designer of the heavens is also the master potter who created you and me,” says Reeves. “By its very nature, clay connects us to Mother Earth.”
Reeves is one of about 15 clay artists who will be displaying during the Clay Arts Guild of North Idaho’s seventh annual Mud and Spirits Pottery Show and Sale, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center, 405 N. William Street, Post Falls.
CAGNI is a nonprofit communication network for clay artists and supporters, promoting clay art and education in the community. Admission is free.
Local musicians Frank Delaney; Frank and Maddy Americana; Turner Sisters Fiddles; Brad Keller and Friends; String Creek; Q-topia Quartet; and Sondahl and Hawkins will provide live entertainment during the day.
Mud and Spirits held its first show at the cultural center, and after trying several other venues, is pleased to be returning this year.
Reeves, a student and artist of ceramics for 22 years, was originally inspired by observing a potter while visiting Yellowstone Park. She began pottery classes at a local college, because she loved the look and feel of hand-crafted pottery.
Achieving success in her early attempts, an old pottery wheel eventually took up residence at the family home, and a small kiln was hooked up in the garage. This was not a very productive period, Reeves said.
“Complaints about splashes of slurry on the desk, clay fingerprints on the phone receiver, and pieces of clay on the floor were justified, but did not dampen my enthusiasm,” Reeves said.
Today, Reeves enjoys a spacious, separate studio with storage, shelving, and space for equipment, and a firing room. She continues to throw and hand-build pieces in her Plummer, Idaho, studio, Wildwood Pottery.
Each individual piece is handcrafted from start to finish giving careful attention to each step in the process. No two pieces are identical and Reeves believes that this “reflects the character of the piece.”
Most of her decorative designs are hand-brushed; however, a few are executed using handmade stamps which are impressed into the clay or applied over the glaze.
Reeves estimates that a simple piece can be completed in about 64 hours; a complicated piece may take three weeks or longer.
“This assumes that all goes according to schedule and there are no accidents,” Reeves says with a laugh.
Reeves’ clay of choice is porcelain, but she also enjoys using stoneware and earthenware.
“Porcelain’s light color makes a wonderful canvas for painting the whimsical floral designs which are a recurring theme of decoration on my pots,” says Reeves.
All her pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe, and glazes are lead free. She welcomes special orders of any kind, but tries several trial pieces first to get just the right combination of glazes, before completing the order.
Reeves other interests include grandchildren, gardening, natural foods, and serving her community as an advanced EMT and a certified professional midwife/Idaho licensed midwife. She has the joy of “welcoming precious bundles from heaven into their mothers’ arms.”
Reeves participates in a half-dozen shows a year, and always hopes someone will fall in love with one of her pieces enough to adopt it.
“I don’t sell any pots, I put them up for adoption, and hope they all go to good homes,” says Reeves smiling.
“Mud and Spirits is an incredible blend of Northwest clay art talent and offers something for every kind of clay lover – from functional to sculptural,” she said.